After Gu Liyue returned to the Gu family, the Jiang family issued a notice to apologize to her. They only concealed the fact that Jiang Yingyue was the illegitimate daughter of the Duke of Jiang. All the other details were made public, thus clearing Gu Liyue's name. However, the Jiang family was also disgraced in the process.
Since then, the Duke's Mansion and the Marquis's Mansion had completely severed their ties.
On ordinary days, not to mention the Duke and the Marquis, even the younger generations of the two families would turn a blind eye to each other when they met. Except for Jiang Che.
Jiang Che often visited the Gu family. In the past, because Gu Chengzhi liked to fool around and always hung out with Lu Jinchen, Jiang Che, who considered himself a man of high morals, was reluctant to associate with someone like Gu Chengzhi. Now that he took the initiative and was of a similar age to Gu Chengzhi, the two could at least have a few words with each other.
However, every time Jiang Che mentioned what he had done wrong to Gu Liyue in the past, Gu Chengzhi couldn't hold back his anger and would beat him up. After the beating, he found that Jiang Che didn't even dodge. Feeling guilty, he always tried every means to avoid him.
As time went by, Jiang Che couldn't even see Gu Chengzhi.
Gu Liyue didn't know about the matter between Jiang Che and Gu Chengzhi. She thought it was just an accidental encounter on the road and didn't care. But the carriage stopped again not long after setting off. The maid came to report that the third young master of the Jiang family had invited her.
"Invite me? No need. Go and tell him that there's no more connection between the Gu family and the Jiang family. It's inappropriate for us to meet privately."
The maid said, "He said he wants to apologize to you in person."
Gu Liyue still shook her head. "Go and tell him again. I'm very grateful for his help the other day. Let's just wipe out all the past grievances."
Qin Caiyin's eyes showed a strange look. After a long time, she asked, "You don't want to see him?"
Gu Liyue was puzzled. "Why should I see him? You also know the awkward situation between the Gu family and the Jiang family. It's all because of me that our families are like this. If I take the initiative to associate with the Jiang family, won't I hurt their feelings?"
Qin Caiyin nodded absent - mindedly and didn't say anything more.
Gu Liyue was in great pain. Leaning against the carriage wall, she fell asleep again.
She slept for a long time. When she woke up, Gu Liyue found that the carriage had stopped near Mingzheng Street. There was a thin blanket covering her body, and Danju beside her was also dozing off.
"Danju? Where's Caiyin?"
Danju woke up and quickly went to pour water for Gu Liyue. She explained, "You were sleeping. Miss Qin didn't want to disturb you. She thought it would be boring to go back, so she went to the shop in front to buy some snacks."
Gu Liyue rubbed her eyes and asked, "It's getting late. Has she been gone for a long time?"
Danju blinked and lifted the curtain to take a look. "It's been a while. Maybe she's wandering around a bit more. I'll send someone to urge her."
Gu Liyue drank some water. She pressed down Danju who was about to get up and shook her head. "Forget it. Let her wander around."
Danju quickly asked, "Do you want to go and wander around, miss?"
Gu Liyue was aching all over and didn't want to go out. She just shook her head and squinted to take a short rest.
Not long after, Qin Caiyin came back. The maid behind her was carrying two boxes of pastries.
"Send this box to the Qin family. Give it to my eldest sister. Keep this box and take it back to the Gu family for the old lady. She likes soft and glutinous pastries. Don't make a mistake."
Gu Liyue asked, "You've been out for so long. Did you only buy two boxes of snacks?"
Qin Caiyin smiled awkwardly. She told Danju to leave and held the pastries in her hand for Gu Liyue to eat.
After they chatted and laughed for a while, Qin Caiyin suddenly asked, "Liyue, do you think that Jiang Che keeps looking for you. Does he have feelings for you?"
Gu Liyue looked at her in confusion. "Why do you mention him out of the blue? There's nothing between us. Even when I was in the Jiang family before, he always looked at me with a scowl and never gave me a good look."
Qin Caiyin stopped talking. After a while, she said, "I'm just curious. Why does he keep chasing after you?"
Gu Liyue shook her head. "Who knows? I've already said that I don't blame him. If you say he likes me, I don't really believe it. A man like him... Besides, I'm already engaged."
Qin Caiyin didn't say much more.
When they got home, Gu Chengzhi was the first to greet them. He asked cheerfully, "Liyue, did you have a good time playing today?"
Gu Liyue didn't have the energy to talk to him. She was in so much pain that she wanted to cry. She was also listless. She didn't sleep well in the carriage just now and didn't even want to have dinner. She just wanted to go back to her courtyard early and have a good rest.
Seeing that his sister just casually responded to him and then was eager to leave, Gu Chengzhi couldn't help but pull Qin Caiyin and ask, "What's wrong with my sister?"
Qin Caiyin seemed out of it. "It's nothing. She's fine."
Gu Chengzhi didn't believe it. "Fine? Why does she look so weak? Did someone bully her?"
Qin Caiyin shook her head vaguely. "No. Hey, what are you doing? Don't pull me. I'm going back."
Madam Qin was standing at the drooping - flower gate, staring blankly at the two of them. Seeing Qin Caiyin shake off Gu Chengzhi and run away, she was still a bit dazed. In the past, she didn't seem to notice anything between these two children. But perhaps they were just too young the year before last. Yes, Caiyin was already sixteen, and Chengzhi was nineteen. It was time for them to get engaged.
Gu Chengzhi didn't get a definite answer from Qin Caiyin. He then pulled Danju and asked, "What happened at the poetry gathering today?"
Danju shook her head. "I don't know. It was at the Royal Villa. I couldn't get in. But I heard that they seemed to meet Princess Yunxi. Miss couldn't compose poems and stayed with Princess Yunxi all the time."
...
Gu Liyue took a medicinal bath, but it didn't work. She then asked Tangyuan and Danju to massage her with the blood - activating and stasis - removing ointment. The massage made her scream, but she didn't feel much better. Several days passed like this. She could only endure the pain. During these days, Qin Caiyin visited her frequently.
"Caiyin, how many days will it take for my body to recover? I went to pay respects to my grandmother this morning, and she even asked me if I was sick. Caiyin, are you listening to me?"
"Ah? Oh... You mean this lotus seed soup? It's delicious." Qin Caiyin stirred the spoon in her hand and scooped up a spoonful of lotus seed soup to drink.
"..." Gu Liyue got dressed and walked over. She reached out to touch Qin Caiyin's forehead. "You don't have a fever. Why have you been so absent - minded these days?"
Qin Caiyin thought for a while. She pressed Gu Liyue onto the chair and asked her, "Liyue, I want to ask you. If I don't like a man, but... uh, my cousin insists on marrying him. What should I do?"
Gu Liyue asked, "Your cousin? Fang Min?"
Qin Caiyin paused for a moment and waved her hand. "Just assume it's Fang Min."
Gu Liyue rubbed her fingers and thought seriously. "Actually, it doesn't really matter whether you like the man or not. As long as it's not because of his bad character that you don't like him, it's okay."
"His character is okay, but... there were some misunderstandings between him and me before, so I don't like him. But... Fang Min insists on marrying him."
Gu Liyue said, "Then you should have a good talk with your mother. Fang Min is too naive. She thinks that love is everything and is easily deceived by a man's sweet words. A man's character can't be judged just by his appearance. Without the order of parents and the match - making of a go - between, why does Fang Min want to marry him? If he really likes her, why doesn't he go to the Fang family to propose properly?"
Qin Caiyin asked carefully, "But... what if the man has no feelings for her, yet Fang Min is whole - heartedly in love with him?"