Before Gu Liyue returned home, she told everyone she had brought not to casually discuss what had happened that day.
Tangyuan didn't understand. "Miss, the matters between Princess Jing and the Xia family are no secrets. Many people are talking about them."
Gu Liyue said, "I don't like gossiping about others. Moreover, Uncle is always upright and serious. I'm sure he doesn't like the servants in the mansion casually gossiping about others. Besides, she is Princess Jing. How can the royal bloodline be judged by others?"
Tangyuan looked solemn. She had learned the rules and knew the gravity of the matter. She had just been careless. After hearing Gu Liyue's words, she naturally kept silent.
In the blink of an eye, it was the 20th day of the first lunar month. The Gu family held a grand banquet, inviting relatives and friends in the capital to announce the return of their daughter. The Gu family didn't like banquets. Except for weddings and funerals, they always kept things simple. Even for the children in the family, they only held the washing - on - the - third - day ceremony and didn't hold the full - month celebration. They also didn't like birthday or longevity banquets.
This time, the grandeur showed how much the Gu family valued Gu Liyue. Familiar families naturally prepared congratulatory gifts early on, and they also understood the Gu family's attitude a bit.
Early in the morning, Mrs. Qin came to Gu Liyue's courtyard and took charge of everything for that day. Her eldest sister - in - law would take care of the outside affairs. What she needed to do was to comfort Gu Liyue, afraid that she would suddenly feel unwell due to nervousness.
However, Gu Liyue was really nervous. She couldn't even decide which clothes to wear.
Mrs. Qin smiled. "For ordinary girls, they would hold the coming - of - age ceremony when they turn fifteen, inviting familiar families to gather. Don't be afraid. Just think of it as your coming - of - age ceremony."
Gu Liyue tried hard to suppress the panic in her heart and nodded reluctantly.
Mrs. Qin added, "Today, do you want to wear this red and festive one or this solemn blue one?"
Gu Liyue pursed her lips and said softly, "Tangyuan said I look good in red."
Mrs. Qin glanced at the innocent Tangyuan, sighed silently, stroked Gu Liyue's face and asked, "What color do you like?"
Gu Liyue lowered her head and said nothing. What did she like? Since childhood, she had always worn Liu Qinting's hand - me - down clothes. Mrs. Miao was thrifty and always made clothes for Liu Qinting a bit larger so that she could wear them for a few more years. By the time Gu Liyue wore them, they were already very worn out.
However, she vaguely remembered that before her uncles came to Yangxin Town, her father seemed to have made an osmanthus - yellow hairpin for her.
Osmanthus - yellow?
Gu Liyue turned around and pointed at the clothes trunk beside her. "The osmanthus - yellow dress that Aunt made for me last year. I like it very much..."
"Then wear that one."
Gu Liyue asked nervously, "Is it appropriate? Osmanthus - yellow is not lively enough. Isn't it inappropriate for today?"
Mrs. Qin laughed. "Silly girl, how could it be inappropriate? Liyue, you should remember that you are a daughter of the Gu family. You don't need to care about others' opinions or whether it is festive or not. Unless you wear inappropriate clothes for weddings or funerals, other things don't matter. As long as you like it, okay?"
Gu Liyue summoned up her courage and said, "Then, can I not wear so many hair ornaments? I'm not used to it."
Mrs. Qin nodded. "Of course you can. If you don't like it, don't wear so many. Just a hairpin and a hair ornament. It won't be tiring and will look nice."
Gu Liyue reached out her hand, picked up the jade hairpin from the jewelry box and gently put it in her hair.
Mrs. Qin asked, "I see you wear this jade hairpin every day. It is really nice, but isn't it too plain?"
Gu Liyue shook her head. "I like it."
"Then wear it." Mrs. Qin took an osmanthus - yellow hair flower and put it on Gu Liyue. It was light and not monotonous.
Gu Liyue's eyes curved into a smile. "Second Aunt, I once heard a saying that people respect others based on their clothes first. And when Nanny Feng taught me, she always said that even if you are just an embroiderer, as long as you dress up more, others will respect you more."
After Mrs. Qin finished dressing Gu Liyue, she thought the outfit looked a bit childish, so she made her makeup lighter. She patted Gu Liyue's little face. "People who judge others by their appearance always lack depth. Our family doesn't care about those things."
Gu Liyue smiled. Yes, the Gu family and the princess were like that. Even though they were aloof, they always behaved properly and would never judge a person's status based on their clothes or ornaments.
Throughout the day, Gu Liyue received a lot of gifts and made friends with many noble girls. Many of them she had known before and they had disliked her. At the last palace banquet, most of them just watched, and there were also many who took the initiative to get close to her. Today, they seemed to put aside all their prejudices and scrambled to make friends with Gu Liyue.
Gu Liyue was a gentle girl and soon got on well with them.
In the middle of the day, the concubine of Prince Qingling's Mansion sent a gift through someone. Prince Qingling and his princess were not in the capital. The mansion was managed by the concubine. However, this concubine was very well - behaved. She regarded herself as just a concubine and usually didn't show up. She just made sure that the family's etiquette was in place.
As for Princess Yunxi, she rushed over excitedly just before the banquet started. She found Gu Liyue among the noble girls and stuffed the box in her hand into Gu Liyue's. "Look, this is the gift I prepared for you."
Gu Liyue paused and explained, "The congratulatory gift from the mansion has already been sent..."
Lu Yunxi waved her hand carelessly. "That was sent by them. It has nothing to do with me. I tell you, I went into the palace early this morning and got this good thing there."
She spent most of her time in the Empress Dowager's palace. She just stayed in the mansion during the New Year.
Gu Liyue quickly thanked her and handed the box to Tangyuan. "Go and put it away and make a note of it."
But Lu Yunxi was unhappy. She snatched the box back and stuffed it into Gu Liyue's hand again. "That won't do. This is a gift from me to you. You have to open it and take a look yourself."
The yard was full of ladies and young ladies. They were not surprised at Lu Yunxi's coquetry at all. This princess was favored by the Empress Dowager and was not afraid of anything. However, although she was carefree, she usually just played around with the young masters. She took good care of the young ladies and didn't cause any trouble.
Gu Liyue nodded and didn't decline. She gently opened the box, but there was a gasp. The noble girls around were in a complete mess. Some ran away and some cried.
Lu Yunxi laughed loudly. "Hahaha, isn't it interesting? I caught them all by myself!"
Gu Liyue's heart skipped a beat, but she slowly relaxed. Seeing the ladies approaching, she quickly closed the box and shook her head. "It's nothing special. You don't need to be afraid."
Seeing that she wasn't panicked at all, Lu Yunxi pouted. "Aren't you afraid?"
"It's not a poisonous thing. Of course I'm not afraid."
Lu Yunxi asked, "Have you seen it before?"
Gu Liyue nodded. "Yes, I used to see it often. It's not a poisonous thing. It's common in the vegetable garden. If your home is close to the woods or vegetable garden, it may even run into your house."