Mr. Matsuyama stood up excitedly and paced back and forth with measured steps, looking more and more like a proud crane.

“Young Master Nantang has a brilliant plan. In this way, more people will participate, and more people will write and buy poems... But the champion of the contest must be chosen carefully.”

Qin Heng was bewildered, not knowing when his eldest sister had become the Young Master of Nantang.

Qin Yuan laughed and said, "With Mr. Songshan's great talent leading the way, and with us mediocre players filling in, this arena can still hold out for a while."

Everyone nodded.

Master Gu both laughed and sighed.

Qin Siyuan asked him, "What's wrong?"

Sixth Master Gu said, "Third Sister-in-law is truly exceptionally intelligent, a veritable female Zhuge Liang. I imagine this collection of poems will be a bestseller, and your talents will be widely known among scholars. I am happy for everyone."

Mr. Songshan frowned and scoffed, "Who cares about such empty fame?"

Sixth Master Gu remained silent.

Qin Siyuan then asked, "Then why are you sighing?"

Sixth Master Gu stammered, "My poetry was never very good to begin with, and now that I've entered the competition, it'll be over soon?"

Qin Yuan had already figured out how to arrange things for Sixth Master Gu. Upon hearing this, she smiled and said, "Sixth Brother, you are mistaken. We can't do without you, no matter who is missing. You are the initiator of the competition and you are also responsible for composing illustrations for the masterpieces. How can we not include your poems?"

Upon hearing this, Master Gu smiled and raised his eyebrows.

Mr. Songshan gave him a disapproving look and sighed, "You've wasted all your energy on chasing fame and fortune. Wouldn't it be better to put some hard work into learning how to write poetry?"

Qin Yuan's heart stirred, and she gave Sixth Master Gu a wink.

Master Gu paused for a moment, then came to his senses and immediately bowed to Mr. Songshan.

“Then please teach me how to write poetry, sir? Otherwise, if my poems are not good and are printed out, wouldn’t that be a disgrace to your masterpiece?”

"I am merely a storyteller..."

Before Mr. Songshan could finish speaking, the crowd said, "What kind of storyteller is this? Sir, please teach him since he's so obsessed with writing poetry."

After a moment's thought, Mr. Songshan said, "I would never teach him alone, but if Young Master Nantang is willing to spar with him as well, I would be happy to include him."

Sixth Master Gu looked longingly at his third brother, then at his third sister-in-law.

Gu Jinghui remained silent, meaning he would let Qin Yuan make her own decision.

Qin Yuan smiled and said, "I would be more than happy to become a disciple of Master Songshan, and I dare not presume to offer any words of mutual learning."

Qin Jijiu also said the same thing.

Mr. Songshan immediately replied, "I dare not be your teacher. If you say that, I would never dare to teach Sixth Master either."

Sixth Master Gu looked pitifully at his third brother, then at his third sister-in-law.

Lord Gu made the final decision: "Our manor never engages in such empty formalities. Since Mr. Songshan has said so, we shall agree."

"Very well, I admire your straightforwardness, Marquis."

Mr. Matsuyama clapped his hands and laughed.

And so the matter was settled.

The Qin family left the Marquis's residence in high spirits. Seeing his father in such a good mood, Qin Heng quietly asked, "Father, when did my eldest sister become the Young Master of Nantang?"

Qin Jijiu turned hostile and cursed, "You shameless little beast! Yesterday I asked you to write a poem and you just kept talking nonsense. Look at Master Gu, who used to be on your level, but now he's hooked up with Mr. Songshan. You'll never catch up to him in this lifetime."

Qin Heng was spat on in the face and looked at Qin Siyuan with a bitter expression.

“Cousin, look at my father, this is going too far.”

Qin Siyuan smiled and said, "Uncle just wants to encourage you to improve yourself. Don't go around telling everyone. You have to keep it a secret that your eldest sister is the Young Master of Nantang. It's just a title she uses. It's not good if people find out."

Qin Heng reluctantly agreed, "My sister and brother-in-law are so good to me, I wouldn't say anything like that."

"That's good."

Qin Jijiu said to Qin Heng, "You're all grown up now, don't just eat for free, help out too. You heard that your sister is working on a collection of ancient poems, you can help Siyuan with that, turn the pages, grind the ink. I'll also find two scholars to help, you can learn something from them too. You can't just sit around venting your anger, you know?"

Qin Heng, unaware of his father's deeper meaning, simply replied, "Hmm."

Back at the Qin residence, Madam Cui asked them what they had done at the Marquis's residence. Qin Jijiu told them what he could, but kept quiet about the important matters they had discussed that morning, and had also instructed the two children to keep it a secret.

Madam Cui couldn't help but complain, "I don't know why they didn't invite Lin Gongye and Wan'er. It's been so long since I've seen them. I thought I would be able to see them at the Marquis's residence, but they didn't send any invitations. It's just that Wan'er's words and actions were a bit out of line, but she should have let it go for my sake."

Qin Jijiu knew why, but he couldn't tell his wife. He just said perfunctorily, "They are all members of the Gu family and generals under the Marquis. They have nothing to say if they go. They will have to find ways to persuade them. It's better if they don't go. Let your son-in-law focus on his studies. He's about to be admitted."

Cui felt something was amiss, yet it also seemed plausible.

"Then tell me, if you publish a collection of poems after you've written them this time, wouldn't you be leaving out your son-in-law, Mr. Lin?"

Qin Jijiu said helplessly, "Don't worry, Yuan'er said that whoever writes well will get the prize this time. If Ziqi writes well, he will naturally get a share."

Cui was puzzled: "He didn't even go, so how could he have a share?"

In the end, Qin Jijiu decided to give his second son-in-law a break: "All fireflies in the world look the same. Does he have to go to the Marquis's mansion to see them? This time, there are no restrictions on rhyme or topic, and it doesn't have to be a poem or song. It's just about fireflies. As long as it's well written, he can just go anywhere to see them."

Madam Cui immediately instructed her maid to go to the Lin family to report the news, and repeatedly instructed her: "Ask the Second Aunt how she is doing recently, and come back to report to me once you have found out."

Qin Jijiu pretended not to know.

After everyone left, Qin Yuan asked Gu Jinghui, "How exactly was the matter of Sixth Sister-in-law resolved? I was busy yesterday and didn't get a chance to ask you."

Gu Jinghui said, "Sixth Brother made the decision himself, let him say it."

Sixth Master Gu hadn't slept all night and was feeling sleepy again. He yawned and said lazily, "It's nothing. I just said that I have the evidence that they borrowed money from the Marquis's mansion to lend money. If they don't want to see Madam Xu well, then they shouldn't be happy either."

Qin Yuan frowned and asked, "That's it?"

Sixth Master Gu said, "That's it."

Qin Yuan wanted to ask more, but was pulled back by Lord Gu beside her, so she didn't press the matter further.

Then Lord Gu instructed Sixth Master Gu, “Go back and rest quickly. When you wake up, go find Master Songshan. If you want to become his apprentice, you should do it properly. You should offer tuition and tea as a formality.”

Qin Yuan smiled and said, "It seems that Mr. Songshan is going to stay at the mansion for a long time."

Lord Gu looked down at her and said affectionately, "Isn't this exactly what you wanted?"

“Um…” Gu Liuye scratched his head with the handle of his folding fan and interrupted the two with a helpless look, saying, “Mr. Songshan said that he only teaches me how to write poetry and does not intend to take me as his apprentice.”

Lord Gu glanced at his sixth brother with a complicated expression.