My younger sister insisted on marrying me and made me the Marquis' wife.

Chapter 12: Really Money-Grubbing
Qin Yuan sat for a while and was then sent back to rest.

Gu Jinghui walked slowly beside her. The two of them said nothing along the way. Hongye and Cuiming did not dare to speak either.

After a long while, Gu Jinghui said in a firm voice: "I was inconsiderate about what happened last night. It won't happen again in the future."

Qin Yuan was originally admiring the Taihu rocks in the distance. After hearing this, she retracted her gaze and looked at Lord Gu, saying, "Lord, please don't blame me for not waiting for you to come back last night. These two maids beside me grew up with me. Hongye has always been quick-tongued. She said something about the people around Lady Zhao last night because of me. I hope Lord Gu won't blame her."

Gu Jinghui was stunned for a moment, then said, “No, she, she’s fine.”

The two of them stopped talking again.

Hongye and Cuiming looked at each other, with smiles in their eyes.

What I said yesterday was because the young lady had ordered me to do so, otherwise how could I have skinned Madam Zhao?

Qin Yuan was in a hurry to go out in the morning. When she walked back, she saw the plaque hanging at the gate of the courtyard. The three words "Wutongyuan" were written in seal script. It should mean that the phoenix roosts on the phoenix tree. As the marquis's wife, it is most appropriate for her to live here.

Qin Yuan asked Gu Jinghui: "My Lord, do you have anything to do this morning?"

Gu Jinghui said: "Accompany you."

Qin Yuan nodded and said, "I need to sort out the dowry. Also, do you want to hand over the affairs of Wutong Garden to me?"

Gu Jinghui was stunned again and said, “Of course.”

Only then did he come to his senses and realized that his little wife was quite methodical in her approach.

When setting rules and demanding power, she speaks openly and honestly, without any sign of shyness like a bride.

Qin Yuan and others entered the house and counted the dowry. Gu Jinghui went out and called Gu Shiliu. The two talked about something. After a while, Gu Jinghui came back and sat aside with a book.

"Will we not disturb the Marquis from studying if we settle accounts here?"

Qin Yuan asked Hong Ye to serve tea and snacks to Gu Jinghui before asking.

Gu Jinghui shook his head. “It’s okay. I don’t know much about the inner house either. It’s good to learn a little bit from time to time. When you have prepared your dowry, I will let my sixth sister-in-law and the housekeeper hand over the affairs of Wutong Garden to you.”

Qin Yuan smiled with satisfaction.

Not to mention the household affairs of the Marquis' Mansion, Wutong Garden must be handed over to her first, otherwise no one in the main courtyard will know who the real master is, and she will not be able to live in peace.

"Cui Ming, light some incense in the room so that the Marquis can read more at ease."

In return, Qin Yuan increased Gu Jinghui's salary by a few points.

Cui Ming immediately went to get the incense slices prepared by Qin Yuan, put them into the copper incense burner with double crane heads and bulging belly, lit the charcoal fire, gathered the incense ashes, and covered the burner. After a while, the fragrance drifted away with the curling green smoke.

Gu Jinghui didn’t like these. The sachets he carried with him were filled with eye-catching and mind-opening scented pills. But seeing Cui Ming’s graceful movements, delicate work, and not too sweet, he couldn’t help but ask.

"Where did you get this incense from?"

Cui Ming said, "My Lord, this is what our young lady chose for herself."

Gu Jinghui said, "Yes, Madam."

Cui Ming immediately said, "Yes, yes, Madam made the fragrance herself when she was at her parents' home."

Gu Jinghui muttered, "No wonder I haven't smelled it before."

Cui Ming didn't hear clearly, so she asked hurriedly, "What did the Marquis just order?"

"It's nothing. If Madam needs perfume in the future, just ask Sixth Brother's wife for spices. We have a spice shop at home."

Cui Ming responded with a smile.

He turned around, walked to Qin Yuan and whispered, "The Marquis has the young lady in his heart."

