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

Chapter 373: Lord Marquis and Lord Yuanzheng

Qin Yuan found it interesting and asked a few more questions.

Seeing this, Master Gu Liu simply instructed the servant through the window to go to the Imperial College to inquire every day, and said to Qin Yuan: "It only takes a few words, and it saves Shen Changle from having to come here."

Qin Yuan said: "That's fine, I handed this matter over to Shen Changle and didn't ask much about it."

Madam Gu nodded: "That's good. If you ask too many questions, you will feel that the master doesn't trust you. If you ask too few questions, some people will be cunning and cause trouble. It's normal for Lao Liu to be worried about this matter because he has a bad reputation."

After talking for a while, Lord Gu still hasn't arrived.

Qiu Ju had hinted to Rong Mama several times. Rong Mama looked at the time and saw that it was getting late. She said, "I'm afraid the young master must be hungry. Why don't we set the table now?"

Madam Gu said, "Then put it up."

After Qin Yuan finished lunch, he went straight back to Wutong Garden. He learned that the Marquis had not come back for lunch, nor had he sent anyone back to pass on his message. So he asked Hongye, "Go out and find out why the Marquis is so upset. Has he left the mansion?"

Hongye went out for a walk and came back to say, "The Marquis has not left the house, nor has he had lunch. I heard from the people in the tea room that the Marquis has been staying in the study, not taking a single step out. He is also too lazy to see people, and has turned down many guests who sent in invitations to visit."

Qin Yuan frowned: "?"

Hongye whispered again, "I heard that Miss Chang, who came to the mansion with the Ninth Princess for dinner today, sent a letter asking to see the old lady and the Marquis."

Cui Ming asked hurriedly: "Really?"

These days, the sewing room was busy with the things needed for Madam Gu Liu's funeral. Cui Ming was so anxious that she got angry and even had blisters on her upper lip.

Hongye said, "What the gatehouse's daughter-in-law told me is of course true. Just now in the upper room, the old lady and Rong Mama didn't mention this matter at all, and I don't know whether they want to meet or not."

Cui Ming said angrily, "Is it possible that the Marquis would not even eat this embarrassing meal? Who is this young lady from the Chang family?"

Qin Yuan, who had been frowning, laughed out loud when she saw this. She raised her eyebrows and said, "Why are you so angry? Don't worry about these things. The Chang family and the Gu family had an arranged marriage before. Miss Chang's sister died later, the Marquis went to the northern frontier, and the Chang family also left the capital. It seems that the Chang family wants to resume their relationship."

Hongye said, "That's right. Just take those maids to sew your clothes. Your eyes are so red from working so hard. How can we control who the Marquis' Mansion associates with and who doesn't? The Marquis won't be sad about this. There must be other reasons. I'll ask Sixteen later."

Cui Ming went downstairs to rest.

Hongye said to Qin Yuan, "There is no rest every day. The Sixth Madam has a lot of things to do. I have to dig out the account books from more than ten years ago and find the old rules so that I can copy them."

Qin Yuan stroked Hongye's thin face and said, "If you two hadn't been by my side to help me, I would have been too busy. You should sort it out first... The Sixth Master has no title, and the Sixth Madam naturally has no imperial decree. The regulations for the funeral still need to be considered... More than ten years have passed, and the social interactions of the Marquis' Mansion are no longer what they used to be. The list needs to be reviewed by the old lady and the Marquis before it can be finalized."

Hongye smiled and said, "I can hold it up, but I'm afraid I can't hold it up and let other smart people outshine me."

Qin Yuan poked Hongye with a mixture of anger and amusement, and said half-seriously, "Since you are so scared, I will assign Hongmian and Mozhu to you. No matter how powerful they are, they have to obey your orders. Is that okay?"

Hongye was overjoyed: "Really?"

"Yeah, it's more real than Pearl." Hongye smiled and said, "Then I can definitely hold on. Miss, just leave this matter to me."

Qin Yuan said, "Okay, I'll decide on the accountant and the housekeeper for the inner courtyard later, and most of the affairs in the mansion can be handed over. Otherwise, just dealing with the female relatives will be exhausting, and there will be no time to do anything else."

Lord Gu has made great contributions and returned to the court. He is also highly valued by the Emperor, so many people will definitely come to pay their respects. Old Madam Gu is too old to hold on for long, and she will be very busy just entertaining the guests. As for Gu Baozhu... it's good enough that she can take good care of her nephews and nieces and not cause trouble.

Hongye sighed, "Miss, your body is weak, so you must be careful not to tire yourself out. It would be better to ask the familiar tribesmen to help you hold on for a few days, or take turns to welcome guests. This would be better."

Qin Yuan said, "Let's talk about it later. I'll talk to the old lady. Sister Cheng will definitely come to help. We can also ask a few families who are close to the Dingbei Marquis's Mansion to lend a hand, but I'll have to do the big things."

Mr. Gu Liu sent people to the Imperial College to inquire, and urged Butler Cao to go to the government office and force the prosecutor to give him an explanation.

Not long after, Gu Baozhu went out again.

After Qin Yuan knew about it, she just nodded slightly without saying a word.

Madam Gu Liu has only been here for a few days. She has been too busy to take care of her sister-in-law. As Gu Baozhu said, after being confined for several months, it would be good for her to go out and talk.

The mansion will be holding a funeral next, so Gu Baozhu has to stay at home for a few days.

Hongye grumbled, "Seventh Miss doesn't know how to be more reserved. The mansion is so busy, but she just goes out for a stroll, as if nothing happened. Even though she can't help, she has to pretend. Wasn't she best friends with Sixth Madam before? The tea has gone cold before she even leaves."

Qin Yuan glared at her, then saw that there was no one around, and lightly scolded, "I don't think you are too busy. If you were too busy, you wouldn't have time to talk here. I really wish she didn't come to my place. I have a lot of things to do, and it would be even more chaotic if she came. She can only run around outside these few days. If she is lucky enough to escape the Qiqiao Festival, it will be fine. Otherwise, if the Marquis gets serious, I'm afraid she will really have to stay in the mansion to spend the Lantern Festival."

Hongye was stunned for a moment, then understood.

The Qiqiao Festival is also during these few days. If the Sixth Madam becomes ill before the festival, Gu Baozhu will naturally not have to compete in embroidery skills at the Qiqiao Festival.

Otherwise, Gu Baozhu would have to make a fool of herself at the Qiqiao Conference.

Lord Gu will punish Gu Baozhu seriously, and she won’t be allowed to go out before the Lantern Festival.

Hongye wanted to say something, but a maid called her from outside, "Sister Hongye, someone is looking for you at the second gate."

Hongye clapped her hands and said, "There should be news from the Marquis. I'll go over and listen."

Qin Yuan said, "Go ahead."

Hongye hurriedly ran out of the meeting yard and almost bumped into the housekeeper who came to report something.

After a while, she ran back again. Before she could say anything, Qin Yuan told her, "Mother Fei is going to get the material and money for replacing the sedan chair curtains. She's waiting for you to deal out the right cards. Sign them quickly and let her get busy."

Hongye had no choice but to hold back the words on her lips and asked Fei's mother for the list to check carefully. After calculating that the quantities were almost the same, she dealt out the right cards, registered them in person, and signed her name.

When no one else was in the room, Hongye hurriedly said, "Miss, the Marquis has asked someone to call the director to question him and diagnose the illness."