"I’m treating Old Lady Qi’s eyes, and I came out to sit for a while. Later, I need to assist my master with acupuncture."

Xiao Dong was dressed in a sapphire blue silk outfit, his little face had gained some flesh recently and appeared much fairer. His round black eyes were full of vitality, looking quite impressive.

Gu Shiliu asked, "When do you plan to go horseback riding?"

Xiao Dong replied with a smile, "Do you have the time to take me?"

Gu Shiliu said, "I might not have the time, but when you go, I can arrange someone for you. Sixteen Brother is capable of that. Besides... Brother Kang and Fuguo’er are staying home to care for the ill and often cry secretly due to poor moods. Sixth Master isn’t great at comforting children, while Seventh Miss sometimes plays with them but often lacks patience. If you can find time to go horseback riding with them, it would be good."

Since the Marquis and Lady value the master and disciple duo, Gu Shiliu thought of ways to encourage Xiao Dong to get closer to the young masters in the mansion.

That’s why he is the most favored person beside Marquis Gu.

Xiao Dong’s face showed sympathy immediately, and after thinking for a while, he said earnestly, "Sixteen Brother, I will find time to talk to them. Recently, I have been busy attending to calls with my master and making medicine, and I have neglected my friends—it’s my fault."

Gu Shiliu laughed when he saw how serious he was, saying, "There’s nothing to worry about. Everyone has times when they’re busy. Besides, the mansion has had many affairs lately; otherwise, Lady would have called you over to play much earlier."

Xiao Dong quickly asked, "Is Lady alright? Is she too busy?"

Gu Shiliu promptly replied, "Lady is busy with Sixth Madam’s affairs, you know." After a pause, he added, "Yesterday, we held a recognition banquet, and with the upcoming Qixi Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival—all happening together, I heard that at the Imperial College, Shen Changle is also too busy to touch the ground with his feet; I haven’t seen him for a long time."

Xiao Dong asked in surprise, "Are you referring to the poetry contest at the Imperial College?"

Gu Shiliu nodded immediately. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Xiao Dong slapped his forehead solemnly, "The other day, I overheard a few words from Lady, I didn’t realize it was already happening. I must go and see it. Sister Hong Ye mentioned that not only Sixth Master’s poetry but Lady’s poetry is included."

Gu Shiliu felt quite proud, "Yes, the poems from the contest are going to be printed and sold. At that time, the Book Sea Pavilion will be begging us on their knees. Just thinking about it makes me happy, hahaha."

Xiao Dong leaned in to listen to the story and asked, "How does the Book Sea Pavilion fit into this?"

A nanny came over to call Xiao Dong, "Xiao Dong, Doctor Li is calling you to assist with acupuncture. You’re here chatting idly with people."

Xiao Dong replied earnestly, "This is Gu Shiliu from the Marquis Mansion, the most trusted person beside Marquis. He is here to visit the young masters and misses of the mansion, relaying messages from the elders. I haven’t seen him for a long time, so we exchanged a few words here—not idle talk. You mustn’t say otherwise."

Gu Shiliu was initially displeased, but seeing Xiao Dong’s explanation, his annoyance was reduced by half.

The nanny immediately apologized, saying, "I misspoke. Xiao Dong, hurry to assist your master with acupuncture. I’ll help you escort Sixteen Master out."

Xiao Dong clasped his fists towards Gu Shiliu, saying, "Sixteen Brother, farewell, I will find time to visit the mansion and play with the young masters with my master."

Gu Shiliu nodded, "Go, when you want to go horseback riding, just look for me."

The nanny listened with even more respect, not daring to speak further.

Xiao Dong hurried away, and only then did Gu Shiliu walk towards the front gate. Watching him walk away, the nanny asked the old servant, "Who is this person? He seems quite imposing."

The old servant said, "He is the most trusted guard beside Marquis Gu. If it weren’t for our master moving here, you wouldn’t have the chance to know him."

The nanny said, "I saw him talking lively with the small child brought by the doctor."

The old servant knew exactly what was going on, "Your habit of looking down on people is surfacing again. They’re from the Marquis Mansion—they won’t stoop to arguing with you. The doctor and the apprentice were both recommended by the Marquis Mansion. If the Lady manages to get pregnant, who knows how she’ll thank them."

The nanny didn’t say anything aloud, but internally, she couldn’t believe Mrs. Dai thinks she could still have children at her age and considered it a joke, quietly talking to a close nanny about it.

Soon, all the servants in the mansion knew about Mrs. Dai’s wish for a child.

...

After dealing with affairs, Qin Yuan returned to Wutong Garden with Hong Ye and Hong Mian, and Mo Zhu greeted them with a smile, "Lady is back. Will the meal be in Wutong Garden or the main room?"

Hong Ye asked, "Has Marquis not sent anyone over?"

Mo Zhu shook his head.

Hong Ye murmured, "This is really strange, did the Marquis encounter some difficult issue and couldn’t attend?"

Seeing how Gu Shiliu looked in the morning, Hong Ye didn’t want to send someone to inquire in the front yard.

But if they didn’t ask, there wasn’t a way to plan the Marquis’s lunch.

Will he dine in the front yard? In the main room? Or come to Wutong Garden?

Hong Ye: "?"

Seeing this, Qin Yuan said, "Since Marquis hasn’t sent word, let’s go to the main room for the meal. Prepare some of Marquis’s favorite dishes, and if Marquis returns to Wutong Garden, make it fresh."

Hong Mian nodded, "Lady, your arrangement is good. If Marquis follows to the main room, he’ll dine there. If dining in the front yard, he might dine with Sixth Master there, and the main kitchen can prepare the dishes."

She omitted to mention that it would avoid bringing ill luck.

Letting Gu Shiliu feel troubled would make others even more troubled.

Hong Ye pouted, "This little rascal took my words right from my mouth."

Qin Yuan didn’t bother with their squabble and said, "Who will go to the main room to send a message to Qiujie or Nanny Rong saying I will dine there?"

Hong Mian immediately said, "Madam, let me go. There’s something I’m unclear about, and I want to ask Nanny Rong. If I leave, I won’t rush back; I’ll wait in the main room and return with you."

Qin Yuan nodded, "Alright, you go."

After Qin Yuan rested a bit and with no message from Gu Jinghui, she said, "Let’s go to the main room; there are children at her mother’s place, who get hungry quickly."

Previously when Brother Cheng and his siblings were around, Qin Yuan never acted this way.

Closeness or distance showed immediately.

Hong Ye laughed, "Lady is caring for her nieces and nephews."

Qin Yuan said, "Sixth Brother always respects me; now with Sixth Sister-in-law not feeling well, as their elder, I naturally have to consider these matters."

She then instructed Hong Ye to take calming and brain supplement pills prepared during leisure, stored them in a small delicate jade box, planning to send them to Old Madam, lighting them for the children to prevent excessive worries from harming their health.

"Previously when we were in the Qin Mansion, we never thought about using jade boxes for these things; we used nanmu or bamboo boxes for their odor-blocking feature."

While wrapping with satin, Hong Ye sighed.

Qin Yuan said, "What does this count for? The incense pills sent by Prince Qi had jade boxes with exquisite carvings, unbelievably beautiful. The peony flowers on them look almost real, with slightly light yellow pollen."