Qin Yuan withdrew her gaze from the window, turned her slightly tired, porcelain-like face, and asked suspiciously, "Why did you suddenly bring this up?"

Hongye said, "Seventh Miss has no sense of propriety. Now that she knows about Sixth Madam's affairs, I wonder if she can keep quiet about it."

Cuiming glanced at Hongye, somewhat puzzled, and asked, "Are you worried about the Sixth Madam?"

Hongye paused, then said, "It's not really like that, it's just... just..."

Everyone has a compassionate heart, and now that the Sixth Madam is in such a miserable state, Hongye's previous aversion to her has unknowingly disappeared.

Qin Yuan walked to the desk, picked up a brush, dipped it in thick ink, and casually drew a few orchids. After examining them for a while, she said, "As the saying goes, it's easier to change mountains and rivers than to change one's nature. I didn't expect our Seventh Miss to change either."

Hongye belatedly realized what was going on and asked, "Did Miss already have a plan?"

Qin Yuan said calmly, "The matter of the Sixth Madam cannot be kept from the Seventh Miss. She is by nature impulsive and talkative, so repeated orders will probably be of no use. Let her be."

Hongye thought for a moment and then sighed.

"...This...this isn't good for the Marquis's mansion either..."

"It's going to get even worse," Qin Yuan chuckled lightly, not taking it seriously. "Sixth Master is going to file a lawsuit, how can this be kept secret? Now that the Marquis is highly regarded by the Emperor, officials are vying to curry favor with him, and there are more people watching him. If there's even the slightest disturbance in the mansion, everyone will know. Whether Seventh Miss says something or not, she can't shut other people up. I told her, but I didn't expect her to listen."

Hongye herself needs Gu Baozhu's constant reminders to keep her in check; she easily makes mistakes if she's not careful. Who can expect Gu Baozhu to change her ways after just a few months of confinement?

Hongye: "..."

Cuiming suddenly chuckled and said, "Hongye, you shouldn't worry about the Sixth Madam and the Seventh Miss. The Sixth Madam's illness is clearly terminal. She is indeed pitiful, but it's not like the Marquis's mansion caused her this... As for the Seventh Miss... I heard the Marquis speak so frankly, but I wonder what the Seventh Miss said about the Sixth Madam. The Sixth Master doesn't go out to take up an official post, and if things get out of hand, it will be the Xu family that suffers. The Seventh Miss's mouth is right here, so why not use it?"

Hongye also thought of this and smiled, "I wonder how the Marquis will punish the Seventh Miss this time."

Qin Yuan casually drew a few more strokes of orchids and said indifferently, "What else can I do?"

How can you punish a young girl who is not yet married, not a boy? You can only keep her locked up to learn to write and embroider.

Gu Baozhu's personality...

I guess he was frustrated after being locked up for a few days, and he was already thinking about how to win the Qixi Festival next year and amaze everyone.

Cui Ming nodded and smiled, "Seventh Miss caused trouble with her talkativeness before, but perhaps this time we can do good things because of her talkativeness. Hopefully, she won't be too talkative when she should, and too talkative when she shouldn't."

Qin Yuan put down her brush and said coldly, "If that's the case, I won't believe she's changed her ways unless she never talks nonsense again in this lifetime. Otherwise, this talkativeness is just a pretense."

Hongye thought for a moment, then frowned and said, "Judging from your appearance, Miss Seven doesn't seem to be that kind of person."

Cui Ming said, "We didn't know Zhao was that kind of person before, even though we saw her like that."

Everyone fell silent.

What was said in jest was taken to heart by Qin Yuan. She suddenly remembered that in her past life, Zhao Shi, the favored concubine, had only managed to suppress Qin Wan and live a secluded life with the Marquis behind closed doors. When she and Lin Ziqi returned to the capital, the civil officials had already suppressed the military generals, and all was peaceful and prosperous. Marquis Gu rarely even attended court anymore. If it weren't for Qin Wan, she wouldn't have heard a word about the affairs of the Marquis of Dingbei's residence.

this life……

Everything has changed in this life.

