Qin Yuan had not yet replied when Mr. Songshan mumbled to himself, "Could it be that Empress Lin does not wish for Black Wind Village to accept amnesty? Or perhaps some within Black Wind Village have private dealings with Empress Lin while others wish to accept amnesty? Ugh, quite a headache."

Gu Baoshu chuckled, "Why doesn’t the teacher give it a go and see who it is?"

"Nonsense," Marquis Gu chastised, seeing Gu Baoshu shrink back. He then addressed Mr. Songshan, "We can’t figure this out just by pondering here, no matter the outcome, any merit that comes our way shouldn’t be refused."

Qin Yuan smiled, "Has the Marquis made up his mind?"

Marquis Gu nodded then shook his head.

"Isn’t this something we discuss together?"

Gu Baoshu was thrilled, scratching her head, "Yes, yes, yes, we discuss together."

She too is now one who can sit at the table to discuss significant matters.

If Qin Heng finds out, isn’t he going to die of envy.

Xiao Hong entered to brighten the silver candle, then collected the bowls and chopsticks to leave. Marquis Gu smiled, "Ah, Xiao Hong has successfully entered Wutong Garden to serve."

Xiao Hong smiled sweetly and said, "Thanks to the Marquis’s blessing, Xiao Hong is able to serve the Marquis and the Marchioness closely."

Marquis Gu reached into his pocket and tossed some broken silver to Xiao Hong, saying, "Do your work well here, and a bright future awaits you."

Xiao Hong was overjoyed, but seeing that everyone was in discussions, she didn’t say much. She smiled broadly and said, "Thank you, Marquis, for the reward. I will certainly do my best in the future, not letting down the nurturing from the Marquis and Marchioness."

Once Xiao Hong had left, Qin Yuan arranged the writing materials on the table, gesturing for everyone to come over, speaking softly, "I have a plan, but I’m unsure if it’s appropriate."

...

Due to Marquis Gu’s triumphant return to court, the long-quiet Gu Family had a proud resurgence, with joyous events one after another, making the Mid-Autumn ancestral rites the center of focus.

The clan leader and the elders had planned everything early on, and the clan members dared not slack off, setting out at dawn for the ancestral hall, preparing to slaughter cattle, pigs, and sheep.

Gu Baoshu dared to skip palace banquets but dared not skip ancestral rituals. After leaving the ball field, she said to the gathered players, "Today there are family matters, so I fear I can’t stay long."

Brother Hei Pi Hong looked troubled, "Today’s win was lucky, but tomorrow I’m afraid..."

Qin Heng also said, "We’ve depended on you for wins lately, today’s win was already difficult, and tomorrow the opposition is controlled by government official Fu Ya Nei’s club. I hear they’ve recruited quite a few experts to win the championship. If it’s relying on just you, I’m afraid it won’t work."

Gu Baoshu shrugged helplessly, "It’s really impossible, I had to plead in front of my mother for a long time today just to be allowed out to play. Didn’t we say before that just making it into the top three would be enough?"

Everyone said, "But we can’t lose too embarrassingly, today we heard those people in the stands hissing at us, saying we’re dragging you down, just window dressing."

Just then, Yuan Da and Brother Ximen approached asking, "Brother Qi, are you free? Today again, we helped the brothers win a lot of money, shall we go play together?"

Qin Heng said happily, "You two have arrived, quickly help persuade Mr. Qi. Tomorrow is the finals, we narrowly won today, and who knows, the Holy Emperor might come to watch tomorrow, we can’t lose too badly. We want to practice together, but we can’t do without him."

Yuan Da laughed, "Today, Brother Qi really stole the show. I saw the young ladies and wives in the stands shouting your name and asking about your family background."

Brother Ximen echoed, "Indeed, after tomorrow’s match, I’m afraid the outfit you wore today will sell out in the silk clothing shops, they all say it’s very stylish."

Qin Heng proudly shook his outfit and flicked the hair tie at the back of his head, laughing, "Luckily Young Master here foresaw this, and prepared an outfit beforehand."

Besides Gu Baoshu, he was the most stylish guy in the crowd.

Gu Baoshu quickly squeezed out from the crowd pulling Brother Ximen, "Brother Ximen, we’re good brothers; there’s no way to just watch a brother struggle without helping. Younger brother has urgent family matters today, pleaded with my mother for a long time just to be allowed to play this time. I really can’t stay long. I ask Brother Ximen to lend a helping hand."

Saying this, she bowed down.

Black-skinned Brother Xiao Hong squeezed over to ask, "Mr. Qi, who is this..."

Qin Heng on the side said, "This is my Brother Ximen, there’s nothing on the street he hasn’t mastered, and he has great tattoo skills, he plays ball very well too."

Black-skinned Brother Xiao Hong immediately acted intrigued, "Then why don’t you ask your great brother to play ball with us? Our three-legged efforts are just making up numbers. I hear every person on government official Fu Ya Nei’s side is a remarkable expert. I don’t ask for anything else, just not to lose too embarrassingly, being laughed at by people in the Capital City."

He also said to Brother Ximen, "Brother, you have great tattoos. Tomorrow if you show off in the match, who knows how dashing it’d be, probably blinding everyone’s eyes."

"Yes, yes," the others chimed in, "That government official Fu Ya Nei hired the experts, supposedly with tattoos too, and they’re experts in fighting. The injured Xu Tang is of the same caliber; if we rely on only Mr. Qi..."

Brother Ximen’s competitive side arose, "What’s the difficulty in this, I’ll join you all to play."

Gu Baoshu and Qin Heng exchanged glances and smiled, "Thank you Brother Ximen."

Black-skinned Brother Xiao Hong thanked repeatedly, "Thank you Mr. Ximen for accommodating us, today we’ll first practice together so tomorrow it doesn’t look sloppy."

"No problem, no problem."

Brother Ximen was in high spirits, and didn’t drag Gu Baoshu away to play; instead, they chatted enthusiastically.

Gu Baoshu then slipped out of the crowd, mounted her horse, and headed straight out of the city.

Upon reaching the ancestral hall, it was almost dusk.

The sacrificial animals had long been prepared, with the clan leader’s wife leading the women of the clan in making the sacrificial dishes by hand. The courtyard was filled with the scents of food mixed with the aromas of incense and burning candles.

On the white stone path, people stood in orderly rows according to seniority. Red lanterns hung from the pine and cypress trees on either side, all lit up. On the moon terrace sat an ancient bronze tripod cauldron, inside which sandalwood incense crackled, adding to the solemnity.

Little Red, guarding the courtyard entrance, jumped up and waved upon seeing Gu Baoshu, "Seventh Miss, over here, over here."

"Why are you here, not following Third Sister-in-law?"

Xiao Hong whispered, "The Marchioness asked me to stay here. The garments have been placed in the west wing, Seventh Miss, hurry and change, if you’re any later, even the Marchioness won’t be able to cover for you."

Gu Baoshu quickly went into the west wing, changed her clothes and headpieces, and came out. Xiao Hong carefully looked her over and nodded, "Good, nothing amiss. The Marchioness asked me to take Seventh Miss through the small gate. The clan’s women are there tidying things; it’s nearly time for the ritual, a bit chaotic, no one will notice."

Gu Baoshu, finding Xiao Hong’s pace slow, slipped through the small gate into the back yard, mixing with the women going in and out to enter the large kitchen.

The sacrificial animals and dishes, according to tradition, had to be cooked by the women of the clan themselves. The few wives elected by the clan were busy at the stove, while other women washed vegetables, chopped boards, scrubbed pans, and scoured pots nearby.