Chapter 212: Improper Conduct According to Etiquette

Marquis Gu slightly lowered his sharp brows, looking at Qin Yuan in his arms, the corners of his lips curled, and he asked softly, "Yuan’er, is there anything else about you that I, as your husband, don’t know?"

Xiao Dong felt a bit frustrated, lightly biting his lower lip, and looked worriedly at Qin Yuan.

In his heart, he was quite fond of Gu Jinghui, his sister’s husband, and couldn’t help but speak of how wonderful his sister was, not realizing he had let something slip.

Qin Yuan met Marquis Gu’s gaze without flinching, and said softly, "Husband, we’ve only been married for a short time, you’ll find out naturally in the future."

She didn’t want to deliberately hide it, nor did she want to reveal her secrets at an inappropriate time.

Marquis Gu smiled and said, "Alright, for now, just tell me about learning medicine. Have you perhaps taken Doctor Li as your master?"

Qin Yuan nodded, "Indeed, why else would Doctor Li risk coming into the mansion to treat smallpox? He considers Xiao Dong as precious as his life, he wouldn’t take such a risk just for a mere thousand taels of silver."

Xiao Dong blinked.

See, his master always pretends to be obsessed with money, but his sister clearly sees through him.

Reaching out with her slender forefinger, she lightly tapped Gu Jinghui’s heaving chest, Qin Yuan chuckled, "When Doctor Li and Xiao Dong leave, you must give them a generous gift. For the future of the Marquis Mansion, my master said he would present his ancestral prescriptions and didn’t want me to mention his involvement. Isn’t all this because of me?"

Her striking features made her every expression and smile a work of art.

Marquis Gu was already charmed by her dashing red riding outfit, and now seeing her so tender and playful, his heart was about to jump out of his chest, not caring who else was there, he immediately said, "Yuan’er, whatever you say, just give it, okay?"

Qin Yuan: "..."

She had intended to be proactive and have a good talk with Marquis Gu, but unexpectedly, he surrendered before she even made a real move.

"Pfft."

A soft laugh came from not far away.

Without looking, it must be Hong Ye again.

Qin Yuan’s face suddenly became scorching hot.

Marquis Gu continued to ask, "You’ve taken Doctor Li as your master, shouldn’t this be made official in the mansion? The apprenticeship banquet hasn’t been held, which means Xiao Dong should call me brother-in-law."

Qin Yuan’s face blushed even more.

Marquis Gu’s embrace was scorching, making her heartbeat quicken as if it was no longer her own.

"Put me down quickly, why are you holding me all this time?"

Qin Yuan started to evade with vague excuses.

Gu Jinghui didn’t let go.

"Hong Ye and the others are watching, put me down quickly."

Gu Jinghui gave her a sidelong glance and said, "What’s wrong with holding my own wife?"

"It’s against social etiquette."

Gu Jinghui seemed to want to say something but held back, eventually letting her down.

Qin Yuan held her hand to her forehead, speaking coyly, "The sun is giving me a headache, I want to go back and rest."

Gu Jinghui quickly supported her waist to help her stand more steadily, and softly replied, "Alright."

Qin Yuan said, "Why don’t you accompany Xiao Dong for a while longer?"

Gu Jinghui chuckled, "I’ll rest with you instead. I also have a bit of a headache."

Qin Yuan said nothing, just glared at him with her eyes.

Gu Jinghui took her hand and said, "Let’s go."

Hong Ye followed behind, covering her mouth to stifle a laugh.

Qin Yuan had no choice but to follow Gu Jinghui.

Xiao Dong didn’t ride his horse anymore and quickly returned to the small courtyard where he and Doctor Li lived.

In the courtyard, the groans of Doctor Liu could be heard from time to time, sounding as if his condition was worsening, while Doctor Li was in the shade sorting through moss he had dug up from the lotus pond the previous day.

"Master."

Doctor Li lazily lifted his eyelids, glanced at him, and asked, "Finished exploring?"

"Yes."

Xiao Dong replied, squatting down to help Doctor Li inspect the moss.

"This moss is fine, it can cool the blood, stop bleeding, cure boils and swelling, ancient people also used it to treat bee and scorpion venom, label it properly."

"Yes."

"Why are you so quiet and subdued today? Did you do something wrong outside?"

Doctor Li glanced at the troubled Xiao Dong.

Xiao Dong said, "Master, I think I made a mistake, I accidentally let slip that sister is learning medicine from you."

Doctor Li stared at Xiao Dong, speechless for a long time.

Xiao Dong said guiltily, "It’s just that the Marquis let Sixteen Brother ask me if I wanted to learn horseback riding, so I agreed, and the Marquis didn’t mind that I’m just a little medicine boy, he not only let me ride Ta Xue but also took me for a few rounds."

Doctor Li frowned in thought.

Xiao Dong continued, "Later the Marquis had Sixteen Brother invite Sister, saying he wanted to teach her how to ride too, Sister learned how to ride very quickly, and the Marquis praised her. I mentioned that Sister was smart and had learned nearly all of master’s ancestral needle techniques just by watching."

His voice grew quieter and quieter.

Doctor Li grabbed Xiao Dong’s ear and scolded, "You brat, every time I tell you to keep quiet, you never listen. See what happens now?"

Xiao Dong said remorsefully, "Yes, yes, yes."

With a nasal tone, his eyes were slightly red, but he held back from crying.

Doctor Li sighed, "And now you’re crying, isn’t it your own mouth that caused trouble? I’ve told you before, not to say everything in front of you, not knowing when you’d blurt it out."

Xiao Dong couldn’t help but sob, "It’s all my fault; I’ll never do it again."

Doctor Li didn’t pay him any more attention and continued seriously inspecting the moss.

Xiao Dong held back his sobs and asked, "Master, what should we do now?"

Doctor Li snapped, "Did Marquis Gu hit her or scold her?"

Xiao Dong quickly shook his head, "No, he’s still very kind to her."

Doctor Li said, "So what’s the problem?"

Xiao Dong: "Uh, huh?"

Doctor Li continued with some annoyance, "Don’t you think, why does Marquis Gu let a little medicine boy like you ride horses? Isn’t it because of your sister? Your sister treats you well, perhaps spoke for you in front of him, and he gave you some face. He probably already guessed everything and was just waiting for your little mouth to spill the beans."

Xiao Dong: "?"

Doctor Li said, "How do you think someone earns the title ’War God’? With just the two of you, ha, since he doesn’t mind and isn’t pursuing it, be frank and come back to work for me. Later, go to the grotto and scrape some moss, separate it and dry it, understood?"

Xiao Dong: "Oh, understood."

From what Master said, brother-in-law already knew, so... it’s okay now, right...

The whole day was spent in anxiety.

In the evening, Hong Ye came full of joy to invite them to a banquet at Wutong Garden.

"Banquet?"

Xiao Dong glanced at Doctor Li.

Isn’t the Marquis living at Wutong Garden?

Sister invited them to a banquet, so would Marquis Gu be there too?

Doctor Li looked at him and laughed, "Lad, now you’re scared, let’s go, your brother-in-law is going to acknowledge you."