Feng Chen was overjoyed and repeatedly assured that he would definitely keep the appointment on time.
By this time, they had almost finished their meal. Lu Jinchen stood up. "Liyue, I'll see you back to the mansion."
Gu Liyue nodded and followed him downstairs. Then she saw Lu Jinchen's attendant hurrying over and whispering something in his ear.
Lu Jinchen paused, then turned back to look at Gu Liyue, hesitating to speak.
Gu Liyue quickly said, "If you have something to do, go ahead. I can go back by myself."
After hesitating for a moment, Lu Jinchen still nodded. "I'll come to find you when I'm free."
Standing at the store entrance, Gu Liyue turned her head to look at the direction where Lu Jinchen disappeared. For no reason, she felt sad. Clearly he had something to attend to, and clearly they had been together for almost an hour, but she seemed to feel even more miserable.
What was he thinking? At that time, when he was so busy, he still rushed back regardless, just to walk with her. But now?
Feng Chen stood beside Gu Liyue and said, "Sometimes men are really strange, aren't they?"
Gu Liyue bit her lips and shook her head. "I'm just too idle."
"You're just too kind." Feng Chen tilted his head. "May I have the honor to escort you back to the mansion, Miss Gu?"
When they returned to the courtyard, Danju walked over happily. "Miss, the young master of the estate sent a lot of sugar figurines and sugar-coated haws. Just now the young master came over. He was so happy. He originally wanted to take some, but the eldest mistress stopped him, saying they were yours and he wasn't allowed to touch them."
Sugar figurines and sugar-coated haws?
Gu Liyue walked in. Sure enough, in the basket beside, there were all yellow and red sugar figurines and sugar-coated haws. She just looked at them, but she wasn't as happy as when she received maltose before.
Danju continued with a smile, "Miss, you can't eat all of these. Should we send some to the young master?"
Gu Liyue lowered her eyes for a moment. "My teeth haven't been good recently. I can't eat anything sweet and greasy. You send some to the young master and distribute the rest."
Danju's mouth hung open in surprise. Distribute them all? She looked back at Tangyuan in confusion.
But Tangyuan wasn't observant either. After thinking for a while, she couldn't figure out what was wrong with the miss today.
Gu Liyue walked in directly and said, "I want to practice calligraphy for a while. Tangyuan, go and prepare it for me."
"Okay, sure." Tangyuan was confused. Although the miss practiced calligraphy every day, it was usually in the evening, and half an hour was enough. It wasn't even afternoon yet. Was she going to practice calligraphy now?
Gu Liyue only practiced calligraphy for about half the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. Beads of sweat began to roll down her forehead. She was so irritated that she simply threw the brush away and sat there in a daze.
Tangyuan carefully tidied up the messy table. She thought the miss was acting very strangely today.
Gu Liyue closed her eyes and thought for a while. "Tangyuan, come and talk to me."
Tangyuan nodded and sat on the small stool beside Gu Liyue. "Miss, do you want to hear about my childhood?"
Gu Liyue casually hummed in agreement. Tangyuan chattered on and on. When she finally got a dry mouth, she realized that her miss had fallen asleep on the chair.
Tangyuan stopped talking and gently fetched a thin quilt to cover the miss.
When Gu Liyue woke up, there was no one in the room. She rubbed her stiff neck and looked at the table. Thinking of what happened before she fell asleep, she couldn't help but smile.
Being so calculating wouldn't do her any good. If Lu Jinchen really changed his heart, they weren't even married yet. Why was she so sad?
It was just Shu Mingzhu. She hadn't even cared that much about Qi Manyan, a woman who could darken the world.
When Tangyuan came in, she saw Gu Liyue grinding ink herself and concentrating on practicing calligraphy. She walked over curiously. "Miss, are you okay?"
Seeing Gu Liyue glance at her, she quickly changed her words. "I'm wrong, miss. I just felt sorry for those sweets."
Gu Liyue smiled faintly. "If you like them, go and ask for some. If not, I'll allow you to go shopping in the street tomorrow."
Tangyuan immediately beamed with joy. "Yes, I'll go shopping tomorrow."
Gu Liyue shook her head helplessly and continued writing. Feeling Tangyuan's inquisitive gaze, she put down the brush, looked up at Tangyuan, and said, "If you have any questions, just ask."
Tangyuan quickly asked, "I'm really curious today, miss. You never like to buy such expensive embroidery products. Why did you spend two hundred taels on a pair of jade shoes today?"
Gu Liyue said, "I was a bit hesitant, but I like them."
Tangyuan thought for a while and asked again, "But, miss, is it true that you promised Young Master Feng to develop that kind of embroidery stitch?"
Gu Liyue nodded. "Of course it's true. I've examined it carefully. If I disassemble it and try, I should be able to figure it out."
"What if it doesn't work?"
Gu Liyue picked up the long brush and tapped Tangyuan on the head with the handle. "Don't you have any confidence in your miss?"
Tangyuan stuck out her tongue gently. "I just think Young Master Feng is really something. Since he wants you to figure out that embroidery stitch, he should just give you the jade shoes. His Feng family isn't short of two hundred taels of silver."
Gu Liyue smiled helplessly. "Think more about everything. Feng Chen is so young, but he's as experienced as his father in handling things. He's really smart. He may not care about the two hundred taels, but does the Gu family not care? He's giving me a reason I can't refuse. If he gave them to me for free or charged too little, I definitely wouldn't agree. I think the two hundred taels is just the cost of the jade shoes."
Tangyuan couldn't understand and just gasped in surprise. "Two hundred taels for a pair of jade shoes. Although they're good things, they shouldn't cost that much, right?"
Gu Liyue said, "It's not much. The two hundred taels may not even include the cost of transporting them here, and maybe not even the value of the jade ornaments on them. Selling them to me at this price, I'm willing to disassemble them. If I can figure out the embroidery stitch, I'll teach it to the embroidery ladies of the Feng family. In the future, he won't be threatened by the price and the small quantity of goods anymore. If I really don't have the ability, do you think your miss is a greedy person?"
Tangyuan suddenly realized. "Yes. If you really can't figure out the secret of that embroidery stitch, it seems that the Feng family has lost money, but actually you'll definitely feel guilty and take better care of the Feng family."
Gu Liyue nodded. Feng Sui had behaved improperly. Although Lord Feng had promptly sent him away, the news that he had tried to marry into the Gu family had spread to some extent. The Gu family wouldn't blame them, but they definitely wouldn't support the Feng family either. The other noble families were just watching. At most, they would just let the Feng family do as they pleased and wouldn't give them any convenience.
Now Feng Chen's action wasn't an obvious gift, but it was equivalent to getting closer to her, Gu Liyue. At least, it could offset the consequences of Feng Sui's incident.
Tangyuan said again, "But, is he using you?"
Gu Liyue's eyes flickered slightly. "It's not exactly using. The Feng family has complicated intentions. They're definitely not willing to be just a low - ranking imperial merchant. As merchants, they must strive to be the best. And I'm in a weak position, constantly on edge. I also need such support."