Chapter Six

"Thump thump thump, thump thump thump..."

Gu Leyao was sleeping soundly when the knocking on the door annoyed her, so she pulled the blanket over her head.

After a while, the knocking stopped, and she turned over, sleeping even more soundly with her back to the sunlight.

Gu Leyao slept until noon, her back aching but her hearing and eyesight sharp.

She yawned, changed into clean clothes, and simply tied her hair into a bun, feeling refreshed.

Gu Leyao heard thumping sounds coming from the courtyard. She was a little surprised. Could it be that the maid and servant who had taken care of her when she was sick had returned?

She opened the door and saw Chun Tao sitting by the well in the middle of the yard, with a basin of clothes in front of her, and the little girl was tapping them with a stick.

Gu Leyao then realized that she had brought Chuntao back with her when she went out yesterday.

She walked over to Chun Tao, intending to lend her a hand.

When Chun Tao saw that she was awake, her face lit up with a smile. "Miss, you're awake?"

"You don't need to address me as 'you' in front of me. From now on, you can call me 'Miss,' and I'll call you 'Xiao Tao,' okay?"

Chun Tao naturally chose to listen to Gu Leyao. She wrung out the clothes in her hands and hung them on the thin clothesline.

"Alright, girl, I don't know much. I'll listen to whatever you say from now on. If you tell me to go east, I will definitely not go west."

As Chuntao was talking, she suddenly remembered something. "Miss, someone delivered a note this morning, saying it was for you. But I saw you were sleeping, so I didn't go over to disturb you. The note is still on the table in my room. I'll bring it over for you to take a look."

Chun Tao wiped her hands clean, went inside to get the invitation, and handed it to Gu Leyao.

Gu Leyao was also puzzled. She had angered Huo Pingyuan and left yesterday, so who would send her a formal invitation?

She opened it and was surprised to find it was a visiting card from the Empress.

The Empress is inviting all the noble daughters of the capital to a flower-viewing banquet at Luoshui Garden.

Gu Leyao remembered that there seemed to be a similar incident in the original owner's memories. However, at that time, the original owner was ridiculed and after saving Chun Tao, she returned to the Marquis's mansion and developed a high fever. Chun Tao stayed by her side and she took more than a dozen doses of medicine until she stabilized.

Gu Baozhu attended this flower-viewing banquet.

Why is it her turn now?

Gu Leyao couldn't understand it, but she thought that if she wanted to attend the flower viewing banquet, she would have to dress nicely and wear pretty jewelry, right?

She could take the opportunity to get some freebies from the aunt. The aunt's jewelry was especially expensive. Gu Leyao had even seen a set of ruby ​​jewelry from the aunt last time. Rubies could reflect dazzling fire and light in the sunlight. This was the first time Gu Leyao had ever seen gemstones up close.

Gu Baozhu also has a lot of jewelry. The aunt had always treated her as her only daughter, so of course she was willing to give Gu Baozhu the best things.

Only the original owner of this body was a silly girl, unaware that Lady Chaobo and Earl Zhongqin wanted clothes and jewelry, and there wasn't even a decent hairpin in her dressing case.

Gu Leyao glanced at the sky; it was noon. Should she go and pay her respects to Madam Bo? She could even take the opportunity to have a free meal there. After the meal, she would ask for clothes and jewelry.

After all, it was a flower-viewing banquet personally hosted by the Empress, so Lady Bo dared not let her dress too shabbily.

Having made up her mind, Gu Leyao took Chun Tao with her to the main courtyard.

Before leaving, she didn't forget to tell Chun Tao, "Your indenture is with me. Don't listen to anyone but me. If anyone insults you, tell me. Don't suffer in silence."

Chuntao nodded vigorously.

When she was at home, her parents told her that suffering losses was a blessing, and that one had to suffer more losses to accumulate good fortune. Chun Tao always felt that this was not right. If suffering losses was a blessing, why didn't her younger brother suffer losses? Why did she have to suffer losses? Her parents were so good to her younger brother. If suffering losses was a blessing, then her younger brother should suffer all the losses.

Just like during Chinese New Year at home, when there was only a small piece of meat, it was all eaten by my younger brother and father.

Chuntao didn't get to eat a single piece of meat.

*

Just as Gu Leyao had predicted, when she arrived, the Madam was about to have her meal.

On the table were smoked quail eggs, pan-fried sheep intestines, winter melon and old duck soup, and roasted river fish, accompanied by a small bowl of glistening white rice.

