Hongye smiled and said, "Miss Dong is well-known for her talent in both Suzhou and Nanjing. If her poetry collection could be printed, it would surely sell very well."
"I don't know if it's good or not, but let's give it a try. It would be a shame not to take advantage of this opportunity. In her last letter, she mentioned that her family was choosing a husband for her. Now her father listens to her stepmother, who wants to marry her off to her nephew."
Hongye exclaimed in surprise, "Miss Dong is so pitiful."
Qin Yuan said, "This is the only way I can help her. If it weren't for the fact that Sixth Master's poetry collection sold so well this time, I wouldn't have been able to come up with this idea. There aren't many women in the inner chambers who are good at writing poetry. If someone does write poetry, they will surely become famous among talented men. If Miss Dong's talent can spread far and wide, her stepmother might change her mind. Besides, after she gets married, her husband will also be more wary of her."
In short, it's better than silently accepting other people's arrangements.
Hongye sighed, "I never imagined that someone as intelligent and talented as Miss Dong would have such a difficult life than a maid like me."
Qin Yuan smiled and said, "With me here, I will definitely not let you and Cui Ming live a difficult life."
Hongye chuckled and said, "I know, Miss is going to make us rich from pepper and turn us into little tycoons, but we don't know where the pepper is right now."
Cui Ming happened to walk in at that moment, overheard half of what was said, and said, "I reckon she'll be pregnant soon."
How did you know?
The red leaves were puzzled.
Cui Ming rolled her eyes at her and said, "Even Miss knows, but you don't. Shouldn't you think about why you don't know?"
Hongye looked at Qin Yuan in confusion and murmured, "Yes, why didn't I know?"
Qin Yuan smiled but remained silent.
Gu Jinghui had already washed his face and came out. Qin Yuan hurriedly ordered someone to fetch food from the small kitchen and also sent a bowl of yam, lily bulb, and lotus seed porridge to the main room.
Gu Jinghui asked, "Why not send some to your nephews and nieces?"
Qin Yuan said calmly, "It's not a good time to send meat now. Sending meat would be against filial piety. Sending vegetarian food would just be some seasonal vegetables, which the main house has. The old lady and Rong Mama will take care of their food, clothing and daily necessities. I won't cause any trouble."
"That's right, Mother will never mistreat them."
Gu Jinghui sat down at the table and said to Qin Yuan, "I've asked you about this several times, and you always say you'll tell me later. But I get busy and forget. Tell me now so I don't forget again."
Qin Yuan retorted, "Why did you suddenly remember now? Didn't you say you were going to send someone to inquire in the neighborhood? What? Haven't any of the people you inquired with replied to you?"
Gu Jinghui paused as he reached for his chopsticks to pick up some food, and said, "Oh dear, I forgot about that again. What did they ask about? They haven't even replied to me."
He immediately stopped eating, got up and went to the outer room to call Gu Shiliu.
Qin Yuan then let Hongye and Cuiming divide the vegetables and eat them themselves.
Not long after, Lord Gu walked in with a strange expression, and sat down silently without saying a word.
Qin Yuan said leisurely, "Why aren't you saying anything? Now you know the answer, don't you?"
Gu Jinghui was both angry and ashamed, and said in a muffled voice, "You knew all along that this was the reason, so you kept quiet all this time, didn't you?"
Qin Yuan nodded.
Gu Jinghui gritted his teeth and said, "I never expected that everyone would treat me like this... it turns out it was all for this reason."
The complicated expressions on the faces of the eunuch delivering the imperial decree and the Minister of Works.
The instructions from all the esteemed leaders.
...
It turns out that it was all out of sympathy for him because they believed he was impotent.
Qin Yuan quickly reassured him, "The rumors are to your advantage, Lord Marquis. Why should you take them to heart?"
Lord Gu's hand trembled, and he put down the spoon to look at her directly and ask, "This concerns my reputation as a man in public, why do you say that?"
Qin Yuan said solemnly, "My husband and I are one, we share the same fate. If it is detrimental to you, my lord, unless I am unaware of it, even if it is difficult for me to speak up, I will remind you as soon as possible."
Lord Gu's expression softened.
Qin Yuan added, "His Majesty changed his decree, presumably after hearing this rumor and wanting to protect my husband. This one decision alone has saved us so much trouble."
Lord Gu nodded.
The king's fear is the most deadly thing, so this can be considered a good thing.
Qin Yuan continued, "The six ministers have developed sympathy for my husband, which has lessened their jealousy. My husband will face less hostility in the officialdom in the future, isn't that a good thing? Now the Emperor is wrestling with the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers over the Crown Princess, and who knows what he might do in the future regarding the struggle between Prince Qi and the Crown Prince. Who the Marquis of Dingbei's mansion sides with and who it favors is closely related to the political situation. So many people are eyeing us, what harm is there in showing weakness?"
Lord Gu was stunned.
After a long pause, he said, "Mr. Songshan is indeed brilliant. You are truly my lucky star. If it weren't for you, I would never have thought of this. Just like Sima Yi feigning illness, right?"
Qin Yuan smiled and nodded, saying, "Doesn't my husband already have the answer in his heart? Sima Yi was able to bring down Cao Shuang by feigning illness and withdrawing from the court struggle. We can't withdraw right now, so it's not a bad thing that everyone feels sorry for my husband because of the rumors. Anyway, it's not true."
Reflecting on Qin Yuan's words, Lord Gu was lost in thought, his mind wandering from one thought to another, a multitude of ideas churning within him.
It's as if I suddenly understood many things, and my mind became clear.
Yet it seems as if nothing has changed; I am still myself.
I don't even know what to expect from that meal.
After it was over, he said, "Then... then you must carefully instruct Physician Li not to tell anyone."
Qin Yuan said, "Don't worry, Doctor Li knows the stakes and won't tell anyone. But you should remind Sixth Brother and Baozhu, especially Baozhu, to make sure they don't let it slip while chatting with others. I'll talk to Mother."
Lord Gu nodded emphatically.
"I'm going to the main camp now, you should rest for a bit."
Qin Yuan said, "Don't leave yet, I have something to tell you."
"What's up?"
Qin Yuan took out the drawing paper that Lord Gu had sent over, and said with a look of disgust, "Why did you draw such a fat horse? How much embroidery thread will that take? And I don't know how much effort it will take me to embroider one. Can you wait?"
Lord Gu's usually stern face quickly flushed red, and he said, "...This, this, this was drawn by the sixth brother. I'll go and talk to him."
He snatched the drawing paper, crumpled it up haphazardly, stuffed it into his pocket, and said, "I'll go find him right now and ask him to draw something simple for me."
Qin Yuan chuckled softly and said gently, "I'll draw such a private mark. If it's not drawn well, the Marquis can let me revise it."
Upon hearing this, Lord Gu was delighted and immediately nodded, saying, "Alright, I'll leave it all to Yuan'er. My dear Yuan'er, you're so good to me."
"Don't just sweet-talk me, and remember what I said today," Qin Yuan curled her lips, extended her slender jade finger and lightly tapped the tip of Lord Gu's nose, and said, "Just don't throw a tantrum and refuse to see people all the time. By the way, speaking of this, have you figured out how to punish you if you do it again?"
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