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

Chapter 449: Running Dog Good Bow
Hearing this, Qin Yuan raised her head and chin, looking at Gu Jinghui.

Lord Gu lowered his head, as if he was looking at the floral embroidery on the gauze quilt she was covering herself with, but in fact, there was nothing in front of him.

His tone was calm, but Qin Yuan could hear the deep longing in it.

"I always thought that if the former crown prince came to power one day, he would definitely be an extraordinary sage. He was born in a noble family, has a kind temperament, and treats everyone with compassion! Everyone who has been with him wants to work for him... He is well versed in politics, but never plots. His intelligence is the only one I have ever seen in my life... He can see through people's hearts, just like the sun and the moon shine on the earth, making greedy, treacherous and evil have no place to hide. The family of the former queen is proud to have such a child. Since I was a child, I have made up my mind to be his most loyal subject and protect him for life."

A tear fell on the back of Qin Yuan's hand without warning.

Then comes the second drop.

Qin Yuan lowered her head and didn't dare to look at him.

She had no chance to meet the former crown prince, but she had heard her father and others secretly discussing it: "If His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi is brilliant and elegant, the former crown prince is magnanimous and far-sighted. What a pity... The current crown prince... Alas... The emperor really favors Queen Lin too much."

This shows the importance of the former crown prince in the eyes of court officials.

The couple lay quietly for a while, and Lord Gu said, "I'm going to report for duty, you can still sleep for a while."

Qin Yuan responded vaguely.

After Lord Gu left, she sat up, leaned against a pillow, hugged the quilt and stared blankly.

Until Hongye came to call: "Young lady, it's time to get up. Sixteen and Eighteen have received instructions from the Marquis, and are waiting outside to report. Wait until young lady is done with her work before going to the small courtyard to manage the affairs. I'm afraid the steward and the steward's mothers will complain again."

Qin Yuan then got up, changed clothes and washed.

Hongmian and Mozhu came in and set up the breakfast, and Qin Yuan asked, "What did the Marquis have?"

Hong Mian said, "The Marquis had a basket of steamed buns, a bowl of noodles, a plate of fried fruit, two bowls of porridge, and a plate of braised beef."

Although it’s a little less than usual, it’s still okay.

Qin Yuan nodded and said, "Ask Sixteen and Eighteen if they have eaten it. If not, ask the kitchen to make some for them."

Mo Zhu smiled and said, "Sister Hongye has already given instructions."

Qin Yuan then felt at ease to eat her own sweet noodles in chicken soup, and also tasted some of the other dishes.

Hongye stood aside and asked, "Miss, did you see the accounts I sorted out yesterday?"

Qin Yuan said, "I have seen it, and it is on the spring stool. Go and get it. Prepare the festival gifts according to this, and also add some of the generous gifts given in recent days, and re-arrange it for me to see."

After a pause, he continued, "Go to the meeting hall first and deal with those routine matters. If there are any matters that cannot be decided, let them wait until I arrive."

Hongye went out.

After finishing breakfast and taking a short rest, Qin Yuan changed the tea and then asked someone to invite Gu Shiliu and Gu Shiba in.

Through the pearl curtain, Gu Shiliu said, "Madam, I am here on the orders of the Marquis to wait for your arrangements."

Gu Shiba also responded.

Qin Yuan was surprised and asked, "Didn't the Marquis ask you to report to me? I thought Zhao had some news."

Gu Shiliu said, "The Yelu family is stubborn and refuses to say anything, so they have not come back to report to Madam. This morning, the Marquis left the mansion and did not let us follow him. He only said that Madam had a good way to collect information and asked us to just follow Madam's instructions." Qin Yuan suddenly realized.

This time Lord Gu handed this matter over to her again.

"What else did the Marquis say?"

"That's all the Marquis said."

Qin Yuan repeated what he had said to everyone yesterday.

Gu Shiba sighed, "It used to be so easy to collect information in Saibei. Children, merchants, and common people would report anything they found that was a little bit wrong."

Gu Shiliu refuted Gu Shiba.

"Saibei is our territory, and the Marquis is deeply loved by the people. Now we are struggling in the capital, and we really can't do anything."

Gu Shiba stuck his head out and said, "I just can't help but sigh. The Gu family has paid so much to defend Daxing, but the people in the capital are much less friendly to the Marquis than those in the northern part of the country."

Gu Shiliu was also inspired: "After driving away the Yelu clan, we were uprooted from the northern frontier, so a large piece of land was used to build a palace and assign people to manage it."

Hearing this, Qin Yuan couldn't help but think of a saying - When the cunning rabbit dies, the running dog is cooked; when the birds are all gone, the good bows are put away.

This is just the beginning.

Since there have been no wars, military generals have been oppressed by civil officials, and they probably all feel this way.

Qin Yuan said, "Don't complain about these things in private. I'm afraid the old soldiers are dissatisfied in their hearts. You are the people around the Marquis and you say this... There are scholars who say that Saibei is not the Gu family's land. The whole world belongs to the king, and thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all grace from the king."

Gu Shiliu immediately said, "We understand."

Gu Shiba said, "Madam is worried. The soldiers will inevitably talk about it in private. It's no wonder that some people are nurturing the enemy to protect themselves. We have to work hard to earn military merits. Now that there is no battle to fight, we have to rely on the faces of those who can only talk."

Gu Shiliu looked at Gu Shiba with some worry.

Gu Shiba didn't understand, and said, "Why are you looking at me? I'm not lying."

Qin Yuan chuckled.

"Sixteen, don't worry. Although my father and brother are both scholars, they don't think so. If they didn't respect the Marquis, they wouldn't marry me into the Marquis's mansion."

Gu Shiba smiled and said, "Of course, the Lord Jijiu is well-educated and has high moral cultivation. He is not like the people in Shuhai Pavilion who look down on soldiers."

Gu Shiliu said: "I was overthinking it."

Qin Yuan brought the topic back to the topic: "It is not easy to link the guilds of beggars, porters, and scavengers. You few alone can't handle it. Do you want to think about how the Wucheng Bingma Division can help? Because of the Queen Mother's birthday, the Wucheng Bingma Division is busy checking the household and business registers. In addition, I heard from the Marquis yesterday that we can find a way to let the Ministry of Works' Canal Division dredge and clear the silt, and check if there are any stolen goods or suspicious people. Soldiers in the barracks can also be transferred to help. You should discuss it carefully, use your strength if you can, and spend money if you can. With Zhang Dada's information network, Xu Zhen may be found."

He lowered his voice and said, "Nothing will escape our eyes and ears by then. Even if Tai Sui wants to do something to us, we will have to think twice."

After hearing this, Gu Shiliu and Gu Shiba's hearts skipped a beat. They looked at each other and saw in each other's eyes that they were eager to try.

Gu Shiliu said, "Then we will go and discuss with the people from the Five Cities Military Department, and report to Madam when we have a plan."

Qin Yuan agreed, and then reminded: "Mr. Cheng next door is working in the Wucheng Military Department. Also, you have to be careful. Mr. Xu is also the commander of the Wucheng Military Department. If you can do it, you have to keep a close eye on Mr. Xu."