Chapter 67: Husband and Wife as One

Qin Yuan sighed and said, "Have Lady Zhao’s two children come?"

Gu Jinghui scrutinized her expression closely but couldn’t discern anything, so he asked, "How did you guess?"

"When Mr. and Mrs. Qian came, I thought it was them, but I didn’t expect they’d just arrive now. Perhaps Mr. and Mrs. Qian said something that provoked Lady Zhao."

Qin Yuan laughed as she spoke and said, "Didn’t you say you wanted Mr. and Mrs. Qian to help you clear your name outside and also said you would give Lady Zhao a dowry?"

Mr. Qian, as shrewd as he is, originally wanted to swallow his pride to keep Bai Que in the mansion. Upon hearing Marquis Gu’s implications, he immediately decided to take Bai Que away.

How could he swallow this in vain? When taking Bai Que away, he would certainly break relations with Lady Zhao to show his loyalty.

Gu Jinghui was taken aback and smiled bitterly, "You’re still the clever one. I hadn’t thought of that layer."

Qin Yuan laughed and said, "The marquis is not concerned with these inner house matters, of course, you wouldn’t think of it, just like how I wouldn’t comprehend battlefield matters. I guess you have more trouble to deal with later. Lady Zhao is probably causing a scene as a way to advance by retreating. I’m just curious, who brought the two children?"

The Sixth Madam would never do such a thing.

Gu Jinghui said with displeasure, "You would never guess, it’s Treasure Bead."

Qin Yuan looked at him without speaking, but her beautiful eyes already conveyed her thoughts—wasn’t Gu Baoshu under house arrest? How did she still manage to come out? Is this how you confine someone?

Gu Jinghui angrily said, "She can actually still escape, I will certainly punish these scoundrels severely."

Before he finished speaking, Gu Baoshu’s voice had already come from outside the corridor, "Third Brother, where are you? Brother Cheng and Sister Yu and I are anxiously looking for you."

The voice was loud and a bit anxious, accompanied by the cries of two young children.

"You’re becoming more unruly, barging into your Third Brother and Sister-in-law’s courtyard?" Gu Jinghui poked his head out, glaring at Gu Baoshu, "How old are you? It’s one thing that you run wild without decorum, but you take Brother Cheng and Sister Yu with you? See if I don’t teach you a lesson."

Gu Baoshu shouted, "Oh, I can’t explain in detail, Third Brother, Lady Zhao is crying to our mother, saying she wants to go back to her hometown."

"Hometown?"

Gu Jinghui furrowed his brow, looking at the two sobbing children, feeling a pang of regret.

Isn’t this the advancing by retreating that Yuan’er mentioned?

He tightly gripped his fingers.

Gu Baoshu said, "Yes, Brother Cheng and Sister Yu have no one to turn to and found my courtyard, that’s why I ran out. Third Brother, you can’t let Lady Zhao go back to her hometown, Brother Cheng and Sister Yu are so small, they’ll be helpless if they go with Lady Zhao. Can you bear it?"

Sister Yu screamed, "Father, Sister Yu doesn’t want to be separated from Father. Father, Father."

Brother Cheng, too, was in tears, utterly sorrowful.

Gu Jinghui sighed, pulled back his head, and complained to Qin Yuan, "What’s she causing now?"

Qin Yuan understood that "she" referred to Lady Zhao.

"Let Treasure Bead come in to speak, the housekeepers will arrive shortly."

Gu Jinghui was momentarily stunned, then immediately understood that Lady Zhao wanted to return but wasn’t just going to leave right away.

He looked at the calm and composed Qin Yuan and asked, "Yuan’er, what do you think would be the best course of action?"

Qin Yuan asked in return, "What do you think should be done?"

The one who could make decisions was Gu Jinghui, not her.

If one day Gu Jinghui regretted it, wouldn’t he blame her again?

Though she wanted to send Mrs. Zhao and her children away, she did not want to make the decision for Gu Jinghui.

She would only fan the flames.

Gu Jinghui said in frustration, "I want them to move out of the mansion but not too far from the Marquis Mansion. If anything happens, the Marquis Mansion can take care of them. As for their daily expenses, there’s no need to worry. It’s the future of these two children that I won’t neglect. But if Lady Zhao insists on taking the two children back to her hometown, then... alas, how could I face my old brothers?"

Qin Yuan understood, military generals and civil servants are different.

Civil servants like to form factions and respond to each other in the court.

Military generals must live and die with their comrades, forming bonds of gratitude and loyalty.

As the saying goes, a father and son make the best soldiers on the battlefield.

If there’s a natural blood bond like that of father and son or brothers, that’s best, but if there’s no blood relation, they must find other ways to bind together.

Many military generals would foster family retainers or adopt godsons.

The servants in the Dingbei Marquis Mansion could trace back three generations and were all veterans who had fought through blood and fire with the family ancestors.

Gu Jinghui, having been saved by others, owed them a debt he must repay by caring for their family. If not, he would lose the trust of his comrades.

This was precisely why Old Madam Gu and Marquis Gu found Lady Zhao to be such a thorny issue.

She smiled and said, "Hasn’t the marquis figured out how to arrange things properly? If I’ve said something wrong, and Lady Zhao really wants to go back to her hometown, the marquis can’t forcibly stop her, but can still take good care of her and her children."

Hearing her hint, knowing she had a plan in mind, Gu Jinghui immediately said happily, "Yuan’er, earlier you did wonderfully by helping Mr. and Mrs. Qian. Not only did they not insist on keeping Bai Que in the mansion, but the resentment was also dispelled. You and I are one as a couple. You still need to help me with Lady Zhao’s matter. Not for anything else, but I don’t want to dampen the children’s spirits or hinder their futures."

In other words, he could tolerate Lady Zhao but not at the expense of the two children, whom he had watched grow up and truly cared for, and whom he recognized as adopted sons, hoping they would succeed and find a good future, such that Lady Zhao’s actions should not impede them.

Qin Yuan didn’t agree at once, pushing him instead as she said with a teasing pout, "You still haven’t called them in? Treasure Bead stirred up trouble for their sake. Listen to what they have to say quickly and send them back, or else mother will be angry when she finds out."

Gu Jinghui couldn’t help but smile subtly.

His young wife held grudges bitterly and was still watching him to make sure Gu Baoshu would be confined again.

He had to be careful not to offend her.

"Treasure Bead, bring them in quickly, your sister-in-law is also here."

Having heard Gu Jinghui’s words, albeit reluctantly, Gu Baoshu could only lead the two children inside.

The three were led by Cui Ming into the outer room of the main hall, where there weren’t many things. Antiquities were placed on the shelves, a lush bonsai stood nearby, a Spring Excursion painting and couplet hung on the wall, and the windows opened up to lush flowers and plants in the courtyard. A never-before-smelled scent lingered in the air, long and lasting.

It was Gu Baoshu and their first time entering this room.

Somehow, they felt a bit restrained.

At the head of the room, Qin Yuan and Gu Jinghui sat side by side.

Qin Yuan wore a golden hairpin on her head, with forehead ornaments, looking luxurious and glamorous; Gu Jinghui dressed in a blue tunic, his thick black hair neatly tied with a white jade crown, handsome and unyielding. His long narrow black eyes looked at them displeasedly. He seemed difficult to deal with.

"Treasure Bead, you mess around all day long."

Sister Yu’s small legs stopped in their tracks.

"Your father is no longer the same as before; he doesn’t want us," their mother told her, and although she didn’t want to believe it, now she had to.