Gu Jinghui clenched his right fist tightly, then released it, and said, "It's always good to be cautious. It's fortunate that you're here in the inner quarters; otherwise, it would be impossible to guard against anything."

Qin Yuan felt a pang of shame in her heart.

If she hadn't lived a previous life, she wouldn't have been able to see through all these intricacies.

Qin Yuan said, "The Duke of Zhenguo's mansion is affiliated with Empress Lin. We should be more cautious when we visit the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion in the future."

Gu Jinghui nodded repeatedly and said, "It seems there are no small matters in the inner quarters. You'll have to take extra care."

His mother could only try to protect herself; it was good enough that his sister didn't cause any trouble.

Fortunately, his young wife was there; otherwise, he wouldn't have noticed these things.

Mr. Matsuyama was right after all.

Qin Yuan smiled and said, "The interactions between ladies are inevitably related to the struggles in the court. Many things that men cannot say directly are passed on through the inner quarters. My husband is only focused on fighting, so naturally he is unaware of these things."

The title of Marquis of Dingbei is hereditary and its members are responsible for guarding the northern frontier. They rarely get involved in court disputes, let alone the struggle for the throne.

However, an unexpected incident occurred during the generation of Lord Gu.

Empress Lin rose from a foot-washing maid to a favored concubine, while the late empress and the late crown prince both met with misfortune, and the Yelü clan was expelled...

That's when the situation became complicated.

Lord Gu also thought of this and laughed, "With my wife, I am like a tiger with wings. We are truly a match made in heaven."

Qin Yuan smiled gently, pursing her lips.

Lord Gu added, "Although we knew that the Crown Prince harbored ill intentions towards the Marquis's Mansion, we always thought that since he was the heir apparent, we should avoid him and endure him as much as possible."

The implication is that they no longer want to tolerate it.

Qin Yuan lowered her eyes, her long, curled eyelashes obscuring her thoughts. A small mole on the tip of her upturned nose was quite noticeable, and Gu Jinghui's gaze lingered on it, as if he were carefully examining the mole, or as if he wanted to see through her heart.

After a long pause, Qin Yuan slowly said, "My husband already has a plan in mind. No matter what you do, I'll be on your side. We can't just sit here and take the beating... but..."

"Just what?"

Gu Jinghui, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, took another deep breath.

"However, my father may not stand with the Marquis's family. If the situation gets to that point, I beg my husband not to blame him for my sake."

Lord Gu finally managed to exhale a breath of relief.

My heart was pounding wildly, thumping incessantly.

If he hadn't misunderstood, his young wife was willing to stand by him through thick and thin, and even put her own family aside for his sake.

In other words...

In Qin Yuan's heart, Gu Jinghui was superior to the Qin family.

Lord Gu pulled Qin Yuan into his arms, gently kissed her hair, and murmured, "With such a good wife as you, how could I bear to blame my in-laws? Besides, given my father-in-law's character and temperament, he would never kick me when I'm down. That's enough. How could I dare to ask for more?"

People say that when disaster strikes, everyone flies away.

What does their connection with the Marquis of Dingbei's family and Empress Lin's lineage have to do with the Qin family?

Qin Yuan's willingness to stay with him shows how deep her affection is.

His young wife truly has him in her heart.

He will never meet such a good woman again in his life, a woman who is devoted to him wholeheartedly and whose love belongs to him completely.

Lord Gu closed his eyes and listened quietly as his own heartbeat and his wife's heartbeat slowly merged into one.

My heart is filled with happiness and peace.

With a soft rustling of the curtain, Mo Zhu hurriedly entered, carrying various colored silks, but upon seeing the scene, she hastily retreated.

Lord Gu then let go of her hand, but he didn't say anything. He just kept playing with Qin Yuan's slender hand.

Qin Yuan let him have his way and asked, "Has the King of Qi ever mentioned that incense to my husband?"

Lord Gu held Qin Yuan's small hand in his own and shook his head: "No, he came to me yesterday to inquire about the background of Mr. Songshan and Young Master Nantang, but I naturally knew nothing about them."

At this point, Lord Gu sighed, "I don't know what's going on, but now all the officials in the court are trying to find out about Young Master Nantang."

Lord Gu felt a mix of pride, smugness, and a vague sense of jealousy.

Qin Yuan smiled sheepishly.

Changing the subject, he asked again, "Your Highness Prince Qi, did you not use that incense?"

Lord Gu asked in surprise, "He emphasized the importance of this matter before, so why didn't he use it?"

Qin Yuan lowered her head and pondered for a moment, then said after a while, "It seems that His Highness Prince Qi plans to come to see me again after the Mid-Autumn Festival. It's time to send a message to Seventeen to start harvesting pepper."

Lord Gu immediately said, "I will send Sixteen to deliver the message right away."

Qin Yuan smiled and pressed down on his strong forearm, saying, "There's no rush. We can talk about it tomorrow."

Lord Gu was unwilling to agree. At this moment, he really hoped that Qin Yuan could propose countless things so that he could serve his little wife well.

Only after Lord Gu left did Cuiming and Mozhu dare to come in.

Qin Yuan asked, "Is Hongye with Sixteen?"

Cui Ming laughed and said, "How embarrassing! How would I know about such a thing? But as soon as the Marquis arrived, Hongye went out, and Sixteen was no longer here."

Mo Zhu looked at Cui Ming with admiration.

Qin Yuan laughed and said, "Everyone says Hongye is good with words, but I think your mouth is even more impressive."

Mo Zhu presented the fabrics he was holding and asked, "Madam, how about we select one bolt of each of these silks and send them to the Lin family?"

Qin Yuan reached out and touched it, then nodded and said, "Yes, and with a new piece of flowing cloud gauze, it would be perfect for Second Sister's age."

Cui Ming laughed and said, "Won't this make that Lady Yu drool?"

That Madam Yu is short-sighted; they've all seen it for themselves.

Qin Yuan said, "That's her business, what does it have to do with me?"

As the three were talking, a sharp and urgent flute melody suddenly rang out outside, shattering the tranquility of the autumn night.

Qin Yuan put down the silk in her hand, her expression solemn.

Clearly something has happened in the manor to warrant this.

Cui Ming and Mo Zhu also stopped smiling and fell silent.

A short while later, Lord Gu returned, quickly changed his outer garments, and said, "Yuan'er, I have some business to attend to. You go to sleep first tonight, don't wait for me."

After saying that, without waiting for her reply, he had already left and disappeared.

Hongye walked in and said to Qin Yuan, "I don't know what happened, but when Sixteen heard the sound, it was like his butt was on fire. He flew out in a flash."

Qin Yuan said, "If you don't know, then I, sitting in the house, know even less. Judging from the Marquis's tone, he probably won't be back tonight. If you want to know, try to find out more tomorrow morning."

Cui Ming smiled and said, "The Marquis went out to look for Sixteen, so I knew Sixteen must be with you. You two should hurry up and set a wedding date so it's officially announced. That way, everyone will have less trouble."

Perhaps because she had been teased so many times, Hongye was no longer embarrassed and said, "It's better to wait until after the Mid-Autumn Festival."

Suddenly, the sound of porcelain shattering echoed outside the house.