My Sister Insisted on Swapping Marriages, and I Became a Marchioness Instead

Qin Yuan thought, since Pang Hai claims to be from Jizhou, he should be somewhat familiar with it or might have lived there. She asked Gu Shiliu, "Have you seen Pang Hai at the Northern Border?"

Gu Shiliu replied, "I have seen him, but not many times."

Qin Yuan inquired, "Is it because Pang Hai doesn’t have much contact with the Marquis?"

"Partly for this reason. I didn’t have much contact with the people in the military camp at the Northern Border. The Marquis made it clear that I was the long-term follower he brought out from the Mansion, serving at his side, and mostly handling private matters."

In other words, Gu Shiliu was not gaining military merits on the battlefield, unlike Mrs. Cai’s husband and Mrs. Lu’s son.

"Is Pang Hai burly and tall, with slightly deep-set eyes and distinct features?"

"Yes, Madam is indeed correct."

Qin Yuan nodded, thinking to herself, "It seems those two children are indeed Pang Hai’s."

Pang Hai’s identity was suspicious, and Lady Zhao acted bizarrely. Qin Yuan pondered for a while but couldn’t figure out the clues, so she switched the topic to Doctor Liu, asking, "Has the matter with Doctor Liu been clarified?"

Gu Shiliu hesitated for a moment and said, "It’s hard for me to say. The Marquis has ordered silence. Doctor Liu is unwell and will likely need some time to recuperate, unable to diagnose patients."

"Oh," Qin Yuan nodded, saying, "That’s really unfortunate. I hope he recovers soon."

Gu Shiliu smiled.

They talked as they walked to the outer courtyard.

Sixth Master Gu was practicing the horse stance with Gu Jinghui in the courtyard. On the stand beside them, an incense stick burned down to the length of a pinky finger.

Upon seeing them enter, Gu Jinghui immediately stopped his stance and came forward.

Sixth Master Gu looked at them enviously, without a word.

Qin Yuan noticed and smiled, "Husband, should we invite Sixth Brother to join us for a meal?"

Sixth Master Gu’s eyes brightened, eagerly watching his Third Brother.

Gu Jinghui said, "No, he still needs to practice the horse stance. He got up late, and when I was young and got up late for training, I wouldn’t get to eat either."

Sixth Master Gu gritted his teeth silently.

Qin Yuan thought for a moment and said, "This morning, Hong Ye woke up early to make duck soup and pulled noodles. I brought quite a bit, so why not leave some for Sixth Master to try?"

Hearing this, Gu Jinghui squinted, glanced at Sixth Master Gu, who pitifully withdrew his gaze and turned to stare at the incense.

"Alright, as you say, let Sixth Brother have a bowl of noodles to try. He doesn’t eat much," said Gu Jinghui.

Qin Yuan also asked, "Sixteen..."

Gu Shiliu immediately tactfully declined, "I’ll eat with Sixth Master."

Only then did Qin Yuan enter the study, asking the maids to set the meal. Gu Shiliu set down the food box, placed a clothing box on a small table by the bed, and then exited.

Gu Jinghui went to find a place to cool down.

Qin Yuan glanced at the table, which was tidied up, not scattered with papers like the day before.

She waited for a while until Gu Jinghui finished changing and came in.

Hong Ye and Cui Ming waited outside.

As soon as Gu Jinghui sat down, he asked, "Will you still be following Doctor Li for consultations today?"

Qin Yuan smiled and nodded, picking up long chopsticks to give Gu Jinghui some duck soup noodles, gently pushing the bowl towards his hand.

The small table was full, so Qin Yuan pushed lightly without exerting force.

Gu Jinghui took it, seemingly casually saying, "This table is too small and a bit inconvenient. You’d better not come here next time; let’s dine in the Wutong Garden instead."

Qin Yuan agreed, "Then Yuan’er will arrange early, so when you come, we can eat together."

Gu Jinghui drank a sip of duck soup, nodded in satisfaction, and said, "Hong Ye’s cooking is quite good; remember to reward her next time."

Qin Yuan said, "That will surely make Hong Ye ecstatic."

Gu Jinghui ate for a while before saying, "Yesterday, many people threw things into the Mansion. I’ve had them sorted out. If you want to see, just ask Sixteen."

Qin Yuan asked, "Should a record be made?"

This timing for throwing things into the Mansion is mostly out of goodwill; this goodwill will eventually need to be repaid.

Gu Jinghui thought for a moment and said, "You decide."

The two discussed things harmoniously.

After a while, Gu Jinghui said, "Manager Leng from Ranxiang Inn sent a letter wanting to sell the incense pills you made for mother at the inn."

Qin Yuan asked, "What does the Marquis think?"

"This matter is up to you," Gu Jinghui said indifferently. "The incense recipe is yours. Read Manager Leng’s letter and decide. If you’re too busy, ignore it. You’re busy all day with the Marquis Mansion’s affairs. Whether you want to do it or not is up to you. As long as you manage the accounts well, you can even manage my private vault, so you won’t have to worry about running out of silver."

Gu Jinghui’s words shocked Qin Yuan.

Although Marquis Gu had mentioned this more than once, he had never been so clear before.

Qin Yuan paused for a moment, looked at Marquis Gu’s indifferent expression, and said, "I’ll look at Manager Leng’s letter first and see later."

"Oh," Gu Jinghui seemed a bit disappointed.

He thought Qin Yuan would be happy, but she didn’t even respond.

What was the reason?

Qin Yuan slowly finished eating, put down her chopsticks, and asked again, "Doctor Liu..."

Gu Jinghui said, "He’s confessed. As you said, he was indeed an internal spy bought with a high price by Yelv Guza to harm me in the Mansion. He had great ambition, maneuvering between the Crown Prince and King Jin, making both sides think he was their man. They worried I would support Prince Qi and wanted me to relinquish military power."

Qin Yuan was shocked upon hearing this.

"No wonder he frequently went to Mother asking for a peaceful pulse; this was his ploy."

Failing to harm Marquis Gu, he was trying to find ways to have him in mourning.

In previous times, the Yelv Family had bribed many courtiers to speak for them.

There were wise individuals who proposed not allowing books, seeds, and other goods to flow to the Yelv Family, but they were ridiculed and suppressed, accused of lacking the style of the Heavenly Dynasty, and betraying the alliance if they did so.

By the time the court realized the danger and began strict control, it was somewhat late.

The Yelv Family extended their reach far, even buying off envoys from Goryeo, Siam, and other countries to purchase large quantities, secretly transporting goods back to the Northern Border on return trips.

Qin Yuan clenched her hands tightly, not expecting that at this time Yelv Guza had already bribed an Imperial Physician.

This hostage, how long had he been following Gu Jinghui to the capital?

Qin Yuan couldn’t help but ask, "Bought with a high price? Where did the Yelv Family get their gold and silver?"

Gu Jinghui sighed bitterly, "Many courtiers of our dynasty think the Yelv Family lives off nomadic herding in the wilderness, homeless and barbarous. In fact, they excel in horse breeding and ginseng hunting. Most ginseng used in our dynasty comes from the Yelv Family. Goryeo and even other countries also need to buy the best ginseng from their hands."