The eldest princess caressed the night pearl. "This night pearl is priceless. There may not be a second one in the entire Great Zhou. Back then, you were the beloved daughter of Lady Jiang. I didn't really need to give you such a precious gift, but I still did. It's not because of Lady Jiang, nor because you saved A Jie. It's simply because I think it suits you well."
Gu Liyue was confused. "Suits me well?"
The eldest princess nodded. "Yes. When I saw this night pearl, I thought of you. It's not extremely dazzling, but it has light. Even in the darkness, it always shines."
Gu Liyue still didn't understand. How could this make the princess think of her? Was she a beam of light in the darkness?
The eldest princess told the maid to put the night pearl into Gu Liyue's hand. "It should belong to you."
Gu Liyue came today to play with Lin Zhijie. The eldest princess didn't say much and just let Gu Chengzhi take her to Lin Zhijie's yard.
There weren't many servants in the princess mansion today, but they were all well - trained. The two young servants who came out to greet them obviously knew Gu Chengzhi well and joked with him without any fear.
"Sister, you've finally come!"
Lin Zhijie rushed out and was about to throw himself into Gu Liyue's arms, but was immediately grabbed by the back of his collar by the person who followed him out.
Gu Liyue raised her eyebrows and blushed. It was Lu Jinchen.
Lu Jinchen grabbed Lin Zhijie and said, "You're growing up. Sister is a young lady. You can't hug her from now on. Do you understand?"
Lin Zhijie muttered, "Why? I'm only five."
Lu Jinchen sneered and then pinched his ear. "Tell me, how old are you?"
Lin Zhijie let out a yelp. "Seven, seven. You've said that after my birthday and the new year, I'm going to be seven."
Lu Jinchen raised his eyebrows. "Is a seven - year - old still a child?"
Lin Zhijie quickly shook his head. "No. A seven - year - old is an adult. He should study hard. He can't rely too much on his mother, nor can he be too intimate with his sister."
Only then did Lu Jinchen let him go.
Gu Chengzhi complained, "Jinchen, what are you doing? A Jie is still a child. Why are you so strict with him?"
Lu Jinchen said calmly, "For a boy, we count his nominal age. He's not young anymore. He should understand the principle that boys and girls should not sit together after the age of seven."
Gu Liyue followed behind Gu Chengzhi. Maybe she was nervous, so her hand was still clutching his clothes. When she saw Lu Jinchen looking over, she was startled and immediately got closer to Gu Chengzhi, tightly grabbing the clothes on his back.
Lu Jinchen thought for a moment and then patted Lin Zhijie on the head. "Didn't you keep saying you wanted to play with your sister?"
Hearing this, Lin Zhijie immediately ran to Gu Liyue's side. Since his cousin was glaring at him from behind, he tried his best to look polite and gave Gu Liyue a beaming smile. "Sister, come on. I'll take you to see my puppy. It has grown a lot."
Gu Liyue thought it would be more relaxing to be with a dog than with people.
When they saw the pug, sure enough, it had grown a lot. It was still as lively as ever. When it saw Gu Liyue, it wasn't shy at all. It circled around her and whined cutely.
Gu Liyue giggled and reached out to touch the pug. "A Jie, how long have you been raising this pug?"
Lin Zhijie said, "For a year. It was a gift from Third Brother Gu on my fifth birthday."
Gu Liyue was stunned. Third Brother Gu, Gu Cheng'an? He usually looked extremely serious. She had even heard from the Qin family's cousin that he was a pedant and never smiled at others. She never thought he would give A Jie a puppy.
"Third Brother?"
Lin Zhijie nodded. "Third Brother is so nice. He taught me martial arts and took me around to play. It's a pity that he has to be on duty. Otherwise, I'd want him to always be with me. Sister, does Third Brother Gu usually play with you?"
Gu Liyue shook her head. "It should be a leisurely time during the New Year, but I think he's busier than anyone else."
Gu Cheng'an was a bodyguard of the emperor and the commander of the imperial guards. He was highly regarded by the emperor and was almost always in the palace attending to the emperor. There was no time for him to come out. Come to think of it, she had only seen Gu Cheng'an three times since she came back a month ago.
Lin Zhijie played with the pug for a while and then asked, "Sister, have you ever raised a dog?"
Gu Liyue thought of Xiao Hei and felt a bit sad. "I once had a dog named Xiao Hei. When I was on Qingcui Mountain, the reason I saved you was that Xiao Hei found you and led me there."
Lin Zhijie widened his eyes. "Really? Then why didn't you bring Xiao Hei here? It turns out it's my benefactor."
"I left Cangyun County by chance. I could hardly take care of myself and my aunt. How could I take care of Xiao Hei? So I entrusted it to a reliable neighbor."
Gu Liyue propped her chin and thought for a while. Then she said angrily, "I'm still very angry. At that time, Fourth Brother kicked Xiao Hei without knowing the truth. How annoying!"
Just then, Gu Chengzhi and Lu Jinchen walked over. Hearing this, Gu Chengzhi quickly waved his hand. "Wronged. Sister, you remembered wrong. How could I randomly hurt an innocent... Ah, it was Jinchen. Yes, it must be Jinchen!"
Gu Liyue pouted and thought Gu Chengzhi was a coward.
Lu Jinchen bowed and apologized. "I don't remember who hurt your dog, but I did lead people there that day. I believed what others said and thought you were a threat to A Jie, so I did that. It's my fault. Please... forgive me, Liyue."
Gu Liyue's ears turned red. She shook her head and said, "You... you even saved Xiao Hei at that time. I don't blame you."
Gu Chengzhi wailed, "Sister, you're so partial. I'm your real brother!"
Lu Jinchen just smiled. He saw that there were still no gold or silver ornaments on Gu Liyue's temples, but the jade hairpin he gave her was on her head. He felt even happier.
Gu Chengzhi quickly said, "Sister likes dogs? I'll get one for you later. It must be more precious than this one. How about it?"
Gu Liyue shook her head. "No, I don't like... I have Yidianhong. I don't need another one. Moreover, an ordinary dog can't be as considerate and cute as Xiao Hei."
The pug ran away in a flash. Lin Zhijie ran after it, and Gu Chengzhi also quickly followed. In an instant, only Gu Liyue and Lu Jinchen were left in the yard.
Lu Jinchen got closer, tidied her sideburns, and caressed the jade hairpin. He asked softly, "Do you like it?"
Gu Liyue lowered her head and nodded. "Um... I like it. Did you have someone customize it?"
Lu Jinchen was reluctant to let go, but he didn't dare to overstep. He just said, "I made it myself."
Gu Liyue paused and looked up at him. "You made it?"
Lu Jinchen laughed. "It was my first time making it. I ruined several of them, but fortunately, I finally made one. I originally wanted to give it to you at your family - recognition banquet. Later, when I heard you were sick, I wanted to give it to you earlier. Are you fully recovered?"
Gu Liyue nodded. She shyly lowered her head and looked at her hands. After a long time, she finally summoned up the courage to take out the wrapped thing from her sleeve and handed it to Lu Jinchen. "That... I made this when I was free. I hope you won't dislike it."
Lu Jinchen was slightly stunned. When he opened it, he found it was a hair ribbon.
Gu Liyue explained, "Last time... I thought the pattern was nice, so I made this... But it's not just for you. I made one for each of my elder brothers."
Lu Jinchen smiled. "I like it very much."