Gu Leyao's mouth watered at the sight of the food. She had worked as a food streamer in modern times and had eaten a lot of delicious food, but perhaps because the original owner of the body hadn't been able to eat meat for a long time, she couldn't help but want to eat as soon as she saw such good food.

Gu Leyao didn't treat herself like an outsider at all, and asked Lai's mother to serve her a bowl of rice, saying, "Mom, I've come to eat with you."

The aunt's eyes twitched slightly, but she couldn't send her away. In the past few days, she had noticed that her daughter seemed to have become smarter. Whenever she tried to scold her, Gu Leyao would say that she had been switched at birth and had suffered a lot in the countryside, and how difficult her life was.

As she spoke, she even shed tears, making the aunt feel embarrassed to scold her.

Over time, the aunt stopped talking to her, as she was afraid of her complaints.

Gu Leyao hadn't eaten breakfast this morning, but seeing the three dishes and soup, she couldn't resist the urge to eat. She ate two bowls of rice before finally putting down her chopsticks.

She wiped her mouth with a handkerchief. "Mother, I looked closely at the invitation you gave me today. It turns out to be a banquet hosted by the Empress. Our Earl's Mansion must take this seriously."

The aunt put down her chopsticks and looked at Gu Leyao, feeling that this daughter was about to cause trouble again.

Sure enough, Gu Leyao smiled and said to the Lady of the Earl, "Look, I'm representing our Earl's Mansion at the banquet, and I don't have any decent clothes or jewelry to wear. I see you have some Shu brocade or Suzhou embroidery here, could you lend me a couple of sets to change into? I also remember you have a ruby ​​headdress, it looks really beautiful, would you like to lend it to me? After all, I'm representing the Zhongqin Earl's Mansion, I don't want you to lose face."

As expected, the aunt lost her appetite.

Why is Gu Leyao eyeing her ruby ​​headdress? This is her most treasured possession, a dowry given to her by her mother when she got married, which the aunt intended to leave to her daughter-in-law!

And those Shu brocades and Suzhou embroidery are all very expensive silks, but in Gu Leyao's mouth, they're as common as cabbages.

The old lady glared angrily at Gu Leyao, while Gu Leyao smiled and stared back at her.

Madam Bo understood that Gu Leyao wouldn't leave unless she bleeds out a little.

Besides, Gu Leyao really couldn't dress too shabbily to attend the Empress's banquet.

That way, people won't laugh at Gu Leyao; they'll just say that the Marquis of Zhongqin's family doesn't treat their own daughter well.

Madam Bo pinched her nose and asked the embroiderer to come over and make two sets of clothes for Gu Leyao. Although they were not Shu brocade or Suzhou embroidery, they were still fashionable styles and materials in the capital.

The lady took out a pair of crystal butterfly hairpins, a silver hair ornament with camellia tassels, a pair of gold-inlaid jade fairy flower ornaments, and two Xiuyan jade bracelets from her dressing case.

Gu Leyao smiled and packed the jewelry away, then handed it to Chun Tao to carry.

She then brought out a plate of rose gold milk pastry. "Mom, I've never had anything this good in the countryside. This is so delicious, I'll take it. Mom, you're so magnanimous, you won't blame me, right?"

The aunt had no way to deal with her and felt that Gu Leyao was a debt collector sent from heaven.

Gu Leyao walked out of the main courtyard, ate a rose gold milk pastry herself, and then stuffed one into Chun Tao's mouth. "How is it? Delicious, right!"

Chun Tao thought it was delicious. This pastry had the fragrance of roses and the taste of milk. The goat milk in the middle was not fishy at all. It seemed to flow and melted in her mouth.

*

Time flies, and before we knew it, it was time for the Empress to hold her flower-viewing banquet.

That day, Gu Leyao wore a brocade dress with auspicious cloud and auspicious grass patterns, and a crystal hairpin with camellia flowers on her head. Looking at herself in the mirror, she thought she looked extremely beautiful.

Luxury goods in ancient times truly lived up to their price tag. Wearing such brocade clothes and precious jewelry improved Gu Leyao's mood.

The aunt prepared a carriage drawn by the Earl's mansion for her, and also provided Gu Leyao with a small sedan chair with a silver satin jeweled top.

Gu Leyao and Chun Tao sat comfortably inside, much more comfortable than the sedan chair they had rented outside before.

The coachman was highly skilled; it was indeed the carriage that the Duchess often used. The clatter of the horses' hooves on the stone road made Gu Leyao feel only a slight tremor. Before long, they arrived at the place where the Empress was holding a banquet—Luoshui Garden.

