It's alright when it comes to other people.
When it comes to Sixth Brother's family, Gu Baozhu has a lot to say.
"If he dared to take a concubine, I would have slapped him across the face and made him crawl on the ground."
Gu Baozhu stood with her hands on her hips and her nostrils pointing upwards.
Qin Yuan laughed and said, "What if your husband says you can't have children, or that you can't have a son and therefore want to take a concubine? What will you do then?"
Gu Baozhu was annoyed: "What can I do? My family is the Marquis of Dingbei. If he dares to have any other tricks up his sleeve, he'll have to see if he's tough enough."
Ultimately, we still need to take a hard line.
Qin Yuan said calmly, "Without wars in the future, I'm afraid military officers won't be as valued as before. Besides, if you marry a scholar, he'll be a civil official if he becomes one. Civil and military officials don't support each other, and your family can't control him. If he's really angry, it's good if he divorces you. But what if he's a bad-hearted person who insists on divorcing his wife? Are you and your family going to beat him and his family up? You should know there's the government involved. If your husband's family sues you and you end up in jail, how will you ever face anyone again?"
Gu Baozhu sat there blankly for a long time, then asked, "My good mother, dear third sister-in-law, do we just have to endure this? I'm living a good life at home, why should I go to someone else's house to suffer like this?"
Qin Yuan couldn't help but chuckle.
"I'm just telling you that fighting and killing, and using your power to intimidate others, is not the way to go. Besides, marriage is supposed to be a union between two families. If you end up as enemies after marriage, creating unnecessary family feuds, then what's the point of getting married? The key to a marriage is getting along. First, you need to see if the two people are compatible, and second, you need to see if they are good people to each other. A good marriage requires the right time, place, and people. Not everyone can have all of those. If you don't have them, you should still try your best to make your life together."
Granny Rong nodded repeatedly, praising, "Madam, you are so insightful at such a young age. No wonder you have read so many books. You are so sensible. There are not so many good marriages in this world. It all depends on one's own efforts. I wonder how much good fortune you accumulated in your past life to have such a good marriage in this life."
Gu Baozhu sighed, "It turns out that marrying a pale-faced scholar is more troublesome than marrying a young general. I thought pale-faced scholars were all easy to talk to, couldn't beat me, and would just give in to me and go along with me."
Rong Momo sneered, "Do you think people are all cunning and shrewd?"
Gu Baozhu, who was quick-witted and cunning, rolled her eyes: "Go to sleep!"
She didn't want to talk about being cunning anymore—she, Gu Baozhu, the young lady of the dignified Dingbei Marquis's mansion, was not without cunning, nor was she incapable of scheming; she simply didn't need to, and disdained to, shrewdness.
It was just past midnight.
Suddenly, the guards' bone flutes sounded outside, their urgent calls waking everyone up.
Qin Yuan opened her eyes groggily. Gu Baozhu had already put on her clothes and was about to rush out with a whip in hand.
A woman's scream came from not far away.
Heartbreaking.
This made the hairs on Qin Yuan's body stand on end.
Now that she was fully awake, Qin Yuan, without thinking of anything else, hurriedly called out, "Baozhu!"
In the ensuing chaos, no one had time to stop Gu Baozhu, who had already rushed out of the house.
Before long, the sound of whips cracking through the air came from the roof, the roof tiles creaking underfoot, and Gu Baozhu and the others' shouts carrying far in the cool autumn night.
Qin Yuan quickly put on her outer robe and went to the outer room to watch over the children with Rong Mama.
"You thief, stop right there!"
"...Don't run away..."
Accompanied by a stomping sound, came the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground.
Gu Baozhu's cries grew fainter and fainter, as if she were chasing after them.
Qin Yuan was both anxious and angry, and asked in a panic, "Will Baozhu be alright?"
Rong Momo said, "It shouldn't be, with the Sixteenth Sister and others protecting her. But she was so reckless, Madam should give her a good scolding afterwards."
Hongye couldn't help but ask, "Is it just for one meal?"
Qin Yuan suppressed her anxiety and clenched her hands, saying, "I must tell the old lady. I really don't know what to do. I just hope she doesn't get hurt."
Rong Momo sighed.
Gu Liuye's voice rang out from outside the door: "Third Sister-in-law, were you frightened?"
Through the window, you could see Master Gu carrying a lantern, with several burly men holding torches standing around him in the courtyard.
Qin Yuan asked, "Sixth Brother, we're all fine, why are you here?"
Sixth Master Gu said, "Sixteen and the others went out to catch thieves. I brought a few servants and guards to patrol and see if anyone has sneaked in."
The children, who had been listening quietly, couldn't help but call out, "Dad, Father, we're all fine."
Sixth Master Gu laughed and said, "That's good. You can sleep later. You can't sleep right now anyway."
Qin Yuan asked, "What's the situation outside? Did Baozhu go after someone?"
Knowing her worry, Sixth Master Gu reassured her, "It's alright, nothing's wrong. It's just that Madam Xu was frightened. It seems like a thief jumped into her yard and then jumped out. Baozhu and Sixteen chased after him. She should be fine."
Qin Yuan was relieved.
If there's only one thief, with a large group of guards protecting Gu Baozhu, she should be fine.
He then smiled and said to Sixth Master Gu, "I'll trouble Sixth Brother to lead the patrol."
Sixth Master Gu said, "Besides me, there are several other cousins here to help. They also know some martial arts, so it's alright. Third Sister-in-law, please don't worry."
After they left.
Qin Yuan said to Rong Momo, "Sixth Master's behavior is truly reassuring."
Rong Momo smiled and said, "Sixth Master is still a man. Although he is not good at household affairs and does not usually manage things, he can still do these things."
Qin Yuan instructed Cui Ming to simply tie her hair into a bun, secure it with a hairpin, and then drape a cloak over her shoulders.
Gu Shiliu and the others returned shortly afterward.
Qin Yuan then went out to the outer room and asked questions in the side room.
Gu Baozhu casually tied her hair back with a towel, held a riding whip in her hand, and stood among a group of guards in black tight-fitting clothes, looking quite smug. She said angrily, "We have a whole group of people, and we still let this scoundrel get away."
Gu Shiliu hurriedly said, "Seventh Miss, we still have a large group of people here. What if we run too far and fall into their trap of luring us away from our base?"
Gu Baozhu was stunned.
After a while, he said, "Sixteen, you are absolutely right."
Seeing this, Gu Shiba said, "Although Miss Seven is very brave today, we are afraid that the bandits might accidentally hurt her. If it were just the brothers, we wouldn't need to worry about that."
That was too blunt, and Gu Baozhu's face darkened immediately.
Gu Shiliu hurriedly said, "Shiba is just afraid that the bandit has some skill and will target Seventh Miss with deadly intent. Our brothers' lives are worthless. If Seventh Miss is injured, how can we face the Marquis? If we die in the underworld, we will have even less face to face the old Marquis. If the old Marquis asks me, 'Shiliu, you can't even protect my only daughter, how can you face me?' How can I answer that?"
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