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

Chapter 581 Deep Friendship
Old Madam Gu brought Qin Yuan with her. Along the way, only Madam You kept company and talked. The rest of the people all surrounded Old Madam You, making a lot of noise and chatter, which was really lively.

Two out of three sentences that Mrs. You said were meant to give Qin Yuan a hint, but Qin Yuan had made up her mind. She smiled and kept silent, acting like a new bride who valued words very much.

Madam You had no choice but to chat with Madam Gu all the way.

Although I was angry, I could do nothing about it.

Fortunately, the day is still long, and there is always a way to get close to the wife of Marquis Dingbei.

Madam You came in surrounded by many people, and the noisy hall suddenly became quiet. Then the ladies rushed forward like a tide to congratulate her. After Madam Gu took Qin Yuan to her seat, many people gathered around to greet her.

After a while, the ceremony began. Everyone exclaimed in surprise from time to time, praising the rarity of the gifts.

Madam You smiled and said, "This year I'm celebrating my birthday, and I originally wanted to postpone it until after the festival. But the Empress Dowager somehow found out about this and summoned my son to the palace to speak. She said that the You family had helped Emperor Taizu build the country and were meritorious officials, so we must not postpone it for the sake of taboos. I asked the Empress Dowager many times to change her mind, but she simply refused. It's truly a great favor from heaven."

A lady immediately said, "This is because the Zhenguogong Mansion is deeply trusted and valued by the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, which is why it has such a respectable status."

Madam You's lips curled up slightly.

Someone else said, "The Empress Dowager has always been frugal and has always celebrated simple birthdays. It's really surprising that she's suddenly celebrating her birthday this year. The old lady and the Empress Dowager have a deep friendship and she's highly valued by the Empress Dowager, so she's doing this."

Madam You coughed lightly with pride, and Madam You immediately spoke, "Speaking of the friendship between Madam You and the Empress Dowager, it's a long story indeed, having lasted for decades. Naturally, it's different from others. But we, as subjects, dare not overstep our bounds. We firmly remember our duties and strictly abide by the rules of being a subject. Who would have thought that the Empress Dowager would be so gracious and benevolent as to bestow upon our Duke's Mansion this honor?"

Old Madam You stood up and bowed in the direction of the Empress Dowager's bedroom, and everyone hurriedly stood up and bowed as well.

Madam You then slowly sat down and sighed, "The Empress Dowager remembers us old people in her heart. She doesn't like extravagance and ostentation, but she still remembers my birthday and said she wanted to celebrate it with all the best and excitement. Whenever I think of it, I feel like crying. I'm old and not as strong as I used to be. I don't know how many more years these old bones can serve the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager is truly too kind."

Everyone rushed to flatter him.

Some say that the Empress Dowager cannot live without Old Madam You, and some say that Old Madam You will live as long as the Southern Mountains, and she will probably be even more energetic than she is now on her next birthday.

Qin Yuan didn't say anything.

Madam Gu snorted softly and whispered, "This old woman always shows off like this, so I don't like to come to her house for banquets."

Qin Yuan smiled.

"Mother, the old lady invited us to gossip, as if we were closer than others."

Madam Gu said, "I only kept my head when I knew her. I followed her around, calling her sister all the time. Later, she married in the capital. She loves to show off and is very strong-willed. She has had this temper all her life. Ever since the third son went to the northern frontier, I have been locked up in the Marquis' Mansion and rarely go out. I haven't seen her for a few years, so she wants us to go over and see her."

Qin Yuan understood.

The relationship between Madam Gu and Madam You is close but not intimate, and it mainly depends on the men in the family.

She said to Hehua, "Today is a good day for the Duke's Mansion, and many people are coming. Please be careful and don't offend the nobles."

Hehua and Yang'er knew that they had to be extremely careful in the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion today.

Lotus said softly: "Don't worry, Madam, we will save it."

After the children and grandchildren of the You family presented their birthday gifts, Old Madam You said, "We older folks sit together and chat, you young wives and girls can go and have fun on your own." With that one sentence, everyone dispersed.

Qin Yuan stood up to take her leave. Gu Baozhu was chatting animatedly with others, and when she saw her stand up, she also stood up and was about to leave.

Miss You hurriedly grabbed him and asked, "Where are you going?"

Gu Baozhu said, "This is my third sister-in-law's first time going out to visit friends, shouldn't I accompany her?"

Miss You said, "You're too cautious. If you don't know better, you might think our Duke's Mansion is some kind of cannibalistic place. Today is our ancestor's birthday, and I'm afraid the nobles from the palace will also be here soon. The courtyard is full of sisters-in-law from the clan helping to entertain the guests. What could go wrong? If you continue like this, I'll be furious."

Gu Baozhu was still hesitating.

Song Ziyu smiled and said, "Last time I was injured on my face, didn't you ask your third sister-in-law for some jade cream? I have to thank her very much. Why don't we go talk to her together?"

Seeing that she couldn't stop him, Miss You said, "I hear her talk about how good her third sister-in-law is every day. I want to get closer to her and see how good she is. Is she as good as my sisters-in-law?"

Gu Baozhu took everyone to the garden, but Qin Yuan was nowhere to be found.

Although the garden of the Duke's Mansion is large, it cannot accommodate the large number of people coming.

Miss You pointed in a direction: "Let's go down this road slowly and walk around. We're sure to run into him."

Gu Baozhu had no choice but to nod and say, "That's it."

Song Ziyu shouted, "Your garden is so big, do you really need to walk around it? That would be too tiring."

Gu Baozhu rubbed her fingers impatiently. If she were alone, she would have finished the whole circle in half an incense stick of time. These maids were really troublesome.

Miss You said, "That's true. We might run into him soon, so we don't have to leave. Besides, the banquet will start in an hour. We've almost left, so even if we don't find him, we should come back."

Song Ziyu thought about it and realized that this made sense, so he said, "Let's do this, and see how far we can go. I've been to your house several times, and I've never been able to finish the tour."

The others followed suit, and then they walked down the bluestone path on the right, chatting one after another.

At this time, Qin Yuan was sitting in a small pavilion on the left side of the garden, talking to several young ladies. With the experience of living many lives, it was easy for her to get close to them.

Two of them were the wives of the Marquis of Wuding. They had just entered the Duke's Mansion and followed the Gu family. Naturally, they also heard the conversation between Gu Baozhu and Miss You, and were very curious about the young wife of the God of War.

Now that they were talking closer, he felt that Qin Yuan was even more outstanding. After a few conversations, he felt that he and Qin Yuan were very compatible, and he couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her.

It is so rare to find a woman who is so beautiful, has such a good temperament, and is so easy to talk to. How can she be so pitiful that she has to be a widow at such a young age?

Although she is loved and pampered by her mother-in-law and husband, the days ahead will be difficult. What's more, she cannot have children and can only adopt the children of Mr. Gu Liu.

The more the two looked at Qin Yuan, the more they liked her and the more they felt pity for her, their eyes filled with unconcealable sympathy.

Qin Yuan: “…”