Ever since Mrs. Xu passed away, Sixth Master Gu has valued these children much more than before, especially the frail Sister Lan.

Immediately, he couldn’t be bothered to talk with Mrs. Xu, and turned around quickly to go inside to check on the children.

Mrs. Xu followed him inside.

She intended to use comforting Sister Lan as a way to win over Sixth Master Gu, but saw that Sixth Master Gu’s two sons were covered in dirt, and Sister Lan was sobbing uncontrollably. The few children she brought were also disheveled, one even had blood marks on their face.

Before she could speak, Sixth Master Gu hurriedly picked up Sister Lan, gently patting and coaxing softly, "Good girl, where does it hurt? Why are you crying like this? Daddy is here. Don’t cry, don’t cry."

In her father’s arms, Sister Lan finally stopped crying. Trembling, she extended her thin finger, pointing at the Xu family’s child and sobbed, "Daddy, they’re bad, saying mean things. Big Brother told them to stop but they continued. Second Brother protected me and fought them, and then everyone started fighting."

Mrs. Xu’s face turned purple with anger, and she immediately hit her youngest son on the shoulder, scolding, "I let you come in to play with your cousins, how come you ended up fighting?"

Sixth Master Gu frowned slightly.

Mrs. Xu added, "Quickly apologize to your uncle and cousins. Your aunt is gone, she loved you all dearly. You should be close and act like a family. Why didn’t you help care for your cousins, and instead started fighting? Really lacking in manners, forgetting everything you were taught at home."

Brother Kang immediately muttered, "What do you mean by family, we don’t want to be a family with you, and we won’t let you marry my sister."

Fuguo’er also said, "Exactly. We no longer have a mother, but we have grandmother, aunt, and uncles protecting us. We know it’s because of your Xu family that our mother passed away. Now you still want to trick our sister into marrying into your family to get the dowry left by our mother. Truly despicable."

Sixth Master Gu’s face suddenly darkened, angrily asking, "What is going on here?"

Brother Kang complained, "Not only did our cousins rummage through our stuff, but they also pulled my sister’s braid. When my sister didn’t let them, they said pulling braids is nothing, and that she’ll marry into the Xu family as their wife, and bring mother’s dowry back to the Xu family. We know daughters cannot be spoken of like this, even cousins shouldn’t say such things. We told them to stop, but they kept on, so we fought."

These few words made Sixth Master Gu’s chest heave with anger, Mrs. Xu quickly said, "They’re just children, ignorant and don’t understand, who knows where they heard such nonsense and started talking absurdly here."

She tugged at her youngest son’s ear, twisted it heavily, causing the little one to wail.

Mrs. Xu scolded, "You’re just as unreliable as your father, can’t read the room. How could someone from the Marquis Mansion want to marry into our family? There’s a limit to nonsense, do you think you’re still a child? Can’t you see your uncle is angry?"

Her disturbance made Sixth Master Gu unable to speak further.

But to leave it like this? He wasn’t reconciled in his heart.

At this moment, Mrs. Dai and others were drawn by the crying, upon seeing the situation, said, "Mrs. Xu, if you want to discipline children, it would be better to do it elsewhere. The three children are currently mourning their mother. While children may not understand, adults should know to be appropriate."

Mrs. Xu wore an unfriendly expression, Qin Yuan squeezed in and said, "Sister, why not take the children to the pavilion to sit for a bit, soon it’ll be time for the vegetarian meal, maybe the children are just hungry and that’s why they’re acting up. After the meal, if they want to listen to the monks chant, they can sit nearby, if not, they can walk in the yard to digest. With guards outside, there may be thieves around at night, best not to wander out."

Mrs. Xu had no choice but to lead the children out.

Once she was far away, Mrs. Dai said, "They bullied you because you’re inexperienced, daring to say anything to the kids. The implication is it’s not from the children, it’s the adults’ calculations behind it."

Sixth Master Gu frowned deeply, looking at his daughter in his arms whose tears had not dried with compassion.

The thin, weak body, just starting to gain some flesh. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

In the eyes and brows, there was a slight resemblance to Mrs. Xu, but mostly she resembled him and her biological mother, Aunt Wen.

The broken household of the Xu family even dared to dream of his daughter.

Qin Yuan smiled, "Thank you, Sister-in-law Cheng, for speaking up. There are some things we wouldn’t feel comfortable saying."

Mrs. Dai laughed, "I understand, seeing so much of this. They all blame it on the children. Speak too deeply, and they’ll call you petty, looking down on their family as if you’re snobbish."

Sixth Master Gu also said, "Thank you for protecting us, Sister-in-law. I was standing there, holding back my anger, but couldn’t utter a word."

Seeing him this way, Mrs. Dai couldn’t help but be amused in her heart.

Unexpectedly, after Mrs. Xu’s passing, he became more discerning than before.

Mrs. Dai waved a hand, saying, "Ha, it’s nothing. We’re kin and neighbors, if I don’t help, who will?" Looking at the family nearby, she laughed, "If I weren’t quick with words, all of us would have already taken turns squeezing her out with a few words by now. That would be unbearable."

Everyone laughed.

In the evening, after the monks had their vegetarian meal and rested for a bit, they began the nocturnal rituals with drumbeat and chants.

Qin Yuan watched for a while, beginning to feel tired, she returned to the bedroom.

Gu Baoshu was inside talking with the three children, seeing her return, asked, "Third Sister-in-law, are you going to rest now?"

Qin Yuan smilingly patted Sister Lan’s head, "No, listening to the monks chant made me drowsy, but once I started walking outside, I felt refreshed again."

"Just like me," Gu Baoshu looked delighted to find a kindred spirit.

Qin Yuan couldn’t help but lightly laugh, recalling Sixth Master Gu’s demeanor when he met Qin Siyuan.

Inside, Hong Ye and Cui Ming were tidying up things.

Gu Baoshu, pestering Qin Yuan to talk, listed all the ladies and gentlemen who visited during the day, amazed that Qin Yuan remembered them so clearly, exclaimed, "Third Sister-in-law, you have such a good memory. Following my mother in socializing with different houses in the future, you surely won’t make any mistakes."

Qin Yuan merely smiled and stayed silent.

These people and events, she had already become familiar with in her previous life, it was nothing remarkable.

Gu Baoshu continued, "Third Sister-in-law, today You Da even praised you, saying that if I could learn just a fraction of your skills, my mother wouldn’t scold me, and life at my future in-laws would be easier too."

Qin Yuan asked, "Why did Miss You come today? Wasn’t it her mother who came last night?"

Gu Baoshu said, "They say she went home for a late-night snack last night, and both her mother and sister-in-law had diarrhea, causing a ruckus all night, so only she came today."

Qin Yuan sighed, "Funerals are exhausting, every family has to host at least three times. Fortunately, we are people of means, if it were the poor who couldn’t follow the protocol, it would be even harder."

Gu Baoshu paid little mind, agreeing absentmindedly, then asked, "Third Sister-in-law, today You Da mentioned to let the Life and Death Document go to the Ninth Princess as a favor. Do you think she came to act as a mediator?"

Qin Yuan cast her a surprised glance.