After a long pause, Qin Yuan asked, "What did the Marquis say?"
Gu Shiliu said, "The Marquis told us to keep a close eye on the Xu family."
Qin Yuan nodded, seemingly indicating that this was the only option.
Gu Shiliu said, "The girl the Xu family is sending to the Prince of Jin's residence is named Xu Yuan. She is about the same age as Xu Zhen, or maybe a little older. Since there are no adults in her family, she is being raised in the Xu family. Her biological brother is named Xu Tang. It is said that Yelü Guzha greatly admires him and wants to ask the Grand Secretary to recommend him to the Prince of Qi's residence as a hanger-on. I'm sure His Highness the Prince of Qi will not refuse."
Qin Yuan nodded. Prince Qi was the younger brother of the former Crown Prince. Now that the Crown Prince born to Empress Lin was sickly, the Emperor felt guilty and wary of Prince Qi, so Prince Qi could not be too ambitious.
Xu Tang knew how to play Cuju (ancient Chinese football), and was recommended by a Grand Secretary, so it was unlikely that he would refuse.
Cui Ming suddenly spoke up, "So it was those siblings. Does Madam remember? That day, the Xu family was afraid of death and dared not go to the inner courtyard to confront the Sixth Madam." She then gave a contemptuous smile and continued, "Lord Xu said he wanted Xu Yuan to enter the inner courtyard, but Xu Tang was unwilling and was ridiculed by the Xu family, who said they had raised the siblings for nothing. Xu Tang insisted on not agreeing to let Xu Yuan go, and in the end, it was Xu's eldest daughter-in-law who went."
"Yes, yes, I remember now. Xu Tang was furious at the time and retorted that Lord Xu's title was given to him by his father."
Gu Shiliu laughed and said, "Madam and Miss Cuiming have such good memories. You still remember all the many people from the Xu family who came that day."
Qin Yuan said, "I heard that the Xu family was going to send a girl to the Prince of Jin's mansion. I was wondering which one it was, but it turns out it was her. That day, I hosted a banquet for the Xu family's women. I noticed that she was always looking at other people's expressions and didn't dare to speak much. She was so dull and lifeless, completely different from Zhen'er's personality."
Cui Ming sighed, "There's nothing we can do about it. The Sixth Madam is thinking about Miss Zhen and invited her to stay at the mansion for a while to arrange a marriage for her. But when it comes to Miss Xu Yuan, she can only be sent by her own uncle to be a concubine. She doesn't even need to prepare a dowry. It's clear that she has been treated differently since she was a child."
Qin Yuan hesitated for a moment, then picked up her teacup, took a sip, and said, "Lord Xu has a title and a job, and Zhen'er is a daughter of an official. Xu Yuan has no parents and is raised by relatives. He has to be subservient to them. His brother doesn't have a proper job either, and there are no elders to help him. Becoming a concubine of the Prince of Jin is a good option."
Cui Ming thought for a moment and said, "That's true, after all, it was Lord Xu who inherited the title."
Gu Shiliu added: "The Xu family lends money at exorbitant interest rates, and Xu Tang is also a capable person in this business."
Qin Yuan nodded. "Although there is some friction between this brother and sister and Lord Xu, it's not serious enough to warrant them becoming enemies of the Xu family. For now, we can only wait and see. Does Sixth Master know about this?"
Gu Shiliu shook his head: "The Marquis said not to tell Sixth Master yet, because Sixth Master's mind is currently focused on how to counter-sue the Xu family."
Qin Yuan thought for a moment and gave Gu Shiliu a few more instructions. A maidservant outside announced, "Doctor Li has arrived."
Gu Shiliu tactfully replied, "Madam has other matters to attend to, so I will leave now."
Qin Yuan smiled and said, "On your way back, please tell Brother Qi and his mother to come here too. I need their help with something."
Gu Shiliu knew that this was Qin Yuan's plan to arrange for Old Lady Qi to go next door, and said, "Yes."
As they stepped outside, they ran into Physician Li with Xiao Dong. The two, master and apprentice, were chatting and laughing as they headed towards the hall. They greeted each other and then went to the courtyard where Brother Qi lived to call for help.
