Gu Chengzhi couldn't understand. "Nonsense. When did I help you figure out a way to take Liyue away?"
"On the Lantern Festival, you told me about your third uncle's past," Lu Jinchen said slowly. "At that time, I thought that I would never be like Uncle Gu - now I can't call him Uncle Gu anymore. I should call him Father-in-law. At that time, I didn't know that Liyue was a daughter of your Gu family. I just thought that since she didn't want to stay in the capital, I would just take her away like Father-in-law did."
Gu Chengzhi gritted his teeth in anger. "I knew you had ulterior motives."
Lu Jinchen calmly shook his head. "How could I have ulterior motives? But if I don't have her for the rest of my life, wouldn't it be boring?"
All the way to the private room in the tavern, Gu Chengzhi finally asked through gritted teeth, "With the complicated situation in your family, wouldn't my sister have a hard time if she went there? Lu Jinchen, when you choose a daughter-in-law, don't you even take a look at yourself? Are you worthy of my sister? You're not that great, but you have big dreams!"
Perhaps it was the first time he had heard such remarks, so Lu Jinchen was a bit stunned and actually burst out laughing.
Gu Chengzhi asked, "What are you laughing at?"
Lu Jinchen said slowly, "It seems that you've never approved of me and her. Before, you thought she wasn't good enough for me. Now, you think I'm not good enough for her."
Gu Chengzhi was stunned for a moment and then remembered that not long after the Lantern Festival, that night when he found out that his friend was attracted to Liyue, he was indeed quite opposed. Just thinking about it made Gu Chengzhi feel a bit more at ease. At least Lu Jinchen's love for his sister was sincere. At that time, although his sister was good-looking, because she had suffered since childhood and hadn't fully grown up yet, and her family background hadn't been revealed, she was always looked down upon.
Now...
"But Lu Jinchen, are you really willing for my sister to marry into your family and suffer?"
Lu Jinchen asked, "Where do you think Liyue can marry without suffering?"
Gu Chengzhi was at a loss for words. With his sister's situation, he felt sorry for her no matter where she married.
Lu Jinchen asked again, "Chengzhi, if you meet a girl you like in the future and the two of you don't seem to be a good match, what will you do?"
"I'm different from you. I'm not the eldest son, and my family is harmonious. There are no such and such requirements for me to marry a wife. But you..." Gu Chengzhi stared at him with wide eyes at this point. "Lu Jinchen, you wanted to take my sister away before, but now you only ask for the emperor's bestowed marriage. Don't you want my family to help you solve the troubles in your family?"
Lu Jinchen looked at Gu Chengzhi speechlessly and tapped him on the head. "If I take Liyue away again, will you agree? Will your family agree? Trouble? Do you think my family is a trouble?"
Gu Chengzhi backed down a bit and gave an embarrassed smile. "I... just said it casually. Anyway, I'm telling you that Liyue is my real sister. If you dare to treat her the slightest bit badly, I'll take her back home. I can support her for the rest of her life, no matter what."
...
Gu Liyue stayed at home all day. At most, she just went to talk to her second aunt or visit her two nephews at her eldest sister-in-law's place. She rarely went out.
Mrs. Qin was worried, so she simply asked her nieces from her natal family to send invitations and take Gu Liyue out to play together.
"If you get married, you won't have so much leisure time to go out and play. Now, spend more time with your sisters, drinking tea, watching plays, playing polo, and going on spring outings. It's all good. You'll also have more female friends in the boudoir. In the future, when you get married, you'll have places to visit."
It was the perfect time for a spring outing, and Gu Liyue was also willing to go out and get some fresh air. She went to the suburbs to play with the Qin sisters.
Qin Yuyin, the eldest daughter of the Qin family, was already engaged to Gu Junzhe, Gu Liyue's second elder brother. Their wedding was set for the end of September. It was only a little over half a year before they would get married. Qin Caiyin, the third daughter, was about the same age as Gu Liyue. She used to have a good relationship with Jiang Yingyue. Before, she looked down on Liyue because of Jiang Yingyue. However, she had good upbringing. Although she looked down on Liyue, she didn't do anything hostile. There was also a second young lady, the daughter of the second branch, who was currently not in the capital.
This time, the two sisters were even nicer to Gu Liyue, afraid that she would feel uneasy.
In the spring of March, the spring scenery was infinitely beautiful. Several friends recited poems and composed verses. They were extremely happy. Gu Liyue couldn't recite poems, but she liked reading books and was very interested in poems and songs. Before in the Jiang family, she was afraid of being laughed at. Now she wasn't afraid anymore, so she sat around them leisurely, listening to their discussions.
Not long after, they heard the sound of men and women laughing and joking. Gu Liyue looked over curiously and saw a group of young men standing there. A young lady walked over with a written poem and asked a designated young man to respond.
"What's going on over there?"
Qin Yuyin explained, "It's a game we often play during spring outings. Men and women can respond to each other's poems."
Gu Liyue asked, "Sister Yuyin is very good at poetry. Why don't you go and give it a try?"
Qin Caiyin laughed. "Liyue, you're wrong. Although it's just a joke, my sister is already engaged, so she can't act recklessly. Those who go over there are all unmarried men and women. By reciting poems, they can also see the temperaments of the young men they like."
Gu Liyue understood. It turned out that the young ladies in the capital were so open-minded that they could actively look for their husbands.
Seeing her surprise, Qin Caiyin laughed again. "But marriage is decided by parents and family members. The poem recitation here is just for fun. The young ladies will only cherish their reputations. Even when asking the men to respond to poems, they will only choose those of equal social status. Of course, they can also make it clear in advance that it's just a friendship among friends."
Gu Liyue remembered and didn't think much of it. She sat on a rock and watched the group of men and women with a smile. The young men and women all had a happy glow on their faces. Their voices were loud and very lively.
A young lady shyly wrote a poem and handed it to the young man in front of her.
Qin Caiyin held Gu Liyue's hand and said with great interest, "Look, Third Young Master Jiang!"
Jiang Che.
Gu Liyue didn't understand. Was there anything special about him?
Qin Caiyin whispered, "You lived in the Jiang family for half a year. You must be very familiar with Third Young Master Jiang. He has a good family background and status, is first-class in literary talent, and is gentle and meticulous. Last year, he won the first place in the provincial examination and became the Jieyuan. Then he said that the imperial examination was the way for poor scholars to strive for progress. Why should he compete? So he refused to take this year's metropolitan examination. It became a good story for a while."
Gu Liyue didn't know so many things about Jiang Che. She withdrew her gaze and nodded vaguely. "I know him. But he's a young man, and I was in the inner courtyard, so I didn't see him very often."
Qin Caiyin continued, "He's so handsome and suave. How many young ladies in the capital are attracted to him? I wonder who will be so lucky to marry him in the future."
Gu Liyue secretly curled her lips. If any young lady got such "luck", she might be angry for the rest of her life.
Qin Caiyin excitedly nudged Gu Liyue. "Liyue, you were siblings with him for half a year. Tell us what kind of person he is."
The young ladies around all looked at Gu Liyue with longing eyes. Gu Liyue embarrassedly touched her nose. She didn't like Jiang Che, but it wasn't her habit to speak ill of him in public.
"I'm really not very familiar with Third Young Master Jiang... At that time, he doted on Jiang Yingyue a lot. You know me. I didn't get along well with Jiang Yingyue."