Qin Yuan sighed and threw the brush into the brush washer, whereupon a wisp of ink quickly spread across the entire surface of the water.

It's true that one small thing can have far-reaching consequences.

Not long after, Qiuju came to invite her to the main room. Qin Yuan knew that this was because of the Sixth Madam, so she ordered someone to invite the Marquis and ask him to have dinner in the main room later.

As soon as she entered the house, Old Madam Gu grasped her hand, tears streaming down her face, and said, "My child, how could your sixth sister-in-law be like this..."

Seeing Rong Momo give him a wink, he knew that Old Madam Gu had already gone to see Sixth Madam Gu.

Gu Baozhu, standing beside him, had red and swollen eyelids, clearly having cried along with him.

Qin Yuan immediately said softly, "Mother, although I haven't spent much time with my sixth sister-in-law, seeing her like this... she must be very sad too..."

Old Madam Gu cried even harder.

Gu Baozhu sobbed.

“We’ve depended on each other for so many years…” Old Madam Gu cried and sighed, “How could this child be so foolish? That little bit of money is not as important as life. How could she be so foolish?”

Gu Baozhu sobbed, "The Xu family are a bunch of wolves. Sixth Sister-in-law was forced to her death by them. We can't just swallow this anger. We must avenge Sixth Sister-in-law."

The more Madam Gu thought about it, the sadder she became. When a person dies, it's like a lamp going out. Xu was just a little greedy and scheming. Over the years, she had done many good things. No one could bear to see her die like this.

The room was filled with women sobbing uncontrollably.

After a while, Rong Momo advised, "The old lady is getting old, she can't be too sad. What if she hurts her health because of this?"

Qin Yuan also advised, "Sixth sister-in-law is in such a state now... I'm afraid we should make preparations as soon as possible. I have already instructed someone to go to the Imperial Academy to bring my nephews back to take care of her. Mother, Baozhu and I are young and have not experienced much. I'm afraid we haven't considered things thoroughly enough. We will have to rely on you to make decisions in every aspect. Please don't be too worried about Sixth sister-in-law hurting her health and abandoning us."

Upon hearing this, Old Madam Gu mustered her courage and comforted her, saying, "Good child, don't be afraid, your mother is here in the manor."

Gu Baozhu also wiped away her tears and said in a heavy voice, "Third sister-in-law, just tell me what you need. I'm not young anymore, and I should learn to help the family solve their problems. You see, I did a good job last time."

Upon hearing this, Madam Gu felt a little better, her eyes filled with affection: "Baozhu is sensible now. Your sixth sister-in-law watched you grow up and has been your sister-in-law for so many years. It would be good to do more for her."

Gu Baozhu's tears continued to fall uncontrollably.

When Madam Gu saw this, she became sad again.

Qin Yuan hurriedly said, "I was just worried about Kang Ge'er and Fu Ge'er. They must be so heartbroken and sad after returning from the Imperial Academy. They lost their mother at such a young age. Even though we are here, they are still so pitiful. It would be good if Seventh Sister could spend more time with them, talk to them, and help them relieve their emotions so that they don't get sick from being so sad. Sixth Sister-in-law, if... we must take good care of these children."

Old Madam Gu patted Gu Baozhu's back heavily and said, "Yes, as her aunt, you shouldn't just cry. You need to think of a way to comfort your nephews and nieces and prevent them from getting sick from sadness. Your sixth brother is unreliable, and your third brother is good at fighting, but he knows nothing about these things. If you put in more effort, you'll be doing justice to your sixth sister-in-law's care all these years."

After a few words, everyone's thoughts turned to how to prepare for Madam Gu's funeral and take care of the children. Rong Mama breathed a sigh of relief and thought to herself, "Don't underestimate Madam Gu just because she is young. She is more intelligent and sensible than anyone else."