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

Chapter 560 Agreed
Lord Gu glanced at his sixth brother with admiration and cleared his throat. Before he could speak, he heard Gu Baozhu shout, "What's wrong with the Xu family? I'm so heartbroken for my sixth sister-in-law. She did this for her family, but they treat her like this. I'm afraid she won't be able to rest in peace in her grave."

Madam Gu quickly scolded, "Keep your voice down and stop talking nonsense. It will be a big deal if Kang Ge'er and the others hear you."

It is pitiful enough that the children lost their mother at such a young age, but they still have to listen to people talking about how cold and calculating their uncle's family is. It is simply a sin.

Gu Baozhu looked disapproving.

"Mother, they're very smart. Last time, they had a scene with the Xu family boys at the ancestral temple. Mother never imagined that the Xu family, who were planning to have Lan Jie'er remarry, would be embarrassed on the spot. I think the sooner they know about these things, the better, so that they don't get lured away and regret it too late."

This made Old Lady Gu so angry that she trembled: "Why didn't anyone tell me about this?"

Lord Gu sneered at the side and said, "That's strange. They can only dream of marrying the daughter of our Dingbei Marquisate. As the saying goes, if you look up, you marry your daughter; if you look down, you marry your wife. In ten or eight years, Lan Jie'er will be getting married. Do you think that the Xu family can be on equal footing with us by relying on Xu Tang and Prince Jin? This is too bold. Not to mention that mother is in good health, we won't split up the mansion in ten or eight years. Even if we did, the sixth brother's official rank would be higher than that of Xu. If anyone with the surname Xu could become the commander-in-chief of the Five Cities Military Department in this lifetime, the Xu family's ancestors would be very proud."

This sarcastic tone made Gu Baozhu burst into laughter. Qin Yuan couldn't help but curl his lips and said, "There's no need to get angry over them. It's just the Xu family's wishful thinking. How can the blood of the young lady be reborn? Even if an ordinary person did such a thing, people would gossip about it, let alone a family of officials like us. If the censors knew about it, they would definitely impeach us. Madam Xu may not know, but Lord Xu should know it too."

Gu Baozhu widened her eyes and asked, "Really? Isn't it said that people with the same surname can't marry each other? But I've heard of several cases."

"It's okay to have the same surname but different clans. In ancient times, there were many surnames, and China was a small land, so we had to pay attention to these things. After the First Emperor unified the six kingdoms, the territory became more and more vast, but there were fewer surnames. And each family compiled a genealogy, so there would be no confusion."

Qin Yuan explained a few words lightly.

Gu Baozhu nodded: "I see. Listening to Third Sister-in-law's words is worth ten years of reading."

Qin Yuan smiled and said, "If you had stayed in the mansion and listened to Mr. Songshan's lectures with Brother Kang, you would have known all this long ago. Mr. Songshan has read thousands of books and traveled thousands of miles, so he has a lot of stories in his mind."

Gu Baozhu was so anxious that she stuck out her tongue, glared, and put her hands on her neck to scratch it, which made Qin Yuan laugh.

Gu Liuye added softly, "Mother, Third Sister-in-law is right. This is nothing but wishful thinking on the part of the Xu family. Their faces make me lose my appetite. Why would they even say this in front of you? From now on, we will no longer have any contact with the Xu family. We should just stay away from them."

The topic went further and further away.

Finally, Madam Gu asked, "Sixth Brother, what are your plans?"

Master Gu Liu said, "The Xu family was the first to start this matter, so I had to deal with it. Since Third Sister-in-law said that the price of pepper would rise sharply in the future, I wouldn't be at a disadvantage if I took it. The government has closed the case and kept a record, so they won't be able to cause trouble and plot against the Marquis' Mansion again in the future."

After saying that, he glanced at Qin Yuan's expression.

Madam Gu pondered and said, "That's fine. As the saying goes, don't go into a corner to beat a dog. We don't need to push it too hard. Let's leave a loose end."

Qin Yuan also said, "Sixth brother, it's not a loss to take over the pepper business. You can always make it back in the future. However, regarding the Xu family's affairs, we must leave a detailed and clear explanation at the Jingzhao Yin Mansion. It would be best if you can have Steward Han and Steward Cao go with us tomorrow. The case we reported to the Jingzhao Yin Mansion last time has not been concluded yet."

Mr. Gu Liu nodded.

Lord Gu was afraid he still didn't understand, so he said, "If we can't sort out the matter of Xu Zhen, then we shouldn't reconcile with the Xu family. And don't be afraid of losing face with the matter of Accountant Sun and Steward Zhang giving us the money. Let's just pursue it to the end."

Sixth Master Gu was quite hesitant. "If this gets out, what if..."

After all, lending money at high interest rates is a serious crime, and if you accidentally involve the Marquis' Mansion, you will be in trouble.

Qin Yuan said, "It's okay. The one who started this was Xu, and the Xu family helped with the lending. The ones who conspired in the mansion were Accountant Sun and Steward Zhang. We've already arrested them and sent them to the Jingzhao Yin Mansion. The Xu family is afraid that we will get a detailed account of every penny. How much of Xu's dowry and the money Xu earned in the mansion over the years passed through their hands? How much did they give out, and how much did they get back? If we're serious, we won't be able to get rid of them with just this little bit of money. They handled so much money, which is a serious crime."

Xu was already dead, so there was no way to hold the case to rest. Lord Gu was at most not good at managing his household properly, but he still tried to remedy the situation by sending the criminal to the Jingzhao Yin Mansion.

If the Xu family is not honest, they will not care.

If the Xu family had been sensible, they wouldn't have been so harsh in the matter of lending money.

In short, it was the Xu family that begged them, not them who begged the Xu family.

The more he listened, the more determined Mr. Gu Liu's expression became.

Lord Gu added, "Yes, I am currently in charge of the important matters of the Imperial Examination, so I believe the Jingzhao Yin Mansion will not dare to cause too much trouble."

Gu Baozhu said happily, "I see. Sixth brother, what are you worried about? If the Xu family is shameless, how can they not care about their lives? Even if they can find a way to get away with it through the Prince of Jin, we should sort things out. We can't let them keep using Xu Zhen to cause trouble."

Even if both sides suffer losses, it is better than being threatened and controlled by the Xu family.

Gu Liuye said, "That's it. I'll go with my two housekeepers tomorrow."

After everyone agreed, they dispersed.

After returning to Wutong Garden, Qin Yuan asked Lord Gu, "What exactly did mother ask you about today? You looked troubled, and asked Sixth Brother to help change the subject."

"I can't hide anything from you!"

Lord Gu sighed.

Qin Yuan said, "You make me sound like a clear mirror hanging high above the ground. Don't play tricks on me. Just tell me what you want to say. I can help you cover up for it in front of mother if I know."

Lord Gu sighed, "What's there to be said? It's just that there are so many things to talk about that I don't even know where to begin. Mother is still concerned about who is in the dry well in the temple. You know, there's a gold ornament next to the corpse. It's a keepsake of Fourth Brother, who always carries it with him. Who could possibly have gotten this gold ornament?"

Qin Yuan didn't respond and waited for the next step.

Lord Gu continued, "My fourth brother and the Mo family girl fell in love and were engaged. But then he died in battle, and the marriage was called off. However..."

As he was speaking, Lord Gu paused, hurriedly stood up, opened the curtain, and walked out, leaving behind a sentence: "If you are sleepy, take a rest first. I suddenly remembered something and I need to go look for Lao Liu."