"Ah ah ah ah~"
The Marquis howled inwardly.
His sister’s actions were beyond his comprehension.
Yet all of it was done for the sake of protecting his wife.
The Marquis was numb.
A cough from the other side of the door snapped him back to reality. Without thinking much, he pushed the door open and hurriedly asked, "What happened?"
Qin Yuan, coughing, waved her hand to indicate she was fine.
Xiao Dong snapped back to reality, exclaiming, "Senior Sister, why did you suddenly choke?"
Then he looked at him with a smile: "Brother-in-law has returned."
Gu Baoshu just looked up, put down her chopsticks, her eyes darting around, "Xiao Dong, you’re a bit strange. Why do you call me Third Sister-in-law Senior Sister and Third Brother Brother-in-law? When did Third Sister-in-law become Doctor Li’s apprentice? How come I didn’t know?"
Qin Yuan took a sip of tea and calmed herself: "If I didn’t apprentice myself, how could I have learned the needle technique. But I don’t plan to make this public, Xiao Dong doesn’t consider you an outsider, so don’t let it slip."
Gu Baoshu was delighted: "Naturally, we’re all family, I won’t leak a single word."
Qin Yuan stood up to welcome the Marquis to sit, asking, "Husband, would you like to have a bite to eat here? We didn’t expect you to return from court at this hour."
The Marquis nodded with a wooden expression.
Qin Yuan hurriedly instructed someone to arrange the Marquis’s favorite dishes from the small kitchen.
The Marquis glanced at Gu Baoshu, who was eating happily without looking up, and worried greatly about her future—who would dare to marry his family’s Treasure Bead now? It would truly take a brave soul.
What to do?
His mother didn’t know yet, but if she found out, the sky would probably fall.
Gu Baoshu, noticing, held a large bone in her hands, looked up with an oily face, her bright eyebrows raised suspiciously: "Third Brother, why are you just watching me eat? I was invited by Third Sister-in-law, not here to mooch food."
"Eat, eat, don’t worry, even if you indulge all your life, Third Brother can still support you."
This sudden generosity left Gu Baoshu puzzled and frowning.
Everyone finished the meal, each with their own thoughts.
While Qin Yuan arranged for the small kitchen to pack a food box for Renhe Hall, the Marquis said to Xiao Dong: "The Secretariat finally decided today that henceforth the army will purchase golden sore medicine from Renhe Hall. Now your master can rest assured, right?"
Xiao Dong happily expressed his gratitude.
"This is great. With my master’s ointment business doing well, he won’t envy my powder business anymore."
The Marquis became interested in his powder, questioned to the bottom of it, then left him to go.
Gu Baoshu escorted Xiao Dong out, discussing along the way how to expand the business.
Gu Baoshu said: "I’m going on a long journey, you make more powder for me, besides keeping me safe on the road, I can also sell it for you when I arrive."
Xiao Dong readily agreed: "Then I’ll prioritize yours first and put Brother Heng’s order on hold for a few days."
Gu Baoshu suddenly took out a silver note from her sleeve and handed it to Xiao Dong: "Well, I have high hopes for your business, this money will be our business partnership capital. Once we make money, you can give me a share, okay?"
Xiao Dong: ...
This small business, does it really need the Seventh Miss of Dingbei Marquis Mansion to get involved?
Gu Baoshu said: "Third Sister-in-law wants me to learn how to manage dowry, I understand the principle of sitting idle and exhausting wealth. But I can’t open a shop, apart from collecting some pepper with Third Sister-in-law, I don’t know what else to do. Your business looks promising, I’ll invest in it first, a small business, so I’ll start with fifty taels of silver for you as capital, and after selling, just give me a share after covering the cost."
"...Alright then," Xiao Dong thought for a bit and accepted.
At worst, just consider these fifty taels as Gu Baoshu buying his powder.
Gu Baoshu added: "Since I now have a stake in the business, the money Qin Heng took for the powder must also include my share."
"...Of course."
One or two taels’ worth of the goods payments, all yours.
Xiao Dong didn’t mind.
Gu Baoshu laughed heartily, saying: "I’ll hurry Qin Heng to give me the money and see if he still has the face to claim it’s none of my business."
Xiao Dong understood.
It turned out that while the snipe and clam fought, the fisherman gained. Xiao Dong was the fisherman here.
Anyway, there’s no reason to return money that got into his pocket, Xiao Dong encouraged: "Right, do it quickly, once you leave, you’ll have to write letters to urge him."
"Exactly," Gu Baoshu felt like meeting a kindred spirit, planning to leave the mansion for a while.
The Marquis, following Qin Yuan back to Wutong Garden, remained silent and ponderous along the way. Returning to the inner room, Qin Yuan asked, "Is it something in the court?"
The Marquis wasn’t keen to elaborate, only briefly mentioned: "Nothing major, today on the court, the ministers impeached Duke Zhen’s Mansion and King Jin, the Emperor, to cover up for both families, ordered a marriage.
However, the concubine slots in King Jin Mansion are full, so the You Family’s daughter can only enter as a wife. This wife position was only vacant due to a concubine’s sudden illness and death last night in King Jin’s Mansion."