As the maid entered the garden and walked to the pavilion by the water, Zhu Jiayu stopped approaching and stood at the foot of the steps.
The maid turned around: "Miss Zhu, why aren't you leaving?"
Zhu Jiayu smiled slightly as she looked at the young woman in the pavilion, who was dressed in a tea-green diamond-patterned stand-up collar with peony scrolls, a royal blue brocade horse-face skirt, and a gold-embroidered phoenix-patterned cloak. She said, "According to the rules, I should pay my respects to the princess here. How can I go any further?"
After she finished speaking, she curtsied to Gu Jinshu and said, "This commoner greets Princess Yuanhui. May Your Highness enjoy boundless blessings and peace."
Mulan, standing behind Gu Jinshu, couldn't help but frown slightly upon seeing her behavior.
This is the second time.
The first time, the princess specifically instructed Zhuilu and Luoying to stop Zhu Jiayu outside the garden to embarrass her. However, Zhu Jiayu turned around and left without giving them a chance. This time, the princess arranged for Zhuilu not to remind Zhu Jiayu about the proper etiquette. She planned to wait until Zhu Jiayu entered the pavilion before reprimanding her for being from the countryside and lacking manners. However, Zhu Jiayu seemed to know their plan in advance and stopped to bow.
Was Zhu Jiayu's two thwarts of the princess's schemes a coincidence or intentional?
But seeing the beaming smile on Zhu Jiayu's face, Mulan thought that perhaps she was overthinking it.
About fifteen minutes later, Mulan curtsied and said, "Princess."
Gu Jinshu hummed in response, without looking up: "What?"
Mulan gave Zhu Jiayu an apologetic smile as she walked down the steps, and said to Gu Jinshu, "Miss Zhu has arrived."
Gu Jinshu then put down her pen and glared at her, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
She raised her face and smiled gently, "Miss Zhu, please get up. Look at me, I get so engrossed in painting that I didn't even realize Miss Zhu had arrived."
Zhu Jiayu rubbed her legs without making a sound, and was about to speak when she heard a strong voice behind her: "It's been a long time. I don't think the princess's painting skills have improved much, and her vision has become narrower."
It was Grand Tutor Xiao.
Zhu Jiayu thought to herself, and seeing Gu Jinshu's embarrassed expression, she suppressed her pleasure and looked at her obediently: "Since Grandpa Xiao has said so, I also have something to say to the princess."
Gu Jinshu pursed her lips, stood up, and called out "Teacher," then asked Zhu Jiayu, "Miss Zhu, please speak."
After being lightly criticized by Grand Tutor Xiao, the smile on her face had faded. Although her tone was still gentle, she was completely different from her elegant and quiet demeanor just now.
Zhu Jiayu said calmly, "It doesn't matter if one's artistic vision is limited, but if one's character is narrow, it will inevitably look bad. Don't you agree, Princess?"
Her gaze was calm and gentle, showing no sign of servility or fear.
It was as if the person she was facing, the one who was making things difficult for her, was just a young lady from an ordinary official family, not a noble princess of Daye.
Gu Jinshu's gaze suddenly turned icy as she looked at her.
However, considering that Grand Tutor Xiao was present, her expression changed several times, but in the end she did not say anything more outrageous. She only said in a cold voice, "Miss Zhu is well-mannered and acts appropriately, but you should watch your words next time. Who is your status and who is mine? Who gives you the right to instruct me?"
After she finished speaking, she stood up, raised her head, and walked down the stone steps. She passed in front of Zhu Jiayu and when she reached Grand Tutor Xiao, she nodded slightly and said humbly, "I have remembered what you said, teacher. I will definitely practice diligently when I get back and not let you down."
She pretended not to understand his accusations and acted very humbly.
After all, Grand Tutor Xiao was Yu Qian’s teacher when he was still a prince, and he taught him literature, calligraphy and painting.
The current ruler treats the former Duke with great kindness and respect, and also holds this teacher in high regard.
When Prince Cheng was in his fiefdom, he was deeply loved by the people. In order to put him in a bad light, the emperor ordered his family to stay in Yujing, ostensibly because he couldn't bear to see them suffer in their fiefdom, but in reality, it was to control Prince Cheng.
Because the Emperor was wary of Prince Cheng, the ministers in the capital dared not have any dealings with him, and their families also dared not have much contact with the Prince Cheng's family, for fear of being implicated if anything happened.
Therefore, Gu Jinshu's life was not good. It wasn't until later, when he was noticed by Grand Tutor Xiao and taken in as a student, that the situation of the Prince Cheng's mansion improved a lot.
Whether because of the Emperor or her own circumstances, Gu Jinshu held Grand Tutor Xiao in high esteem. She wouldn't turn against him just for the sake of Zhu Jiayu. She also believed that Grand Tutor Xiao wouldn't sever their past teacher-student relationship because of Zhu Jiayu.
Sure enough, after she said that, the old tutor Xiao's expression softened a little.
After Gu Jinshu and her maids filed out of Ruihe Garden, Zhu Jiayu turned around and bowed to Grand Tutor Xiao to express her gratitude.
Grand Tutor Xiao waved his hand: "Bi Ru treats you like family, so it's only right that I protect you while I'm out here. I just happened to be at the Ning residence today and learned that Yuan Hui wanted to see you, so I came to lend you a hand. In the end, it was just a small favor, so there's no need to thank me."
Zhu Jiayu seized on the key point in his words and asked in return, "Do you know that Princess Yuan Hui is going to make things difficult for me?"
As soon as she finished speaking, it was Old Master Xiao who looked at her with a strange expression: "You don't know?"
Zhu Jiayu grew increasingly confused: "What...should I know?"
"She and Wei Qinglou are childhood sweethearts who grew up together. Isn't it only natural that she would make things difficult for you?"
Zhu Jiayu was taken aback: "Because I'm close to Lord Wei?"
"Just getting close?" Grand Tutor Xiao shook his head with a smile. "Yuan Hui is not the jealous type. She won't get jealous or even lower herself to make things difficult for Wei Qinglou just because he has another girl by his side."
"She's making things difficult for you because Wei Qinglou treats you differently. When you first arrived in Yujing, Wei Qinglou wrote to me, asking me to take good care of you; later, when Wan'er held a family reunion banquet for you, he specially asked Song Baopu to make a face for you. This is only what I know; I don't know how much else he did for you. Now it seems you know nothing about it? Or haven't you thought about it at all?"
Zhu Jiayu lowered her eyes, looking at the withered yellow weeds on the bare ground beneath her feet. She recalled their first meeting, in springtime, when willows were shrouded in mist and swallows flew in pairs. Now, the grass was green and yellow, and more than half a year had passed. She had also traveled from Suiping to Yujing.
But she and Wei Qinglou...
She had considered it, but Wei Qinglou was too open and honest. She occasionally had doubts, but quickly dismissed the idea, thinking that it was just his nature, that he was unrestrained in his words and actions and disliked being restrained.
Seeing her like this, Grand Tutor Xiao couldn't help but laugh.
The young girl is still innocent and naive; Wei Qinglou has a long road ahead of him.
"Don't dwell on things you can't understand. He was the one who had feelings for you first, so he should be the one to rack his brains. Why are you thinking so much?" He called to Zhu Jiayu, "Come on, your Grandma Xiao is still waiting for you at the mansion. She won a red jade and gold headdress from the old lady of the Wang family while playing mahjong the other day, and she's been saying she wants to give it to you."
Zhu Jiayu thought of Old Madam Xiao and put Wei Qinglou's matter out of her mind. She looked up and saw that Old Master Xiao had already walked far away. She smiled and walked forward: "You've come!"
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