Chapter 24: Don’t you have any face?
“Fengxuan Pavilion?” Hongye was the first to get angry. “Why is it that Miss Zhao again? What did she do to cause the Marquis to be in such trouble?”

Gu Shiliu’s mouth closed again, as tight as a clam shell.

No matter how Hongye and Cuiming asked, he refused to say anything.

Qin Yuan understood that Gu Jinghui must have issued a gag order, so Gu Shiliu didn’t dare to speak.

Being able to be a personal servant of the Marquis, he must be very tight-lipped.

She did not ask any more questions and gently lifted up Gu Jinghui’s shirt. She saw that his body was swollen to two fingers high and purple and black in color. It was obvious that the old lady was furious, otherwise how could she be so cruel.

I wonder what Madam Zhao did?
Thinking of the things that happened before and after Qin Wan returned home in her previous life, Qin Yuan’s heart skipped a beat. She had a guess. She put down her inner garment and told Hong Ye: “Go and get the doctor.”

The Marquis was beaten so badly by the old lady that it was difficult to invite the imperial physician as it would become known to everyone. So they could only secretly invite a tight-lipped doctor to see him.

“Go and ask for a specialist in treating injuries. Doctor Li from Renhetang is the best. He is tight-lipped. Go in and out through the corner door of the side yard so that no one can see him. If someone asks you about it, just say that I came home today and I feel a little unwell.”

He added, “Cui Ming, go outside and tell them that if anyone dares to spread the Marquis’ affairs, don’t blame me for punishing them severely.”

Not long after, Doctor Li came with a medicine box and a little boy. He took a look at the unconscious Lord Gu and took out two pills from the box without even taking his pulse. He asked them to dissolve the pills in yellow wine and apply them to Gu Jinghui’s wound. He also wrote a prescription and said, “The patient was hit in the hot weather. He needs to reduce internal heat and detoxify. I added some coptis root, which is a bit bitter. If the patient is afraid of bitterness, there is nothing we can do. He can only eat some candied fruit to sweeten his mouth.”

Gu Shiliu hurriedly took the prescription and went out to find someone to get the medicine.

Doctor Li saw that there were no outsiders around, so he whispered, “Auntie, why do you come to me when you don’t need the fine plaster passed down from your ancestors?”

Qin Yuan said softly: “If you want to use it, you have to take a clear path.”

Doctor Li understood and stopped talking.

Cuiming served the herbal tea, and Doctor Li took it with a smile, saying, “In this weather, I came here in a hurry and was thirsty. The young lady is really thoughtful and considerate.”

Hongye brought the silver over, and Qin Yuan said, “Seal it in a red envelope and give it to Doctor Li for tea.”

Doctor Li took it with a smile and said, “Madam, take my ointment. Remember to apply it to the patient regularly every day. The patient will be cured in three to five days.”

Gu Jinghui was a military commander after all, and he had a strong physique, so he woke up in less than an hour.

After waking up, he asked someone to move the bamboo couch to the side room, saying that Qin Yuan must not be frightened by the smoke, and that he should come back to sleep after he felt better.

Qin Yuan felt a little uncomfortable thinking about applying ointment on his body three times a day. She thought it would be more convenient to ask Gu Shiliu to serve him. She followed him to the side room and watched the maids set up everything before leaving.

Gu Shiliu asked quietly, “Why doesn’t the Marquis take this opportunity to let Madam serve him personally?”

What a great opportunity this is. The Marquis was beaten but he still forced himself to accompany his wife back home. If his wife knew about this, she would definitely not care about Miss Zhao’s matter.

“What do you know?” Gu Jinghui glared and asked, “You don’t want to save face?”

Gu Shiliu: “…”

Face is not as important as substance.

Gu Jinghui asked again: “Did Madam say anything?”

Gu Shiliu said: “Madam asked me what happened, but I didn’t say anything.”

Gu Jinghui breathed a sigh of relief, “That’s good.”

Gu Shiliu grunted for a long time, and Gu Jinghui became impatient: “If you have anything to say, just say it quickly, don’t waste time.”

