Nanny Qin came over and whispered something in Qin Caiyin's ear. Qin Caiyin quickly asked, "Is it true?"
Nanny Qin nodded. "Yes. Madam asks the young lady to go back early."
Qin Caiyin couldn't hide her joy. She took Gu Liyue's hand and said, "He's here again. I have to go back."
Gu Liyue couldn't help smiling. "Oh? Are you going to forgive him so soon?"
Qin Caiyin had a smile on her brows. She lowered her voice and said, "He even managed to get the peach blossom cakes from Changsheng Building... You go back by yourself. I'll invite you out next time."
Changsheng Building used to be very famous in the capital. Later, it got into trouble and left. Strangely enough, it became very popular in other places. Their most famous dish was the peach blossom cakes. But it was winter now. She wondered how Jiang Che managed to find Changsheng Building and get them to make the cakes.
Looking at Qin Caiyin's back, Gu Liyue couldn't help covering her mouth and giggling. As expected, a girl in love would lose all her rationality. A little favor from a man would make her change her mind right away.
But as she was laughing, her smile faded. At least Jiang Che remembered Caiyin and always tried to please her. But what about Lu Jinchen?
Lu Jinchen was trying to please other girls.
Although Gu Liyue knew that she shouldn't judge things just by their appearance, her mind was in a mess. All she could think about was Shu Mingzhu standing beside Lu Jinchen, smiling sweetly.
Tangyuan asked, "Miss, there are still two lines. Aren't you going to listen?"
Gu Liyue stood up and shook her head. "No. Let's go back."
As soon as they stepped out of the door, they saw Shu Mingzhu and Lu Jinxuan walking out arm in arm. They greeted each other. Gu Liyue subconsciously looked around, trying to see if the young master was there. But she didn't know if he was still in the private room or had already left.
Shu Mingzhu tilted her head slightly and smiled. "Is Miss Gu looking for Cousin? I'm afraid I'll disappoint you. Cousin isn't here."
Gu Liyue frowned and nodded. She turned around and was about to leave.
"Cousin has gone back to the prince's mansion. If Miss Gu has anything to say to him, you can tell me. I'm with him every day. I can pass it on for you."
Gu Liyue stopped. She turned around and looked at Shu Mingzhu. Shu Mingzhu raised her eyebrows at her. Obviously, she did it on purpose.
Lu Jinxuan was startled. She pulled Shu Mingzhu and said to Gu Liyue with a smile, "Sister Gu, the emperor has assigned a task to my elder brother. He moved back home because it's more convenient. Today... Well, it was me who begged him to take us out..."
Gu Liyue knew that Shu Mingzhu was deliberately provoking her. Her eyes darkened slightly. No matter how jealous she was in private, she would never let Shu Mingzhu succeed in public.
"Jinchen is always an indifferent person. It's rare for him to take you out. You should cherish it. I should have accompanied you, but today my third elder brother is not on duty. He bought some snacks from Fugui Building and is waiting for me to go back. I'm afraid I can't accompany you. Please forgive me."
It was not until she got into the carriage that Tangyuan asked in surprise, "Miss, the third young master didn't buy any snacks..."
Gu Liyue's eyes were heavy. How could she not see what Shu Mingzhu meant? But if she couldn't stand up to Shu Mingzhu's provocation, wouldn't she be at a disadvantage? She represented not only herself but also the Gu family. She couldn't back down.
But - Lu Jinchen was so estranged from the prince and princess. Why did he suddenly move back to the mansion? Was it... for Shu Mingzhu?
Seeing that Gu Liyue's expression was not right, Tangyuan asked again, "Miss, what's wrong with you?"
Gu Liyue didn't answer. She lifted the curtain of the carriage. When she saw the shop in front, she called for the carriage to stop. "It's still early. Let's go to the shop and have a look."
There were few people in the shops on Mingzheng Street. As soon as a noble guest came in, the shopkeeper would immediately close the shop and let the guest choose slowly.
Gu Liyue used to dislike using her power to bully others. Every time she went to a shop, she didn't ask the shopkeeper to close the shop. Everyone just shopped around without disturbing each other. But today, she let the shopkeeper close the shop. She really didn't have the mood to look around. She just sat on the chair and stared blankly.
The shopkeeper brought out a lot of ornaments, pendants, jewelry and so on, but none of them caught Gu Liyue's eye. He scratched his head and said with a smiling face, "Miss, it's my fault that I didn't prepare well in advance. There is a pair of jade shoes embroidered with Shu embroidery these two days. I'll send them directly to your mansion later. Is that okay?"
Gu Liyue waved her hand casually and said to Tangyuan, "Buy those few painted screens just now."
Although she didn't buy much, the shopkeeper still breathed a sigh of relief. This young lady obviously wasn't in a good mood. As long as she didn't cause trouble, it didn't matter whether she bought anything or not.
Just then, a male voice came from behind. "This batch of Shu embroidery is very good. Does Miss Gu want to have a look?"
Gu Liyue turned around. It was Feng Chen. She stood up and greeted him. "How is Tie Dan?"
Feng Chen nodded. "Everything is fine. But I didn't know Miss Gu was coming today, so I asked Xiao Cao to do something else."
Gu Liyue didn't come here specifically to see Tie Dan. She went to look at this batch of Shu embroidery. Sure enough, she saw the pair of jade shoes. They were delicate, small and lovely, and also extremely beautiful. She looked at the embroidery technique carefully and asked in confusion, "I seem to have never seen this kind of needlework before."
Feng Chen explained, "You're right. This is a technique created by Mrs. Shen from Shu. Four embroiderers took half a year to embroider it, and then another two months for the rest of the work to finish these embroidered shoes."
Gu Liyue asked, "Are there any other embroidered pieces with this kind of technique?"
Feng Chen shook his head. "Mrs. Shen hoards her goods for high prices. Such goods are very rare."
Gu Liyue hesitated. It would be a pity to take apart such a good thing. But if she wanted to study the needlework, without other embroidered pieces, there was no other way but to take apart the embroidered shoes.
Feng Chen added, "Originally, I didn't plan to sell these jade shoes. I intended to keep them in the shop as the treasure of the shop. But if Miss Gu likes them, I'll sell them to you for 200 taels of silver."
His attendant was startled and called out, "Young master!"
Feng Chen just made a gesture to silence him and then told the shopkeeper to wrap up the jade shoes.
Gu Liyue shook her head. "This is a unique item. I'm not the one who really appreciates it. It would be a waste to give it to me. It's better to keep it in the shop and wait for the fated person."
Feng Chen smiled faintly. "How does Miss Gu know that she isn't the fated person?"
Gu Liyue looked up in confusion and saw that Feng Chen had already wrapped up the jade shoes and handed them to Tangyuan.
"Mrs. Shen is not easy to deal with. Although she cooperates with the Feng family, she always asks for a high price and refuses to pass on her skills to others. I'm a businessman. If I can exchange money for something, I'm willing to do it. Just now, Miss Gu's expression made me understand your intention. I've long heard that Miss Gu is very good at embroidery. If such an embroidery technique can be made public, I think I won't be so troubled."
Gu Liyue raised her eyebrows and asked, "Do you want me to help you?"
Feng Chen laughed. "Yes."
Gu Liyue told Tangyuan to hold the jade shoes well and asked again, "But how do you know that I can figure out this kind of needlework? Aren't you worried that I'll take the shoes but can't do anything?"
Feng Chen shrugged indifferently. "That's why I asked for 200 taels of silver."
Gu Liyue couldn't help laughing. This Second Young Master Feng was not as narcissistic and pedantic as his elder brother. He was really an interesting person.