Zi You replied, neither servile nor overbearing: "Liu jiejie is correct. I am not born from a Nanjiang woman. My mother is born from Indian and Great Yan parents. India is east of our country and its national clothing is called sari. My clothing is modeled after the Indian sari and our Great Yan's short coat and skirt. If three jiejies like it, I can give the drawings to you."
Guniangs loved beauty. They all happily said, "Great, great. Your dress is really pretty. We want one too."
Liu Ruixue thought about it and said, "But there is no ink and paper here. What if we go to the study so you can draw it out?"
Zi You smiled, "It's no problem. When the General's Manor holds a banquet, I will send invitations to three jiejies. Jiejies must come. I will give you the drawings then."
She wasn't pretending to be reserved. She and Liu Ruixue just met. Going into someone else's study wasn't very good.
"En. Okay, okay." The three were very happy. They didn't think Zi You would be so cordial.
They rarely saw her participate in social avitivies. Even when they did see her, she was hiding behind Wang Yiping with her head down and not talking to people.
For a time, the guniangs chattered together. They regretted not having met each other sooner. Zi You then found out that Ji Bingyu was thirteen, Xia Ruoqing was thirteen, and Liu Ruixue was fourteen years old.
The three gifted personally-made embroidered pouches to Zi You.
Zi You also brought out her embroidered pouch. The difference was that it was filled with anti-poison medicine inside. "First Jie, Second Jie, Third Jie [intimate addresses], this pouch has medicine, which can prevent poisoning. If someone was in contact with poison mist, putting this pouch under her nose and sniffing it can detoxify it. If it is…"
Zi You had not finished speaking when Née Chen [Duke Yongnan furen] came over. She held Zi You's wrists and said with a false smile, "I'm sorry to disturb you xiaojies. I'm looking for You'er for something. You'er, your grandfather and the Duke [Née Chen's husband] want to see you. Come with me to the study, okay?"
Under everyone's eyes, Zi You could not refuse. She nodded, "Please wait, aunt. Let me tell Auntie [Née Liu]."
Née Chen didn't let go. "There's no need. I've already told your Auntie. It won't take too long. Just asking you two questions."
Zi You did not suspect her. She thought that there were so many people watching her go with Née Chen. There was also Xia jiejie, Ji jiejie, and Liu jiejie to testify. She thought Née Chen wouldn't dare to hold any conspiracies.
Née Chen pulled Zi You into the study called "Yixiang Zhai."
Zi You saw that there was no one in the study. Also, the antiques inside were very luxurious and ostentatious. She was about to ask Née Chen, but Née Chen said, "Oh! It seems we're here too early. Old General Mu and the Duke aren't here yet. You'er, stay here and read some books for a while. I'll go urge your grandfather and the Duke."
Without waiting for Zi You's response, she turned and left Zi You. She left very quickly, as if someone was chasing her.
Zi You immediately felt that something was wrong. She found out what was wrong with this study. These types of decorations… This was not Duke Yongnan's study.