Speaking of others, never mind.

When it comes to Sixth Brother’s family, Gu Baoshu has something to say.

"If he dares to take a concubine, I’d have slapped him so hard he’d be crawling on the ground."

Gu Baoshu stood with her hands on her hips, nostrils flaring.

Qin Yuan laughed and said, "What if your husband says you don’t have children, or don’t have sons, so he wants to take a concubine? What would you do?"

Gu Baoshu got angry: "What else can I do? My family is the Dingbei Marquis. If he dares to be cunning, he’d better check how hard his skull is."

In the end, she still wants to take a hard stance.

Qin Yuan said casually, "In the future, if there are no wars, I fear military generals won’t be as valued as before. Besides, if you marry a scholar, if he becomes an official, he’d be a civil servant. Civil servants and military generals don’t mix, and your family can’t suppress him. If he really gets mad and divorces you, it’d be the kinder thing. If he’s heartless and insists on breaking the marriage, what would you do? Would you and your family beat him and his family up? You should know there’s still the government. If the husband’s family reports it and you end up in jail, how will you face people in the future?"

Gu Baoshu sat dumbfounded for a while and asked, "My goodness, dear Sister-in-law, does that mean I can only endure and suffer? I’m living well in my own house, why should I go to someone else’s house to suffer like this?"

Qin Yuan couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

"I’m just telling you, fighting and bullying isn’t the solution. And marriage is supposed to be a bond between families, not to become enemies after getting married. Why create unnecessary family feuds? What’s important between husband and wife is getting along, first to see if the two are compatible, and second, to see if both are good people. A good marriage depends on timing, location, and people, which not everyone can have. If not, you should find a good way to make the most of your days."

Nanny Rong nodded repeatedly, praising, "Madam, being so knowledgeable at such a young age, truly shows your understanding of all the books you’ve read. There’s no denying it. How many good marriages are there in this world? It all depends on self-cultivation. Who knows how much virtue you’ve accumulated in your past life to have a good marriage in this life."

Gu Baoshu sighed, "Turns out, marrying a pale-faced scholar involves more issues than marrying a young general. I thought pale-faced scholars were all easy to talk to and wouldn’t stand a chance against me, always letting and yielding to me."

Nanny Rong sneered, "Do you think people’s hearts are just for decoration?"

Gu Baoshu, the one whose heart was supposedly for decoration, rolled her eyes, "Sleep, sleep!"

Talking about hearts made her not want to talk anymore—she, Gu Baoshu, a lady of the Dingbei Marquis Mansion, was not someone without a heart or without means, she just didn’t bother to use them.

It was just past the third watch.

Suddenly, outside, the guards’ urgent signal flutes sounded, waking everyone up.

Qin Yuan blinked her eyes open drowsily, but Gu Baoshu was already dressed, quickly grabbing a whip and rushing out.

From not far away came a woman’s piercing screams.

Heart-wrenching screams.

Making all the hairs on Qin Yuan’s body stand up.

Now fully awake, she hurriedly shouted, "Baoshu!"

Amidst the chaos, unable to stop her, Gu Baoshu had already dashed out of the room.

Not long after, the cracking sound of a whip cutting through the air came from the roof, with tiles creaking underfoot, and Gu Baoshu’s scolding echoing far in the cool autumn night.

Qin Yuan quickly put on her outer garment and went out to the main room to watch over the children with Nanny Rong.

"You petty thief, stand still for this miss..."

"...Don’t you run..."

With the sound of footsteps, there was the heavy thud of something falling to the ground.

Gu Baoshu’s voice grew distant, as if chasing after someone.

Qin Yuan, anxious and flustered, fretted, "Baoshu won’t be in danger, right?"

Nanny Rong said, "She shouldn’t be, with Sixteen and the others protecting her. But she is so reckless, Madam, you should give her a good talking to when this is over."

Hong Ye couldn’t help but say, "Just a talking to?"

Qin Yuan suppressed her inner anxiety, clasped her hands, and said, "I should inform the Old Madam. I’m really at a loss; I just hope Baoshu doesn’t get hurt."

Nanny Rong sighed.

Outside the door came the voice of Sixth Master Gu: "Sister-in-law, were you frightened?"

Through the window lattice, Sixth Master Gu could be seen holding a lantern, surrounded by a few strong men with torches standing in the courtyard.

Qin Yuan asked, "Sixth Brother, are we fine, why did you come?"

Sixth Master Gu replied, "Sixteen and the others went out to catch the thief, so I brought some servants and guards to check if anyone got in."

The children, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, couldn’t help but call out, "Dad, Father, we’re all fine."

Sixth Master Gu laughed, "That’s good, that’s good. Try to get some sleep later; it’s hard to sleep at this moment."

Qin Yuan asked, "How’s the situation outside? Did Baoshu chase after someone?"

Knowing she was worried, Sixth Master Gu reassured her, "Don’t worry, it’s nothing serious. Mrs. Xu got scared; seems a thief jumped into her yard and then out. Baoshu chased after them with Sixteen and the others, it should be fine."

Only then did Qin Yuan feel relieved.

If it was just one thief, with a bunch of guards protecting Gu Baoshu, she should be safe.

Smiling, she said to Sixth Master Gu, "Thank you, Sixth Brother, for patrolling with the others."

Sixth Master Gu replied, "Besides me, there are also some other clan brothers helping out. They know a bit of martial arts, so it’s alright. Rest assured, Sister-in-law."

After they left,

Qin Yuan said to Nanny Rong, "Having Sixth Master around is really reassuring."

Nanny Rong chuckled, "Well, Sixth Master is still a man, though he’s not good with household matters and doesn’t manage things much, he can still handle these."

Qin Yuan had Cui Ming quickly pin her hair up with a hairpin and draped on a cloak.

Not long after, Gu Shiliu and the others returned.

Qin Yuan went out to the main hall to inquire.

She saw Gu Baoshu casually tying her hair with a cloth, holding a whip, standing amidst a group of guards dressed in black, looking very spirited, yet complaining, "We had so many people, and we still let that petty thief get away."

Gu Shiliu quickly said, "Seventh Miss, we still have a large group of people here, what if the thief lured us away and used the ’lure the tiger away from the mountain’ trick?"

Gu Baoshu was stunned.

After a while, she said, "Sixteen, you’re right."

Seeing this, Gu Shiba said, "Seventh Miss, although you were brave today, we’re also afraid that the thief might accidentally hurt you. If it were just us brothers, we wouldn’t have to worry about these things."

His words were too straightforward, seeing Gu Baoshu’s face darken a bit.

Gu Shiliu quickly said, "Shiba is just worried that the thief might have some skills and target Seventh Miss with deadly intent. Our lives are cheap, but if Seventh Miss gets hurt, how can we face the Marquis? If we died, we’d have no face to see the Old Marquis down below. If the Old Marquis asks, ’Sixteen, you couldn’t even protect the only daughter of this Marquis, how dare you come see me?’ How would we answer?"