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

Chapter 651 Where is the old one?
Mr. Songshan said, "The manor's storerooms are all guarded. Compared to the treasures, the Marquis's seals and account books are more important. Fortunately, the Marquis never brings documents back to the manor..."

Qin Yuan nodded: "I'm not afraid of losing things, but I'm afraid of gaining something extra. I can only ask the manor to be more vigilant, and also to be careful of fire."

Thieves are agile and quick; if they manage to sneak into the mansion and slip something in to frame someone, it will be troublesome.

Besides, these days every household in the capital is lighting up colorful lanterns to compete for beauty. If a fire were to break out in the mansion, it would incur the wrath of the imperial family, which would be quite troublesome.

Bandits excel at things like murder, arson, and framing.

Mr. Songshan suddenly realized: "Madam is right. I was thinking too little. These days, Feiyun Pavilion has arranged for beggars and porters to keep an eye on them, but they don't dare to get close. Even the people from the Five Cities Military Command can only ask them for bits of information from the inns where they stay and drink."

Qin Yuan said calmly, "It's alright. It doesn't matter if we can't find out what they're planning. Just do what we discussed yesterday. As the art of war says: First, make yourself invincible."

Now, let's first secure our position before we talk about making contributions.

As for manpower… the clan chief gathered all the martial arts-skilled men in the clan and entrusted them to the teacher and Eighteen for arrangement.”

“Perfect timing, I need manpower right now,” Mr. Songshan said. Before he could finish speaking, a maidservant outside reported, “Madam, Accountant Wan has brought a lot of people outside to request an audience.”

Qin Yuan asked in surprise, "Why is he here? Please come in."

Before long, Wan the accountant arrived. Perhaps because of the holiday, he was wearing a brand new blue autumn shirt with endless swastika patterns embroidered on the lapel. He looked much better and spoke with more energy.

It was clear that Physician Li had been treating her effectively, and Qin Yuan nodded to herself in approval.

After exchanging greetings and formalities, Qin Yuan asked, "May I ask what business Accountant Wan has?"

Accountant Wan smiled and said, "Madam, please don't disturb me. It's not about accounting matters. I heard from Steward Han that we need more people to keep watch in case of fire. So I asked some familiar veterans, and they haven't had much to do lately and are just sitting at home. They've volunteered to patrol the Marquis's residence at night. Is that alright?"

Qin Yuan was overjoyed: "How many of you are there?"

Accountant Wan laughed and said, "We can have a few dozen people. If Madam needs more, we can have them go back and gather more. We can gather over a hundred people."

Qin Yuan said to Mr. Songshan, "Tonight, the city gates will be wide open and the curfew will be lifted. We can strengthen patrols around the Marquis's residence, and we can also deploy our people along the Yongding River. Tonight and tomorrow will be the perfect opportunity for bandits to cause trouble. With our people and the men from the Five Cities Garrison watching over things, what is there to worry about?"

Mr. Songshan was also delighted and said, "Thank you for your trouble, Accountant Wan. Now everything is ready, and we are just waiting for them to be caught."

Qin Yuan said, "Sir, don't forget that you still have your main event tonight."

Mr. Songshan smiled and said, "I dare not forget, but I wonder how well the madam has prepared?"

Qin Yuan smiled but did not answer. She clapped her hands, and Cui Ming came out from inside carrying a tray and placed it on the table next to Mr. Songshan.

On the tray were a black scholar's robe, a sachet, a fan cover, and cloth boots.

"This is a new dress that Cuiming rushed out over the sewing room. Please accept it. How about wearing it tonight?"

Mr. Matsuyama laughed heartily: "Madam is truly meticulous; she even prepared this."

Qin Yuan smiled and said, "I will have the pleasure of seeing your esteemed presence tonight."

Mr. Songshan smiled, pointed at Qin Yuan, then packed up the clothes and took his leave with Accountant Wan.

