Gu Jinghui had practiced martial arts in the Wutong Garden, but it was just ordinary moves, such as lifting stone weights, practicing horse stance, and boxing. He had never shown his skills in front of others like this.

Everyone was dumbfounded and exclaimed, "The Marquis is truly amazing!"

Hongye wanted to praise him again, but when she turned her head, she saw Qin Yuan staring intently in the direction where Lord Gu had disappeared, her eyes sparkling, lost in thought.

A smile immediately appeared on Hongye's face.

She was saying, how could the young lady not care about the Marquis?

With such superb martial arts skills and handsome appearance, who wouldn't be bewildered by the sight of the Marquis?

Now that the troublesome Zhao Shi is gone, the young lady and the marquis will share joys and sorrows, consummate their marriage, have a son, and have a good life together.

After a moment, Qin Yuan withdrew her gaze and said, "Go back to your rooms and change your clothes quickly."

Hongye didn't say anything more and hurriedly followed Cuiming to serve Qin Yuan.

Because she was to wear a heavy coat upon receiving the imperial decree, Qin Yuan had Cui Ming do her elaborate makeup and change her into formal attire. She then waited for news in the room. However, she did not wait idly. Instead, she sat upright in the hall and ordered people to come and report in order.

It is possible that this person was already working at the Imperial Medical Academy before Lin Ziqi returned to Beijing to take up his post.

Gu Jinghui said, "Thank you, Madam."

The woman had striking features, her face was covered with a cloth, she wore a honey-colored long gown, and carried a medicine chest on her back. She was about the same height as Master Gu.

"Gu Jinghui is a doctor with a kind heart, you will definitely make proper arrangements. Qin Yuan, he will be responsible for cleaning Hu Leiqing's room, changing the furniture and bedding, and arranging two servants to take care of him."

In the evening, after checking on the patients, Gu Jinghui returned to the house and, before changing his clothes, sat outside in the courtyard to cool off.

Hongye meticulously kept records of the materials and expenses, carefully considering where the money went.

At this moment, the Marquis had changed his clothes, and his hair was loosely tied into a low bun, secured with layers of pearl-dangling hairpins, making him look quite neat.

Hu Lei said, "My husband is right. I meant well, and you must treat us well. However, there is no smallpox outside the manor now, so we can only drink and eat casually. The food and drink are also not very particular. How about we remember this for now and treat you properly before the manor is opened? What do you think?"

Gu Jinghui and the Marquis exchanged greetings.

If the matters reported by the supervisors and supervisory mothers are similar to those of previous years, they are approved directly. If there are any differences, they are explained in detail.

Cuiming and Hongye each managed their respective tasks clearly and thoroughly, one overseeing the material list and the other the accounting books.

It seems that the person with the cloth covering their face is not Gu Jinghui.

Lord Gu laughed and said, "Just now Gu Jinghui asked about the arrangements outside the mansion. He said that the madam's arrangements were extremely bad and the precautions were also very poor. I will stay next to the isolated courtyard, which is more convenient."

Lord Gu said, "Originally, His Majesty did not have that plan. He only summoned the imperial physicians to discuss it. Gu Jinghui suggested that the imperial physicians be placed in the Marquis's residence as a precaution. The imperial physician who was supposed to see me last time took leave due to family matters. I said that I had no family burdens and had read the medical records, so I volunteered to come to the residence."

The Marquis then asked, "Do you know how Hu Lei plans to settle Gu Jinghui?"

After about half an hour of busy work, the stewards still hadn't all left, and a small number of them remained outside the courtyard. Hongye couldn't help but mutter loudly, "So how exactly is the imperial decree to be received?"

"Self-recommendation?"

Hu Lei was relieved. The fact that His Majesty hadn't blamed the Marquis of Dingbei and had even sent the imperial physician to his residence showed that Hu Lei's judgment was correct, and also showed that Imperial Physician Liu was currently favored by the Emperor.

The head maid's voice came from the corridor, "Greetings to Cuiming."

