"When he said this,

the others also chimed in.

Gu Baoshu couldn’t quite muster any anger, and boldly said, "It’s because my martial arts skills are lacking; I can’t blame Third Brother for saying that once we’re done with Sixth Sister-in-law’s affairs, I should practice martial arts more, so as not to be laughed at. Alright, from now on I’ll first see how skilled the thief is. If they’re quite capable, I won’t jump in and make trouble for you all."

Qin Yuan couldn’t help but smile slightly.

This child is truly fearless, still thinking about next time.

Gu Baoshu complained to Qin Yuan, "Third Sister-in-law, that thief ran too fast, we didn’t catch him."

Qin Yuan acknowledged, and with a smile, patted her head, saying, "You should quickly go back and change your clothes; Brother Kang and the others are worried about you, and Sister Lan keeps asking for little aunt."

Gu Baoshu rushed off.

Gu Shiliu said to Qin Yuan, "Madam, I can’t tell what kind of person this thief is; he seemed to be holding back his strength, probably only ran because we discovered him."

Qin Yuan asked, "Did having Seventh Miss there make it difficult for you to perform?"

Gu Shiliu laughed, not denying it.

Qin Yuan said, "It’s right for you to protect her, anything serious would be not worth the risk. If that thief is indeed an outside bandit, daring to cause trouble at the Marquis Mansion, he truly is bold and skillful."

Gu Shiliu asked, "Madam suspects this person is not a thief?"

Qin Yuan nodded.

Gu Shiba said, "That person jumped into the passage beside the Xu family’s house. Our patrollers noticed the commotion, blew a whistle to alert us, and the Xu family started shouting."

Qin Yuan said, "Let’s go and take a look then."

She left Cui Ming behind and took Hong Ye, surrounded by everyone, heading towards the meditation room where the Xu Family stayed.

As they approached the room’s entrance, they heard Mrs. Xu raise her voice, cautiously asking, "Who is it?"

Hong Ye immediately announced, "Mrs. Xu, the one here is our Marchioness."

Only then did Mrs. Xu feel relieved and asked through the door and windows, "Madam, are you here to visit? Was the person caught?"

Qin Yuan said, "I heard you were frightened, so I specially came to see you."

Only then did Mrs. Xu order to open the door.

Qin Yuan went inside. The room was full of Xu family members, their expressions somewhat unsettled, but only calming down after being assured the thief had run far away.

Mrs. Xu enthusiastically took Qin Yuan, sighing, "This thief is truly bold. Who would have thought to break into even the Marquis’s family temple? I used to think you were overreacting. Well, luckily we all stayed together here, and none who disliked the crowd went to stay outside, else we might have lost something to that thief."

Qin Yuan smiled and said, "Luckily no one wandered around aimlessly, else one might have been attacked by that thief."

Mrs. Xu nodded fearfully.

Qin Yuan continued, "I just came to check on you, please rest assured."

Mrs. Xu embarrassedly said, "If you hadn’t come, our whole family would have planned to sit here until dawn."

Qin Yuan chuckled, "We were also sitting together with the children, only let out a sigh when they returned. Tomorrow we will all go back to the city, someone should take a notice to the Capital Governor Mansion to have them go after the thief."

Mrs. Xu nodded repeatedly.

Qin Yuan asked some more about the thief, and Mrs. Xu said, "Today, I was so angry at the little monk that my liver ached, and I didn’t sleep well. When I heard the whistle, I woke up, then heard a ’thud’ sound outside the wall, and I screamed in fear. In our family..."

She paused, then awkwardly said, "...there are some young ones who don’t learn well, engage in petty theft, and we just yell to scare them away."

The Xu family’s young men lived in the marketplaces, inevitably picking up some bad habits.

Qin Yuan chuckled, "Thankfully you yelled in time, and the person frightenedly jumped out again. They were chased onto our roof, cracking several tiles. Tomorrow it’ll be best to have someone repair them."

Mrs. Xu also laughed.

After some pleasantries, Qin Yuan rose to bid farewell.

Mrs. Xu hurriedly escorted them out.

Watching them turn down the long corridor, she went back inside.

Qin Yuan instructed, "Tell everyone in each room that the thief has fled, let them rest, and they can deal with anything tomorrow in the daylight."

Gu Shiliu responded.

Gu Shiba said, "The Xu family’s young master found a skull when he fell into a dry well during the day, frightening Mrs. Xu, and then being startled at night, no wonder she was so scared."

Qin Yuan chuckled. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"It’s quite coincidental indeed."

Suddenly remembering something, Qin Yuan instructed Gu Shiliu with a few words.

Gu Shiliu laughed, "Madam, you are really smart."

As he was about to leave, Qin Yuan added, "You’re quick on your feet, go ask Cui Ming for some calming incense pills to send to the Xu Family, so they can calm down and sleep better."

Gu Shiliu agreed and swiftly disappeared.

Hong Ye’s eyes widened.

Qin Yuan said, "Let’s go. When there’s time, let Sixteen show you his skills."

Hong Ye’s face felt hot.

Thankfully it was dark, so people couldn’t see clearly.

Only a few guards chuckled quietly.

When they returned, Cui Ming came up and said, "Just now Sixteen asked for some incense pills, and Nanny Rong lit some to coax the young master and mistress to sleep."

Qin Yuan yawned and said, "Sleep, sleep."

Gu Baoshu sat on the couch, wide-eyed, her brows alert, saying, "Third Sister-in-law, you can sleep peacefully, I’ll keep watch."

"What are you watching for? Go to sleep quickly, he won’t come again, I guarantee it."

Qin Yuan lay on the bed and fell into a fragrant sleep.

"How does Third Sister-in-law know?" Gu Baoshu asked in confusion, then irritably said, "How did she fall asleep again?"

The next morning, when Qin Yuan woke, she found Gu Baoshu sleeping soundly, sprawled on the bed. She quietly got up to wash, and asked the attending young maid to learn that Gu Baoshu had indeed stayed up all night, only lying down after the temple rooster crowed.

Hong Ye whispered, "I never thought, Seventh Miss is... truly trustworthy."

Qin Yuan smiled at her and said, "Treasure Bead has quite a few good qualities."

Hong Ye chuckled softly, and asked, "What did Miss instruct Sixteen to do yesterday? I saw him grinning mischievously."

Qin Yuan said, "You can ask him, you’ll find out then."

Hong Ye pouted and muttered, "How would he tell me what Miss instructed him?"

Qin Yuan said, "You’ll know in due course; why ask now? If too many people know, it won’t work."

Cui Ming glanced at Gu Baoshu lying on the bed.

Hong Ye said no more.

After finishing breakfast, Qin Yuan instructed Gu Shiba to find the abbot, saying that the monks had been busy with the ritual for days and should be thanked individually once it concluded. However, since the family temple had been intruded upon last night, frightening the womenfolk, they needed to return early and have the monks wait in the meditation hall for the Marchioness’s gratitude.