Chapter 346: Is It a Coincidence?

Marquis Gu exclaimed in surprise: "What a wonderful scent, it feels so pleasant to the mind and body, indeed the fragrance is soft and lingering."

Although he didn’t understand incense, he could tell good from bad.

After speaking, Marquis Gu looked at Qin Yuan, who smiled and said, "Indeed it is."

She wrapped the incense pills in oil paper again and placed them back into the Jade Box.

Marquis Gu pressed, "Can you discern the incense recipe?"

Qin Yuan replied, "I caught a whiff of a few notes, but I don’t know the recipe, indeed it’s a strange scent, but it’s not that easy, we need to test it by lighting it tonight."

Her face remained calm, but her mind was quietly agitated.

This was obviously her ancestral recipe, she had long suspected it and now she could verify it.

Was it a coincidence that Prince Qi came looking for her?

Qin Yuan’s mind raced, while she put on a show of struggling with thought, as if troubled by her inability to recall the incense recipe, and sure enough, Gu Jinghui stopped disturbing her, and silently sat aside sipping tea.

Mo Zhu came up to collect everything and placed them in the side room.

Even when the small kitchen had brought up the dishes, Qin Yuan was still at a loss. She thought for a while and then decided to consult Doctor Li: "Send someone to pass a message to Doctor Li, asking him to come over for something tomorrow."

Marquis Gu asked, "For what matter?"

Qin Yuan casually said, "It’s because of my sixth sister-in-law, I suddenly thought that if she was regularly nurtured, it might help. As the saying goes, medicinal tonics are no better than food care, the way of health preservation begins with diet, since the season is about to change, I thought it wise to have Doctor Li look at the dietary menu of the residence."

Marquis Gu sighed, "Yuan’er, you are indeed considerate."

Qin Yuan replied dismissively, "It’s nothing, I merely had the thought, the actual work lies with Doctor Li."

She could handle this matter herself, but it was too taxing, she’d rather leave it to Renhe Hall.

Marquis Gu earnestly said, "For you to think so far and so meticulously, it shows great intention. Why hadn’t anyone thought of this before?"

He recalled Mr. Songshan’s words, and suddenly his thoughts were scattered. After a pause, he said, "Don’t worry."

Qin Yuan: "..."

It was unclear what he thought of, but he had always been like this, quickly moody, quickly changing, his thoughts always unpredictable, Qin Yuan had grown accustomed and just perfunctorily said, "I naturally wouldn’t worry."

Marquis Gu was about to say something more when the maidservants had already laid out the dishes, filling the table with various plates and dishes in abundance, just enough for eating, with lotus root soup in the center, the soft and glutinous lotus roots had a pink hue, the rich soup surface floating with a few green spring onions, the steam made Qin Yuan, sitting across, appear all the more gentle.

"Husband, have a bowl of lotus root soup first to nourish your organs."

Qin Yuan’s soft, jade-white hand offered the bowl of lotus root soup, Marquis Gu hurriedly took it, saying, "Wife, have some yourself, don’t just care about me."

Qin Yuan softly smiled, "Alright."

But her hands didn’t stop, she arranged all the dishes he liked, then started eating herself.

Though only taking a few bites of food, Marquis Gu was deeply pleased.

If he could stay with his young wife every day, and needn’t go anywhere else, how wonderful it would be.

After Marquis Gu finished the soup, he said, "This lotus root soup is soft and tasty, drinking it warms the stomach, very comforting, and on savoring it, there’s a hint of sweetness."

Qin Yuan said, "Then I should have some sent to Mother too."

Marquis Gu said, "Yes, Mother would love it too."

After chatting for a while longer, Marquis Gu asked, "Has Brother Cheng’s recognition ceremony been set yet?"

Qin Yuan said, "It’s already settled with Sister-in-law Cheng, they’re warming up their new home in a few days, we discussed and decided that the recognition would happen before that, the children will move there on that day, and on the warming day, Brother Cheng’s family will officially recognize them."

