Hearing his usually troublesome younger sister defend him so fiercely behind his back, Gu Jinghui couldn't help but touch his nose, a smile blooming on his lips.
"Then tell me, Mother, who gave that Chang guy the audacity?" Gu Baozhu asked, puzzled.
"Is there even a need to ask? It's naturally the Crown Prince and the Ninth Princess. They're the ones who brought them into the manor last time."
“…Oh…” Gu Baozhu’s voice was noticeably lower. “I can’t afford to offend the Crown Prince and the Ninth Princess, but I can’t tolerate them either. She made me lose face in public first, and then she spoke ill of my Third Brother. I think she’s just here to cause trouble.”
Gu Jinghui was about to go in when Qin Yuan spoke from inside, so he stopped.
“Mother, don’t be angry. Baozhu’s temper is indeed a bit fiery, but if you ask me, at first Baozhu and Madam Chang were both right and wrong, but later Madam Chang was 70% at fault. If Baozhu is upset, she can just say so. There’s no need to drag the Marquis into it. If she comes to me to reason with me, how can I ignore Baozhu?”
"Third sister-in-law is right."
Hearing his wife's words, Lord Gu felt as sweet as if he had drunk honey. He immediately lifted the curtain and went in, staring intently at Qin Yuan, but said to Gu Baozhu, "Baozhu, what your third sister-in-law said is indeed reasonable."
Gu Baozhu cried out joyfully, "Mother, listen to this! Third Brother is on my side too, please spare me! I finally got out, and now you're going to lock me up again. When will this end? All my prime years will be wasted. Besides, if I'm locked up, no one will play with my nephews and nieces. Where are you going to find them a good aunt?"
Qin Yuan blushed under his intense gaze and quickly lowered her head.
Madam Gu gave up.
"You all spoil her. Look at the trouble she's causing. In a few days, the whole capital will be talking about how the young lady of the Marquis of Dingbei's mansion is a shrew. Let's see how she finds a husband."
Gu Baozhu said, "If they spread rumors about me like that, I'll have people spread rumors that Chang Qingling is a slut, and we'll see who's afraid of whom."
"Shut up!"
Madam Gu was furious. "You're supposed to be a young lady, how can you speak and act like one without any manners expected of a young lady?"
Gu Baozhu pouted and remained silent.
Gu Jinghui quickly said, "I won't mention it before, but now that I'm back, I have no reason to let my younger siblings be bullied without fighting back. This time, there was a reason for it, so please be lenient, Mother. As for the rumors circulating, I will send people to keep an eye on them. If anyone maliciously spreads gossip about my sister, I will not let them off easily."
"Thank you for speaking up for me, Third Brother."
Gu Baozhu quickly thanked her.
Gu Jinghui glanced quickly at Qin Yuan, indicating, "And what about your third sister-in-law?"
"Thank you, Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law, for speaking up for me."
Gu Baozhu immediately changed her words and even winked at Qin Yuan.
Madam Gu ignored it.
Gu Jinghui added, "As for Baozhu's marriage... she's so troublesome, if she can't find a suitable husband, I think it would be better for her to marry one of my lieutenant generals. They're all soldiers, they won't be intimidated by Baozhu, and even for my sake, they wouldn't dare to make things difficult for her."
Before Madam Gu could speak, Gu Baozhu cried out anxiously, "I won't marry a soldier, Mother, Third Brother! I want to marry a scholar, someone talented who can write poetry."
Originally unwilling to speak, Old Madam Gu couldn't help but slap her thigh and sigh, "What a disaster! You still want to marry a scholar, but even a scholar has to want to marry you. If you continue like this, I'm afraid even soldiers won't dare to marry you. Do you think your sixth brother would like someone like you?"
Qin Yuan knew who Gu Baozhu was thinking of, but she didn't dare to speak up.
Gu Baozhu retorted, "Mother, if I can find someone, please let me marry him, regardless of his age or family background."
Madam Gu was stunned.
Lord Gu walked over and sat down next to Qin Yuan, asking curiously, "Could it be that you've already taken a fancy to someone, sister? If you're looking for someone, you shouldn't do what Xu Zhen did, making such a fuss, now she's nowhere to be found, and it's even caused our two families to fall out."
Madam Gu quickly nodded and said, "That's right, Baozhu, don't follow Xu Zhen's example. Everyone knows that Scholar Qin is a good man, and everyone wants a good man, but you have to follow the rules. You can't do things like that. If you take a fancy to someone, you should have someone carefully inquire whether the other person is married, what kind of girl the elders in the family want to choose for him, whether the other person likes you, and whether the family values are compatible."
Gu Baozhu swallowed the name that had risen to her lips.
"Not yet, not yet. I... I'm just thinking of marrying a scholar so that our Gu family can change its social standing and follow the path of scholars. If I marry a scholar, we can support each other. I heard that many people are looking for a husband after the imperial examination results are announced. When I see someone I like, we'll go and find one."
Madam Gu's eyes widened in surprise.
"Oh my, Baozhu is actually thinking about the future of the family so much. I underestimated you before. You have such a good story to tell."
Gu Baozhu feigned delight and laughed, "Of course! One should look at a person with new eyes after three days of separation. Sixth Brother has already published a collection of poems and become famous, so how can I not strive to improve myself?"
Lord Gu laughed and said, "If you want to make progress, you first need to change your temper. What kind of scholar's wife would hit someone at the slightest disagreement? Besides, you also need to know needlework and be proficient in household management. You should learn from your third sister-in-law to truly make progress."
Gu Baozhu said with a worry, "I would like to learn from my sister-in-law, but she is too busy to take care of me."
Qin Yuan laughed and said, "It's not like what your third brother says. Baozhu can study and learn needlework from her female tutor every day, and she can also learn how to manage a household from me. If she marries into a family like our Marquis's, she usually won't be in charge of the household unless she's the eldest son's wife. It's only because our mother trusts the younger generation that I get to be called the 'Queen.' As long as you can manage your own courtyard and read the accounts, that's enough. Your mother-in-law will teach you. If you marry into a family with a small number of people, like my sister who married into the Lin family, she said that all she does is cook three meals a day and manage daily expenses. Her mother-in-law won't let go of her responsibilities easily."
Gu Baozhu was astonished.
Madam Gu smiled and nodded, "Yuan'er is absolutely right."
Rong Momo teased, "It's only because Madam praised you that you said that."
Madam Gu smiled and said, "She's not praising me, she's just telling the truth."
Qin Yuan also smiled.
"I'm not good with words and don't know how to compliment people, that's how my mother treated me."
Gu Baozhu sighed, "Speaking of which, my third sister-in-law is not only beautiful and intelligent, but she also has a wonderful mother-in-law like my mother. I may not even have such good fortune."
Gu Jinghui said, "This kind of blessing is not something everyone can have. She also has a good husband like me."
Gu Baozhu: "!"
Qin Yuan laughed, and Gu Jinghui pressed, "Don't you think so?"
Qin Yuan nodded and said, "Yes, yes, yes."
Gu Baozhu couldn't help but sigh. Why did it seem more and more difficult to marry into the Qin family?
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