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

Chapter 579 Testing each other
Gu Baozhu seemed unable to distinguish between good and bad words and said, "Of course my third brother and her have no private affair. If her husband hadn't saved my third brother's life and my third brother hadn't promised to take good care of his family, how could this happen? When he was in Saibei, my third brother raised the twins as his own children. After returning to the capital, the customs in Saibei and Beijing were very different. My third brother also wanted to marry and have children. That woman was unwilling to do so and caused many problems. In short, I was deceived before and you misunderstood me. Now I am not stupid anymore."

Everyone: "..."

Is it true that you are not stupid enough to talk about family matters with others like this?

However, Miss Gu Qi spoke eloquently and clearly, and they knew the whole story just by listening.

Miss You added, "Indeed, your third brother has made great military achievements and is also handsome. I don't know how many women would want to marry into his wealth. It's no wonder they would be tempted. It's a pity that none of them are as lucky as your third sister-in-law."

"Well, my third brother was too busy hunting wild donkeys to have any time for love, and now he's married to a fairy-like figure like my third sister-in-law. Who else can he really look at? There are many women who have come to my house to pursue us, but unfortunately..."

Seeing that Gu Baozhu was in high spirits, Miss You said hurriedly, "If your third sister-in-law can give birth to a child, she'll have a stable foothold in the Marquis's Mansion. She's so favored, and when you get married, I'm afraid she'll take away a lot of the dowry that was originally intended for you."

Gu Baozhu rolled her eyes and stammered, "You can't say that. Who knows when she will give birth? Even if she can, I'm not afraid. My dowry has been prepared long ago, so why should I argue with her about it?"

Everyone felt as if they knew the truth. They entered the hall in twos and threes. When they saw the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of the Gu family who were already seated, they all looked a little strange.

Seeing this, Madam Gu muttered to Aunt Rong, "I wonder what Baozhu is doing outside again. Why do the people who came in with her look so strange?"

Aunt Rong said, "Don't overthink it, Madam. No matter how much Miss Seventh behaves, she won't break the rules. If there's anything verbal, we can just bear with it and it will pass. It won't happen many times anyway."

These helpless words actually succeeded in comforting Old Madam Gu.

Madam Gu was too lazy to worry about it: "Forget it, leave her alone. If there is anything that doesn't come to my attention, I will just pretend I don't know."

Qin Yuan saw this and knew that Gu Baozhu must have spoken freely in front of Miss You.

Sure enough, Gu Baozhu met her gaze and winked.

Lotus smiled and said, "What is Miss Seven doing?"

Qin Yuan picked up the teacup beside her, took a sip slowly, and chuckled, "Maybe I was having a good time talking with my sisters."

Yang'er stood aside with his hands hanging down, not saying a word, and glanced warily at the people walking around him.

Hongye and Cuiming stood behind, being extremely careful not to make any mistakes.

It was their first time entering the Duke's Mansion, and they were afraid that if they accidentally saw someone, they would be accused of being rude and unworldly, which would tarnish their master's reputation. Therefore, they dared not take a step more than necessary or look more than once, and just followed behind the young lady.

Fortunately, the young lady is a calm and composed person, and her relaxed and casual demeanor surpasses that of many other wives of officials.

"Your mother and the others are sitting over there. We girls should sit over here so we can talk." Miss You grabbed Gu Baozhu and said with a smile, "I haven't seen you out much these days. Even Song Wenyu and the others seldom come out."

After Gu Baozhu took her seat, she asked, "Are they all coming?"

"It's my duty," said Miss You, "at least you should give me this face."

Gu Baozhu asked again, "Have you ever been to the palace to play with the Ninth Princess these days?"

Miss You was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "I've been there a few times now and then. The Ninth Princess even complained that you rarely come out these days. It's hard to even get together to play ball."

"Oh," Gu Baozhu said nothing.

Miss You continued, "Let me tell you, the Ninth Princess said she's coming. If she invites you to play polo, you must accept. Without you, no one can have fun." Gu Baozhu's eyes flickered, and she sighed, "We'll see. Last time I provoked the wild donkey while playing polo, and Mother and Third Brother were very unhappy. They told me to behave myself lately."

Miss You wanted to say something when a maid came in and announced, "Miss, Miss Song, Miss Chu, and Miss Chang are all here."

"Shall we go out and greet them?"

Miss You quickly stood up and pulled Gu Baozhu out.

These people often play together on weekdays, so they have to find a place outside to talk privately first. It won’t be too late to come back before all the guests arrive and the old lady comes out.

Qin Yuan wasn't too worried when she saw the two of them going out together.

In the past two days, Gu Baozhu has been trained a lot on how to deal with it. Even if there are any mistakes, Gu Baozhu's kung fu makes it impossible for anyone to do anything to her.

Besides, the banquet has not started yet and the protagonist has not appeared on the stage, so nothing can go wrong.

Not long after they sat down, the maidservant beside Old Lady You came over and asked Old Lady Gu to go to the inner room with her to chat. Qin Yuan stepped forward and helped Old Lady Gu to stand up slowly. They walked through the hall and the courtyard, and walked through the long corridor before they arrived at the courtyard where Old Lady You lived.

The wealth of the Duke's Mansion was accumulated by ancestors and is quite significant.

The old lady's courtyard was rich and magnificent, and it was her birthday, so it was decorated very festively. A row of maids lined the corridor, dressed in red and green, and those who were a little respectable had one or two gold ornaments on their heads.

Qin Yuan raised her eyebrows.

Judging from the account books of previous years, the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion and the Marquis of Dingbei's Mansion did not interact much. Old Madam You sent people to invite them, which seemed to show that they were very close.

In her previous life, when she followed Lin Ziqi back to Beijing, Old Madam You had already passed away.

The Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion protected the Crown Prince and won the Emperor's favor. Even after the Crown Prince passed away, the Mansion never fell out of favor.

She had dealt with the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion several times, but knew very little about this old lady You.

Madam Gu suddenly sighed.

"I haven't been out much in the past few years, so I rarely see my elder sister. I wonder if she is in good health."

The head maid smiled and said, "The old ancestor has been talking about the old lady for many years. Last time, our lady went to the Marquis' Mansion and came back saying that the wife of the Marquis of Dingbei was very talented. The old ancestor was eager to meet her, so he sent an invitation under the pretext of celebrating his birthday. When he heard that you had arrived, he hurriedly urged this servant to come and invite you."

Madam Gu smiled and said, "You are still so good at talking. For so many years, my elder sister has kept you by her side and is reluctant to let you go. I am really jealous of you. I don't know who will be lucky enough to take you away in the future."

The head maid smiled and said, "I swore an oath in front of the old lady that I would only serve her for the rest of my life and would not go anywhere else."

This is almost the same as combing one's hair by oneself. When the old lady passes away, I'm afraid I'll still have to keep vigil in the ancestral temple.

Madam Gu was surprised. "I didn't expect you to be so ambitious. My elder sister really loves you. You're her favorite. When you didn't go to the empress dowager's wake, she complained that nothing she could do was enjoyable without you. You really can't live without her for even a day."

Qin Yuan also glanced at the maid.

Old Madam You is the wife of a first-rank duke, and her private wealth is substantial. If she had not had someone she trusted to look after her, her children, grandchildren, and their wives would have long ago taken all her money.