Qin Yuan smiled and said, "Yes, yes, you're not worried? Then how come you didn't even notice that you were holding your books upside down?"
Gu Jinghui couldn't believe it and couldn't help but glance at the book in his hand.
The book is correct.
He...he was fooled.
Lifting his eyelids, he saw his young wife smiling slyly at him.
Gu Jinghui coughed and decided to tell the truth: "I read a few sentences of the book my father-in-law gave me, and then I got a little sleepy, so I was watching you guys manage your household affairs."
"oh?"
Qin Yuan neither said she believed nor she disbelieved.
She glanced at the book in Gu Jinghui's hand and asked, "What book did Father give you?"
"Spring and Autumn Period".
Qin Yuan laughed again and said, "Guan Yu reads the Spring and Autumn Annals at night. Is Father trying to get the Marquis to follow his example?"
Gu Jinghui was stunned.
He really didn't know about this. As military generals, no one disrespected Guan Yu. When they swore brotherhood, they all had to pay homage to Lord Guan.
Could there be some hidden meaning behind Guan Yu reading the Spring and Autumn Annals at night?
Gu Jinghui felt a headache coming on.
These literati kept their thoughts to themselves, using various methods to imply and suggest meaning in riddles.
Qin Yuan added, "As the saying goes, 'A Meng from Wuxia should be looked at with new eyes after three days of not seeing him.' Lü Meng is almost thirty years old and has just begun to study diligently. If my husband becomes a scholar-general, my father will praise him in the same way."
The implication is that it's not too late for Gu Jinghui to start studying now, and becoming a scholar-general is not impossible.
Gu Jinghui met Qin Yuan's gaze, gave a mumbled reply, and changed the subject, saying, "Just now I saw how you dealt with those old women, and it was quite appropriate. That's how you should intimidate those who don't obey you, but you're still missing the step of showing them kindness."
You should punish those who make mistakes and reward those who do things right, but clear distinctions between rewards and punishments can only establish authority. If you want people to respect you, you must also show them kindness.
Qin Yuan understood this principle, and she smiled and said, "What you say is very true, Lord Marquis. I was just about to ask Cuiming to do a favor for Mama Lu, but I didn't know how to do it, so I used your name to invite Granny Rong."
Gu Jinghui couldn't help but laugh.
He stood up and said, "Since you already have a plan, I will go and see Baozhu."
Since his wife is both intelligent and has a good memory, he should hurry up and deal with Gu Baozhu.
Qin Yuan responded and then asked, "Husband, shall we have lunch at the manor?"
Gu Jinghui thought for a moment and said, "No, thank you."
He needs to find someone to ask Guan Yu what it means to read the Spring and Autumn Annals at night.
If she stayed any longer, Qin Yuan might really feel that he didn't trust her.
As soon as Lord Gu left, Hongye said, "Seventh Miss really should be punished properly."
Qin Yuan smiled and said, "They pushed all the things that others didn't want to do onto Seventh Miss. She was properly locked up in solitary confinement, so how did those two children run off? And how did she get out?"
Hongye said, "Could it be the Sixth Madam again?"
Qin Yuan smiled and said, "Whoever is in a good position to do this will do it."
Hongye said angrily, "Why does she like to meddle so much?"
From the day the young lady got married, the shadow of the Sixth Madam could be seen everywhere.
Qin Yuan said, "If she likes to meddle, then let her meddle. Isn't it all thanks to her that all the head mothers contributed so generously this time?"
Upon hearing this, Hongye paused for a moment, then giggled.
"You know what, all the head housekeepers came, and they all had smiles on their faces and spoke very kindly."
Hongye hadn't forgotten the dismissive and perfunctory attitude of Manager Wang and the coachman from a few days ago.
“Just one day later, these supervising mothers changed their attitude completely.”
Cui Ming was somewhat worried and said, "Now that there's such a big fuss, it's fine if we make money, but it'll be troublesome if we lose money."
All the stewardesses in the household contributed their share. Cuiming really hadn't expected that, since they were all on Miss's side, if something happened and these people made a fuss, how would Miss handle the situation?
Qin Yuan was confident and said, "There's no way we'll lose money. There will just be some twists and turns. With Madam Liu around, we don't need to stir things up. We just need to observe."
Since the Sixth Madam is so fond of worrying about her, let the Sixth Madam do her part.
Seeing her confidence, Cuiming said nothing more and went out to the main room to invite Rong Mama as instructed.
Over there, Madam Gu, upon learning that the head maids had each contributed fifty taels, laughed and said, "These maids, when they see a tiny profit, are like flies to blood. They're incredibly friendly now when they need something from us, but who knows how they'll scold us when we lose money later."
Granny Zhao laughed, "It wasn't for nothing that we put in so much effort to tie them all together."
“At first, I was worried that these stewardesses wouldn’t board the ship because of her appearance,” Madam Gu said with a smile. “Now all that’s missing is the pepper supply. Our Sixth Master went to curry favor with her, but she was too cautious to accept it. Otherwise, the stage would already be set up.”
Granny Zhao chimed in with a sarcastic remark, saying, "It's still because of the young official's family that he's so ignorant. He's been poor for a long time and suddenly becomes rich. He can't hold onto the dowry money he has and wants to make a fortune quickly. Money isn't that easy to earn. You have to accumulate it slowly."
Madam Gu nodded with amusement, "She also said she had a lucky dream. Because of a dream, she couldn't even listen to what Manager Leng said. It's only because the old lady favors the Marquis and doesn't want to offend her that she's willing to give a gift."
What kind of auspicious dream is this? Haha, it's hilarious.
Granny Zhao clicked her tongue: "If she really made money, wouldn't she be blessed with good fortune and protected by gods and Buddhas? No wonder she dared to do that."
Madam Gu snorted coldly and said, "If she wants to take over the management of the household affairs from me, she'll have to wait at least another ten years."
Over the past ten years, she has accumulated enough wealth. Once the old lady passes away, it will be time to separate the family and live separately. Giving up the property at that time will earn her a good reputation, and Lord Gu will still have to be grateful to her.
Madam Gu said, "Zhao Niangzi is becoming increasingly useless. We should avoid getting too close to her in the future. Bai Que's parents caused a scene at Wutong Garden and were subdued. They're spreading rumors that the Marquis is going to prepare a dowry for Zhao Niangzi. This situation is getting worse and worse. We shouldn't get involved."
Zhao Niangzi and Bai Que also broke up.
One hand cannot clap; it seems unlikely that anything will be accomplished.
Granny Zhao said, "That's exactly what I was going to say. Yesterday, Lady Zhao was sent back to Fengxuan Pavilion by the Marquis, and today Bai Que was taken back by her parents. They even tore off the mask of civility when they left. No matter how unwilling Lady Zhao is, she can't make a fuss. Now she's being kept in the main room to be appeased. The old lady is already unhappy, but she doesn't want to lose face because of the favor. So let's not stand in front of her, lest we offend the Marquis and his wife."
Madam Gu sighed and said, "I underestimated this new sister-in-law's shrewdness before. She is really good at enduring things. She is so young but her methods are superb. Even the Marquis has been subdued by her. The tricks she played in Wutong Garden today were so clever. The stewards under her are now both respectful and afraid of her. They are all concubine's daughters. Look how stupid our Seventh Miss is."
"We need to hurry up and help our new sister-in-law set up the stage as soon as possible."
Before he could finish speaking, a maidservant hurriedly lifted the curtain and came in, saying, "Something terrible has happened! The Marquis has come with someone in tow."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com