Gu Liyue could no longer stay in her own courtyard. The illness was serious, and it would be bad if the disease was accidentally transmitted. Arranged by Mrs. Jiang, she moved to the old lady's courtyard. However, she was still in a daze and deeply saddened.
The old lady stayed with her as she rested, lovingly stroking her hair. "A cough is not a serious illness. Ordinary old people often have this problem. It can only be treated slowly. Liyue, don't worry. In a family like ours, what good medicine can't we get? Even if we take care of her for a lifetime, it's no problem."
Gu Liyue leaned her head into her grandmother's palm, her eyes red as she said, "If it weren't for taking care of me, if she hadn't lived with those people from the Liu family for ten years, Yuniang would never have become like this."
The old lady let out a long sigh. "This is life. If she hadn't taken care of you, would you have survived those hard days? I think Yuniang loved you so much that she wouldn't have been willing to let you suffer. Liyue, Yuniang is a benefactor of the Gu family."
Gu Liyue just shook her head. "She's not my benefactor. She's my family, my closest family."
The old lady smiled. "Yes, she's your family, just like your own mother. I just asked the imperial physician. He said that if she goes to a villa to soak in a hot spring, it will be good for her health. Later, I'll send someone to find out which villa is the most suitable."
Gu Liyue had mentioned this to Yuniang before, but Yuniang thought it was too much trouble and stubbornly refused. She immediately propped herself up. "Then I'll go and persuade Yuniang."
The old lady said, "She's always like this, afraid of causing trouble for you and the Gu family. Does she know that for so many years when we didn't know about your existence, we hoped that you would cause more trouble for the family?"
Gu Liyue didn't understand this kind of feeling before. After talking to Lu Yunxi last night, she finally understood that guilt and indebtedness could really be balanced by solving problems. And overly sensible people would only make their family feel more heart - ache.
Early the next morning, Gu Liyue went back to the courtyard to see Yuniang. But Yuniang had the courtyard sealed and didn't allow her to enter. She only sent a little maid wearing a veil to meet Gu Liyue through the door.
"Aunt said that she hopes the young lady will take good care of herself. As long as the young lady is well, she will be happy. The young lady doesn't need to worry about aunt. She said that since she hasn't seen the young lady get married yet, she will definitely take good care of herself."
Gu Liyue had no choice. She lingered at the courtyard gate for a long time before reluctantly leaving.
She had only taken a few steps when she saw Gu Chengzhi coming.
"I knew you were back, sister. I'm not on duty today. Come on, I'll take you out to play."
Gu Liyue was in no mood. "Fourth brother, you can go and play by yourself. I'm going back to rest."
Gu Chengzhi quickly lowered his voice. "Liyue, it's not me. It's him... He has something to say to you."
Gu Liyue really didn't want to go at first, but then she thought that maybe Lu Jinchen didn't know about Yuniang's situation yet, so he asked fourth brother to take her out. She... might as well go out to relax.
Gu Chengzhi and Gu Liyue rode in the same carriage. Afraid that she would be unhappy, he took out many toys to amuse her.
In the past, Gu Liyue would always consider others. Even if she didn't like something, she wouldn't show it. But after yesterday, she finally understood that what her family wanted to see most was for her to be herself, not her being sensible and considerate.
"Fourth brother, I don't like these."
Gu Chengzhi's hand paused, and he scratched his head embarrassedly. "The magic tricks I've learned are quite boring, aren't they?"
Gu Liyue said, "No, it's just that I'm not a child anymore, so I don't like them very much. If fourth brother likes them, you can go and amuse A Jie."
Gu Chengzhi's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help reaching out to ruffle Gu Liyue's hair. "You're right. From now on, brother won't show off in front of you anymore."
Gu Liyue also felt more cheerful. "Show off? As long as fourth brother is with me, I'm very happy."
Gu Chengzhi became even more proud and chatted with Gu Liyue. "By the way, what's wrong with Lu Yunxi? After you left yesterday, Lu Yunxi was acting strange. She didn't talk much. It's really strange."
Gu Liyue naturally knew what was going on, but Lu Yunxi had her own thoughts. She wouldn't tell others Lu Yunxi's secrets, so she just pretended not to know.
Gu Chengzhi asked again, "After that yesterday, did you see Qin Caiyin and Jiang Che?"
"Maybe I was seeing things. I couldn't find them later, so I went home by myself." As Gu Liyue said this, she remembered meeting Qi Manyan last night. She frowned slightly. Qi Manyan always seemed strange. Although she didn't want to speculate about others maliciously, she was by no means the kind of person who would sit back and wait for trouble.
So, Gu Liyue asked, "By the way, isn't eldest brother on duty today? If I want to find him, can I just go to the Court of Judicial Review?"
Gu Chengzhi nodded. "Yes, he's usually at the Court of Judicial Review. Sometimes he also goes out to investigate personally. Do you have something to do? Can I help you?"
"No, I just suddenly remembered that I haven't seen eldest brother for several days. I miss him a bit. There's a good preserved fruit shop up ahead. I want to buy some for eldest brother to try."
As they chatted and laughed, they arrived at the private room. Sure enough, Lu Jinchen was there.
Lu Jinchen didn't say anything. He took out a token from his waist and handed it to Gu Liyue. "This is my villa. There's a natural hot spring there. It hasn't been modified and is located inside a cave. With a simple clean - up, one can move in."
Gu Liyue was stunned. Was he here today just to tell her this? Did he... know about Yuniang's situation?
Gu Chengzhi took the token and asked curiously, "Why give this to my sister? There's already a hot spring pool in my sister's courtyard. Why does she have to go to your villa?"
Lu Jinchen smiled slightly. "The built - up hot spring pools in the capital are different from natural hot springs. If it's for treating illness, the one in the villa is more suitable. Moreover, I know a doctor. Although he's not well - known, he's very skilled. I've already sent a letter to him. I think he'll be in the capital in a couple of days. Then I can ask him to stay in the villa."
Gu Liyue was extremely touched. She took the token and bowed seriously. "Thank you, Young Master Lu."
Lu Jinchen's eyes sparkled. "You and I... don't need to be so formal. If you need anything of mine, just use it."
Gu Chengzhi only then realized that the hot spring was for Yuniang. He laughed out loud and patted Lu Jinchen on the shoulder. "Hey, I was wondering why you sent me a message early this morning to take my sister out. So it was to give her the token? Why go through so much trouble? You could have just given it to me and let me pass it on."
Lu Jinchen gave Gu Chengzhi a calm look and chuckled. "Of course, that's not possible. Well, you don't understand."
Gu Chengzhi asked curiously, "I don't understand? What don't I understand? Tell me, why isn't it possible?"
Lu Jinchen spoke slowly and glanced at Gu Liyue. Gu Liyue's face immediately turned bright red. She quickly walked to the table, drank a cup of tea in one gulp, and then walked to the window to look at the scenery on the street, ignoring them.
Gu Chengzhi still didn't realize what was going on. He grabbed Lu Jinchen and asked, "I tell you, I understand everything. I..."
"If you have a girl you like, you'll understand."