MYSIOAMEWTMMAlTWOAM: Chapter 64

 Glossary

·Qin Yuan (秦鸢): The female protagonist, Marquise of the Dingbei Marquis Household.

·Gu Jinghui (顾靖晖): The male protagonist, the Marquis.

·Hongye (红叶): Qin Yuan's personal maidservant.

·Cuiming (翠茗): Qin Yuan's personal maidservant.

·Zhao Niangzi (赵娘子): The widow the Marquis brought back.

·Old Madame Gu (顾老夫人): Gu Jinghui's mother.

·Rong Mama (容嬷嬷): Old Madame Gu's trusted attendant.

·Sixth Madame Gu (六夫人): Wife of the sixth son, Gu Jingjun.

·Gu Shiliu (顾十六): Gu Jinghui's personal attendant.

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Chapter 64: Couldn't Suppress It

Qin Yuan's face flushed instantly. She turned away, hurriedly fastening her robe before asking, "Was that you practicing martial arts outside earlier?"

Gu Jinghui approached her, his body radiating heat that seemed to make her own temperature rise. Qin Yuan instinctively retreated half a step, turning her face aside with a slight frown. "I wonder where Hongye and Cuiming have disappeared to."

Gu Jinghui watched her blushing cheeks with evident satisfaction, noting how the color deepened before he finally raised his handsome brows. "Hongye went to fetch my change of clothes. Cuiming went to the kitchen."

"The kitchen?"

"Mm. We'll have breakfast together this morning instead of going to the Main House."

Qin Yuan could only murmur her assent.

Gu Jinghui added, "My injuries seem much better. With this heat, I worked up quite a sweat during my exercises. I need to bathe before changing."

After a moment's processing, Qin Yuan understood his meaning. "Shall I have the maids prepare hot water for your bath then?"

"Mm. Have it brought to the bathing chamber."

Qin Yuan: "..."

The Marquis's intentions were becoming increasingly transparent.

After instructing a young maid to fetch hot water from the kitchen, Qin Yuan turned toward the bathing chamber to wash up.

Suddenly, Gu Jinghui said, "Zhao Niangzi fainted last night."

Qin Yuan: "...Oh..."

Gu Jinghui continued, "Fortunately, I followed your advice yesterday."

"What happened?" Qin Yuan's interest was piqued. She abandoned her plan to wash up, taking two steps to sit on the daybed beside the bed. "Did you have the servants carry her away?"

Gu Jinghui glanced at her bare, jade-white feet. "After hearing your counsel last night, I went to the Main House through the side gate as a precaution and asked Rong Mama to send people to care for Zhao Niangzi and her children."

Qin Yuan: "..."

The Marquis's caution seemed excessive. But then, such thoroughness was probably what made him an undefeated general.

"Rong Mama used Mother's sedan chair to transport them back to Fengxuan Pavilion. Both Mother and Rong Mama went to check on her condition. I summoned a physician, and the whole affair took nearly two hours. Mother said you needn't pay respects this morning—she needs proper rest."

(read @cherrybombbertranslations.blogspot)

Qin Yuan asked in surprise, "Mother stayed for two hours?"

"Not that long," Gu Jinghui clarified. "She remained for one hour before taking the two children back to the Main House to rest."

Qin Yuan nodded, understanding that excusing them from morning greetings was merely to avoid awkward encounters. This arrangement suited her perfectly.

"Still, it troubled Mother greatly," Qin Yuan said thoughtfully. "If such matters occur again, let me handle them. Mother is advanced in years; we shouldn't trouble her excessively."

Gu Jinghui smiled. "No wonder Mother always speaks so fondly of you. Such consideration is truly worthy." He paused, then added, "But you shouldn't go either."

"Then who should?" Qin Yuan asked.

Gu Jinghui winked mischievously. "Let Sixth Sister-in-law handle it. She's already friendly with Zhao Niangzi and manages household affairs. It's more appropriate for her to deal with such matters."

Qin Yuan: "..."

Hongye entered just then carrying the Marquis's clothes and accessories, catching these words. She couldn't suppress a burst of laughter.

If anyone ranked equal to Zhao Niangzi in Hongye's dislike, it was Sixth Madame Gu. Hearing the Marquis's arrangement, she couldn't contain her delight.

