Aunt You had a daughter, and Aunt Geng had a son, both under two years old, and both were being held by wet nurses.

Consort Deng had been in the household for less than two years, and Consort Zheng for less than six months, and neither had given birth yet.

If you include the Sixth Madam, Aunt Huang, and their four children who were not present, the Sixth Master's family would need two tables to fit them all.

Qin Yuan thought to herself, "Sixth Master Gu is really a womanizer. With so many wives and concubines, is there not one he likes? He's always arguing with Madam Gu about taking a concubine."

Seeing that only the husband and wife were with the third son, Madam Gu felt a little uneasy, but she couldn't say it. So she said, "After all this commotion, I'm a little hungry. Let's start the feast. We must treat our sixth son well in the future. Tomorrow, burn the poetry collection so that the old Marquis can be happy too."

Speaking of this, Master Gu became a little shy, but smiled and raised his wine cup to toast, "Thank you, Mother. I will definitely study hard in the future to put your mind at ease and set a good example for the children."

"As the saying goes, like father, like son; like teacher, like brother," Madam Gu said with a smile. "It's good that you think this way. In the future, you should visit the Qin family more often. With your third sister-in-law's cousin leading the way, you should also walk the right path and stop messing around with those scholars who can't pass the exams."

"Yes," Master Gu toasted his third brother and then his third sister-in-law, "Thank you for your guidance, Third Sister-in-law. I hope you can continue to guide me in the future."

Qin Yuan laughed and said, "I was just saying it casually, how could I possibly 'give guidance'? Sixth Brother's painting is so good, he is truly talented."

She had just read Master Gu's new poetry collection. The portraits, landscapes, flowers, and birds attached to it were decent, outstanding, but not particularly remarkable.

"Yes, we're going."

Gu Jinghui said, "Being Eighth Master's concubine is like being Qin Yuan's concubine. You were truly blind back then, choosing Eighth Master's gentleness and carelessness. Qin Yuan is the real man."

“His eighth sister-in-law’s talent and insight are beyond the reach of ordinary people. If you had been the one supporting him during those days, how could you not have had such a bad time outside your mansion? His eighth sister-in-law deserves no credit for how badly his poetry collection turned out.”

The Marquis raised an eyebrow. "He was drunk. Once he sobered up, he would naturally think you were the same as usual."

Praising one's wife in public is something a woman should definitely do.

Ruan Xujiao was distracted and only cared about clinging to the Marquis. Under the pretense that she had nothing to say, she reluctantly returned to Wutong Garden with him.

Although the young master's work was thanks to the painter, it's clear that Aunt Zheng still lacks talent.

Ruan Xu said, "Drink the hangover soup slowly, then let's get down to business."

His fingers trembled slightly, and the paper rustled.

The Marquis rolled his eyes, pinched his nose and said, "I was so drunk, how could I change clothes? You hate the smell of alcohol the most. Even after using air freshener for days, the smell still lingers. Qin Yuan did get rid of the smell, but she didn't help me to the side room."

Seeing this, Master Gu smiled smugly, then pulled it back and carelessly put it into his sleeve.

The Marquis lowered his head even further.

In later generations, Lin Ziqi often feigned madness while drunk to achieve his goals.

Ruan Xujiao chuckled and said, "What's wrong with him? He's exactly the same as usual."

Lord Gu took your hand and drank the hangover soup, then leaned back against the pillow with his eyes half-closed. After you finished washing up, he said, "You're not quite drunk anymore."

As he spoke, he took out two pieces of paper from his sleeve and handed them to Aunt Zheng.

It turns out that Lord Gu is also an honest man, and he even pretended to be drunk to win people's hearts.

The Marquis offered another drink, but Sixth Master Gu took it and drank it himself.

Master Gu replied, "Without a wife like this, how can this be considered praise?"

Lord Marquis: "..."

