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

Chapter 276 We'll Talk Later
Seeing this, Qin Yuan knew that his brother and sister had already made up their minds. He breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Do you want me to leave, my dear relative?"

Lord Xu said, "No need, I want to ask in front of Madam."

Qin Yuan said, "That's good. I only found out about this after the smallpox outbreak that closed the yard. I still don't know what happened."

Gu Liuye spoke up, "I also heard from the old woman who passed the message that Sister Zhen went to Yuyuantan and asked me if I had seen her. That's when I knew Sister Zhen was missing. I didn't know anything about it. Even if I went to report to the police, they would have said that a young lady was missing from the family."

Madam Zhao made up her mind and said, "I don't need to elaborate on Sister Zhen's visit to the mansion. After entering the mansion, Sister Zhen often went to Madam's courtyard to sit for a while. It was also because she was attracted by the talent of Madam's cousin. However, this marriage is not easy to make. Sister Zhen wanted to meet him by chance at Yuyuantan, who knows, there might be a good story of a talented man and a beautiful woman."

"So she told Sixth Madam the day before, and Sixth Madam teased her, wondering if she was still thinking of becoming a Jinshi's wife. Zhen Jie was worried that Sixth Master would not grant her wish if he knew about it, so she wanted to rush to Yuyuantan to wait for him before him."

"That morning, the young lady had a smallpox attack, and then Sister Qin had an attack. The Sixth Madam first asked the Smallpox Queen Mother and then the imperial physician to see her. The mansion was in a mess that day because of Lady Zhao's incident, and the prosecutor was invited to judge the case. The Sixth Madam forgot about it and thought that Sister Zhen, a girl, would never dare to go out like that. When she saw that she didn't come the next day, she remembered to ask the maid to check on her. After asking, she found out that Sister Zhen didn't come back. The house was in a mess, and no one noticed that Sister Zhen and the little maid beside her were not in the mansion."

She spoke very quickly, like beans pouring out.

These words cleared the Sixth Madam of all blame.

However, Sister Zhen can't avoid the reputation of being a lost woman in love.

The veins on Lord Xu's forehead were throbbing, and his fists on his knees were clenched tightly.

Madam Xu sobbed, "You old slave, you followed my aunt and forgot that you are also a servant of the Xu family. You actually made up stories about my sister Zhen like this."

Madam Zhao fell to her knees with a plop, pointed her finger at the sky and swore: "If this old slave is talking nonsense, then I will be struck by lightning and die a miserable death."

"Forget it," Lord Xu said, "Now the little maidservant beside her is also missing. She left the mansion and did not reach Yuyuantan. I am afraid she was abducted by the beggar. If she went to play at someone else's house, she should have returned sooner or later. There is no news from her. Maybe she is dead."

Mrs. Xu burst into tears.

The other women in the family also shed tears.

If she hasn't appeared for such a long time, she must be either dead, or drifting to some unclean place, or abducted and sold to someone else to be their wife or concubine.

Qin Yuan felt pity.

Although I didn't like Xu Zhen, I didn't want her to be in such a situation, but that day was just too much of a coincidence.

Gu Liuye couldn't bear to listen to her, so he gathered all the words in his mind and said comfortingly, "There was a murder case in the mansion that day, and Zhen Jieer happened to be missing. Both of these things were reported to the prosecutor. Maybe the government can find Zhen Jieer's whereabouts. We should burn more incense in the temples and donate some merits. Zhen Jieer will be blessed by heaven and will come back naturally."

No one responded to his words.

Everyone sat for a while. Lord Xu and Madam Xu gathered their spirits, wiped away their tears, left the Sixth Madam's courtyard, and went to the front hall.

Qin Yuan said to Hong Ye, "Ask the kitchen to prepare a banquet for more than 20 people and send it to the front hall."

Hongye asked, "With the Xu family in this state, do they still want to drink?"

Qin Yuan said, "It's been so long since Sister Zhen's incident, the Xu family has already made up their mind. Besides, it's better to resolve a feud than to create one. Let's drink and come to an agreement, so that we can get along well in the future."

The red leaves left.

When Qin Yuan returned to the front hall, she saw Lord Xu sitting alone with his head down, while Gu Jinghui was chatting animatedly with the Xu family's boys.

The Xu family originally came from a military family, and they all knew a little bit about fighting with sticks and fists, but they had never been on the battlefield, never fought with others for their lives, so their skills were just fancy moves.

Gu Jinghui talked to them about some martial arts moves and they became familiar with each other.

Gu Liuye was unable to get a word in and remained silent. No one in the Xu family was willing to pay attention to him.

Obviously, not only did Mr. Gu Liu look down on the Xu family, but the Xu family also looked down on Mr. Gu Liu.

Lord Xu paused for a moment, then came to talk to Lord Gu again, "Lord, I apologize for any offense I caused you."

Lord Gu was talking to someone else. Hearing this, he turned around and said, "It's okay. We are in-laws. We prosper together and suffer together. We will never damage the harmony between the two families because of this."

Lord Xu's voice trembled a little: "My sister Zhen is so pitiful."

Lord Gu immediately assured: "Before, the mansion was closed due to smallpox, and the guards were also sealed in the mansion, so they can't go around to investigate. The mansion will increase the manpower, so you don't have to worry. But..."

Lord Xu asked hurriedly, "But what?"

Lord Gu looked at him steadily and said, "I heard that the Xu family's sons are very popular in the market, and they may be more convenient than us in getting information. I hope the Xu family can ask more people to look for it."

Lord Xu looked a little uncomfortable, "Of course."

Lord Gu said, "If we work on both fronts, we will definitely be able to find Sister Zhen's whereabouts."

Lord Xu sighed, "That's better."

Butler Han came in quickly and leaned over to say, "My Lord, Madam, the banquet is ready. Shall we start now?"

Lord Gu was stunned and looked at Qin Yuan.

Qin Yuan smiled and said, "I had someone make arrangements just after I came out of Sixth Brother's wife's courtyard. Now that things have been made clear, the Xu family has come early in the morning. We can't let them leave with empty stomachs. How about we sit in this hall, have a drink and chat happily?"

Lord Gu said to Lord Xu, "I've prepared some wine. Why don't we all sit down and chat?"

Lord Xu also wanted to get close to him, so he nodded in agreement.

Qin Yuan ordered the screen to be drawn and men and women to sit at their seats separately.

The maids and servants came in one after another, rearranged the table and chairs, and set up the table.

Gu Jinghui apologized, “We were a little rushed today, so we prepared some light wine. There are no actors to entertain us, so let’s just chat casually.”

Lord Xu said, "Thank you for your hospitality, Lord. I will come to your house to listen to opera next time I have the chance."

Behind the screen, Qin Yuan and Madam Xu chatted with each other, and it was a great pleasure for both the host and the guests.

It’s no longer as troublesome as last time.

They did not mention going to the upper room to pay a visit to Old Madam Gu, and Qin Yuan also did not mention it. Both parties tacitly agreed to forget the matter.

After the banquet, Lord Xu was drunk. At the gate of the mansion, he held Lord Gu's hand and asked, "What did you write to the emperor? Many officials in the capital came to ask me. I heard that the emperor praised you and wanted to give you an important task to inspect the officials in the capital. Remember to give me a high grade when the time comes."

Lord Gu said, "That's not the case. That's not the case."

Lord Xu continued: "What if there is?"

Lord Gu said, "We'll talk about it when we have it."

Lord Xu was still not satisfied and asked under the influence of alcohol: "You haven't told me what you submitted?"