“I think what the old lady said is right. Madam is both smart and beautiful. She is truly a good wife that is hard to find even with a lantern. Everything in Wutong Garden has been properly arranged. My Lord, you…”

“Of course I know, otherwise why would I marry her?”

Gu Shiliu was not convinced: “But the old lady originally chose the lady’s sister, and you agreed, didn’t you?” She is not as pretty as the lady, and she is also stupid.

Gu Jinghui glared, “What do you know? Go quickly, and tell the people you are asking to find out. Check it out overnight!”

“If Madam knew…”

“You are so stupid. When you were investigating who was spreading the rumors, couldn’t you just ask around? If you didn’t tell her, how would she know?”

Gu Shiliu said nothing more.

The Marquis met the poor scholar when he returned home today. I don’t know what he heard, so I asked him to investigate.

At the flower-viewing banquet, the poor scholar and Miss Qin II hugged each other, but the Marquis did not take it seriously. He just said that the two of them had obviously made an appointment and that everyone else was blind, so the engagement should be called off.

Now, he is eager to find out what happened between that poor scholar and his wife.

If anything were to be discovered, the Marquis would surely lose control and have a fit, and then Madam would know about it, right?

But he had to do whatever the Marquis asked him to do.

Gu Shiliu applied ointment to the Marquis and then said, “I’m going out now. Let Shiqi come and serve you tonight.”

“No, I can do it by myself. I’ve been in battle with more serious injuries than this and it’s fine. Just light the lamp and go.”

Gu Shiliu lit the lamp and left quietly.

Before going to bed, Qin Yuan came to the side room to take a look. There was a single lamp on in the room. Gu Jinghui was sleeping on his side with his brows tightly furrowed, as if he was in great pain.

“You guys stay outside to guard against the Marquis getting up in the middle of the night and asking for help. Stay alert.”

Qin Yuan gave instructions softly, checked again and then left.

Early the next morning, before going to pay respects to the old lady, Qin Yuan came to see her again.

Gu Jinghui was still sleeping. Qin Yuan tiptoed out of the room and asked the little girl who was serving outside, “How did the Marquis sleep last night? Did you ask anyone to serve you?”

“The Marquis has not asked anyone to serve him, and there is no movement in the room.”

Qin Yuan ordered: “Tell the kitchen to prepare some light food later. No soy sauce, pickled vegetables, etc. are allowed. No fish, shrimp, bamboo shoots, etc.”

“Yes.”

The maids agreed one by one, and Qin Yuan left.

When Qin Yuan arrived at the upper room, Madam Gu Liu and Gu Baozhu were also there. They were talking and laughing, but when they saw her coming, they stopped talking and their faces looked a little unhappy.

She didn’t care. She just nodded to Madam Gu Liu, then sat aside, drinking tea leisurely, waiting for the old lady to come out.

Madam Gu Liu coughed lightly and said, “I wanted to go and apologize to Third Sister-in-law yesterday, but I heard that you were feeling unwell, so I didn’t go. Looking at Third Sister-in-law’s spirit, she seems to be much better today.”

Qin Yuan nodded: “Thank you for your concern, Sixth Sister-in-law. I feel much better today.”

Madam Gu Liu made a gesture with her eyes, and Gu Baozhu then stepped forward to greet Qin Yuan. She said with a dark face, “I was in a hurry to go out yesterday, so I used Third Sister-in-law’s carriage and delayed her return home. This is my fault. Mother and Third Brother have already scolded me. I hope Third Sister-in-law will forgive me this time.”

Qin Yuan said indifferently, “It’s okay. It’s just some servants who are looking down on others and fanning the flames. They are bullying me because I’m new here. Mother said that the people in this mansion are all from the same family and they can bully the master without any hesitation. The mansion is big and powerful, and it’s really hard for Sixth Brother and Sister-in-law to manage it alone.”

The expressions of the two people who said this changed.

　Thank you all for your support. There are also some friends who voted for monthly tickets and recommendation tickets. The author’s backend cannot see them, so I will not thank them one by one here. Thank you for your silent support. Qijian will continue to work hard, (^ω^)

　
(End of this chapter)