Chapter 681
Not a Success
Chapter 681 Ten Years Without Success
Yang'er quickly glared at Hehua.
The lotus flower lowered its head.
They were trained as martial maids by the Jin family, not born into the Gu family. Today, dressed as men, they were inevitably more unrestrained than usual.
Fortunately, Lord Gu didn't mind, and said, "What are you laughing at? You'll know when you get married. You wouldn't understand even if I told you now."
Lotus and Yang'er quickly turned their heads to look at the growing crowd below the pavilion.
Qin Yuan looked at the wise Lord Gu with a mixture of amusement and exasperation, and said reproachfully, "I did not chase you away, so why are you saying such things? The full moon on Mid-Autumn Festival night is naturally exceptionally beautiful. As the saying goes, 'The bright moon rises over the sea, and we share this moment though we are far apart.' Everyone is getting impatient. Let's do what we should do as soon as possible so that Lord Gu can prepare for the grand review with peace of mind."
Lord Gu frowned, staring at her suspiciously: "Don't try to fool me! The moon rises from the sea? Can you see the sea from here? I can only see the city walls."
When Qin Yuan laughed so hard that his mustache almost fell off, Lord Gu said, "Alright, I understand. I'll tell them to ask whatever they need to ask right away, so as not to delay our young master Nantang's important matter."
Qin Yuan finally stopped laughing and said, "Mr. Songshan is probably cursing me in his heart. Why don't you hurry up and invite him up as well? As for the rest of the business, let Shen Changle take care of it."
Lord Gu said, "You're dressed like a gentleman now. As the saying goes, a gentleman's word is as good as his bond, so I'm not leaving now."
Qin Yuan said, "You can stay as long as you like, but there's one condition: you're not allowed to wink or stare at me while standing here. If anyone notices anything..."
Before he could finish speaking, Lord Gu immediately assured him, "Absolutely not, Young Master Nantang, please rest assured."
Then he hurriedly leaned down and instructed Shen Changle: "There are so many people down here, why don't you quickly invite Mr. Songshan up? Didn't he say he wanted to ask for advice? Why don't you prepare all the questions you want to ask and send them up?"
Shen Changle stretched his short neck, tilted his round face up, and responded cheerfully, just like a waiter in a restaurant: "I'll get on it right away."
Before long, Mr. Matsuyama was helped in, complaining as he walked in.
He came in still muttering, "I've been talking for so long, I should rest for a while. Those young men and women aren't here for me, so why won't they leave me alone? Even the most frugal landlord in my hometown wouldn't treat his farmhands like this. Who would believe that I haven't rested at all today, from morning till night?"
Lord Gu hurriedly moved a chair for him to sit down, while Qin Yuan personally poured tea and handed it to him.
They've squeezed the seedlings and lotus flowers so much that they have nothing to do.
After Mr. Songshan took his seat, he took a sip of tea, coughed a few times, and said, "Call Siyuan up as well. Someone has to write it down. If too many people ask, how can I remember it all? Where will I find it again if I need it later?"
Qin Yuan smiled and said, "What you say is true, sir."
Shen Changle hurriedly went downstairs to invite Qin Siyuan.
Mr. Matsuyama then said, "There are no outsiders here now, and you've all seen that group of people. What do you plan to do?"
Qin Yuan asked, "What advice do you have for me, sir?"
Mr. Matsuyama slammed down his teacup and said irritably, "Madam, you're just passing the buck to me again."
Qin Yuan laughed.
Lord Gu asked in bewilderment, "Didn't Madam already make all the arrangements?"
Mr. Songshan asked in surprise, "How come I don't know?" Qin Yuan also shook her head with a smile, "I don't know either."
Lord Gu asked curiously, "Didn't you already order them to keep a close eye on the person? Is there something else you need to do?"
Qin Yuan and Mr. Songshan said in unison, "That's it?"
Lord Gu nodded: "That's enough. The guards sent from the manor have all seen blood; they know what to do. If the situation changes, they will act accordingly. I think Madam's arrangements are excellent."
Mr. Songshan sighed, "No wonder they say a scholar's rebellion will never succeed, even after ten years. So that's why it fails. How could Zhao Kuo, who only knew how to talk about war on paper, not be defeated by Bai Qi, who fought with real swords and spears?"
Qin Siyuan had just walked up when he heard this, and immediately asked, "Why not?"
Qin Yuan laughed and said, "My elder brother is even less suitable. A gentleman deceives others with proper conduct, but my elder brother is too upright."
Mr. Songshan looked at Qin Siyuan with some disdain and said, "He just needs to keep good records. I can't do it, and neither can he."
Qin Siyuan couldn't understand, so he could only look at Qin Yuan with annoyance, waiting for her to give an explanation.
Lord Gu said, "That's absurd. If a scholar can't rebel in ten years, does that mean a scholar who has passed the imperial examinations can? I saw that the leader of Black Wind Stronghold was dressed as a scholar, which shows that becoming an outlaw is indeed possible."
Qin Siyuan then realized what they had been talking about, so he silently opened the inkstone box and began to grind ink.
Mr. Songshan said, “Hahahaha, it was just a joke, why take it so seriously. I see that this person has a red mole the size of a mole on his face, which is a bit unsightly. If he is a military general, it is not a big deal, but if he is a civil official… even if he passes the imperial examination, I am afraid his career will be limited.”
"As the saying goes, a wise man knows when to yield, and this person is a hero for finding another way," Qin Yuan commented.
Mr. Songshan said, "But today he came here to cause trouble and ran into our...Lord Marquis. Even a hero can only be a coward."
Qin Yuan smiled and said, "I knew you had a plan, sir. You might as well tell me."
Mr. Songshan said, “Didn’t you plan to wait for them to make a scene before arresting them? I think there’s no need for that. This fellow is probably a scholar who has repeatedly failed the imperial examinations. He feels that he has extraordinary talent but cannot realize his ambitions, hence his complaints. His questioning of me in front of the Prince of Qi just now was nothing more than a test to see what would happen. It’s clear that…”
Qin Yuan said, "So he really wants to beg for amnesty? Is he trying to choose a wise ruler for himself?"
Mr. Songshan stroked his beard and nodded, praising, "Indeed, Young Master Nantang is indeed quick-witted."
Qin Yuan smiled and said, "Actually, I had already made a small test beforehand, asking Baozhu to find a way to arrange a meeting between that young master Ximen and the Ninth Princess. And that's how I saw some clues."
Mr. Matsuyama nodded.
"They came not only for Monk Zhiguang, but also with the intention of switching allegiance, which shows that they are not a united front. If they had already chosen the faction of Duke Cheng'en, they would not have bothered to show off their power in front of Prince Qi."
“You’re right,” Lord Gu glanced at Qin Yuan quickly and said, “I didn’t even see this just now. It’s all Lin Ziqi’s fault for stirring things up.”
Mr. Songshan also disliked Lin Ziqi very much, and immediately said, "That's right, he has no integrity whatsoever. If he hadn't gotten involved with that bandit leader, how could things have turned out like this?"
Sensing his resentment, Qin Yuan chimed in, "Whether our big business can be done or not depends on you, sir. Today, someone kept disrupting our strategy discussion and spoiling your mood. Why not discuss the strategy in this pavilion instead? The topics are all from the box, so they can't be wrong again."