Checking the time, Qin Yuan began to wash and dress in preparation for entering the palace.

She applied some yellow powder in front of the mirror to make her skin appear dull, then put on fine clothes and the antique headdress chosen by Lord Gu, thus concealing her stunning beauty.

"Miss's move was truly brilliant," Hongye couldn't help but admire from the side. Cuiming sighed, "Prince Jin and the You family suffered a great loss, Miss, you must be careful."

Qin Yuan nodded and then instructed, "You all need to keep a close watch on the house for me. It might not be peaceful outside tonight. If you want to go see the lanterns, you need to have someone protect you. It's best to come back early for the Red Cotton Feast, but don't cause too much trouble."

Hongye nodded: "Don't worry, Miss, we understand."

Cui Ming also said, "Hong Mian has already made arrangements, and with Granny Qi and others watching over things, we won't be delayed even if we attend the banquet."

Qin Yuan took Yang'er and Hehua to the main room. As soon as Rong Mama saw her attire, she said, "Where did you find this headdress? It's so heavy and so complicated. I haven't seen anyone wear it for many years."

Qin Yuan laughed and said, "They were all taken from the Marquis's treasury. He said this one is the most valuable."

Both Rong Momo and Old Madam Gu couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Madam Gu smiled and said, "That's good. There are many people at the palace banquet, and we can't eat too much because of etiquette. We have to be even more careful about drinking. We won't stand out. We'll just quietly celebrate the Empress Dowager's birthday and then come back."

Qin Yuan nodded.

Qiuju and the others came in and set out a meal. Qin Yuan and Madam Gu ate some, rinsed their mouths to aid digestion, and then boarded the carriage to enter the palace. They traveled and stopped along the way, forming a long queue to enter the palace gate.

The young palace maids came forward and led them to Cining Palace to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager.

Seeing that Qin Yuan was not intimidated at all, Madam Gu secretly praised her.

When the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law arrived at the entrance of Cining Palace, they stood there for a while before the head palace maid came out and said that the Empress Dowager was not feeling well and asked them to go to the Imperial Garden first to enjoy the chrysanthemums with the ladies.

Madam Gu didn't want to see them either, but upon hearing this, she and Qin Yuan performed a grand salute outside the palace gates and went straight to the Imperial Garden.

After the head palace maid returned to the palace, the Empress Dowager asked, "Didn't the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law look unwell?"

Several first-rank ladies sat around her, all dressed and made up according to their rank, and all looked at the head palace maid with smiles on their faces.

Everyone knows that the Marquis of Dingbei's mansion has offended the Crown Prince, the Prince of Jin, and the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. Today, not only is the Empress Dowager giving them a hard time, but the Empress herself will likely be equally unfriendly.

The Grand Palace Goddess hesitated, "This servant thinks they don't seem to know fear yet. The Lady of Dingbei Marquis even said..."

"What did you say?" The Empress Dowager was already somewhat displeased.

"...They are probably too late. The Empress Dowager has received too many female relatives today and is a little tired. We will properly celebrate the Empress Dowager's birthday at the palace banquet later."

"Heh," the ladies chuckled mockingly.

"The younger one doesn't understand, but what about the older one?" the Empress Dowager asked.

The head palace maid said, "The old lady of the Dingbei Marquis's residence looked solemn, and her face... whatever the Marquis's wife said, it seemed that the old lady agreed with everything..."

The Empress Dowager didn't anger the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law; instead, she herself vomited quite badly.

Madam You, sitting at a distance below, shrieked, "Only the mother and daughter-in-law? How dare Gu Baozhu not come to wish the Empress Dowager a happy birthday?"

If we were to ask who Madam You hates the most right now, it would naturally be Gu Baozhu.

Everyone understood each other perfectly, exchanging glances and knowing smiles.

The head palace maid said, "Only the old lady and the madam came from the Marquis of Dingbei's residence; we did not see the seventh young lady."