After leaving the Serenity Tower, Qin Caiyin stuck out her tongue and said, "Princess Jing has a bad temper. I didn't expect her to be so nice to you."
Gu Liyue was only puzzled. "This villa is a place for the royal family to play. Why is Princess Jing living here?"
Qin Caiyin whispered, "I heard that Princess Jing had an argument with the emperor some time ago... Later, no one knows why, but she didn't even go back to her princess mansion and came to this villa instead. After the Xia family fell, Princess Jing has become even more difficult to approach. In the past, she liked to attend banquets and socialize with other families, but now she's like a dragon that shows only its head but not its tail. So, a woman really needs a home. A woman without a home is like a floating duckweed."
Gu Liyue didn't quite agree. She shook her head and said, "But Princess Jing isn't without a home. The imperial palace is her home."
"That's her natal home. Princess Jing doesn't have a marital home."
Gu Liyue didn't argue anymore. For a woman, which one is really home, the natal home or the marital home?
By the time they arrived at the poetry gathering, they were already late. But Qi Manyan had already explained to Cheng Yinyin that Princess Jing had summoned them temporarily.
Cheng Yinyin was a gentle person with a soft voice. She had met Gu Liyue a few times but hadn't had a good conversation with her. Now she said with a big smile, "We thought you weren't coming."
Gu Liyue explained, "I don't know much about poetry. Coming to this poetry gathering will only make you laugh at me."
At this time, Lu Yunxi popped out and put her arm around Gu Liyue. Laughing heartily, she said, "You don't know poetry? That's great! I was just worried that it would be boring here. Come on, let them compose poems by themselves. Let's go play over there."
Gu Liyue grabbed Lu Yunxi and shook her head. "No. I promised my family to stay with Caiyin. I can't just run around."
Lu Yunxi pouted. "It's not running around. Look, over there at the pavilion. I'll teach you martial arts."
Gu Liyue was about to refuse, but Lu Yunxi wouldn't let go. She dragged Gu Liyue to an open space beside and insisted that since the Gu family was originally a family of military generals and Gu Liyue's ancestor was a female general, how could she not know martial arts?
Qin Caiyin was about to go over, but a group of young ladies surrounded her. "It's hot, and we don't get out much. You've only been accompanying your Gu family sister and have forgotten all about us."
Cheng Yinyin took Qin Caiyin to the table for the poetry works. "Come quickly. We're just waiting for you. You don't need to worry about them over there. Although Yunxi is a bit naughty, she knows her limits."
Gu Liyue thought she was just coming out to relax today, but unexpectedly, she endured a real torture. Lu Yunxi probably thought that all young ladies in the world were as strong as she was. After a set of nine - section whip routines, Gu Liyue only managed to get it around her own neck and almost hurt herself.
After all the commotion, Gu Liyue's neck and wrists were bruised and purple. If one were to lift her clothes, there would probably be even more bruises inside. Fortunately, she was used to doing rough work since childhood, so her skin wasn't very delicate. Otherwise, it would have been even more unsightly.
Qin Caiyin forgot about the time while having fun. When she finally remembered that she was supposed to take care of Gu Liyue today, she looked back and saw Gu Liyue lying motionless on the table in the pavilion, while Lu Yunxi was still chattering non - stop.
Gu Liyue stretched out a hand. "Princess, please find someone else. I... I really can't do it anymore."
Qin Caiyin was startled. She went over to look at Gu Liyue's hand and asked in a hurry, "What's going on? Lu Yunxi, even if you're a princess, you can't bully people."
Lu Yunxi looked confused. She looked at Qin Caiyin innocently, pinched her face, and then firmly grasped her hand. Seeing that although she felt pain, there were no bruises, she immediately said happily, "Hey, you're a good candidate for martial arts. Caiyin, how about I teach you martial arts from now on? Liyue is too useless. After just a little while, she's lying there and refuses to move. I won't teach her anymore."
Qin Caiyin looked closely and saw that although Gu Liyue was listless, her eyes were shining, and there was no sign of pain. Only then did she confirm that Lu Yunxi hadn't done anything to her.
Gu Liyue then looked up at Lu Yunxi and asked, "Princess, didn't you say that as a daughter of the Gu family, I shouldn't disgrace the Gu family, so you wanted me to learn martial arts? The Qin family isn't a family of military generals. She doesn't have to go through so much hardship, right?"
Lu Yunxi rolled her eyes and wouldn't let go of Qin Caiyin. "But she's a good material for martial arts. It would be a waste if she doesn't learn. Look at her physique. Tsk, tsk, tsk. I've lived for so many years, and I've never seen someone with such an excellent physique for martial arts."
Qin Caiyin rolled her eyes. "Thank you very much, Princess. You've lived for seventeen years. That's really a long time."
Lu Yunxi scratched her nose and gave a sheepish smile. Then she circled around Qin Caiyin and wouldn't leave. She coaxed and pleaded, insisting that Qin Caiyin become her disciple to learn martial arts.
Qin Caiyin supported Gu Liyue and said, "My aunt is the second wife of the Gu family. My cousins all know martial arts. If I really want to learn martial arts, I can learn from them. Why do I have to look for you, right? Princess, if you really want to teach martial arts, you can find a young child. I've heard that no matter how good the physique is, it's not as good as hard work. If you can find a four - or five - or six - year - old child with a very flexible body and obedient, wouldn't that be better?"
Lu Yunxi shook her head and said, "But little kids can't talk to me. It's so boring."
Gu Liyue finally understood that after all this commotion, Lu Yunxi just wanted someone to talk to her. She quickly said, "Princess, if you want someone to talk to you in the future, we can all do it. As long as you don't make us practice with swords and guns, okay?"
On the way back, Gu Liyue leaned against Qin Caiyin. She was completely unable to move. Her whole body ached terribly. Even a slight movement made her almost cry from the pain.
Qin Caiyin said, "It's only the first day. It's okay. Wait until tomorrow. You probably won't even be able to get out of bed."
Gu Liyue asked with a mournful face, "Then what should I do?"
Qin Caiyin said, "There's nothing you can do. It will get better on its own in a few days. If it's convenient, you can ask your maid to rub and apply some bruise - reducing ointment on you. Maybe it can relieve the pain a bit."
She lifted the curtain and looked outside. As she did so, she said, "Lu Yunxi always comes up with ideas on a whim. I hope she'll forget about taking in a disciple tomorrow. Otherwise, I'll be in trouble. How could my body be suitable for martial arts? Excellent physique for martial arts. Haha, it's the first time I've heard such a thing."
Just as she lifted the curtain, she happened to see a young gentleman standing outside and looking in their direction.
The carriage jolted, and Qin Caiyin stumbled forward. The gentleman quickly wanted to support her but then realized that he was several steps away from her and that she was inside the carriage while he was outside.
Qin Caiyin didn't know why, but her face turned red. She quickly put down the curtain.
Gu Liyue asked in confusion, "What's wrong with you?"
Qin Caiyin paused for a moment and explained, "It's okay. The carriage suddenly jolted and scared me. Outside... Oh, right. I just seemed to see Young Master Jiang San outside."