Mulan immediately backed down and dared not act rashly.
Qiuju, who was standing next to her, tugged at her sleeve and whispered, "If the princess cared about these things, she would have made trouble earlier."
However, their princess had clearly not been angry throughout their journey, which meant that the princess had not come to the Zhu residence to cause trouble.
Mulan glanced at Qiuju and whispered, mimicking her, "But a princess is, after all, a princess..."
How could a princess arrive in person and the host family not come out to greet her? Besides, this Master Zhu hasn't even obtained an official title or rank; he's still just a commoner!
But after being swept by the princess's cold gaze, she dared not utter her unspoken words, and could only secretly grumble in her heart.
Gu Jinshu sighed: "Times have changed. How noble can my status as a princess be? I'm letting you off the hook today because it's your first offense. But if you do it again, you won't need to serve me anymore."
Mulan took a breath, lowered her brows and head, and said softly, "Yes."
Seeing that she had learned her lesson, Gu Jinshu said no more. She looked up at the pavilion and smiled with a hint of self-deprecation, "Back then, in the Ruihe Garden of Ning Mansion, I used the excuse of painting to make things difficult for her. Now the same thing has happened to me. It is clear that justice prevails and retribution is inevitable."
The maids behind her had never seen their princess treated so coldly before, and for a moment their faces showed expressions of pity.
In the pavilion, Lüzheng was sitting on a stone bench covered with velvet, watching the young lady paint. However, she was fickle and after a while, her eyes turned to something else.
She turned and found herself under a plum tree by the pond. She rubbed her eyes, turned around, and said to her mistress in great surprise, "Miss, the princess has arrived!"
Zhu Jiayu stopped what she was doing, turned her head and looked in the direction she was pointing. Sure enough, she saw Gu Jinshu standing gracefully under the plum blossom tree.
She put down her pen and said to Lüzheng, "Go and invite her over. Also, have the maid bring a pot of hot tea so that the princess can drink it to warm herself up."
Green Kite then got up as instructed, went to the pond, and curtsied to Gu Jinshu, saying, "My lady invites the princess to speak in the pavilion. Please, princess, come here."
Gu Jinshu nodded to her, and then, surrounded by her maids, went into the pavilion.
Before long, Lüzheng brought hot tea. Zhu Jiayu poured a cup of tea for Gu Jinshu and asked directly, "May I ask what brings the Princess to see me today?"
She gazed at the elegant and graceful young woman before her. Even though the young woman was dressed simply and made up, she could not hide her refined and noble air.
The night before last, she had stayed up all night with her outside the Ning residence. Based on that alone, it was difficult for her to harbor any ill will towards her.
Thinking of this, she added, "I didn't pay attention outside just now, and I don't know how long the princess has been here. Why didn't you send a servant to announce her arrival?"
Gu Jinshu was taken aback, and Fang Wansheng said, "It's only a little while, I... I can still wait."
She turned her head and glanced at the four maids. The maids understood and quickly turned and left. Seeing this, Zhu Jiayu also said to Lüzheng, "You go and wait outside first. Take the young ladies to sit in the East Warm Pavilion for a while. I will send someone to call you over in a while."
Green Zheng agreed, and Gu Jinshu also nodded to the four maids, Mulan, Qiuju, Zhuilu, and Luoying, indicating that they should follow Green Zheng to the warm pavilion.
The four maids then bowed to Zhu Jiayu and thanked her for her kindness.
After they had all left, Gu Jinshu finally spoke, saying, "Miss Zhu, do you know which country's envoys arrived in the capital today?"
Zhu Jiayu shook her head: "I haven't paid attention to that."
"It is the Turkic Kingdom. The Turkic prince is coming to the capital today. At the New Year's banquet, they will propose to marry a princess from the royal family of Daye. However, ordinary royal princesses, despite their noble status, are ultimately just ordinary county princesses. Only I stayed in Yujing and moved around a lot in the palace."
"In order to demonstrate the Emperor's boundless grace, in the future, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Emperor will order my marriage to a Turk."
Gu Jinshu picked up her teacup and took a sip, saying, "I came here today for this very reason."
“Wei Qinglou once promised me that as long as I stopped making things difficult for you and helped you when you were in trouble, he would help me resolve this matter, but…”
Zhu Jiayu lowered her eyes, finally understanding why she had inquired about news in the palace for Wei Qinglou, and also why she had stepped in to protect her that night.
Watching the wisps of tea smoke rise and dissipate like a veil, her mind was as clear as a mirror. She continued Gu Jinshu's words, "But you didn't expect the Crown Prince's power grab and the Emperor's death. Originally, you thought Wei Qinglou was both a close advisor to the Emperor and cunning, so helping you with this would be a piece of cake. But now that the new Emperor has ascended the throne and the court is in turmoil, are you afraid that Wei Qinglou will be at a loss and go back on his word?"
Gu Jinshu was struck by what she had been thinking, and without trying to hide it, she looked directly into Gu Jinshu's eyes and nodded gently.
“I have no chips to sit at the same gambling table with him. If he goes back on his word, I will be truly desperate. After much thought, I can only come to you. He values you, so naturally he will listen to you…”
Zhu Jiayu interrupted her: "Who said you have no leverage? Princess, if I were you, when things got to that point, my first choice would be to find Zhu Jiayu and ask for a favor in return. If Zhu Jiayu refuses, you can announce it to the world and let everyone know how ungrateful and untrustworthy Wei Qinglou is. Reputation has always been the Achilles' heel of officials. At that time, even if he doesn't care about himself, he will have to consider his parents and siblings in the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. Naturally, he can only relieve your worries and will not dare to go back on his word."
Gu Jinshu was shocked: "You..."
She thought Zhu Jiayu was joking with her, but after carefully considering every word she said, she suddenly realized that Zhu Jiayu's words made perfect sense and were indeed a good strategy.
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