“Good, good, very good,” Mr. Songshan knew the weight of this matter, and immediately did not refuse. He said generously, “A wild goose leaves its cry as it flies past, and a person leaves their name as they pass by. I have already boarded your Gu family’s ship. If you are not afraid, do you think I am afraid?”

At least he, Mr. Songshan, was a gentleman.

But the young master of Nantang wasn't even a man.

Mr. Songshan felt rather conflicted, wondering how scholars across the land would react once they learned the true appearance of this young master from Nantang.

Then he said, "I have tolerated that Book Sea Pavilion for a long time. It is clearly a business for scholars, but its actions are even more despicable than those of petty people in the marketplace. If we can promote a famous scholar, the Young Master of Nantang, the Marquis will not only be able to hold his head high... but will also be even more certain of victory."

What does "having victory in hand" mean?

Only Mr. Matsuyama knows the answer.

Qin Yuan pretended not to understand the deeper meaning behind Mr. Songshan's words, stood up and bowed, saying, "In that case, I will have to trouble you with this matter."

Mr. Songshan quickly returned the greeting: "There's no need for that. I know you have many things to attend to, so there's no need to waste time on such formalities."

Go get busy.

If I linger any longer, I'll become your donkey, and I fear I'll die pulling the millstone before I achieve my goals.

Qin Yuan didn't linger and immediately headed to the guest courtyard.

Hongmian, who had been waiting outside, immediately followed.

The needlework room is always too busy anyway, and Cuiming is still resting, so there's no time to worry about her. Let's go with the madam to investigate again; maybe we can seize the opportunity to make another contribution.

Qin Yuan naturally wouldn't chase her away. Before the group even entered the guest courtyard, they heard Pang Yu shouting in a shrill voice: "You snobbish, lowly servants! If my godfather knew you were blocking my way, he would skin you alive! There's no one in this mansion I don't know. Do you need to interfere and talk nonsense in front of me?"

The sounds of dissuasion and screams created a chaotic scene.

Hongmian chuckled, "They're already being raised by the Gu family, yet they still talk about their adoptive fathers outside. Aren't they afraid that Madam Gu, their adoptive mother, will dislike them?"

Qin Yuan glanced at her and said, "It's certainly filial piety for them to always think of their adoptive father, but they shouldn't make things difficult for their adoptive parents. They're not young anymore, and they should be more sensible and considerate. Hongye and Cuiming aren't here, so go and talk to them."

Hongmian was secretly delighted, feeling that she had made the right decision to come along. She quickly said, "Don't worry, Madam. I will definitely talk to Young Master Cheng and Miss Yu properly, and I will also remind the wet nurses, maids and servants."

"I trust you to handle things," Qin Yuan nodded.

Hongmian hesitated for a moment: "Madam, I noticed that you don't have a capable head maid by your side. Why don't we call Yang'er and Hehua to serve you? They have been in the mansion for some time now, and they will never get the hang of it if they don't serve you every day."

Qin Yuan realized that Hong Mian was worried that the two children from the Pang family were too strong, and that it would be troublesome if they accidentally got into a conflict.

You're absolutely right.

He immediately pointed to a maid and sent her to fetch Yang'er to serve him in the guest courtyard.

As the group entered the guest courtyard, they saw Pang Yu with his hands on his hips, his hair disheveled and hanging down his back, exuding an air of arrogance, glaring at a group of servants with wide eyes and a shrill voice.

Pang Cheng stood beside her, his fierce eyes like those of a wolf cub.

What happened?

Qin Yuan only spoke when she got closer.

"The Lady of the Marquis has arrived. Go and announce her quickly."

Only then did the servants realize that Qin Yuan had arrived. Some hurriedly paid their respects, while others announced her arrival.

Pang Yu and Pang Cheng, not wanting to cause any more trouble, walked over hand in hand to pay their respects.

"Greetings to my godmother."

"Okay, have you had breakfast yet?"

Qin Yuan asked casually.

"Haven't used it yet..."

Pang Yu looked at Qin Yuan, hoping she would ask more questions.

Qin Yuan smiled gently and replied, "Is that so? Did your mother have breakfast? How is she feeling? I heard she was frightened yesterday, and there were many things to do at the Marquis's residence, so I didn't have time to come and check on her. I only managed to find the time to come over now."

Pang Yu could only reply, "I don't know."

Qin Yuan looked disapproving: "As children, we should greet each other morning and evening. Didn't the teacher teach you that?"

Pang Yu's words got stuck in her throat.

Pang Cheng tugged at Pang Yu and said, "We children were just thinking that we hadn't been to the Marquis's residence for a long time and were eager to go to the main room to pay our respects to our grandmother, so we didn't have time to go. I suppose Mother is already up by now. Please sit in the hall for a while, Mother."

Qin Yuan nodded: "That's fine."

Hongmian then approached the two children and said with a smile, "Young masters, would you like to go and have something to eat first? The old lady was a little tired yesterday, and you won't see her if you go now. They don't know how to serve people, so I will serve you your meal. Eating more will give you more energy. The old lady is getting old and likes to see children full of energy."

These words made Pang Cheng and Pang Yu feel much better, so they went with Hong Mian.

As soon as Qin Yuan entered the hall, Madam Dai hurriedly came out to greet her and led her into the inner room. She then instructed her trusted maid to stand guard outside the door before asking, "Have those people been caught?"

Seeing that she seemed to be in good spirits, Qin Yuan said, "We caught some."

This means there are still people outside.

Madam Dai shifted her body, stammering, "...Then, then these two children..."

Qin Yuan took Dai's hand and asked, "Did you frighten your sister-in-law yesterday? Has Doctor Li come to check on her?"

Madam Dai nodded: "You wouldn't believe me if I said I wasn't frightened. Thanks to your warning, I always had some people around me and kept an eye on the two of them, so they weren't hurt. Doctor Li examined them yesterday, and Xiao Dong will come over today to take another look."

He paused and then said, "Fortunately, there have been people guarding the Marquis's residence all along, and the Marquis also came yesterday... but those two children are really quite awful. They've been making a fuss since yesterday, and they still are now. One minute they want to see the Marquis, and the next they want to see the Old Madam. I've just had people block them from wandering around."

Yesterday, the bandits were outside, but there were accomplices inside. The two children kept making a fuss, wanting to escape with the bandits.

This caused Dai a lot of trouble.

Upon learning that the mastermind was still at large, Dai was filled with rage.

She had long since given up on seeing these two hot potatoes and wished she could get rid of them as far away as possible so she could live a peaceful life.

“That wicked woman surnamed Zhao, the children she raised are definitely not good people either. If I hadn’t been alert yesterday, I’m afraid I would have been harmed by them.”

Qin Yuan said, "The Marquis has already investigated the background of these two children. I'm afraid they will be kept as bait, so I'll have to trouble you to keep an eye on them, sister-in-law. As the saying goes, a strict teacher produces outstanding students, while a doting mother spoils her children. You must discipline them strictly. We raised them all this time, and we don't expect them to achieve great things in the future, but we must make sure they always remember the words 'loyalty and filial piety'."

Dai's eyes widened.

They used to hope to raise the two children and care for them in their old age. But they gradually gave up on that idea and only raised them for the sake of the Marquis, to give him a title.

Has the Marquis given up as well?