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

Chapter 145 Fear of Death
Qin Yuan lowered her head, straightened her skirt and sat down. Gu Jinghui came close to her and whispered in her ear, “Madam is really smart. As soon as I mentioned that there was smallpox in the inner courtyard, they only dared to make trouble in the outer courtyard and did not dare to go to the inner courtyard.”

"Your Excellency is over-praised. It was just a coincidence."

Qin Yuan responded by turning her head sideways, her cheek just brushing against Gu Jinghui's lips, and both of them were stunned.

Then, Gu Jinghui's ears gradually turned red, and the corners of his lips gradually curled up.

Qin Yuan frowned, her eyes wandering, and she quietly avoided Gu Jinghui's sight.

At this time, the old woman who had been rolling on the ground had stopped crying and screaming. She leaned on the ground and raised her head and asked in a hoarse voice: "My Lord, now that the Marquis's wife is here, can you give me an explanation?"

Qin Yuan and Gu Jinghui finally came to their senses and quickly sat up straight.

Master Gu Liu was furious and shouted, "Shouldn't you ask Xu about this? Why do you have to pester my third sister-in-law?"

"Oh my, son-in-law, who else can we turn to if not the Marquis's wife for such a big matter?"

The women standing on both sides shouted at Master Gu Liu.

Master Gu Liu said angrily, "Sister Zhen left the house without permission, and my third sister-in-law didn't know about it. If you don't believe it, why don't you all go to the outside of Xu's yard and ask for the truth."

"What do you mean Sister Zhen left the mansion without permission? Our Sister Zhen is chaste and dignified, unlike your Seventh Miss. She would never leave the mansion to play in Yuyuantan. Who knows what bad things your mansion has done to harm our Sister Zhen? And you are using these nonsense to deceive us."

"Yes, when we invited our sister Zhen to come, we said she was just coming to the mansion to play and accompany her aunt to do some needlework. How come she is gone after just a few days? You can't judge a person by his appearance. You are still sister Zhen's uncle, are you still a human being?"

The women began to throw dirty water.

Although the men of the Xu family did not join the women in their affair, they all looked unfriendly.

Mr. Gu Liu tried hard to refute, but no one listened.

Her jade-like face turned red, and her thin body trembled like a fallen leaf in the wind.

Gu Jinghui, however, remained motionless at the top, as if he was just there to watch the fun.

Qin Yuan couldn't stand it any longer and asked, "My Lord, are you not going to help my sixth brother?"

Gu Jinghui shook his head and said, “Let’s talk about it later.”

The two of them sat at the top and looked at it for a while.

The woman had already rolled to Mr. Gu Liu's feet, tightly grasping the corner of his robe and pulling it down, crying, "My poor Zhen'er, where on earth did you hide her? Give her back to me quickly."

Mr. Gu Liu was being pulled around and swaying from side to side.

Butler Han and Butler Cao hurriedly supported him beside them and he managed to stand.

Qin Yuan thought that Master Gu Liu and the Xu family were just like a scholar meeting a soldier.

Just as she was about to speak, she heard Gu Jinghui muttering angrily, "Old Six, you rubbish!"

Qin Yuan: “…”

Gu Jinghui put down the teacup in his hand and slammed his palm on the table, making a loud noise.

Everyone who was making noise stopped talking.

Master Gu Liu stood in the middle and looked at Master Gu Hou in shock.

Lord Gu had a stern face and said nothing, but it was as if he had said everything. When the surroundings fell silent, Qin Yuan heard Lord Gu say in a stern voice: "Xu Zhen was taken to the mansion by the sixth brother's wife, and she has been taking care of her all along. Today we found out that she is missing, and we have already reported it to the authorities. The mansion has also sent people to investigate everywhere. I believe the magistrate will be able to find out something in the next two days."

The implication is that this is all about the Xu family girl's business, so don't involve others.

Gu Jinghui then turned to the dark-faced old man sitting in the first seat on the right, “Master Xu, what do you mean?”

Lord Xu, who was named, could no longer allow the woman to make trouble in front of him, so he spoke up: "My Lord, our Zhen'er is sensible and smart. This time she came to the Marquis' Mansion to stay for a while because of her aunt. How come she disappeared? Whoever raises a daughter will feel sorry for her. We just want an explanation from the Marquis' Mansion."

Well, that's taking it back.

Lord Gu looked at Qin Yuan.

Qin Yuan cleared her throat and said, "Sis Zhen came to the mansion and lived near Sixth Sister-in-law's yard. Sixth Sister-in-law took care of her. Sixth Sister-in-law knew best why Zhen went out so early in the morning. Now that Zhen's whereabouts are unknown, the Marquis' Mansion has sent people to Yuyuantan to inquire and has also offered a flower reward. If you want to know more, you can only ask Sixth Sister-in-law in person."

Lord Gu asked coldly, "Do you want to ask Sixth Sister-in-law? In fact, we also want to find out why Xu Zhen went out so early in the morning, but Sixth Sister-in-law had to take care of her child who had smallpox and could not leave the yard, so we asked the maid to pass the message."

The hall suddenly fell silent.

Qin Yuan curled the corners of his lips sarcastically.

Gu Liuye immediately agreed and said, "Yes, let's go to the inner courtyard and ask clearly. Third sister-in-law has prepared a noodle bag soaked in medicine. You can wear it and go in."

It would have been better if he hadn't said this. After he said it, the Xu family members felt a little scared.

Someone asked loudly, "What if we get smallpox?"

Master Gu Liu said disapprovingly, "Do you think you won't get infected in the outer courtyard? I left early yesterday morning, and when I came back I found out that the children had smallpox. Xu had already invited the Smallpox Lady, and moved all my things to the outer courtyard. Later, the imperial physician confirmed that it was smallpox, so Third Sister-in-law found a prescription and sealed off a few more courtyards."

The man, who had folded his arms and looked nonchalant, was surprised when he heard this and immediately asked, "Are you telling the truth?"

Master Gu Liu said, "How could it be false? Didn't the servant who brought the news tell you?"

"Ah!" The old woman lying on the ground immediately turned over, got up and moved away.

There was suddenly a large space next to Master Gu Liu.

Lord Xu's face turned even darker, and he jumped up and shouted, "My Lord, this is too unkind. What if we get smallpox? If anything happens to the Xu family, the account will be charged to the Marquis's house."

Gu Jinghui said calmly, “I have already reported the incident to the authorities yesterday. Today, the servants have passed on the news to all relatives and friends. Someone in the mansion has contracted smallpox and they are closing the door to visitors. Don’t you know?”

Butler Cao immediately said, "The servant who reported the news was beaten out by the Xu family."

Lord Xu: “…”

Master Gu Liu came up to him and asked, "Brother-in-law, are you going to the inner courtyard to ask Xu?"

Lord Xu looked around hesitantly, and finally fixed his gaze on Qin Yuan, and asked, "Madam Hou, can you do us a favor?"

"I wonder what convenience is that?"

Lord Xu said, "It's not that our Xu family is unreasonable, but our beloved daughter suddenly disappeared. Who wouldn't be anxious and upset, right?"

Qin Yuan said nothing and waited quietly for his next words.

Lord Xu continued, "Today, our family, young and old, broke into the Marquis' Mansion because of this child. Parents in the world are pitiful. Whoever gave birth to a child will love him/her dearly, but there is no reason to let others die for a child. We will not enter this inner courtyard, but I hope that the Marquis's wife can ask my sister why this child, Zhenjie'er, ran away."

(End of this chapter)