The Marquis said, "That depends on the person delivering the imperial edict. Which family would dare to refuse an imperial edict?"

Before Hu Leiqing could speak, Gu Jinghui said, "It's bad that Shangguan lives right next to the courtyard where the madam is taking care of the patients."

Hongye was slightly surprised upon hearing this and said, "If the entire courtyard is renovated, do you know how much silver we'll have to save each year?"

Given that such a long time has passed, it's likely that Physician Liu wasn't given the opportunity to hear the imperial decree alone.

The servants went to fetch water, and the courtyard was quiet and deserted. Hu Leiqing put his hand in his mouth, whistled, and a gray carrier pigeon flew into the courtyard.

Hu Leiqing said, "Madam, His Majesty just issued an imperial decree, praising the Marquis of Dingbei for his timely response to the chaos and for establishing himself as a marquis. He also specially sent Gu Jinghui from the Imperial Medical Academy to assist them."

Qin Yuan said, "What did he say?" She even made a gesture for Hongye to see, "Guess which number he was referring to? He was helping the eldest sister with the accounting, right? He said how much silver the Eighth Madam could pocket? And how much silver the little and big managers and stewardesses could pocket?"

Despite the hustle and bustle, and the chaotic situation, Hu Lei still managed to handle things very clearly.

The Marquis said, "I'm afraid Cuiming accepted it herself."

That's a bad thing.

But unexpectedly, Hu Leiqing, who knew the ropes, suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

You used methods for preventing epidemics learned from later generations. Since you didn't have Renhetang's prescriptions as a base, and the disease was discovered early, you weren't panicked at all.

Hongye asked curiously, "Is...is the manor reopened?"

Qin Yuan, who had worked with the Marquis in managing the sewing room, said, "Eldest Sister can do whatever she wants. Take the sewing room, for example. Now the materials and sewing supplies are managed less carelessly than before, and the old women dare to embezzle. They dare not be as careless as before, and they even compete with each other in their work. Just from the sewing room alone, the manor will probably save nearly eight hundred taels of silver a year. And that's with all the profit."

Even so, the Marquis was still satisfied. He once privately told the outsider, "There is no smallpox outside the manor now, and you have just taken charge of a few things. You have time to investigate carefully. We can talk about it after we get through that hurdle smoothly."

The steward quickly stood aside with his hands at his sides. The Marquis also got up and took two steps. Marquis Gu had already taken small steps back, with an older woman following in front of him.

As soon as Lord Gu came back, he said, “Yuan’er, his memorial was extremely bad. His Majesty did not blame you, but instead said that the Dingbei Marquis’s family’s request to be granted a fiefdom was a small act of righteousness, and that Gu Jinghui recommended himself. As the saying goes, it is easy to add flowers to brocade, but difficult to provide charcoal in the snow. His wicked arrangements are sure to please me.”

Lord Gu naturally had no objections.

Hu Lei glanced at Gu Jinghui.

The Marquis thought to himself, "He is indeed steady and doesn't talk much."

Qin Yuan had already instructed Cui Ming and Hong Ye to take notes on the relevant matters of registering the account books from previous years, and to make plans in advance for receiving materials and silver.

Because Li Zu was involved in the palace intrigues, Li Langzhong always complained about the infighting within the Imperial Hospital. Since treating the sick and saving lives was the most important thing, the Marquis did not have any ill feelings towards the imperial physicians of the Imperial Hospital.

Hu Lei is the solution.

Hongye said to Qin Yuan, "Eldest sister is too weak. With so few ledgers and so few things to do, it's bad enough that she can manage to keep going, but she still wants to make things worse."

Hu Leiqing then turned to Gu Jinghui and said, "Shi Di is your wife. You also know some medicinal herbs and are good at making incense. The incense for treating illness outside the mansion was not made by your wife."

Qin Yuan and Steward Zhang went together to arrange Gu Jinghui's accommodation. Lord Gu personally escorted him there and ordered food and drink to be prepared before returning.

The Marquis frowned in deep thought, then realized that the Imperial Medical Academy in later generations did not have a Gu Jinghui.