this……

Gu Shiba was at a loss for words; Mr. Songshan had really taken the initiative.

But since he had asked someone for a favor and had already eaten their food, he couldn't bring himself to refuse.

Sixth Master Gu asked, "What does Mr. Songshan want to discuss with my brother at length?"

Mr. Matsuyama waved his hand, saying in an unquestionable manner, "It's not something that can be explained in a short time. You'll know tomorrow."

Gu Shiba had no choice but to go to Wutong Garden. It was already late, the lights were on, and the courtyard was bustling with activity. Even at this hour, there were still quite a few stewardesses coming to attend to matters.

After the maidservant informed Qin Yuan, she led him into the main room. Through the beaded curtain, Gu Shiba said, "The matter that Madam instructed us to attend to today has made some progress, but..."

"Just what?"

Gu Shiba hesitated for a moment, then said, "Mr. Songshan said there are still some strange things about this matter, and he wants to discuss it with the Marquis's wife tomorrow. I think there's no rush, maybe there will be new information tomorrow. Please give me your instructions, Madam."

Qin Yuan was taken aback.

"How did Mr. Matsuyama get involved?"

Gu Shiba stammered, "...Uh, this...Mr. Songshan said this is even more important than scouts in the army, and he's taking Sixth Master and me to do the screening...Gu Shiliu isn't here, and I can't handle it alone. None of the guards in the manor are good at this..."

He spoke incoherently, but Qin Yuan still understood. She paused for a moment, then slowly said, "...This...Mr. Songshan is right. Then let's discuss it again tomorrow. However, the Marquis's itinerary is uncertain, which is a bit troublesome."

She suddenly realized that before, with two information gathering points, number sixteen and eighteen, and the sources of information not being as numerous as they were now, she could manage. Now, with so many information sources, some of which were unreliable, she had to track them down and verify them, which meant she didn't have enough manpower.

It's likely that even Lord Gu didn't expect this.

Seeing that Qin Yuan had agreed, Gu Shiba breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly took his leave.

Qin Yuan stared at the beaded curtain, sitting in the armchair for a while in a daze. She was too lazy to care about the little maid outside who was chattering away.

Hongye lifted the curtain and came in, saying, "Miss, the Marquis sent word back that he won't be able to return to the manor for the next few days. If there's anything you need, please feel free to do as you see fit."

Qin Yuan was somewhat disappointed: "Why aren't they coming back again?"

The red leaves smiled.

Qin Yuan asked, "Where is the person who delivered the message?"

Hongye said, "They're still outside. Should we call them in for questioning?"

Qin Yuan nodded.

The messenger was a servant boy who stood respectfully outside the beaded curtain, not daring to raise his head, only looking down at the tips of his boots.

"Where have you been busy these days, Lord Marquis?"

The servant replied, "I don't know either. The Marquis has been on leave these past few days. The inspection in the capital is being handled by officials from the Six Ministries. The camp has sent people to guard outside, preventing them from passing on messages or coming and going at will. I have also been ordered to guard outside and keep watch."

Qin Yuan was taken aback for a moment, then quickly asked, "Where did the Marquis go on leave?"

The servant hurriedly replied, "I didn't know. I received the news and rushed here to report it."

Qin Yuan found it utterly unbelievable.

Hongye asked, "You mean, none of you know where the Marquis went?"

The servant nodded vigorously, and after he finished, he hurriedly added, "Yes."

Hongye then asked, "So what were the Marquis's instructions to you? He sent someone to deliver the message early this morning."

The servant replied, "The Marquis has his own methods for transmitting messages. Someone receives the message and then relays it. I was only reporting this under orders. I truly do not know anything else."

Hongye wanted to ask more, but Qin Yuan said, "Forget it, you won't get anything out of him no matter how much you ask."

The servant breathed a sigh of relief.

Qin Yuan then asked, "If I have something to ask the Marquis, could I send a message over?"

The servant replied, "As long as it's convenient for you, my lord, it's fine."

Qin Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Have someone send a message to the Marquis, saying that there are too many messages coming from all over the place, and Eighteen is too busy to handle them all. Mr. Songshan wants to meet with us tomorrow to discuss things further. I wonder if the Marquis has any instructions?"

The servant carefully wrote down what was said, then repeated it again to make sure it was correct, before kowtowing and saying, "This servant will immediately send a message. If the Marquis returns, this servant will report back immediately."

“Alright, go ahead,” Qin Yuan instructed. “If you haven’t eaten yet, have someone take you to the small kitchen to see if there’s anything to eat.”

He then had Hongye give him a piece of silver as a reward.

The servant left happily.

Qin Yuan turned around and walked to the desk, picked up the few sheets of paper she had written during the day, and frowned in thought.

Hongye knew she wasn't in a good mood, so she stood quietly to her side.

The lamplight beside the table flickered and made a sound. Hongye quickly smiled and said, "A good omen, it's forming a lamp flame."

Qin Yuan knew she was being flattered and smiled, "It is indeed a good omen, but I wonder what it signifies."

Hongye said, "Whatever Miss is thinking about, that's what should be reflected in the paper."

Before Qin Yuan could speak, a maid outside announced, "Seventh Miss has arrived. Madam is inside..."

Before she could finish speaking, the curtain moved and Gu Baozhu strode in, hurriedly saying, "Third Sister-in-law, I overheard a secret today."

Qin Yuan asked, "What secret? Why are you in such a hurry? You didn't even change your clothes before coming over. Have you eaten?"

Gu Baozhu paused for a moment and said, "I forgot." She looked around, stuck out her tongue, and winked, "Luckily, Third Brother isn't here, otherwise he would say I'm impatient."

Qin Yuan smiled and said, "The way of a general is to first cultivate one's mind. One should remain calm even if Mount Tai collapses before you, and not blink even if a deer runs past on your left. Only then can one control advantages and disadvantages and be ready to face the enemy. Since you will be working in the Gu family army in the future, you should be more composed. Otherwise, those who have fought their way out of the battlefield will probably find it hard to respect you."

Gu Baozhu nodded, "I know, I know, it's not just us here," then turned to Hongye and said, "Good sister, could you get me something to eat?"

Hongye asked with a smile, "What would Miss Seven like to eat?"

"I'm so hungry right now I could swallow a whole cow. Whatever you have, bring it up," Gu Baozhu said, plopping down on the embroidered stool and stuffing a piece of osmanthus cake into her mouth.

Hongye left with a smile.

Qin Yuan said, "Tell me, what secret of the Xu family did you hear?"

"Third sister-in-law is really clever. Today I was invited to compete with Xu Tang. He couldn't accept defeat, so he resorted to dirty tricks. Not only did he target my lower body, but he also gathered a few helpers to trip me up. I managed to deflect all of them."

Gu Baozhu was very pleased with herself.

Xu Tang suffered a great loss at her hands today.

Since the other party had repeatedly resorted to underhanded tactics, she didn't mind teaching him a lesson. When Xu Tang and his accomplices pretended to fight for the ball and tried to tackle her foot, she pretended to lose her footing, stumbled a few steps on the ball, grabbed someone's arm, used the momentum to jump up, and landed right on Xu Tang's instep before he could retract it.

Xu Tang screamed like a pig being slaughtered in pain, rolling on the ground with tears and snot all over his face.

"Xu Tang hasn't been able to play football for several months. If I hadn't noticed that someone from the Prince of Jin's residence had come and stopped, he would have lost his foot."