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

Chapter 241 Painting Orchid
Doctor Li was thinking hard and didn't care about Xiaodong, so he just nodded randomly.

In fact, he even wished Xiaodong would go away and stop pestering him with questions.

Otherwise, I'm afraid the secret will not be kept.

Xiaodong ran to the outer courtyard with his short legs, shouting from afar: "Sixteenth Brother, Sixteenth Brother."

The servant next to Master Gu Liu poked his head out, glanced at him, and said contemptuously, "You have no manners. Be careful not to disturb the Marquis by yelling."

Xiaodong quickly shut up and asked when he got closer, "Have you seen Brother Sixteen?"

The servant said, "I am watching over the Sixth Master, so I don't have time to look after him."

Mr. Gu Liu had no idea what was happening around him. He was only focused on copying the picture album. There were a lot of waste drafts piled up beside him, and there were a few ink marks on his fair face.

Seeing his expression, Xiaodong knew that Master Gu Liu definitely did not perform the Five Animal Exercises today, so he whispered to the servant, "I have something to talk to Master Gu Shiliu about. Remind Master Liu to change his clothes first."

The servant looked at the hourglass in the corner and nodded reluctantly.

Xiaodong went to the Marquis' study to inquire again, but before he got close, he was stopped by a servant who said, "This is the Marquis' study, you can't just come here casually. Go somewhere else."

Xiaodong said, "I'm looking for Gu Shiliu. Is he in this yard?"

The servant said coldly, "Not here."

"Then do you know where he went?"

"I don't know."

Xiaodong asked again: "Is the Marquis here?"

"Not here either."

Xiaodong had no choice but to turn back and wait for Master Gu Liu.

Mr. Gu Liu left the house, tying up his loose hair. His clothes were a little wrinkled, with ink stains on his cuffs, and he looked rather shabby.

The two of them practiced the Five Animal Exercises absentmindedly for a while.

During this time, Xiaodong looked again and again in the direction of the Marquis' study, while Master Gu Liu had empty eyes and no one knew what he was thinking.

After resting for a while, Xiaodong still didn't see Gu Shiliu, and couldn't help but mutter: "I don't know where Gu Shiliu went."

Master Gu Liu said casually, "Where else can he go? The mansion is sealed now. He is either in the outer courtyard or in Wutong Garden."

Xiaodong's eyes lit up, he immediately said goodbye and went to Wutong Garden again.

The gatekeeper at Wutong Garden was very strict. She asked him to wait outside and asked a little maid to go in and report.

After waiting for a long time, someone said that the lady wanted to see Xiaodong.

Xiaodong burned incense and washed his hands before being brought in. However, perhaps because he was young, he was not taken to the hall but directly to the main room.

"Senior Sister, it's really not easy to see you," Xiaodong pouted and acted coquettishly, taking two steps at a time and running to Qin Yuan's side.

Qin Yuan sat at the table, flipping through the account book in his hand.

Seeing him coming, she read out a few numbers and asked Hongye to write them down on a piece of paper. Then she turned around and smiled, "Junior brother, why are you sweating so much?"

Cui Ming quickly handed over a handkerchief. Qin Yuan took the handkerchief and wiped Xiao Dong's sweat. The handkerchief was fumigated with incense, and Xiao Dong thought it smelled good, so he said, "Senior sister, what kind of incense did you use? It smells really good."

Cui Ming said, "This is the lotus fragrance that the young lady prepared. She found some lotus petals and other spices to make it."

Xiaodong pulled the handkerchief over, sniffed it a few times, and said, "It smells really good."

"If it smells good, I'll give you some. Put it in a sachet to fumigate your clothes."

Xiaodong nodded quickly.

Hongye handed over the tea and placed a fruit plate, snacks, preserved fruits and other items on the table.

Qin Yuan asked: "You are in such a hurry, what's the matter?"

Xiaodong smiled and said, "I really can't hide it from Senior Sister. I came to look for Gu Shiliu, but I couldn't find him in the outer courtyard just now. I heard from Master Liu that Gu Shiliu might be in Wutong Garden. I thought if I still couldn't find him, I asked Senior Sister to give him a message."

Qin Yuan picked up a melon seed and cracked it open, laughing, "You little rascal, tell me, what's the big deal that you have to hide from Master Xun Shiliu?"

Xiaodong blinked and said, "Sister, I don't know what happened. Sixteenth brother came to find my master, and the two of them chased me away to teach the old lady Tai Chi. When I came back, the master taught me not to mess around with those princes, saying that Liu Taiyi was an example, and that it was too late to regret if you have money but no life to spend it. I'm afraid it will also affect future generations. When I went to get some water, Qi Xiaoge's mother stopped me and whispered that Liu Taiyi was talking to the gatekeeper and asked him to do something. His mother didn't hear it clearly, so she asked me to go find Sixteenth brother, and said that I was young and asked me not to ask too many questions."

Hongye couldn't help but say, "Brother Qi's mother's eyesight is not very good, but her ears are very good. I went to her room that day and said a few words. When I went there again later, she knew I was coming from a distance."

Qin Yuan said: "Maybe he heard your footsteps."

Hongye said: "The servant guarding Doctor Liu's room should be a family boy, he should be..."

Qin Yuan said, "Okay, let's keep this to ourselves. I already know what happened. Don't spread it around. If the news leaks out, it will hurt people."

Seeing that what she said was serious, Hongye quickly shut up.

Qin Yuan asked Xiaodong, "Does Brother Qi's mother usually stay in your courtyard? How come she could hear Doctor Liu talking to others?"

Xiaodong scratched his head and said, "If it were someone else, it would be fine, but Brother Qi doesn't like to talk, and his mother is even more so. She sits there quietly. Sometimes when my master and I are chatting, she suddenly interrupts us with a word, which scares us and makes us remember that there is someone sitting here. But as we talk, we forget about her again after a while."

Qin Yuan was stunned for a moment and said, "This is strange."

She ordered Hongye: "Find a way to find Sixteen and ask him to come quickly."

Hongye said, "I don't know where he has been running around all day, so I can only give it a try."

Cui Ming smiled and said, "The lady has something urgent for you to do, but you are just showing off here. If you can't find Gu Shiliu, who else in this room can find him?"

Hongye went out with a red face.

Qin Yuan let Xiaodong play here. There were no toys that boys of this age liked in her room, so she simply took paper and pen and started teaching him to draw.

Two people, one big and one small, gathered together, randomly drawing ink paintings of orchids, bamboos and the like, while chatting in private.

Qin Yuan taught him how to write and asked him some questions, such as whether he remembered his childhood and where his parents were from.

Xiaodong likes that his senior sister is so close to him. She answers whatever he asks and is very well-behaved.

"The stroke should be drawn like this, folded over, to make the flowers and leaves appear beautiful. It has the same effect as the strokes of Chinese characters. See, just a few strokes can bring out the elegance of the orchid," Qin Yuan taught him in a low voice.

Xiao Dong held the brush and said proudly, "If I learn it, I can compete with Sixth Master. I went to see him recently and he was always painting. His face was covered with ink, like a cat. Sixth Master said he wanted to make a living with poetry and painting. He was also thinking about what name to use. He planned to find someone to carve a seal after opening his office. After painting or writing, he would put this seal on his paintings and calligraphy. When others see it, they will know it was his painting."