My Sister Insisted on Swapping Marriages, and I Became a Marchioness Instead-Chapter 30: Miss Never Suffers a Loss

Marquis Gu, the eldest brother, frowned and pondered hard, but found that he had no way to deal with his young sister.

He absolutely refused to admit that it was to vent his anger for Qin Yuan.

However, it didn’t prevent Gu Shiliu from thinking that way.

Gu Shiliu furrowed his brows, a plan forming in his mind, and said, "I heard that the Seventh Miss has arranged to go out on the night of the Qixi Festival to join in the fun."

Gu Baoshu loved the hustle and bustle, and if she were stopped a few times, she would certainly be furious.

"What’s so exciting about the Qixi Festival?"

Gu Jinghui, who had been in the Northern Border for many years, knew nothing about these girls’ festivals.

Fortunately, Gu Shiliu had many sisters in his family and knew a few things.

"Legend has it that the Qixi Festival is the day when the Cowherd and Weaver Girl meet on the Magpie Bridge. On that night, my old mother would take the sisters of the family to worship the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl star."

"In the Capital City, there is a Qixi Tower set up in the West Market, where various girls compete in talent. If a girl from any family wins the competition, she gains a good reputation as a dexterous hand and can marry into a good family."

"That day, the merchants’ guild organizes vendors to stay open all night, the curfew is lifted, and the girls first worship the needle at home, and then agree to go to the Qixi Tower to watch the competition. They eat and drink in the tower, and the sisters of the family will not return until dawn."

"Huh?" Gu Jinghui was delighted, "You go and tell Treasure Bead, just say that I said it. The Marquis Mansion has already registered her for the embroidery competition of the Qixi Festival. She must earn a good reputation for the Dingbei Marquis Mansion. If she loses, she should forget about going to temple fairs and looking at lanterns in the future and should stay home to embroider."

Gu Shiliu hurriedly ran off to deliver the message.

Gu Jinghui muttered to himself, "The meaning of this day is very good. When the time comes, I’ll take Yuan’er to see Gu Baoshu compete, and then we can cross a bridge, and it’ll count as my apology."

Qin Yuan was unaware that Gu Shiliu had made Gu Baoshu cry into her pillow. She spent the entire afternoon managing affairs with Sixth Lady Gu in the Songtao Pavilion.

Sixth Lady Gu intended to suppress Qin Yuan, putting on a full display by calling all the steward and housekeeper mothers into the room, asking each one to report on the progress of their respective duties.

She asked and discussed all sorts of matters, regardless of their priority or urgency.

Qin Yuan sat silently beside her, not uttering a word.

Sixth Lady Gu rejected the matters reported by several housekeeper mothers and talked about other things before apologetically turning to Qin Yuan and saying, "Sister-in-law, I’m busy discussing affairs here, I hope you don’t find it dull."

Qin Yuan shook her head with a smile, gently saying, "Sixth little sister-in-law, please don’t mind me. I’ve never run a household before, so I find it all quite fascinating and interesting. I never imagined you had to deal with so much every day."

Upon hearing this, a subtle trace of triumph flashed in Sixth Lady Gu’s eyes.

The housekeeper mothers standing below showed a hint of disrespect in their expressions.

They had received the news that they would be working under the Marchioness in the future.

Seeing that the young Marchioness was timid in her speech under the pressure of Sixth Lady Gu, they couldn’t help but think that she was easy to handle, and began harboring other thoughts in secret.

This was exactly what Sixth Lady Gu hoped to see.

If Qin Yuan couldn’t handle the steward and housekeeper mothers, she would soon find herself helpless and awkward, and by then, the Old Madam would know that only she could manage the household.

Sixth Lady Gu apologized, "Then sister-in-law can sit and listen for a while. I didn’t expect there to be so many miscellaneous matters today. Once I’ve finished, I’ll separately brief you on the matters of these housekeeper mothers."

Qin Yuan obediently nodded in agreement, as if completely unaware of Sixth Lady Gu’s intentional attempt to embarrass her.

The housekeeper mothers were now openly disrespectful, standing more casually.

Sixth Lady Gu didn’t actually have many things that needed urgent attention that day, but to leave Qin Yuan waiting, she brought up every big and small issue in the mansion to discuss.

The expressions of Hong Ye and Cui Ming behind Qin Yuan darkened, but Qin Yuan herself eagerly watched everyone with curiosity, portraying the perfect image of an innocent and unaware young lady.

Nearly two hours had passed before Sixth Lady Gu was finally done, and she addressed the weary housekeeper mothers, "I suppose you’ve all been informed. In the future, you’ll be working under the Marchioness. The matters you used to report to me, you’ll report to the Marchioness from now on."

The housekeeper mothers responded listlessly.

Their duties didn’t offer much opportunity for personal gain, and it didn’t matter much who oversaw them.

Seeing the Marchioness overshadowed by Sixth Lady Gu, their motivation waned even further.

Qin Yuan softly cleared her throat.

Sixth Lady Gu quickly inquired, "Does sister-in-law have something to say?"

Qin Yuan smiled and said, "Tomorrow, these housekeeper mothers will be following my arrangements, but they should complete the handover of their accounts today, so that any future issues are clear and straightforward."

Sixth Lady Gu laughed hurriedly, "How forgetful I’ve been today, sister-in-law is right, these matters should indeed be handled as such."

She had thought that by delaying, Qin Yuan would lose patience, and lacking household management experience, would find herself struggling with the responsibilities left behind.

Unexpectedly, Qin Yuan didn’t rush to speak with the housekeeper mothers but first discussed matters with her.

Wondering whose advice she was following.

Qin Yuan then turned to the housekeeper mothers and said, "The things you have done before were under Sixth Lady Gu’s management, those you will do in the future, will be under mine. Each belongs to its own. Sort things out before reporting to me."

The implication was that the housekeeper mothers should resolve matters with Sixth Lady Gu before coming to her.

Sixth Lady Gu’s face darkened, for if things couldn’t be resolved, she couldn’t simply drop them, as Qin Yuan hadn’t accepted the responsibilities yet.

But it had been a long session today, and her throat was parched.

Qin Yuan stood up and said, "The Marquis is still waiting for me, I’ll take my leave first. When Sixth little sister-in-law is done, let them come to Wutong Garden to find me."

Sixth Lady Gu had no choice but to agree, as Qin Yuan left for Wutong Garden with Hong Ye and Cui Ming.

Once they reached a place without others around, Hong Ye complained, "Does Sixth Lady Gu think we are fools? Even though the Qin Mansion is small, it has everything it should. Hasn’t she ever seen a pig if she hasn’t eaten pork? She wanted to talk about everything from eight hundred years ago to eight hundred years from now. Clearly putting on airs for Miss to see."

Qin Yuan laughed, "I was just wondering what exactly Sixth Lady Gu was busy with, and her little show gave me a rough idea."

She had observed Sixth Lady Gu’s way of doing things, which wasn’t particularly high-level, just average.

With this insight, managing the household seemed less daunting.

Cui Ming nodded, "Don’t forget, Miss never suffers a loss."

Hong Ye laughed again and asked, "Does Miss already have a way to deal with those housekeeper mothers? They practically wore ’half-hearted shirkers’ on their faces."

Qin Yuan smiled and said, "No hurry."

What’s the rush?

They will eventually come to realize that she is indeed their rightful master, their legitimate master.