Qin Yuan stood up to greet him and asked, "What's wrong, husband?"
Gu Jinghui's face darkened, and there was barely suppressed annoyance in his arrogant eyes. But when he saw Qin Yuan's smiling face, his irritation dissipated, and his tone softened considerably. He said, "What else could it be? First, I was lectured by Mr. Songshan, and then I had to entertain Prince Jin. Sigh, now there's one less adult prince coming to the manor, Prince Qishan. I might as well just host a banquet for them all. They keep talking about the same thing. The Emperor still hasn't said whether he'll give me the person I want or not. I can't do this all by myself."
Qin Yuan asked with a smile, "Would you like to change your clothes now?"
After venting his frustrations, Gu Jinghui's expression softened completely, and he grinned, "So, what are we having for dinner?"
Qin Yuan glanced at Lord Gu and said reproachfully, "I thought you were going to invite Prince Jin to dine, so I didn't prepare anything for you."
Lord Gu immediately looked pitiful: "Oh, don't you think about it? How can I eat with Prince Jin's face on my face?"
Qin Yuan chuckled and said, "How so?"
Although the King of Jin was not as handsome as the King of Qi, he was still a decent-looking man and not so ugly as to be repulsive.
Seeing her smile, Lord Gu also laughed and said, "He's not a beauty, who has the patience to look at him? You really didn't prepare my meal? Then let's go to Mother's place and eat from the small kitchen."
Qin Yuan said, "Let's forget it. If Mother sees us now, she probably won't be able to eat."
Lord Gu glared: "This won't do, that won't do, are you suggesting we let your husband go hungry?"
Qin Yuan said, "Cui Ming had the small kitchen make eight-treasure pumpkin sticky rice, which is to be sent to Renhetang. I'll add some money and have them make you a bowl of noodles with a few of your favorite dishes."
Lord Gu asked curiously, "Have the rules in the manor changed? Why do we have to pay extra ourselves?"
Qin Yuan said, "Cui Ming said that managing the kitchen this way would save money and prevent it from being too wasteful. The basic dishes are all written on a list, and people can check them off before they are made. If they want to add anything, they pay extra. I think it's pretty good, so let them try it first and see how much money we can save in this courtyard in a month."
Lord Gu sighed, “The manor has never been so meticulous. There are few people but no shortage of money. It has always been like this. It’s different now that you’ve come. This is good. It saves everyone from racking their brains to figure out how to make money. Those who can’t get a good position complain, and the rest don’t do their jobs well. It’s better to manage it meticulously and give all the benefits openly.”
"It is the Marquis who understands my good intentions. I was worried that the Marquis would think I was not magnanimous."
"How could that be? There are quite a few veterans and their descendants counted this time. It will cost a lot of money to properly settle them. We will also have to give them silver and rice every year, which will be another expense. It's good that you are so careful with your calculations. Now the population is small, but the family will eventually have more members. How can we manage if things get chaotic?"
Although Lord Gu did not manage the accounts, he understood the situation perfectly well.
Even if there are no more battles to fight, the family retainers and soldiers still need to be supported, and this expense will add up to a considerable amount over time.
Qin Yuan smiled and said, "With the Marquis's words, I feel even more at ease."
"Just do it with confidence. If you make a mistake, you can correct it. Who doesn't make mistakes? I'll protect you."
While changing his clothes, Lord Gu chatted with his young wife with a smile.
He enjoys discussing things with the people around him.
Mo Zhu served tea and then said, "Madam, the glutinous rice and pastries in the small kitchen are ready. We will arrange for them to be sent to Renhe Hall."
Qin Yuan nodded and said, "Alright, the Marquis will have dinner here. Tell them to add a few of the Marquis's favorite seasonal vegetables, as well as a staple food. Also, ask for the lotus root soup. It's almost autumn now, and the Marquis is prone to getting too hot-tempered, so he needs to take care of himself."
Lord Gu sat down at the table and took a leisurely sip of tea.
He could hear Qin Yuan's gentle instructions, every word of which was for his sake, and he felt incredibly comforted.
After giving her instructions, Qin Yuan walked over and sat down, asking, "Where are the incense pills that Prince Qi sent?"
Lord Gu gestured towards Mo Zhu and said, "That's the box I had her put away earlier."
Mo Zhu quickly took it out and placed it on the table.
Qin Yuan admired the exquisite craftsmanship of the item and played with it for a while, saying, "It's remarkable that such a small box is engraved with such intricate peonies."
Gu Jinghui immediately said, "If you like, I have quite a few of these things in my private treasury. Just pick out the ones you like and use them."
Qin Yuan was somewhat surprised and asked, "Who's in charge of these things?"
Gu Jinghui said, "Gu Sixteen."
Qin Yuan asked, "Is Gu Shiliu managing all your private accounts?"
Gu Jinghui said, "Yes, he's in charge of collecting rent and keeping track of the accounts. He's not very strict about managing things; as long as there's enough stuff, it's fine."
Qin Yuan smiled and said, "Then I'll go and see what good things you have when I have time. Can I use anything I like?"
Seeing her charming smile, Lord Gu's heart fluttered as he said, "Of course, whatever you like is yours."
Qin Yuan smiled and opened the jade box. Lord Gu also came over to see what this precious incense pill looked like. Inside was a wax pill the size of a chicken egg, with an embroidered cushion underneath and soft silk surrounding it, showing that it was handled very carefully.
Lord Gu took out the wax pill, turned it over and looked at it, then sighed, "This is it?"
Qin Yuan said, "Be careful. Wash your hands first, and put a plain handkerchief on your hand before opening it. Don't let the smell get out."
Lord Gu quickly put it down.
Qin Yuan asked Mo Zhu to bring over the items she usually used for blending perfumes. After washing her hands again, she carefully placed the perfume ball on the plain handkerchief with perfume tweezers, tapped it, listened to the sound, and said, "Bring some hot water."
After bringing the hot water, Qin Yuan placed the incense balls in the incense cup and melted the wax over the hot water. Gu Jinghui asked, "Why not just break the wax?"
Qin Yuan said, "This is to prevent wax shavings from getting into the incense balls and affecting the scent."
Gu Jinghui asked, "Could it be that the wax is directly sealed onto the incense ball?"
Qin Yuan shook her head, "How could it be so rough? It's just because King Qi said to be careful, so I dare not be rash."
Gu Jinghui said, "I'll help you, there's no need to go to so much trouble."
Seeing his eagerness, Qin Yuan went along with him and said, "Then you give it a try. My husband is skilled in martial arts, so you should be able to use your strength skillfully."
Gu Jinghui washed his hands, held the wax pill in his hand and squeezed it gently, then slowly said, "It's done."
As he spoke, he released his hand, and the wax block and wax shavings fell down, revealing a fragrant ball tightly wrapped in oiled paper in his palm, slightly larger than a pigeon egg.
The oil paper was spotless, without a single trace of wax.
Qin Yuan said, "That's right."
Lord Gu looked slightly pleased and said with a smile, "That'll be faster."
Then, with a look of disdain, she said, "Why use so much wax? It looks big, but there's only so little inside."
Qin Yuan slowly peeled the incense ball out of the oiled paper, and a refreshing fragrance gradually filled the entire room.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
