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

Chapter 555: Both Virtue and Talent
Now that the red cotton tree was gone, Hongye breathed a sigh of relief.

Qin Yuan asked: "What do you think of what Hongmian said just now?"

Hongye said: "Although it is a self-defense, it does have some merits. But coming from her mouth, I don't really want to hear it."

Being able to say this shows that you have some broad-mindedness.

Qin Yuan smiled and said, "It's best if you think so. She is indeed a smart person, but she is not calm and doesn't know when to advance or retreat. With more discussion, maybe she can still be used."

The implication is that we may still have to use red cotton in the future.

Hongye asked: "Why not choose someone who is both virtuous and talented?"

Qin Yuan couldn't help but laugh and said, "Everyone thinks that they are both virtuous and talented, but those who employ people think that it is hard to find someone with both talent and virtue. There are only a few people like Hongmian in the whole mansion. If everyone in the mansion is harmonious, many things will accumulate and become chronic problems. It will be too late to discover them."

Hongye grumbled to Cuiming in private, and Cuiming said, "How the young lady employs people, we should not interfere. No matter how capable we are, how much can we manage? Besides, what Hongmian said is not without reason. Now that you and I have already had a grudge against her, the young lady dares to employ her without hesitation. Otherwise, the children in the mansion will have to listen to us two, and I am afraid that they will not accept it in their hearts, and we don't know it. The mistress of this mansion is the young lady, not us two."

Hongye was surprised and said, "I thought as long as I treated them well, everyone would be the same over time."

Cui Ming sneered, "Forget it, you are just going to marry and have children, so you think everything is the same. I tell you, just live your life well, the lady is still worried about you."

"Why are you worried about me?" Hongye asked, "I have changed for the better now. I will never be disturbed by these things."

Cui Ming said, "Think about it carefully. Although Hongmian was the one behind this, Sixteen's family was able to arrange this marriage at will... Miss is worried that you will have troubles in your life after marrying Sixteen, but she is also afraid that you will be determined to be with Gu Sixteen, so she only talked to me in private. You and I have taken advantage of growing up with Miss, and we can ask Miss for support when we have many grievances, but it must be reasonable. You are someone's daughter-in-law, and filial piety is more important than anything else. Miss is afraid that she cannot interfere in many things, so you have to think it through."

Hongye was stunned for a moment, and said, "If it's not good, I won't marry you."

But his hands were tightly clenched into a handkerchief, twisting it into many wrinkles.

Cui Ming knew what she was thinking, so she said, "I'm just reminding you. Gu Shiliu has been with the Marquis to the northern frontier for many years and is highly valued. He is not someone who can be manipulated by others. It's just that his family arranged a marriage for him without telling him, which shows that he is used to being tough. If that's the case, just give it up. Isn't there Shiba waiting for you? I'm telling you all this just to tell you not to jump in headfirst and not care about whether you will be comfortable in the future. When you have to live or die in the future, no one else can help you."

Hongye lowered her head and sobbed, "I just now realize how incompetent I am. If it weren't for this incident, I wouldn't have known..."

The tears shed this time were filled with deep regret and indescribable sadness.

Cui Ming smiled and said, "You are only allowed to cry for once. Girls cry all the time and all their blessings will be gone. After you're done crying, think carefully about how to take the next step. Hong Mian is stronger than you and hasn't shed a single tear until now. I admire her."

Hongye turned her head away stubbornly, sniffed, and said, "Am I not even as good as her?"

Cui Ming stood up and said, "Well, don't cry about this anymore. I don't know about others, but you and I grew up together, and you know how capable you are. Don't you and I know that?"

From then on, Hongye seemed like a different person. She became cautious and careful, and thought and asked more questions about everything, just like Cuiming.

Qin Yuan heaved a sigh of relief only after dealing with the lawsuit in Wutong Garden. Old Madam Gu sent someone over to invite her to the upper room to talk.

Qin Yuan did not dare to delay. He put down the work at hand and went to the upper room.

As soon as I entered the yard, I saw the corridor was crowded with people.

"What's going on?" Qin Yuan was startled. The woman guarding the gate said, "These are the servants of the grandmothers in the back street."

Qin Yuan then realized that all the grandmothers from the various branches of the clan had come, so she hurriedly asked, "Is the old lady going to gather the clan members to discuss the rules? I should invite the accountant Wan."

The gatekeeper asked hurriedly, "Madam, do you want me to send someone to tell you something?"

Qin Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll trouble you."

"No trouble, no trouble," the old woman smiled with her teeth showing.

When I entered the room, I saw that it was full of people. The older ones sat next to Old Madam Gu, and then they sat down in order, all sitting at the doorstep, with many people standing behind them.

There were many more female relatives than those who attended Madam Gu Liu’s funeral.

Qin Yuan has a good memory, but he can't remember the names of more than half of them.

"It's the Marquis's wife who's here."

"Your third daughter-in-law is here."

"Mu Langjun's little wife is here."

Everyone greeted her. Qin Yuan could only smile, bow, and stand behind Madam Gu with her head slightly lowered.

"Mother, my daughter-in-law has asked someone to invite accountant Wan, and he needs to explain the rules in detail."

Madam Gu smiled and said, "No, no, just tell us what is good about our method, and you should tell us. Accountant Wan will explain it in too much detail and they won't remember it. Wait until they go back and talk to them, and let the men in their families settle the details."

Qin Yuan admired it very much: "It has to be my mother."

Madam Gu smiled complacently: "You can just follow me and learn slowly in the future."

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were chatting and laughing happily, making others envious.

As a daughter-in-law, she envied Qin Yuan for being so favored in front of her mother-in-law. As a mother-in-law, she envied Madam Gu for having such a smart, capable and beautiful daughter-in-law.

Madam Gu looked around at everyone and said with a smile, "My daughter-in-law is here too. You have already met her. Let's hear what she has to say about the rules."

"We haven't had a good talk with the new daughter-in-law yet. I heard that this child is very good at managing the household and has managed the mansion in an orderly manner. After seeing her, my daughter-in-law was so angry that her teeth ached for several days. She said she didn't know how to find such a girl for her son."

An old lady who was much older than Madam Gu, with gray hair, covered with pearls and jade, and wearing a long, double-breasted gown made of Xiangyunsha, smiled and waved to Qin Yuan, asking her to come closer to take a better look.

Madam Gu quickly grabbed Qin Yuan's hand and scolded with a smile: "You can just look at it, why do you have to pull me closer to look? Do you want to snatch it?"

Qin Yuan stopped and chuckled.

The old woman glared at him, "You invited me here today just to show off your daughter-in-law. Now you're still not happy. You're such a dishonest old woman. If I had a granddaughter-in-law like her, I'd take her out every day, while you two stay at home like a hidden treasure."