Seeing that she kept her head down and remained silent, Lin Ziqi's brows furrowed with a hint of anxiety and annoyance. He said urgently, "I think the 'Firefly Collection' will definitely be sold before the imperial examination. Sixth Master Gu and Qin Siyuan are on good terms and will use this opportunity to make him famous. If I could also have this opportunity, my performance in the palace examination would definitely be outstanding."
"Because of this, I was so worried that I couldn't eat or sleep well. Perhaps it was for this reason that I was finding it increasingly difficult to find a good theme, and the poems I wrote always felt a little lacking."
After saying that, he looked at Qin Wan expectantly, his fingers tightly gripping the corner of the blanket.
After a long pause, Qin Wan said, "...How about...how about I go and talk to my father? My eldest sister will still listen to him."
The implication was that they wanted to find a way to add Lin Ziqi's poem to the list.
I thought Lin Ziqi would be satisfied now.
Unexpectedly, Lin Ziqi struggled to sit up, his face full of refusal, and said sternly, "I know you are thinking of me, but if I can't produce good poems, people will gossip if I am selected. I am not like that guy Gu Jingjun, who donated the title of garrison commander just for show, so he doesn't care what others say, as long as his poems can be included in the poetry collection."
Qin Wan was completely speechless.
Left won't work, right won't work either.
What exactly do you want?!
"Husband, what should we do?"
Lin Ziqi stared at Qin Wan, who looked bewildered, and said, "Your sister is quite talented in poetry, and the poem you had in your dream last time was also excellent... Why don't you think of another way?"
...
Lord Gu was covered in sweat from soaking in the bath, so he washed his hair again. After coming out, he insisted that Qin Yuan dry his hair for him.
Qin Yuan said, "How do you usually clean? I'm busy here, and you're just being a nuisance."
"What are you busy with?"
Lord Gu's cheeks were flushed, his black hair was wet and stuck to his scalp, and his dark eyes were fixed on Qin Yuan expectantly. He looked very obedient, which was quite different from his usual arrogant and cold demeanor.
Qin Yuan's heart softened upon seeing this, and she involuntarily reached out to take the handkerchief.
"Sit down, let me wipe you down. I'm just flipping through the book to see what gifts those people gave me, so I have a general idea. When Mother takes me out in a few days, I'll need to know what's going on."
Gu Jinghui then moved a footstool and sat down next to Qin Yuan, saying, "Just wipe it casually. I'm just feeling a bit unwell and wanted to talk to you. The Ministry of Personnel hasn't made any moves yet. Will they not send anyone tomorrow? Besides, they're all sitting together doing their work. Won't they show favoritism? I have quite a few relatives of the imperial family bothering me, and they also have their share of people passing notes to them."
Qin Yuan laughed and said, "Why don't you go and talk to Mr. Songshan about these things? You're leaving such a grown man unused."
"He said that three cobblers are equal to one Zhuge Liang. In this mansion, only you, me, and he can gather three people together. Do you expect me to ask Lao Liu?"
As Qin Yuan wiped her hands, she said, "If the people from the Ministry of Personnel don't come, you should set some rules for them. The Crown Prince's marriage is still undecided, and Princess Fuyun has been betrothed to Zhang Hanlin. Empress Lin and the Emperor are probably thinking of other ways to find a wife for the Crown Prince. If you get along well with them, the Emperor will definitely not be happy."
Gu Jinghui clapped his hands and said, "Wonderful! I am truly no match for you in your ability to read people's minds."
Qin Yuan smiled and said, "Why are you praising me so much today?"
Gu Jinghui also laughed: "That's not true, I genuinely admire you. That's good. If the people from the Ministry of Personnel don't come, I'll make an example of them."
Qin Yuan wiped the paper a couple more times and said, "As for how to make an example of someone, you should ask Mr. Songshan. If you want to keep him in the manor, you should give him more things to do. Otherwise, he'll get bored staying in the manor and might prefer to go out and tell stories in the entertainment district to pass the time."
Then she handed the handkerchief to Lord Gu, ran her slender fingers through his hair, touched it, and said, "Alright, you can sunbathe slowly, but don't be exposed to the wind, lest you get a headache when you get old."
“Okay, I understand,” Gu Jinghui said as he stood up. “You’re right. I’ll go find him now. I’ll have dinner in the outer courtyard. I’ll come back later to discuss an important matter with you.”
Before he finished speaking, he hurriedly went out.
When Hongye returned for dinner, she asked in surprise, "Is the Marquis not dining here today?"
Qin Yuan said, "He ate in the outer courtyard."
Hongye laughed and said, "Judging from how sticky you are, I thought you would have dinner here too."
Qin Yuan blushed and said, "Aren't you busy enough? All you do all day is talk about these things."
Hongye hurriedly said, "It's so busy. There are so many things going on in the manor, and they're all relatives. Fortunately, Mozhu and Hongmian are both born into the family, and their families are all influential. They know all the intricacies and relationships. If they hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known about all these connections."
Qin Yuan nodded and said, "That's why I assigned both of them to you. One person might keep it from you, but two people won't. Otherwise, once you take charge, you'll be pointing fingers and you won't even know how you offended anyone. They might not say anything now, but they could secretly trip you up later without you even knowing why."
Hongye said, "But when you do things, you're bound to offend people. What should we do then?"
Qin Yuan said, "The regulations are there. You either have to practice nepotism or follow the rules. You have to know who you've offended. They're all in the same boat. If they try to sabotage you, you have to deal with them thoroughly. After a few times, they'll know how powerful you are."
Hongye said, "My dear Miss, when did you become so experienced? I could learn from you for a lifetime."
Just then, Cuiming returned.
The sewing room has been the most tiring place lately. Cuiming, carrying two large packages, said as soon as she came in, "I've finally finished all the clothes."
Hongye took it, opened it, and laughed, "So much! Enough to wear until the Mid-Autumn Festival."
Qin Yuan said, "Cui Ming has really worked hard these days; she's lost a lot of weight."
“It’s fortunate that there are few masters in the manor,” Cuiming sighed. “In the past, we did most of the needlework ourselves in the Qin family. Who would bother to find someone in the manor who specialized in needlework? There was no work to be done. So we didn’t know that the needlework room would be so busy.”
Hongye asked, "How is Mama Li managing things?"
Cui Ming nodded: "Perhaps it's because of Mama Lu's presence that Mama Li is so diligent."
Qin Yuan said, "Once this matter is resolved, I will personally give you double your monthly pay."
Hongye asked, "Is it only available in the sewing room?"
"Everyone has one."
Cuiming and Hongye were both very happy, but they were careful not to make too much of a fuss, so as not to give others something to talk about later.
Qin Yuan instructed a maid to come in and set out the meal. The three of them then sat down to eat. After a short while, they heard the curtain rustle outside, and the maid said, "Madam, Steward Cao requests an audience."
Qin Yuan found it strange and quickly invited someone in. Butler Cao reported through the beaded curtain, "Madam, a beautiful woman from a foreign tribe is requesting an audience outside. She claims to be a concubine of Yelü, a hostage prince."
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