Lord Gu then started clamoring for a bath, wanting fragrant bath beans and flower petals, making Hongye suffer quite a bit.

Aunt Zheng's lips twitched helplessly, and she also drank it all in one gulp.

Sixth Master Gu held your hand, tilted his head, and smiled at you. The seven of us were already quite ugly, and now our faces were flushed, and our eyes were filled with affection. We were as beautiful as the morning glow and as bright as the moon. We were a perfect match.

The Marquis laughed and said, "Hongye is the most capable. The capable do less work and are full of energy."

It was only through persuasion that Madam Gu drank another cup.

He then said to his eighth brother, "Eighth brother has no vision. Even the chief minister praises his eighth sister-in-law's talent, let alone Master Qin. She saw the memorial you drafted for you, and no scholar can match it."

He spared no effort in praising his wife.

Aunt Zheng was so envious her eyes were tired.

Lord Gu slurred, "You have no wife, so why are you living alone in an empty room?"

Hongye, who handed over the cold towel, couldn't help but chuckle: "Big sister, Ruan Xu is drunk and still thinking about him. Shiba is also here. So why don't you let Qin Yuan spend the night outside?"

Aunt Deng looked on with longing, while Ruan Xujiao was preoccupied with her own worries.

Seeing that I was hesitant to reply, Sixth Master Gu said, "Don't believe it. Your manuscript is still outside your sleeve. Take it and let him see it."

Lady You and Lady Geng had long since fallen out of favor and understood Aunt Zheng's nature, so they had no hope at all.

The more I read, the more impressed I become.

If one studies diligently and practices hard, even if one does not achieve great success, it will be sufficient for socializing with scholars in the capital.

Ruan Xujiao said with a hint of bitterness, "...Myna is so unlucky..."

Rong Momo added from the side, "Old Madam, look how affectionate Qin Yuan and Madam are."

Hongye was flattered and whispered, "Big sister, so you're still a scoundrel outside of Qin Yuanxin's heart."

Ruan Xu shyly pushed Gu Liuye away again, and said reproachfully, "What was he doing? He was praising you in front of so few people, and you just sat there."

"Yes, yes, yes, you know all this. Let me toast my sister-in-law again."

Madam Gu, who was sitting at the lower end of the table, also smiled and drank a couple less cups.

Before the banquet ended, Aunt Zheng was slightly drunk. She exchanged a few words with the other concubines and then helped the servant back to the inner courtyard.

Aunt Deng sighed, "Why does Eighth Master still call you to serve him? It's true that a man's heart is fickle. The vows you made are still fresh in my mind, yet he has already discarded you like an autumn fan. You are truly unfortunate."

“Bad Hongye, Hongye is very capable. The capable do less work and are full of energy…” Lord Gu muttered.

By associating with Qin Siyuan, Aunt Zheng has changed so little. If she didn't have any special skills and instead associated with the talented men of the capital, who knows what would have happened?

After drinking his own wine, Master Gu casually took the Marquis's wine cup and drank it all in one gulp for you, saying, "We're all family, there's no need to be modest."

Aunt Zheng poured herself another cup of wine and offered it to him.

Ruan Xujiao quickly put down the wine cup in her hand and took a closer look.

Everyone could see that Master Gu was in love with his wife.

When Cuiming brought over the hangover soup, Lord Gu had already finished washing up and changed his clothes. He sat upright on the floor below the bed, letting the Marquis do as he pleased.

"What a bad match."

That evening, the two concubines sat in their respective courtyards, sighing at the moon and shedding tears in the wind.

Hongye: "..."

The more I read, the more amazed I became.

Cuiming went to the main kitchen to cook a hangover remedy.

Lord Gu immediately said, "Hangover soup? If you want hangover soup, go, I'll order him to bring you some."

"Is Qin Yuan going back to the study to rest?" The Marquis barely managed to push away my body, which reeked of alcohol, as I leaned in. He had been drinking, so whatever he said was taken to heart.