Many noble ladies from prominent families came to Luoshui Garden. They stood in twos and threes, dressed in fashionable brocade clothes. The hairpins on their heads were also handmade by Madam Liu, the owner of Buerzhai in the city. This Madam Liu was extraordinary. The jewelry she made was unique and quite famous.

Lady Liu was naturally highly skilled, creating elegant and tasteful jewelry that was extremely popular among the ladies and young women of the capital. A single hairpin could fetch over a hundred taels of silver.

Gu Leyao learned from the original owner's memories that Gu Baozhu adored the hairpins and ornaments made by Madam Liu, but Madam Liu was stubborn and did everything herself, so the amount of jewelry she could make in a year was limited. Even a noblewoman like Gu Baozhu only owned one or two sets of jewelry made by Madam Liu.

Gu Leyao brought Chuntao into Luoshui Garden. She had just arrived in the capital this year and didn't know anyone.

From afar, one could see noble ladies sitting in twos and threes, chatting and laughing, occasionally holding a light silk fan to cover their lips and giggle. Under the pink peach blossoms, there were graceful and elegant ladies, truly a beautiful picture.

Gu Leyao didn't go over. She knew that although the scenery was beautiful, if she rashly stepped in, those noble ladies would not only not accept her, but would also think she was reckless and would be ashamed to associate with her.

She understood the situation, so she took Chuntao for a stroll around the garden.

Luoshui Garden is a royal garden, the most beloved garden of the late Emperor's Grand Princess Luoshui. After the Grand Princess Luoshui passed away, the garden was named after her title.

Because Princess Luoshui loved peach blossoms the most, this garden was planted with peach trees. Every year in March and April, tens of millions of peach blossoms bloom at the same time, which is a spectacular sight in the capital.

Chun Tao had never been to such a beautiful place before; she felt as if she had entered a fairyland. Since following her mistress, she had seen so much; she had tasted rose gold cream pastry, and her mistress was willing to make her satin clothes. Her mistress was practically her second mother.

No, her parents had never been this kind to her. A gentle spring breeze brushed the branches, and peach blossoms fell one by one. Chun Tao couldn't help but reach out to catch them.

Seeing that Chun Tao really liked peach blossoms, Gu Leyao picked one for Chun Tao and tucked it behind her ear. "Chun Tao looks especially beautiful with a peach blossom in her hair."

The twelve or thirteen-year-old girl, although she had suffered a lot before, had been raised in the Earl's mansion for a while, and her cheeks had become a little plump. Paired with the delicate pink flowers, her face and the peach blossoms complemented each other.

Gu Leyao knew that Chun Tao liked the scenery of Luoshui Garden. Since there was no one to talk to, she simply took Chun Tao for a walk around. This was a royal garden, which would be considered a 5A-level scenic spot in modern times, and it was not open to the public.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, they found a large blue stone behind an artificial hill to sit and rest.

Suddenly, several noble ladies dressed in gorgeous clothes walked over. They stopped at the rockery to admire the twin lotus flowers that the palace servants had brought. The twin lotus flowers were pink with a hint of white, and the two flowers were blooming, which was an extremely auspicious sign.

One of them covered her pink lips with a round fan and said, "Did you know? The Empress is holding this flower-viewing banquet to select a princess for the Prince of Dingbei."

"Huh? Isn't the Prince of Dingbei crippled in both legs? Why is he still getting married? Isn't this ruining the lives of good girls?" a girl dressed in a light green shawl exclaimed.

She spoke a little too loudly, then quickly looked around and, finding no one else, felt relieved.

"Isn't that right? We all acknowledge that the Prince of Dingbei is the God of War of the Great Zhou, but now he can't stand up anymore and will be a cripple from now on. We, the legitimate daughters of noble families, have bright futures ahead of us. How can we marry a cripple?"

"The Empress is really something. She married the Emperor, gave birth to the Crown Prince, and became the mother of the nation, yet she wants us to marry the Prince of Dingbei. What a vicious thought she has!"

These noble ladies were clearly terrified of being betrothed by the Empress, and they began to whisper amongst themselves.

"Enough! Have you no shame? You call yourself the legitimate daughter of a noble family? A legitimate daughter like this dares to insult a general who fights for the country? The prince's legs were crippled while fighting for the country, and what about you? Your heads are crippled too!"

A voice came from behind the artificial hill, filled with undisguised anger.