Chen Bei was certainly not a crooked tree. A woman with a beautiful appearance was liked by many people because of her good personality, and it was only natural that she would win the admiration of young girls.

It's unclear whether it's based on looks or something else.

There's always a bit of wickedness in a person's character; they like to possess beautiful things for themselves.

Power further fuels the desires deep within people's hearts.

Princess Linglong was the niece of Emperor Longqing and had been deeply favored by the emperor since childhood.

If it were an ordinary man, it wouldn't be unusual for him to be forcibly taken over like this, but this person just happened to be Chen Bei.

Forcing her into marriage wouldn't work, and Chen Bei was a cold-hearted person.

Ultimately, it was the emperor's fault; a single sentence about wanting to arrange a marriage made Princess Linglong unable to forget him.

If the marriage was truly intended, the imperial decree would have been issued long ago.

Based on the actions of the Chen family in the capital, Gu An'an cautiously guessed that Emperor Longqing was actually just using his niece to do a favor for the Chen family, telling them that he valued them highly.

After all, the Chen family has always advocated "free love," and even an emperor wouldn't be able to force a marriage, right?

Emperors value the art of weighing power. If they truly considered the Chen family insignificant, then Chen Yuan would not have held a high position at such a young age.

There will be no arranged marriage; the girl can only be allowed to make a fuss.

However, after hearing what she said, Chen Bei probably said something to Princess Linglong, which caused the young girl to come to her and smash things to vent her anger.

Fortunately, they were all plush toys, and after dusting them off, they were still quite nice plush dolls.

Gu An'an gently comforted her, "Princess, you come from a noble family and are exceptionally beautiful. Do you really have to worry about not having anyone who likes you?"

"Of course not, but I really like Brother Chen Bei. I've never seen a boy more handsome than him."

Having beauty without the ability to protect oneself is also a mistake.

Fortunately, Chen Bei had a good family background, otherwise...

I really can't imagine it.

"Then may I ask you a question, Princess? If you were to see a young man who is even more handsome than Chen Bei in the future, would you also fall in love with him?"

“Then…” Princess Linglong quickly changed her words, “How could that be? I’m not the kind of person who only cares about looks.”

She herself didn't believe what she said. Chen Bei was so cold to her. If it weren't for how much she liked Chen Bei's face, why would she be so eager to please him?

No one ever told her these things.

Princess Linglong looked at Gu An'an and asked, "Why are you telling me all this?"

The willful princess looked at him with a scrutinizing gaze, her eyes full of wariness.

Gu An'an couldn't help but laugh. "Princess, you are my friend, and A'bei is my friend too. I don't want either of you to get hurt, understand?"

“Friends?” The young princess pondered the word for a moment. “Then let’s put it this way: I will not look for him anymore. But anyone in the world can marry Chen Bei, but you cannot.”

Gu An'an was amused by this, "Silly girl, I'm so much older than Chen Bei, and I'm divorced. How could Chen Bei possibly marry me?"

"Ah, you're already married? You don't look like it." Princess Linglong shifted her attention, curiously inquiring about everything concerning Gu An'an.

Finally, she summarized, "You're really something, but there are plenty of scumbags out there. I'll introduce you to the kind of man you like."

Gu An'an felt that if they continued talking like this, the two of them might become bad friends, spending their days commenting on such handsome men.

It will corrupt children.

Gu An'an was thinking about how to distract the child when Man Niang came over. "Master, since the princess is here, why don't we give the invitation to her?"

"What invitation?"

Gu An'an laughed, "We want to organize a tournament, but we're still having trouble finding a suitable referee."

Man Niang watched Gu An'an speak and added fuel to the fire, saying, "We originally wanted to find embroiderers from the embroidery workshops in the capital to give their critiques, but since we're new here, we don't know what's wrong with our work, so none of the workshops were willing to come, and money didn't help."

Princess Linglong waved her hand dismissively, "What's the big deal? I'll just hire a few embroiderers from the palace's weaving bureau later."

Man Niang was delighted to hear this and was about to speak when Gu An'an said, "Isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

"What's the big deal? My aunt is in charge of the palace's textile bureau, and my mother often asks her to send people to our home to make clothes."

Gu An'an didn't pay much attention to this. "Well, I can't just use people for nothing. I'll prepare a thank-you gift later."

"There's no need for such trouble. Just treat them to a meal later. Gu An'an, shouldn't you thank me? I've found people for you."

Princess Linglong's face no longer showed any dejection, but instead a hint of cunning. "How about you give me one of all your rag dolls?"

Having such a helpful and altruistic propagandist was something Gu An'an was naturally delighted with. "Of course, whenever any new plush toys come out, I'll have them delivered to you, Princess, as soon as possible."

Princess Linglong was very satisfied. "That's more like it."

After agreeing on a time, Princess Linglong left with several rag dolls.

After seeing the noble lady off, Manniang wiped the sweat from her forehead. "The capital is indeed different. If everyone here were like this princess, we might as well stay in Anzhou and do business."

Gu An'an was arranging the dolls on display. "Actually, it's alright. Although the little princess is a bit willful, she doesn't have any bad intentions and can listen to advice."

It's truly terrifying to encounter someone who is arrogant, domineering, and powerful.

Fortunately, Gu An'an hasn't encountered this troublesome situation yet.

"By the way, is Mei Niang working on new styles too?"

“Yes, before we came to the capital, didn’t you make a lot of blueprints? I’ve already asked Mei Niang and the embroiderers to make them, and I estimate they’ll be delivered in a few days.”

Gu An'an was naturally at ease with Man Niang's work. "That's good. Our stuff isn't very technically demanding, and I'm afraid it'll become commonplace in a while. But the important thing isn't the craftsmanship, but the creativity."

"Boss, you have many ideas, but we're not afraid of them."

Working under Gu An'an boosted Man Niang's confidence; she felt that there was probably nothing in the world that her employer couldn't solve.

As the two were talking, a new customer arrived at the shop.

Man Niang quickly greeted, "Whatever this distinguished guest desires, our shop has it all."

Gu An'an was at the counter keeping accounts at the time and didn't notice who was looking at her.

Man Niang noticed that this distinguished guest kept staring at the counter, and she understood immediately, "Does the distinguished guest know our boss?"

These words made Gu An'an subconsciously look up. Looking at the young man standing there, she subconsciously raised her eyebrows, "Young Master Ning, it's been a long time."