"That’s good," Marquis Gu nodded, "this way they can appear as Brother Cheng’s children to the guests, making their status clear before everyone."

"Exactly," Qin Yuan smiled, "so there’s no need for a large recognition banquet as the case isn’t concluded yet, so we’d better not report to the ancestral hall, no need to alarm the clan elders, it’s enough for our two families to dine together alone."

Gu Jinghui paused, surprised at how simple it was, and asked, "Not inviting anyone to witness?"

Qin Yuan said, "If inviting, it would just be the usual relatives we interact with, the Xu family has turned hostile now, no need to invite them. My family hasn’t been close to these two children either, since they’re going to Brother Cheng’s house, let’s leave it at that."

Gu Jinghui thought for a moment and said, "It’s up to you, when the case is clear, and they can enter the ancestral hall, then we can hold a grand ceremony. Mrs. Zhao’s matter isn’t exactly glorious, so quietly handling it will avoid gossips."

"Exactly, that’s what Sister-in-law Cheng and I think."

Qin Yuan asked, "Has the nanny recently confessed anything?"

Gu Jinghui said, "No, not enough could be coaxed out. The fake nanny hasn’t surfaced, we’ll address it when at Brother Cheng’s house."

This implied they intended to use this to lure out Mrs. Zhao.

Qin Yuan did not inquire further.

Gu Jinghui suddenly asked, "I sent a silver note of one thousand taels to Shen Changle to organize a contest, he mentioned you had discussed it and didn’t need so much, is silver too vulgar?"

Qin Yuan laughed, "My brother Si Yuan is currently in the spotlight, and my father is the National Academy Sacrificial Officer. If anyone surpasses both, they’d gain fame, especially with Mr. Songshan’s expertise supporting, without money, scholars would still attempt to compete, thus I thought of replacing it with objects as prizes, preventing future criticism for vulgarity. Scholars love money but aspire for an elegant reputation."

Gu Jinghui acted enlightened, looking as if he had learned something.

"We martial artists are direct, while scholars like to take winding paths."

Qin Yuan thought for a moment, "Wouldn’t someone proficient in both literature and martial arts be unbeatable in the world?"

Gu Jinghui suddenly laughed, "Is my Yuan’er hoping for such a husband?"

Qin Yuan glanced at Marquis Gu but remained silent.

Marquis Gu said, "With such a wife, I would find a way to at least grasp the basics of literature, otherwise even Mr. Songshan might look down on me."

Qin Yuan softly said, "Not only Mr. Songshan, husband, have you forgotten my father’s earnest wish for you to study, when will you finish the Spring and Autumn Annals and the Romance of the Three Kingdoms?"

Marquis Gu, with a steely expression, admitted, "...I just heard from Mr. Songshan today about Sima Yi’s feigned illness, Mr. Songshan truly speaks strangely, uttering many inexplicable words, seemingly full of meaning, yet I do not understand, so I must seek your help to enlighten me."

Qin Yuan raised an intrigued eyebrow.

Marquis Gu, by this time, began to create suspense, saying, "It’s a long story, let’s eat first and talk later."

After the meal, Qin Yuan had the dishes cleaned away, rinsed her mouth with tea, and changed to fresh tea, preparing for a detailed discussion.

Gu Jinghui asked, "Shall we go for a walk?"

Qin Yuan thought for a moment, "I’m a bit weary today, not much for moving."

Gu Jinghui said, "Let’s change places to watch the fireflies, aren’t we to compose some good poems?"

Qin Yuan hesitated, "Weren’t you going to talk about Mr. Songshan?"

"Never mind, we’ll discuss as we walk. I saw Treasure Bead rowing a boat from the water yesterday and thought, wouldn’t it be beautiful if the two of us went to Qiuxiang Pavilion, sitting on a boat watching the fireflies?"