Qin Yuan pursed her lips slightly, but before she could say anything, Hong Ye was already a little annoyed, but she couldn't show it.
Cuiming hurriedly said from the side, "Madam, look how good Hongye is at training people. Hongmian is really quick-witted. However, I think that although it is convenient for Hongmian to take Brother Qi with her, it is not good for Brother Qi."
"What do you mean?" Hongye's expression softened.
Hongmian also opened her eyes wide in surprise, waiting for Cuiming to continue.
Cuiming said, "You led people to let Mr. Songshan choose before, which showed that Madam valued Mr. Songshan. Later, you let Hongmian take Brother Qi alone. Mr. Songshan will inevitably feel that Brother Qi is not as good as others. In addition, he has just recovered from his injury and cannot do many things. Mr. Songshan may think that he is useless."
Hongye nodded repeatedly and said, "I'll have to go again after I finish my meal."
Hongmian's face was pale, but she forced a smile and said, "If Sister Cuiming hadn't spoken up, I almost did something wrong and implicated Brother Qi."
Qin Yuan then spoke, "These are all minor matters. You are young, so you can learn more from Hongye and Cuiming in the future. You will naturally learn as you see more."
Hongmian lowered her head and said, "Yes."
Qin Yuan added, "You did a great job cleaning and setting up the office. You are efficient and quick-witted, but you are still young and need more experience in handling matters."
Upon receiving her mistress's praise, Hongmian became happy again and quickly said, "It's all thanks to your daily guidance, mistress, and the two elder sisters who often give me pointers as well."
Qin Yuan said, "The Marquis sent word that lunch will not be served here. You should hurry up and set out the meal so you can eat early and get back to your business."
Mo Zhu had already sent a maid to the main kitchen to get the usual meals, and the small kitchen had also prepared a few simple dishes. Upon Qin Yuan's instruction, they were all brought out.
Qin Yuan picked out a meat dish and asked her to give it to Hong Mian.
"Give this dish to her; you handled the matter well last time."
Hongmian was a showy person. After receiving the reward, she immediately showed it off in the outer room and came to express her gratitude in a grand manner.
Qin Yuan sat upright in the chair and smiled, "Go and eat quickly, lest the food get cold. We'll have plenty of opportunities to express our gratitude to each other in the future, do we have to do this every time?"
Hongmian knelt on the ground and said, "No matter what my master rewards me with, I will always be proud and remember your kindness. We can talk about the future later. But today is the first time my master has rewarded me with food like this, so I must come and kowtow."
Qin Yuan had no choice but to let her kowtow before leaving.
Since Lord Gu was not present, Hongye and Cuiming dined with Qin Yuan. After eating half a bowl of rice, Qin Yuan suddenly asked, "Hongye, have you noticed how cunning this girl is?"
Cuiming laughed and said, "If Hongye can't see it, wouldn't she be a fool?"
Hongye whispered, "She is indeed capable, clever, and knows how to flatter people."
Qin Yuan said, "She is a servant of the Marquis's household. Although servants of the Marquis's household are very complicated and difficult to deal with, someone like Hongmian is really useful and follows the rules. You can see that she is ruthless in her work, but you can also see the Marquis's household's foundation in her adherence to the rules."
Hongye silently ate a few bites of rice before saying, "I understand what you've said, Miss. From now on, you can use her with confidence. With me in front, if Hongmian's goodness isn't shown, others won't be willing to stand out in the future."
Cui Ming was quite surprised.
"My goodness, Hongye, you're amazing! You even figured this out."
Qin Yuan nodded with a smile.
“That’s right. I’m promoting Hongmian and Mozhu because I can’t just use the two of you. You were both brought from the Qin family. Most of the people in this mansion are servants. They are deeply entrenched, and each of them has a network behind them. If I only use you, it’s like isolating you from them, which will make it too inconvenient to do things and manage people in the future.”
The red leaves made a very soft sound, like the buzzing of a mosquito.
"As long as I am in Miss's heart, no one can replace me. I was the one who brought Hongmian up, so she still has to listen to me and will never surpass me in the future."
Qin Yuan said seriously, "Don't worry, you and Cuiming grew up with me. Our relationship is different from others. We share the same fate. Now I am in charge of many things and need manpower to share the burden. If Hongmian can withstand the pressure, I will let her manage a group of things on her own. If she is only in charge of Wutong Garden, then there is no need to consider so much."
Cui Ming smiled and said, "I suddenly remembered Xiao Hong."
Hongye laughed, "This child is so eager to come. It looks like he's about to move next door. I'm afraid he'll shed tears in front of us again when he comes to kowtow."
Qin Yuan said, "It would be great if we could capture Zhao Shi sooner."
Both Cuiming and Hongye sighed.
Cui Ming put down the painted porcelain bowl in her hand and whispered, "Miss, Bai Que saw the Zhao family and the Yelü family getting together, and Xu Tang is also having close contact with the Yelü hostage. There's something strange about this, isn't there?"
Qin Yuan placed a piece of eggplant on her chopsticks and said softly, "Let's not mention this matter again, lest word get out. Now that the Marquis knows, he won't let it go easily. I'm worried now, what exactly is the Xu family and all these people trying to do?"
The casino where the Xu family's son works is owned by the Prince of Jin. Offering a girl to the Prince of Jin's residence as a concubine could be seen as a pre-existing relationship, but Lord Xu wants to take things further.
However, Xu Tang and Yelü Guzha had a very close relationship, and Xu Tang was recommended to the Prince of Qi's residence by the Grand Secretary through Yelü Guzha, which seemed a bit strange no matter how you looked at it.
Hongye said, "Isn't Sixth Master going to sue the Xu family? I came back from Mr. Songshan's place and heard the old women in the manor saying that Sixth Master is determined to sue the Xu family this time. He said he'll stand up for himself and not complain. He used to tolerate the Xu family's actions because of Sixth Madam and the children. Now that the Xu family doesn't care about Sixth Madam and the children, the Gu family won't care about the Xu family either. I estimate that if he sues like this, the Gu and Xu families will sever ties."
Cui Ming said, "Didn't the Xu family sue the Marquis's mansion first? They probably wanted to sever ties with the family, that's why they did that."
Qin Yuan put down her chopsticks and suddenly realized, "That makes sense. I thought it was really strange that the Xu family would cause such a scene before sealing the mansion."
Cui Ming was taken aback and hurriedly asked, "Miss, are you saying... the Xu family already wanted to sever ties with us back then?"
Qin Yuan said, "I'm just guessing. Xu Zhen is missing, and they're only concerned with extorting money and making a scene. They're not in a hurry to look for her at all, as if they know they can't find her."
Hongye suppressed the gasp that rose in her throat and said after a long while, "That is indeed very strange. Miss is very intelligent. If Miss suspects something, then it is probably true."
Qin Yuan rolled her eyes at Hongye and said, "You're good at saying nice things. Hurry up and eat, we'll be busy later."
Suddenly, a maidservant outside spoke up, "Madam, the Seventh Miss has arrived."
Qin Yuan was puzzled and whispered, "It's mealtime right now. Why isn't she eating in the main room or in her own courtyard? What is she doing here?"
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