Lord Gu said, "Tell me your thoughts, so that my mother and I can discuss them."

Seeing her son like this, Old Madam Gu stopped herself from saying what she was about to say.

Qin Yuan explained in detail what she had been thinking.

Madam Gu sighed, "My father-in-law is truly adept at raising his daughter. It's rare to see such foresight in such a young child. Tomorrow, I will invite the clan elders to discuss this together. Since the Marquis's family has contributed money and effort, we should naturally seek more benefits for our descendants."

Gu Jinghui said, "Mother, why are you in such a hurry? Yuan'er hasn't come up with a plan yet."

Madam Gu glared at her: "What do you know? Such a big matter involves many people in the clan and many thoughts. How can it be settled in one or two days? Yuan'er is busy with the affairs of the manor. I will handle dealing with these old fellows outside."

Perhaps because she had a new idea, Madam Gu seemed much more energetic.

Gu Jinghui saw this and felt even more grateful to Qin Yuan.

He then said, "Alright, I won't say any more. Mother and Yuan'er can handle it as they see fit. I'll just try to squeeze some money out of the Yelü clan. Just thinking that our Gu clan's lasting legacy was built with the silver of wild donkeys makes me so happy that I can eat a few more bowls of rice."

Madam Gu pouted and said, "You can eat as much as you want here, as much as you want."

Qin Yuan smiled and said, "Mother may complain, but she's secretly overjoyed."

Madam Gu laughed and said, "Since you're here, I have to give him face. Otherwise, I would have beaten him long ago. All he knows is eating. People will think that he got his title of Marquis by eating too much."

Rong Mama and the others came in to serve her again. Seeing that Old Madam Gu was much more cheerful, Rong Mama was relieved.

When the meal was served, with her son and daughter-in-law by her side, Old Madam Gu ate half a bowl more rice than she had during the day.

As Rong Momo saw them off, she whispered, "Madam, come visit the Old Madam more often to chat and relieve her boredom. This old servant thinks the Old Madam is much better now."

Qin Yuan laughed and said, "It's all thanks to Granny who has already appeased the old lady, so I just picked up a ready-made one."

Rong Momo smiled and said, "Madam's clever tongue is truly irresistible. Our old lady is so lucky to have such a good daughter-in-law like you."

Lord Gu held Qin Yuan's hand and said with a smile, "I am also a lucky person."

Granny Rong nodded and clicked her tongue: "Indeed, nothing could have been accomplished without you. My good Marquis."

After returning to Wutong Garden, the couple sat down by the window again.

Qin Yuan picked up the embroidery hoop and sewed a few stitches. Lord Gu watched with his head propped up on his hand, muttering, "I feel like Mother and Granny Rong are both disgusted with me because of you."

Qin Yuan smiled and said, "Mother and Rong Mama are the most fair. If they do this, it must be because you did something wrong. Go and reflect on your actions."

Lord Gu clicked his tongue in surprise: "Oh my, you're getting all worked up now that I'm saying you're fat."

Qin Yuan asked curiously, "Then what do you want?"

Lord Gu was taken aback for a moment, then said sourly, "What else can I do? You've won over everyone in the manor, and they all speak highly of you. What else can I do? I'm happy for you, and proud of you."

"It would be best if you really thought so," Qin Yuan said, too lazy to pretend anymore. She put down her embroidery frame and tapped his head. "I thought Sister Cheng was coming to find me today, but she didn't. So I asked you how you were looking after the house? Yesterday, Doctor Li examined Old Lady Qi's eyes and said the house was in complete chaos."

"What's going on now?" Gu Jinghui straightened up and asked in surprise, "Gu Jingcheng is so busy at the Five Cities Military Command that he doesn't have time to rest. He only has one old concubine at home. Who else could be causing trouble?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Jinghui realized it.

He hesitated for a moment and asked, "...Are they Brother Cheng and Sister Yu?"

Qin Yuan nodded and said, "The two of them are on a hunger strike. It's because you promised them you'd go to the Imperial Academy, and then you wanted to invite Mr. Songshan, but he suggested they learn martial arts. So the two of them are making a scene at home, saying that your family only adopted them to curry favor with the Marquis's mansion and that they weren't sincere at all. They're causing chaos and no one can coax them to eat."

Gu Jinghui's face darkened.

"How is this getting more and more outrageous?"

If this causes further unrest in Gu Jingcheng's family, how will they be dealt with in the future?

Qin Yuan said, "Old Lady Qi sent word through Physician Li that they were instigated by that fake Granny Yang, and that they are in cahoots with Yelü Guzha. Also, what have they found out about those few Yelü clan members?"

"They're all tough nuts to crack; no matter how much we beat them, they wouldn't confess. One of them even bit off his tongue and committed suicide."

After speaking, Lord Gu glanced at Qin Yuan, somewhat worried that she might find the bloody scene disturbing. However, Qin Yuan frowned and said, "These few members of the Yelü clan are one thing, but that old woman could only glean a few words from them. Don't you think Zhao's identity is quite unusual, my husband? And what is Pang Hai's background? We can't find out anything about him. If you ask me, aren't the Yelü clan members placing too much importance on these two children?"

Gu Jinghui pondered for a moment and said, "You mean..."

Although he had his doubts, he dared not and did not want to make such a conjecture.

But once Qin Yuan exposed it, there was no way to avoid it anymore.

Qin Yuan said calmly, "You released them next door before, hoping to lure out the Zhao family. Look at what has happened now. Not only have you caught a few members of the Yelü clan, but you've also caught Yelü Guzha and his valiant generals."

The Zhao family has not yet shown their faces.

Gu Jinghui couldn't sit still any longer and immediately stood up, saying, "I'll go and interrogate Yelü Xianyong again. He can be considered a hero among the Yelü clan, and he's upright and honest..."

Before she could finish speaking, Qin Yuan sneered, "Then you should ask him carefully what his purpose was in breaking into the family temple that night and then pretending to be a hunter to disrupt my procession the next day."

Gu Jinghui said with a forced smile, "Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking. I wanted to humiliate him. He did something like that, and then he was caught off guard by you. He feels so aggrieved that he won't even drink a drop of water."

"Does he intend to die of thirst or starvation?"

Gu Jinghui said, "This man's temperament... I must say, is a bit too strong-willed. Yelü Guzha's uncle admired his bravery and betrothed his beloved daughter to him. The girl thought he was too ugly and became depressed all day long, and died not long after. He was ridiculed because of this. Later, he was taken under Yelü Guzha's command, and he said that he was determined to do great things in this life and let the world know that although he was ugly, he was a man of integrity."

Qin Yuan laughed and said, "He's really unlucky. He lost to you on the battlefield and then fell into my trap yesterday. No wonder, anyone would feel aggrieved in his situation."

Gu Jinghui said, "Mr. Songshan just taught me the art of managing people. You scholars are all so cunning. I'll try it out on him today."

Qin Yuan blinked and leaned closer to ask, "What did he say?"

Gu Jinghui couldn't take it anymore. He covered her eyes with one hand, which were so beautiful they could drown a man, and held her slender waist with the other. He scolded her in a low voice, "Stop acting cute and speak properly."