"Hmph," Lord Gu scoffed, "It's just a beating, it's not like I haven't been in one before. I'll be fine after a few days of rest."

Gu Baozhu got annoyed and leaned closer, pointing her finger at his nose.

"Are you still my good third brother?"

Gently pushing her aside, Lord Gu said indifferently, "In your eyes and heart, I am no longer that. Oh, I almost forgot something. You missed the Qixi Festival this year, but there's always next year. Didn't you say that the embroiderers at Jinxiu Pavilion all praised you for your great talent, but that you haven't had enough time to learn? Now you have more than a year to study properly."

Finally, I studied a few words carefully and even added emphasis to them.

Gu Baozhu stomped her feet in anger.

"Third Brother, what you're doing is taking advantage of someone's misfortune."

When Qin Yuan came out and saw her, she laughed and said, "How old are you? Why are you teasing her?"

Gu Baozhu hurriedly ran over and tugged at Qin Yuan's sleeve, saying, "That's right, only Third Sister-in-law cares about me and speaks up for me."

Lord Gu just looked at Qin Yuan and smiled sheepishly.

Qin Yuan retorted, "Let me be fair, you ran out last night and scared me half to death. If something had happened to you, how would I explain it to Mother and your third brother when I got back?"

Gu Baozhu sighed.

"It was my fault, but I know what I'm doing. If I can't beat them, I won't force it."

“You know what you’re doing, you know what you’re doing. You wouldn’t have been so scared when you played polo that day. If I hadn’t gone, I don’t know how you would have handled it,” Lord Gu mercilessly exposed her past mistakes and sneered, “This time you’ve made your third sister-in-law worry again. If you’re not good at your skills, don’t embarrass yourself so easily. Starting tomorrow, you will come to the outer courtyard early in the morning to practice martial arts with me.”

"...No way...Third Brother..."

Gu Baozhu was both happy and sad.

She was delighted that her third brother would personally teach her martial arts.

Sadly, she could no longer sleep in late from then on.

Lord Gu said, "If you can persist in learning martial arts from me, I will cover up this matter for you, and you won't have to make things difficult for your third sister-in-law. What do you say?"

Gu Baozhu hesitated for a moment: "...Okay..."

If she were locked up for a few more months, she would definitely go crazy, she definitely would.

Qin Yuan asked, "Baozhu, would you like to go back and change your clothes before going upstairs?"

Gu Baozhu responded and ran out quickly, leaving behind the words, "Third Sister-in-law, you go first. I'll change my clothes and come over later."

This is for Qin Yuan and his wife to mediate for her in front of the old lady.

Qin Yuan chuckled.

Lord Gu sighed, "That annoying fellow has finally run away."

He then gave Qin Yuan a bear hug, holding her tightly, and sighed with satisfaction, saying, "Good Yuan'er, it's been so boring leaving me at home these past few days. It's good that you're back. Life has been so hard without you here."

Qin Yuan smiled and nestled in his arms, asking, "How is the matter of the capital inspection going?"

Lord Gu held her and swayed slowly, saying lazily, "People from all factions are trying to slip notes and send things in. I simply had them all surrounded, eating, drinking, and relieving themselves all in the yamen, and no one is allowed to send messages. They can only go back after they finish the report that was unanimously approved by the Six Ministries. It will be even more useless for them to beg me."

Let's take it one step at a time.

"It sounds like there's a well-organized plan," Qin Yuan laughed. "So you, the one in charge, are quite carefree."

Lord Gu chuckled twice, trying to justify himself: "I'm the leader, I can't just bury myself in trivial matters like them. In the words of Mr. Songshan, I'm just a military man, and when it comes to scholarship, I naturally can't suppress them. But first, I'll use force to intimidate them, let them know my power, and then keep my distance from them, making decisions on important matters. That way, they won't be able to figure out my strength, and naturally they won't dare to act rashly."

Qin Yuan laughed.

It sounds like a well-thought-out plan.

It's good that Mr. Songshan is willing to give Lord Gu advice, and Lord Gu is willing to listen to it.

She joked, "Does my husband still need to grow a beard?"

Lord Gu laughed and said, "No need. Sigh! I'm only like this in front of you... Outsiders are terrified of me when I have a stern face."

"I don't believe it," Qin Yuan reached out her slender hand to stroke his handsome profile and smiled, "How could a husband as handsome and charming as him inspire fear?"

This made him incredibly proud.

Lord Gu smiled happily, his eyes narrowed.

His little wife's every move makes his heart flutter; it's truly a rare and precious thing for him.

What should we do?

Fortunately, he drove away Yelü Shiren before he could marry, otherwise he really wouldn't have been able to resist the charms of a beautiful woman.

Lord Gu pinched her delicate nose, his gaze lingering on the small mole on her nose, and laughed, "You are truly wise and brave. How did you manage to capture Yelü Xianyong? I heard from Shiba that he didn't notice anything amiss at first."

Qin Yuan said, "It was just a coincidence. Someone broke into the courtyard last night. Every night I have people place different kinds of incense in various places, just in case. Yelü Xianyong had some on him and then came to me, so I caught him."

Lord Gu cupped her face in his hands, gently kissed the tip of her delicate nose, and said, "Mother is probably already waiting for us. Let's have a meal together, and then we'll come back and talk to you properly."

Qin Yuan leaned against him lazily and said, "I don't want to talk. I need to rest. You don't know how talkative and noisy Baozhu is with me. I haven't been able to sleep well."

Lord Gu felt sorry for you: "I know you're tired. I'll take you to the main room so you don't have to walk too far. Let Hongye and Cuiming walk there by themselves."

Qin Yuan beamed with joy and quickly reached out to put her arm around Lord Gu's waist, saying, "Alright, slow down. When you fly with me in mid-air, the scenery is exceptionally different."

The couple instructed their maids to follow them, and then they quickly went to the main room.

Hongye clicked her tongue as she watched them disappear in the direction they went.

Cui Ming said, "Let's go. If you're envious, you can try it out in private."

"Who should I ask to try it?"

The red leaves are like a cat whose tail has been stepped on.

Cui Ming snorted and said, "Who do you want to test it on?"

"Nobody's here."

Hongye quickly walked out.

Cui Ming said slowly from behind her, "I'm the one who can't find anyone to try it on."

Hongye turned around, embarrassed and annoyed, "Hurry up and leave."

The two, accompanied by their maids and servants, hurried to the main room.

Qiuju greeted them with a smile, "The Marquis and his wife are having dinner with the Old Madam, and the Sixth Master and the young masters are also here. The Madam said you must all be hungry, so she had the kitchen send some food over as well. Let's eat in shifts, and then we'll go in and serve you."

Everyone was indeed hungry, and after traveling for half a day, they were all tired and exhausted. Upon hearing this, they all praised, "Madam is so considerate of us."

So they quickly divided into groups to eat in the outer room. While they were eating, they saw Gu Shiliu hurriedly walk into the front porch.

Cui Ming stared at the red leaves and coughed lightly.

Hongye looked up and saw it, then hurriedly lowered her head again, but her ears were already perked up. She heard Gu Shiliu standing under the corridor, saying loudly, "My lord, Yelü Guzha has come to visit."