"Who's being cute!"

Qin Yuan was furious and retorted.

"If this isn't acting cute, then what is?"

Gu Jinghui released his hand, revealing her beautiful eyes that were glaring angrily at him.

The beauty was charming in everything she did; even her angry glare made his heart flutter.

His hand, as if acting on its own, once again lifted Qin Yuan's delicate chin and gently kissed her.

While kissing her, he muttered, "This is what it means to be affectionate, you know? I can't help myself when I see you like this."

The maids standing by all lowered their eyes and hurriedly withdrew.

The long and passionate kiss finally came to an end.

Qin Yuan nestled softly against Lord Gu's broad, sturdy chest, her voice even more coquettish: "You naughty thing."

"If I'm not bad, am I not a man?"

As soon as Lord Gu uttered his words, he touched a raw nerve.

He was clearly a man, but his young wife was still a virgin.

So he went to bite Qin Yuan's lips again.

Qin Yuan hurriedly used her hands to block the way and began to bargain: "If you, you, if you keep doing this, you have to take me to see that Yelü Xianyong."

"What's so interesting about him?"

Lord Gu was very dissatisfied.

The young wife actually wanted to see other men.

"I want to see how ugly he is."

Hearing this, Lord Gu became happy again and said with a doting smile, "Alright, I'll take you there."

What does it mean to be unable to refuse?

That's it!

Lord Gu continued his carefree antics for a while before finally pulling Qin Yuan's hand and leading her outside.

Hongye and Cuiming hurriedly chased them out.

Lord Gu turned around and said coldly, "None of you should go."

Qin Yuan stopped and smiled, "You don't need to worry. I will come back with the Marquis. If the Marquis is too busy, either the Sixteenth or Eighteenth will escort me back."

Lord Gu lowered his head, looked at her, and softly promised.

"Don't worry, I'll personally bring you back."

Qin Yuan laughed.

The two of them no longer had anyone else in their eyes.

Hongye and Cuiming stopped under the eaves and did not go any further.

Lord Gu suddenly became interested and said, "Since it's just the two of us, I'll take you flying again today."

Qin Yuan was overjoyed: "Great!"

Seeing how happy she was, Lord Gu's face was full of indifference, but the corners of his lips secretly curled up.

He put his arm around Qin Yuan's slender waist, and with a light tap of his toes, he carried her to the top of the tallest tree in the courtyard. Everyone couldn't help but look up and see the two of them, their clothes fluttering, looking like immortals.

Lord Gu lightly touched the ground with his toes and left the courtyard, disappearing from everyone's sight.

The autumn night breeze carried the fragrance of lotus leaves from the nearby lotus pond.

Qin Yuan sighed, "On Mid-Autumn Festival night, let's invite an opera troupe to play on a boat in the lotus pond. The whole family can sit around in the pavilion, listening and admiring the moon. It will be wonderful."

Lord Gu looked at her pretty profile, his eyes filled with tenderness and affection.

"You can arrange it."

As they were talking, they arrived at the outer courtyard. The servant guarding outside the study saw the Marquis and his wife land on the porch and rubbed his eyes in surprise.

"What about sixteen?" Lord Gu asked.

The servant hurriedly replied, "He's with Sixth Master. I'll go and fetch him."

Lord Gu nodded.

Qin Yuan followed him into the study and asked, "Why not go to the dungeon?"

Lord Gu glanced at Qin Yuan and explained, "The dungeon is filthy and smelly. I had someone bring Yelü Xianyong here for questioning. You hide behind the screen and don't make a sound."

Qin Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Alright, since he's in the dungeon and plans to starve himself to death, we might as well treat him with courtesy. That might be better."

Lord Gu laughed and said, "As long as you can win people's hearts, that's fine."

Gu Shiliu rushed in and asked, "What does Your Excellency want with me?"

Lord Gu said, "Go and invite Yelü Xianyong to the study for questioning."

Gu Shiliu was surprised to see Qin Yuan there.

The Marquis didn't try to hide it at all.

If this continues, I'm afraid the lady will have to get involved in everything.

Lord Gu then said, "Madam will be listening from behind the screen. Before you bring him here, have someone wash him up and change him into clean clothes."

That way, I won't offend my young wife.

Qin Yuan's eyes darted around, and she interjected, "Have the kitchen bring out some food and drinks, preferably the kind you usually eat in the northern frontier."

Gu Shiliu glanced at Lord Gu hesitantly.

Lord Gu said, "Let's do as Madam says."

Gu Shiliu hurriedly agreed and went to make the arrangements without further ado.

Before long, a servant brought over a large food box.

First, a plate of fried peanuts was placed on the table, followed by a plate of braised beef, a plate of poached chicken, and then a large pot of clear stewed mutton with lots of vermicelli and cilantro on top.

A strange fragrance quickly filled the entire study.

Qin Yuan pinched her nose and said, "Why does it smell so strong?"

Lord Gu smiled and pinched her little face.

"When I was in the northern frontier, I often heard people say that if the mutton is not gamey, the women will not be delicate. This is because you need to add cilantro to bring out the aroma of the mutton, and it tastes best when dipped in the prepared sauce."

The servant replied, "Your Excellency and Madam, it's just a coincidence that we're here today. Steward Han has been clamoring for a long time that it's time to fatten up for winter and that we should have mutton soup. The kitchen just put it on the stove today to make the soup base, otherwise it wouldn't have been ready so quickly."

Lord Gu laughed and scolded, "This old codger, he's already thinking about this thing even though it's only early autumn."

The servant then took out a sauce dish and a shovel from the food box.

After setting everything out, they left.

Lord Gu coaxed in a low voice, "Would you like to try it? It smells muttony, but the taste is very delicious. It goes best with strong liquor, and it's especially nourishing to eat in autumn and winter. If you find it too muttony, I'll have the kitchen find a way to cover up the smell with some spices."

Qin Yuan smiled and said, "Let's skip it today. Doctor Li also said that eating more of this in winter will warm your hands and feet; it's indeed a good thing."

Lord Gu laughed and said, "In winter, you and I will share a quilt. I will never let you get cold. I am very warm, just like a furnace."

Qin Yuan blushed.

Lord Gu's smile widened even more.

Qin Yuan stamped her foot and said, "I'm hiding behind the screen. The smell of the food will mask the incense on my body, and he will never guess that there is someone behind the screen."

"Then you'll have to breathe very shallowly and slowly."

Lord Gu smiled and said, "Those who practice martial arts have extraordinary hearing."

Qin Yuan thought for a moment, "Then send someone to bring Mother's puppy here."

Lord Gu laughed even harder.

How could the young wife's brain be so clever as to come up with such a method?

He shouted outside, "Eighteen, go upstairs and fetch the old lady's puppy."

The puppy was brought over in no time.

Lord Gu took it, examined it carefully, and then handed it to Qin Yuan.

The soft, fluffy puppy nestled obediently in Qin Yuan's arms, its big, dark eyes wide open and its ears drooping softly, looking very content.

Lord Gu was a little jealous and couldn't help but complain, "This dog is enjoying life much better than a person."

Qin Yuan smiled and patted the puppy's head, scolding, "You're getting more and more unserious. Do you think a dog can be a marquis?"

Lord Gu said, "Your Excellency has not done it, but the Grand General has."