Gu Jinghui was startled by his own thoughts and dared not look at Qin Yuan again. He quickly finished his meal and, without waiting for her to speak, hurriedly got up and said, "I'm going to the outer courtyard to find Mr. Songshan to tell stories."
Qin Yuan said, "Alright, husband, please take your time."
Gu Jinghui then lifted the curtain himself and strode out.
When Cuiming and Hongye came in, Hongye asked, "Miss, what's wrong with the Marquis? He looks like he's on fire."
Qin Yuan glanced at her, shook her head, and remained silent.
Cui Ming said, "With your excellent information network, didn't you hear anything?"
Hongye thought for a moment and said, "I have heard some of it, but it is said that the Marquis is now..." Before she could finish speaking, a maid outside said that Mr. and Mrs. Qian had brought Bai Que to express their gratitude.
Hongye laughed and said, "I just heard that Bai Que entered the manor today, went to see the old lady, and then went to talk to Zihe. She was glad that her parents acted quickly, otherwise she might have been tricked by that Zhao guy. Now that she's here, did she just not run into the Marquis?"
Qin Yuan glanced at Hongye and said, "Everyone's here, so you should settle things. The Qian couple are respected elders; even the Marquis has to give them some face."
Hongye quickly coughed lightly, composed herself, and was led inside.
Qin Yuan invited them to sit down, but the Qian couple didn't dare to act arrogantly. After repeatedly declining, they finally sat down on the small stools. Bai Que only sat on half of her bottom, her legs crooked, facing Qin Yuan sideways with a smile on her face.
After exchanging some casual words, Qin Yuan smiled and said, "I heard that Bai Que's marriage has been settled, so I prepared a gift, which I will take today."
Qian laughed and said, "I came here to express my gratitude. The Marquis has already rewarded me, but I didn't expect to receive a reward from the Madam as well. Bai Que is such a lucky child."
Qin Yuan said, "What belongs to the Marquis belongs to the Marquis, and what belongs to me belongs to me. We agreed on this before, and now you're just making excuses and disrespecting me. I heard that Bai Que has chosen the son of the Zhao family who are in charge of purchasing. They've known each other since childhood, and the man is very sincere. It's truly a marriage that's hard to find even with a lantern."
Qian's wife beamed and said, "Alas, it's fate that brought the two children together. Bai Que used to serve the old lady, and the old lady said she would release her indenture if she got married, so she didn't agree when the Zhao family's children came to ask for her hand. Unexpectedly, the Marquis released that child's indenture a while ago. The two families have known each other for many years, and that child has been thinking about it, so this marriage is settled."
Qin Yuan nodded and looked at Bai Que.
Bai Que quickly lowered her eyes, not daring to peek any further. Her expression was timid, and her head slowly drooped down.
Hongye had already brought out the prepared gifts and presented them to Baique. Baique quickly got up to take them, placed them aside, and respectfully kowtowed to Qin Yuan to express her gratitude.
Qin Yuan said, "Hongye, quickly help me get her up."
Hongye quickly helped the white sparrow up.
Bai Que lowered her head, fidgeting with her clothes, appearing even more delicate and helpless.
Qin Yuan said softly, "Now that you have been freed from your slave status, you should make a good living outside. If you encounter any difficulties, your parents are elders in the manor, and the manor will definitely help you out of respect for them."
Upon hearing this, Mr. and Mrs. Qian were naturally extremely grateful.
Bai Que said timidly, "Thank you for your kindness, Madam. I will always remember the Marquis's kindness and never forget it."
After the three left, Hongye sighed, "Bai Que is like a completely different person. He's not as arrogant as he was when he confronted me."
Qin Yuan smiled but remained silent.
Hongye added, "The Marquis has actually freed them from their social status; that is truly a great favor."
Qin Yuan said, "They are all born into the household and have been working in the mansion for many years. They are highly valued and their families have accumulated wealth. They are not afraid of being bullied or starving to death after being released from the household. The Marquis's decision not to take her as a concubine is a favor. The Zhao family boy is still working for the Marquis, just in a different place and under a different name."
Hongye also said, "Indeed, I heard those old women say that the wet nurses who used to serve the Marquis also had servants at home and lived in several courtyards, which was no different from the homes of minor officials."
Cui Ming exclaimed in surprise, "The capital is a place where every inch of land is worth its weight in gold. How can the servants of the Marquis's mansion be so extravagant?"
The red leaves nodded emphatically.
“We didn’t know much before. I’ve heard that those stewards and accountants are all quite wealthy. They get bonuses for going to the battlefield, and they have lucrative positions in the mansion. They can easily make a lot of money by passing through their hands. Over time, it becomes quite substantial. Don’t be fooled by their status as servants in front of their masters; they can be masters themselves.”
Cui Ming hesitated and said, "But I noticed that Brother Qi's family doesn't even have enough money for medicine."
Even Hongye couldn't answer.
Qin Yuan picked up her teacup, took a sip, and savored it before saying, "What Hongye said are all those who are to be valued. There are also those who are not valued, or those who are just unlucky. There are so many servants in the manor, how many can the master really take notice of? Even within the same clan, some live worse lives than the servants in the manor. You are just too naive. Such things happen all the time in duke's and marquis's mansions; it's the norm in large clans."
"During the last garden visit, I heard that some members of the Li family even asked the powerful servants in the mansion to speak well of them to the Duke. As the saying goes, even the prime minister's gatekeepers are seventh-rank officials. Every time those officials from the capital come to the capital to report on their duties, they have to give countless gifts to the gatekeepers and ask them to help them pass on their invitations."
"My goodness!" Hongye and Cuiming exclaimed as if they were listening to gibberish.
Qin Yuan continued, "The rules in the manor are strict. Even the maids are divided into several ranks. The head maid of the Seventh Miss has several junior maids at her beck and call, which is almost the same as the Deputy Miss. You've been here for a few months, so you should be used to it. Otherwise, how can you manage those managers and matrons?"
Hongye and Cuiming exchanged a glance, understanding that although they had helped Director Qin Yuan improve a lot these days, they had only become familiar with the daily affairs of the manor, and were still far from meeting Qin Yuan's expectations.
Hongye said to Cuiming behind her back, "We were happy that it was more comfortable than at the Qin family's house, and we thought it was good enough that we had done a few things. But we didn't expect that we were still wandering around outside the second gate and hadn't even entered the main hall yet. If it weren't for Miss's intelligence and competence, I don't know how difficult it would be for us to get through the days."
Cuiming agreed: "Yes, it's truly Miss's good fortune. The Old Madam and the Marquis are both kind to Miss, Sixth Master is easy to get along with, and even Sixth Madam..."
Both of them secretly rejoiced.
Mo Zhu came to deliver a message, saying, "Madam says she wants to summon Gu Shiliu to inquire about something."
Hongye stamped her foot and said, "Why did you come looking for me instead of Sixteen?"
Mo Zhu widened her eyes and said, "Naturally, it's because Gu Shiliu and Sister Hongye are acquainted. Others might not be able to find her."
Cui Ming smiled.
Hongye said angrily, "I know."
After meeting Qin Yuan, Bai Que silently followed behind Mr. and Mrs. Qian and went to another courtyard to pay her respects.
Having not entered the manor for several months, Bai Que felt as if she had been in another world. Thinking that it would be difficult to enter the manor again after getting married, Bai Que hesitated for a long time before finally saying, "Mother, should we go to the outer courtyard again to thank the Marquis for his favor?"
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