Gu Youyou quickly donned her clothes, then heard Xiaotao’s crisp voice.
"Madam Jin, breakfast is ready. Would you like to eat now or wait for Young Master Jin to return?"
Gu Youyou glanced through the window at the sky, finding it a bit improper to be eating breakfast at this hour; it was almost time for lunch.
She smiled and asked, "Where is Zijin? Where did he go?"
Xiaotao replied, "Young Master Jin went out early this morning. He instructed that you eat some breakfast after you wake up, and he’d take you out for lunch at midday."
"Did he say when he’ll be back?"
Xiaotao shook her head and said, "No."
Gu Youyou pondered what Jin Zijin’s plans could imply. But she had no understanding of the ancient ways of hospitality, especially of great ancient clans, and thus even after much thought, she couldn’t figure it out.
Well, she might as well just do as he said. She had fled here to escape misfortune; what was there to fuss about?
Soon, Xiaotao brought her breakfast, still warm from the stove even though it was already late in the morning.
"Madam Jin, would you like to take a walk in the courtyard after breakfast? The young ladies are all there."
Gu Youyou looked up at the young maid, who appeared honest and straightforward at the age of fourteen or fifteen. If not for the fleeting look of evasion in her eyes when she met Gu Youyou’s gaze, she would have seemed like a very innocent and trustworthy little maid.
Gu Youyou smiled and continued to eat her breakfast without showing much concern.
After all, this was someone else’s territory. To have a maid serve you was unlikely to be of good intent.
She just hoped that Jin Zijin’s house wasn’t too dilapidated and could be made habitable with some minor fixing up.
As she put down her chopsticks and was wiping her mouth, Gu Youyou heard some rather unpleasant voices.
"What if she doesn’t come out? Shall we go in?"
"But Great Grandmother said that visitors should be treated as guests and that we shouldn’t go looking for trouble with her. If she comes out on her own, that’s fine, but if we go in and stir up trouble, we’ll be at fault no matter who is right or wrong."
Yue Ruxue raised her voice, discontent, "How could we be at fault? This is my home, I can go wherever I want."
"Cousin, but Great Grandmother has told us not to go in and provoke her."
"Why should I listen to that? This is my home, and she even took over Brother Zijin’s affections."
"But Brother Zijin said she is his wife."
"I don’t care, I must go. I want to see what she is capable of, to see if she is better than us sisters."
"Ah, Second Sister..."
Listening to the voices, the second young lady seemed determined to barge in and find trouble with Gu Youyou, who arched an eyebrow and stood up to walk outside.
A few girls in their teens—she was not afraid of them.
In the courtyard, she met several young ladies, experiencing an unexpected encounter. Gu Youyou’s face showed a brief expression of surprise as she made a modest curtsy as a polite gesture.
"Young Ladies, where are you headed?"
Nobody would expect that Gu Youyou, with her sharp hearing, had come out after hearing their conversation; they all thought it was just a coincidental meeting.
Yue Ruxue curled her lips into a scornful smile and said, "Oh, we heard you just woke up. Have you had breakfast? It’s almost time for lunch; where are you off to?"
Gu Youyou also chuckled lightly and honestly answered, "I heard the young ladies wanted me to go out for a walk, so here I am."
Xiaotao, who had followed Gu Youyou out, looked stunned.
That’s not what she meant at all!
"May I know what the young ladies want with me?" Gu Youyou asked, her expression unchanged.
She caught Yue Ruxue glaring fiercely at Xiaotao behind her.