The elder brother, Lord Gu, frowned and pondered deeply, only to find that he had no way to deal with his younger sister.

He absolutely refused to admit that it was to vent his anger for Qin Yuan.

But that doesn't stop Gu Shiliu from thinking that way.

Gu Shiliu frowned, an idea forming in his mind. He said, "I heard that Miss Qi has made an appointment to go out and watch the festivities on the night of the Qixi Festival."

Gu Baozhu loves watching a good show, and if you try to stop her a few times, she'll definitely get furious.

What's so exciting about the Qixi Festival?

Gu Jinghui had lived in the northern frontier for many years and knew nothing about these festivals for girls.

Fortunately, Gu Shiliu has many sisters in her family, so they know some things.

"Legend has it that the Qixi Festival is the day when the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meet on the Magpie Bridge. On that night, my mother would lead the sisters in the family to worship the stars of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl."

"In the capital, there is a Qiqiao Tower in the West Market, where women compete in their skills. There are also prizes; if a girl wins the competition, she will gain a good reputation for being skillful and will be able to marry into a good family."

"That day, the Chamber of Commerce organized vendors to operate all night, and the curfew was lifted. The women would first perform the needle-throwing ritual at home, and then go to the Qiqiao Tower to watch the competition. The tower had everything they needed for eating and drinking, and the sisters at home would not come back until dawn."

"Huh?" Gu Jinghui was overjoyed: "Go tell Baozhu that I said that the Marquis's Mansion has already registered her to participate in the Qixi Festival embroidery competition. She must win a good reputation for the Marquis of Dingbei. If she loses, she can forget about going to the temple fair to see the lanterns. She should stay at home and do her embroidery."

Gu Shiliu hurriedly ran off to deliver the message.

Gu Jinghui muttered to himself, "What a good omen this date is. I'll take Yuan'er with me to watch Gu Baozhu's competition, and we can cross the bridge together as a way of apologizing."

Qin Yuan was unaware that Gu Shiliu had angered Gu Baozhu to the point of crying while hugging her pillow. She had spent the entire afternoon with Madam Gu at Songtao Pavilion handling official business.

Madam Gu was determined to outdo Qin Yuan, so she made a show of it by summoning all the stewards and matrons in the mansion and asking them to report on the progress of their respective duties.

She would ask about and discuss everything, big or small, regardless of its importance or urgency.

Qin Yuan sat down silently beside her without saying a word.

Madam Gu rejected all the matters reported by the stewardesses, and after saying some other things, she turned her head apologetically and said, "Third Sister-in-law, I was busy talking about things here and neglected you. You didn't find it boring, did you?"

Qin Yuan smiled and shook her head, saying softly, "Sixth sister-in-law, you don't need to worry about me. I've never managed a household before, and I find it strange and interesting to hear about it. I never imagined that sixth sister-in-law would have to handle so many things every day."

Upon hearing this, a barely perceptible hint of smugness flashed in Madam Gu's eyes.

The expressions of the several female managers standing below became subtly disrespectful.

These women have already received the news that they will be working under the Lady of the Marquis from now on.

Seeing that Lady Hou was young and was timid and hesitant to speak under the pressure of Lady Gu, he couldn't help but think that Lady Hou was easy to manipulate and secretly harbored other thoughts.

This is exactly what Madam Gu Liu hoped to see.

If Qin Yuan can't control the domineering mothers, she will soon find herself unable to move an inch and will be constantly in trouble. At that time, Old Madam Gu will know that only she can manage this family.

Madam Gu said apologetically, "Then Third Sister-in-law, please listen here for a while. I didn't expect there to be so many chores today. After we're done with these, I'll tell you about the affairs of these head maids separately."

Qin Yuan nodded obediently, as if she had no idea that Madam Gu was deliberately embarrassing her.

The disrespectful expressions on the faces of the supervising mothers were hard to hide, and their postures had become much more casual.

Madam Gu didn't have many things to deal with today, but in order to keep Qin Yuan waiting, she brought up all the big and small matters in the mansion.

Hongye and Cuiming behind Qin Yuan had gloomy expressions, but Qin Yuan stared at everyone with curiosity, looking like a delicate lady who was easy to fool and unaware of the wickedness of people's hearts.

Nearly two hours had passed before Madam Gu Liu finally finished her work. Then she said to the tired stewardesses, "I think you all know that from now on you will work under Madam Hou. The matters you used to report to me, you will report to Madam Hou from now on."

The supervising mothers responded listlessly.

The affairs they manage are neither lucrative nor important, so it doesn't really matter who they're under.

Seeing that Lady Hou was always overshadowed by Lady Gu, they lost all their spirits.

Qin Yuan coughed softly.

Madam Gu Liu hurriedly asked, "Third Sister-in-law, do you have something to say?"

Qin Yuan smiled and said, "These steward mothers will be under my command tomorrow. However, they need to make sure to hand over today's and previous account books properly, so that there won't be any unclear issues later."

Madam Gu Liu quickly smiled and said, "I'm really busy today. Third Sister-in-law is right, there are indeed many things to do."

She thought that if she dragged it out, Qin Yuan would lose patience, and since she had no experience managing a household and didn't know the importance of things, she would take over the mess she had left behind, which would inevitably cause her a lot of trouble in the future.

Unexpectedly, Qin Yuan didn't rush to talk to these steward mothers, but instead spoke to her first.

I don't know who gave me this advice.

Qin Yuan then turned to the stewardesses and said, "What you did before was under the jurisdiction of the Sixth Madam, but what you do from now on will be under my jurisdiction. Each matter should be handled separately, so please clarify everything before reporting back to me."

The implication was that these stewardesses should first clear up their differences with Madam Gu before coming to find her.

Madam Gu's face was somewhat unpleasant. If things didn't get out of hand, she couldn't let go, since Qin Yuan hadn't caught her.

But she had been sitting for a long time today, and her throat was dry.

Qin Yuan stood up and said, "The Marquis is still waiting for me, so I will take my leave now. When my sixth sister-in-law is done with her work, she can go to Wutong Garden to find me."

Madam Gu had no choice but to agree, and Qin Yuan led Hongye and Cuiming back to Wutong Garden first.

Once they reached a secluded spot, Hongye complained, "Does Sixth Madam think we're stupid? Although the Qin Manor is small, it has everything we need. Even if you haven't eaten pork, you've surely seen pigs run, right? She seems to want to bring up events from eight hundred years ago and eight hundred years in the future. She's deliberately putting on airs for Miss."

Qin Yuan smiled and said, "I was just wondering what the Sixth Madam was busy with, but her commotion has given me a general idea."

She observed Madam Gu's actions with a cold eye; her skill was not particularly remarkable, merely average.

It shouldn't be too difficult to manage the household finances.

Cui Ming nodded: "You forgot, Miss never suffers a loss."

Hongye laughed again and asked, "Miss, do you have a way to deal with those head maids? I think they practically have the words 'perfunctory and lazy' written all over their faces."

Qin Yuan smiled and said, "No rush."

What's the rush?

Sooner or later they will realize that she is their master, their rightful master.