Upon hearing the instructions, the mother and son did not ask any further questions and hurried to Wutong Garden.
Gu Shiliu was thirsty after walking for a while and was about to have a sip of tea when he saw Gu Jingcheng and his wife arrive. Madam Dai did not go into the outer courtyard but went directly to the inner courtyard.
"Speak of the devil and he appears," Gu Shiliu said with a smile. "This morning, the Marquis said he was going to Master Cheng's house for a housewarming party, which would also be good for the family reunion banquet."
Gu Jingcheng laughed and said, "Haha, that's exactly why I came here. I wanted to get it done quickly, but I didn't expect there to be so many trivial matters."
"Moving is no small matter."
Gu Shiliu chuckled. He knew that Gu Jingcheng's family had finally escaped from the Ninth House and were eager to make a scene to show off their power. However, Lord Gu was extremely anxious, wishing he could immediately send the twins Pang Cheng and Pang Yu next door so he could lay a trap and capture Zhao's people in one fell swoop.
Gu Jingcheng smiled broadly and nodded, saying, "We need to send out invitations, prepare a banquet, and hire an opera troupe to perform for a day. We must invite all the clan members, as well as our relatives, friends, and colleagues who come and go; otherwise, we would be impolite."
Gu Shiliu smiled and led the man to sit down in the outer hall, saying, "The Marquis is also anxious. He has some free time these days, but if he waits for the Emperor to issue the decree, he may be too busy to handle it."
Gu Jingcheng understood what he meant and immediately said, "Actually, there's no need for a big celebration. We're just moving so that others won't not know. For those we didn't have time to invite, we can just send them an invitation. There will be plenty of opportunities to hold a banquet at home in the future."
Gu Shiliu smiled and agreed, "Please have a seat, Master Cheng. I'll go find the Marquis right away."
He then withdrew and instructed a servant to come in and serve tea.
Dai Shi had already arrived at Wutong Garden. After being led into the hall, she hesitated because Qin Yuan was talking to several people.
Qin Yuan stood up with a smile and said, "Sister-in-law Cheng, you've come at the perfect time. Please have a seat."
Madam Dai was suspicious, but sat down as instructed. Qin Yuan quickly said, "This is Doctor Li from Renhe Hall and his apprentice Xiao Dong. Doctor Li is highly skilled and kind-hearted. It was thanks to the two of them that the family contracted smallpox. This is my young master Qi and his mother. Doctor Li was just talking about her eye problem. It's quite a coincidence that we bumped into each other today. Why don't we let Doctor Li take a pulse for Sister-in-law Cheng as well?"
Upon hearing this, Physician Li looked up and glanced at Madam Dai's expression.
Madam Dai was taken aback at first, then overjoyed, and said with a smile, "I had just heard the old lady mention Doctor Li, and I was wondering how I could meet him. I didn't expect to run into him here. It seems my good fortune has arrived. Please, Doctor Li, take my pulse."
Lady Dai was a clever woman. She was able to enter and leave the Dingbei Marquis's mansion. The doctor praised by Old Madam Gu and Madam Gu must have had excellent medical skills. Moreover, people nowadays like to flatter each other. Any doctor who enters a nobleman's mansion, whether or not he is an imperial physician, will be respectfully called an imperial physician to gain face.
When the people of the Marquis of Dingbei's residence mentioned Physician Li, although they all spoke highly of him, they never called him Imperial Physician Li, which shows that he was different from others.
Mr. Dai had always heard that capable people did not like empty fame, so he became even more respectful.
Doctor Li smiled and stroked his beard, saying, "Xiao Dong, quickly prepare a pulse pillow for this lady."
Xiao Dong quickly took out a pulse pillow from the medicine box and placed it on the table. Qin Yuan changed her position and talked to the Qi family mother and son. Doctor Li went over to check her pulse and then asked Dai Shi to stick out the tip of her tongue to examine it. After a while, he said, "There is nothing seriously wrong with her body. She is just a little weak, with stagnant liver qi and internal exhaustion of the internal organs. However, there are signs of it gradually dissipating recently, so it is not a big problem. But the night sweats still need to be treated."
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