Qin Caiyin looked at her pitifully. "Do we really have to break the appointment? I... I promised him..."
Gu Liyue said, "Then we just need someone to go to the teahouse and tell him. Caiyin, I won't meet him alone. I don't blame him, but I can never be friends with him."
The carriage stopped in front of the Fuguilou Restaurant. Gu Liyue checked the time. "It's still early. How about we go window - shopping in the nearby shops?"
There was a jewelry store next to it. Since they hadn't made a reservation in advance, there were no private rooms available on the second floor. However, Gu Liyue just wanted to stroll around casually. She only selected a few small accessories in the main hall and let Tangyuan wear them for fun.
"Is that... Sister Liyue?"
Gu Liyue turned around and saw a simple - looking boy. Who else could it be but Cao Tiedan?
"Tiedan, what are you doing here?"
Cao Tiedan was extremely happy. He ran up to Gu Liyue, sized her up and down, then looked at Tangyuan, and pointed at the silver hairpin in Tangyuan's hand. "Does sister want this? I'll buy it for you. This is a shop of the Feng family. I can get a better deal when I make purchases."
Gu Liyue smiled. "Don't worry. I have money now and can afford it. Please wrap these items for me."
Cao Tiedan happily explained, "I came here with the third young master to check the accounts today. I didn't expect to meet sister here."
Gu Liyue looked up and saw Feng Chen standing at the counter. Maybe he heard their conversation and nodded at them. Gu Liyue nodded back. Feng Chen looked quite similar to Feng Sui. In fact, just looking at his face, Feng Chen seemed simple - minded and not like a shrewd businessman.
But Master Feng also had a simple - looking face, yet he managed to build the Feng family's business so big.
Feng Chen walked over. He wasn't overly obsequious. He just asked, "There's still a private room on the third floor. It was originally reserved by my friend. If the young lady needs it, just say the word."
Gu Liyue thanked him with a smile. "I'm going to the Fuguilou to have a meal. Since it's still early, I came here to take a look."
Cao Tiedan's eyes lit up. He immediately said, "By the way, sister, the young master just got a really interesting thing. Do you want to take a look? Young master, that blood - red coral of yours is a rare item."
Feng Chen remained calm. He motioned for his servant to go and fetch the coral, and said with a smile, "Please don't blame me, miss. It's not that I don't want to show off my good things. It's just that the coral has already been reserved."
Gu Liyue waved her hand. "I don't usually like such things. Young master Feng, you don't need to be so polite."
Even so, Gu Liyue didn't decline. She looked back and found that Qin Caiyin had gone somewhere else to shop. So she just took Tangyuan into the inner room to look at the coral.
Cao Tiedan, who had lagged behind a few steps, asked Feng Chen in a surprised whisper, "Young master, wasn't that coral just obtained? Who could have reserved it?"
Feng Chen patted his head. "I've always told you to say the right things to the right people. Your sister clearly isn't an ordinary person. If you rashly recommend such a precious item, considering your past good relationship, will she buy the coral? But if she had no such intention in the first place, wouldn't it create a rift in your friendship?"
Cao Tiedan was stunned for a long time. "I didn't think that far."
Feng Chen just smiled. "It's okay. Since she's kind to you and shows no sign of dislike, she won't mind too much."
Cao Tiedan stuck out his tongue and quickly ran in to introduce the coral to Gu Liyue.
Gu Liyue didn't like looking at such ornaments. She just carefully asked Cao Tiedan how he had been lately.
Cao Tiedan nodded. "Everything is fine. My mother caught a female dog to mate with Xiao Hei. There will be a bunch of puppies at home soon. Does sister want one? I'll send one to your mansion later."
Gu Liyue shook her head. "I don't really like dogs. One cat is enough for me."
Cao Tiedan smiled. "My mother has nothing to do at home on weekdays. She can only keep the puppies company. Sometimes she complains to me that it would be better if we were still in our hometown. There, she could chat with neighbors, do some needlework, and grow some vegetables. Time would pass quickly."
Gu Liyue just smiled as he rambled on. She went out and bought a lot more small accessories, and Feng Chen gave her a discount on all of them.
Just then, Danju rushed in. "Miss, something bad happened. The fourth young master and the Princess Yunxi are fighting."
Gu Liyue was stunned. "Fourth brother and the Princess Yunxi? When did they come?"
Danju gasped for breath. "The Princess Yunxi came first. She grabbed Miss Qin and refused to let go, saying she wanted to take Miss Qin as her apprentice. The two of them were making a huge fuss. When the fourth young master saw it, he..."
Gu Liyue was shocked. She didn't care about anything else and quickly followed Danju out to check.
She saw Lu Yunxi fall to the ground. With tears in her eyes, she looked at Gu Chengzhi and pointed her whip at Qin Caiyin. "You're protecting her like this?"
Gu Chengzhi shielded Qin Caiyin behind him and said angrily, "Lu Yunxi, what are you doing all day? I haven't even settled the score with you for bullying my sister last time. Now, in public, you want to bully my cousin?"
Qin Caiyin was extremely anxious. She wanted to help Lu Yunxi up, but Gu Chengzhi blocked her. She wanted to explain, but Gu Chengzhi and Lu Yunxi were both shouting so loudly that her voice was really as soft as a mosquito's. She could only be anxious.
Lu Yunxi asked, "Are you going to protect her today?"
Gu Chengzhi gritted his teeth. "Yes. Try touching her today if you dare!"
Lu Yunxi leaped up and tried to bypass Gu Chengzhi to grab Qin Caiyin. Gu Chengzhi reached out and grabbed Lu Yunxi's whip. He gave it a hard tug, and Lu Yunxi lost her balance and fell heavily to the ground.
Gu Liyue quickly pushed Gu Chengzhi aside and ran to Lu Yunxi's side to help her up. "Princess, are you okay? Fourth brother, what are you doing? She's a girl. How could you use so much force?"
Gu Chengzhi was also quite confused. Usually when he fought with Lu Yunxi, she wasn't this useless. Why did she fall down when he gave such a tug today? Could it be that he really used too much force?
Lu Yunxi struggled to get up. She glared at Gu Chengzhi hatefully, then looked at Qin Caiyin. She raised her whip, but not at them. She just threw it on the ground and turned around to get into the carriage.
Gu Liyue chased after her. "Princess, you're injured. You should find a doctor to take a look..."
But the carriage drove away quickly and disappeared in an instant.
Gu Liyue turned back and scolded angrily, "Fourth brother, what are you doing? Usually the Princess Yunxi is used to being naughty, and you never minded. Why today..."
Gu Chengzhi was bewildered. "I just told her not to bully others. I didn't know she would suddenly get angry and pester Caiyin. I couldn't just watch her bully Caiyin, could I?"
Gu Liyue said, "Is the princess such an unreasonable person? She's said such things before. Have you ever seen her really bully us?"
Gu Chengzhi explained, "But last time in the royal villa, she bullied you so badly. That wasn't fake. Today she grabbed Caiyin and wouldn't let go. I scolded her, but she still didn't let go."
Gu Liyue asked in confusion, "When did she bully me? She just wanted to teach me kung - fu. When I refused, she took a fancy to Caiyin. When she saw Caiyin, she just pestered her to teach her kung - fu."