Qin Yuan was busy fiddling with an abacus, while Hongye and a few housekeepers who came to accompany the ladies were counting the dowry on the list and preparing to compile a list and put it into storage.

Hearing this, the housekeepers smiled and said, "Our young lady is blessed."

Gu Jinghui did not stay in the bridal chamber on their wedding night, which made them feel uneasy. Whether the concubines could take root in the mansion and live a good life all depended on whether the lady was respectable.

Hearing that Gu Jinghui cared about Qin Yuan, they all breathed a sigh of relief. Qin Yuan said calmly: "To live a good life, you have to rely on yourself. You should be very careful and keep the accounts of the dowry shop and the farm clear. My future good life depends on them."

How long can you rely on whether a man has you in his eyes?
He won't discuss things with you when he doesn't have you in his eyes.

There is no real money yet.

Thinking of the jewelry she got from Old Madam Gu, Qin Yuan's mood really improved.

Hongye and others thought that Qin Yuan was just being tough and was still happy in his heart.

Before lunch, the dowry was counted, and Qin Yuan had an idea of ​​how much money she had. This life was much better than her previous one.

In her previous life, her dowry was already meager, and after paying back the money Lin Ziqi borrowed to save his face as a betrothal gift, there was not much left.

Lin's mother felt that she had made a great contribution by raising her son with great effort.

Lin Ziqi just buried his head in reading.

All the family expenses depended on her dowry. Qin Yuan was so exhausted and did everything she could, that she was forced to develop her business skills.

This ability supported Lin Ziqi all the way from a poor county magistrate in Jiangxi to the position of prime minister.

Today, her dowry has increased hundreds of times compared to her previous life, amounting to 700,000 taels.

No one came to take her dowry.

She had the advantage of living a second life and knew many opportunities ahead of others.

Qin Yuan thought that even if Gu Jinghui still wanted to play the game of staying together with Madam Zhao for the rest of his life, she could still live a good life lying on a mountain of gold with the status of a marquis’ wife.

Gu Jinghui just watched Qin Yuan's abacus clacking away, her fingers moving so fast that afterimages flashed by, with a smile on her face the whole time, but it was much more genuine than the smile she showed to him.

"What a money-grubber."

Gu Jinghui lowered his eyes, clenched the book in his hand, and muttered softly.

They had lunch in Wutong Garden. They were a newlywed couple and had all their meals in their own yard for three days.

The kitchen brought the feast, and the dishes were still plentiful and the portions were large, so that the master and the maids could not finish them together.

The Hou Mansion is similar to the Qin Mansion. Everyone has a portion. If there is something extra you want to eat, you have to pay extra and order from the kitchen.

Qin Yuan is not very picky about food, but because her mother's family is from the south, she prefers fresh fish, shrimp and other foods.

She and Gu Jinghui were not very familiar with each other and had no topics to talk about. Fortunately, people do not talk about food, so she just needed to pay attention to Gu Jinghui's food preferences.

Hongye and Cuiming stood behind them, preparing to serve the dishes. Gu Jinghui said, “I’m used to staying in the military camp, so I don’t really need this. Just let them serve the dishes to the Madam.”

Qin Yuan smiled and said, "It doesn't need to be so complicated for just the two of us to have a meal. I don't really like being served food."

Gu Jinghui became happy and said, “Then let them eat outside and we will eat by ourselves.”

It seemed that he was not used to having someone standing by and serving him.

Qin Yuan was a little surprised, but didn't ask any more questions.

The noble sons of marquis families were all raised in a luxurious environment, so no matter how extravagant they were, it was not too much. However, when it came to Gu Jinghui’s diet and daily life, he was an outlier.

Qin Yuan picked up a few dishes, divided them out, and asked Hongye, Cuiming and others to set up a small table outside.

"What if the Marquis and his wife need someone to serve them?"

Cuiming plans to take turns eating with Hongye.

"No need, I will just serve the Marquis. If he needs you to do anything, I will just call you in," Qin Yuan made the decision.

Gu Jinghui was even happier.

(End of this chapter)