Qin Yuan glanced at Hongye, who quickly composed herself and respectfully set down the tray. "You're awake, Madame."

"Mm. I called for you earlier, but no one answered."

Hongye explained, "The maids were probably watching the Marquis practice martial arts and didn't hear you call."

Gu Jinghui said, "Alright, alright. With Gu Shiliu absent, I had to assign them tasks. I don't usually practice in the courtyard, but these days of convalescence have made me lazy. I was just loosening my limbs."

"I wasn't criticizing," Qin Yuan said. "Hongye, call someone to assist me with washing up."

"Why summon anyone else?" Hongye responded promptly. "I'm accustomed to serving you, and switching would be troublesome."

Observing their interaction, Gu Jinghui understood just how favored this maid was—she used informal address freely, and Qin Yuan didn't mind.

Soon, young maids brought in hot water. Gu Jinghui bathed quickly and emerged to find Qin Yuan seated at her dressing table with Cuiming arranging her hair.

Instead of changing clothes, Gu Jinghui leaned against the daybed, watching Qin Yuan's toilette.

(read @cherrybombbertranslations.blogspot)

After some thought, Qin Yuan asked, "Are you going to the military camp tomorrow, Marquis?"

Gu Jinghui affirmed.

"Then you should rest well today," Qin Yuan said. "Do your wounds still need dressing?"

"They've improved significantly. It doesn't matter either way. Physician Li's ointment from Renhetang is remarkably effective—superior even to military wound salves."

Qin Yuan murmured softly in acknowledgment. Of course it was effective—it was her maternal family's ancestral formula. At least the Marquis recognized quality.

"What are your plans today?" Gu Jinghui asked.

"I need to review the needlework room accounts," Qin Yuan replied. "The managers from my dowry shops should also be delivering their account books and reports."

Gu Jinghui said regretfully, "We've been married only a few days yet haven't ventured out together. As the weather grows warmer, we could go boating on the lake and listen to music to escape the heat."

Qin Yuan was momentarily stunned. She had recently recalled childhood memories of boating on the Qinhuai River with her friend Dong Xinrui, watching lanterns at night and listening to music from pleasure boats—memories that had inspired half a poem she hadn't yet completed.

How could the Marquis have coincidentally suggested the very same activity, using such refined phrasing? He seemed like a different person.

Qin Yuan smiled. "Speaking of which, I recently remembered a dear childhood friend. When my father observed mourning leave and returned to our ancestral home, we passed the Qinhuai River on our journey back to the capital after his reinstatement. Our two families traveled together then. Having long heard of the Qinhuai's famous night views, she and I secretly chartered a small boat, hiding inside to watch the lantern displays until midnight."

Amusement flickered in Gu Jinghui's eyes. "How old were you then?"

"About seven or eight," Qin Yuan replied with a laugh.

Hongye chuckled. "Miss Dong was discovered by her family that time and confined to her quarters for ages as punishment."

Gu Jinghui's expression relaxed, the corners of his lips twitching upward before he consciously suppressed them. But they lifted again despite his efforts, until he finally raised his right hand in a loose fist to cover his mouth, coughing lightly several times to conceal his smile—though his narrowed eyes still crinkled at the corners.

Qin Yuan's hair was now styled, adorned with twelve gold hairpins and floral decorations, presenting a dignified and luxurious appearance. She turned toward the mesmerized Gu Jinghui and asked, "Husband, when you visited my family home yesterday, were you seeking my father's guidance?"

"How did you know?" Gu Jinghui blurted out.

(read @cherrybombbertranslations.blogspot)

Qin Yuan smiled. "Not only do I know that, but I know Father certainly encouraged your studies, gave you books, and told you to return after reading them."

Gu Jinghui coughed several times. "Your foresight is uncanny. I did indeed seek your father's instruction. He not only taught me diligently but said I possess promising talent—that with more reading, I could become a scholarly general like Lu Xun of the Three Kingdoms era."

Qin Yuan couldn't help laughing. Her father's old habit was acting up again.

"I also—" Gu Jinghui began, but before he could continue, startled exclamations erupted from the maids outside.

(End of Chapter)

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Translator's Note: check out my other work— The Marquis’s Beloved is a Black-Hearted Lotus and Rebirth as the Matriarch of a Noble Family (⁠*⁠＾⁠3⁠＾⁠)⁠/⁠～⁠♡

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