Gu Chengyan and Guan Yingying have been together for over five years; he understands what a scumbag is.

Seeing Yingying crying, he quickly hugged her and said, "Yingying, let me tell my mother, may you come into the manor?"

"I absolutely refuse to be a concubine." Guan Yingying wiped away her tears fiercely. "I'd rather have no title or status than be subservient to someone else."

Gu Chengyan hugged her and kissed her, saying, "Don't be sad. I'll humble myself and be your servant, okay? I married Xie Shi, and I haven't even given her a hug yet. If you're unhappy, I'll never go back to the Marquis's mansion, okay?"

Guan Yingying couldn't quite describe her feelings; how had she ended up like this?

Thinking back to how Gu Chengyan had given everything to bring her back from exile, and how he had given her everything he could over the years, besides the position of his principal wife.

With a sigh, she said wearily, "The Crown Prince and I are conducting an experiment. If it succeeds, we will have immense wealth and status. What is a principal wife or a Grand Secretary? They will all have to step aside."

"test?"

"Do you remember the weapon I told you about? It could raze mountains to the ground with a single crash?"

"You gave the secret recipe to the Crown Prince?"

"Well, I don't have the ability to conduct this experiment right now, I don't have enough money or manpower. I'll borrow his people to make it, and then we'll have this weapon in our hands. Who will we be afraid of then?"

Upon hearing her words, Gu Chengyan suddenly stared at her with wide eyes.

Guan Yingying felt uneasy under his gaze: "What's wrong?"

"Yingying, you've gotten yourself into a huge mess!"

Gu Chengyan told her that her experiment was successful, but she would not only fail to gain wealth and honor, but would likely face utter ruin.

You still want to use the secret formula to do things?

How could someone in a higher position possibly ask you to master a secret formula?

If the experiment succeeds, they'll definitely kill me to cover it up!

Guan Yingying said nervously, "No way? He's the Crown Prince, he wouldn't go back on his word, would he..."

"Just because he is the crown prince, the one in power, he will never show you any mercy or sentiment."

Gu Chengyan seized the opportunity to stab the adulterer in the back, saying, "Which person in a position of power doesn't have blood on their hands? You silly girl, do you think all men are as innocent as me?"

Guan Yingying pouted and said, "I'm jealous of your marriage to the Xie family, and I feel uncomfortable about it!"

Gu Chengyan thought to himself, "You're not feeling well, so you flirt with other men? And you dare to tell the Crown Prince such a top-secret formula?"

The Crown Prince is a despicable man; he not only undermines him but also betrays him after using him. He might even take the opportunity to destroy him. He must warn Guan Yingying.

Guan Yingying lived in a peaceful era in her previous life, and her social circle was narrow. Although the short dramas she filmed were full of palace intrigue and power struggles, there wasn't much scheming involved in those plots.

At most, she'd fight with her elder sister, her concubine, or the palace ladies... It's just women pulling each other's hair; at worst, she'd use a drug to induce an abortion!

Real palace intrigue doesn't involve heated words or hair-pulling; it's all done with an elegant demeanor, and you're instantly outmaneuvered.

She's not really good at palace intrigue!

"Chengyan, I... I've already told the Crown Prince the formula... Waaah, what am I going to do?"

"How far along is it now? Are there any signs of success?"

"Not yet. I don't know why, the formula is correct, but the effect is not good. I guess the purity of the materials in your ancient times is different from that in my hometown."

In my previous life, weapons were strictly controlled. Apart from handling guns during military training, I never had any contact with explosives.

"Then just let go. Whether they can make it or not, don't interfere." Gu Chengyan breathed a sigh of relief.

Guan Yingying was very unwilling. In her previous life, she had learned about it in chemistry class, and it was also mentioned in so many online articles. Explosives, gunpowder, sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal—that's right!

Those who traveled through time thrived in ancient times, and with the advent of explosives, they conquered the world.

Why doesn't it work for her?

The difference is probably due to variations in the purity of materials used in ancient times, which resulted in different proportions.

If the Crown Prince succeeds in developing it, wouldn't she be at a huge loss if she withdrew now?

We haven't even gotten a single benefit yet!

Gu Chengyan could see her resentment. As a man, how could he be willing for his woman to associate with other men?

"Yingying, forget about the benefits and get out of here quickly. Let's do a good job on the Grand Canal project and make a fortune. Don't you want to open the Silk Road? We'll open the Silk Road ourselves when we have the money."

Guan Yingying was unwilling to accept her fate, but she didn't want to die.

"If you really feel you're losing out, when the time comes to open the Silk Road, you can ask the Crown Prince to help you with the customs clearance permits. At worst, you can share some of the profits with him."

Gu Chengyan said, "The Crown Prince likes us because we're useful, but he doesn't like us getting out of control. People who are too smart don't live long, do you understand?"

Guan Yingying seemed to understand, but not quite.

Gu Chengyan said, "We went to Jiangnan together and left the child with my mother and Xie Shi to raise. I told Xie Shi that I couldn't have children, so why not adopt a son? She was very interested and was determined to raise him to be a top scholar!"

Upon hearing this, Guan Yingying immediately turned hostile: "Impossible! My son calling someone else 'Mom'? What the hell are you thinking?"

"However, if we don't hand him over to the Xie family, Yuebai will be an illegitimate child who cannot be brought into the light, unable to inherit the title of Marquis, and unable to participate in the imperial examinations."

"Damn ancient times," Guan Yingying thought, clutching her head.

“It would be very detrimental for Yuebai to follow us. If we hand him over to the Marquis’s mansion, he will have a good teacher, inherit the title, have a noble status, and live a worry-free life.”

"Let Xie help you raise your child. Wouldn't it be better for you to spend money on her? When Yuebai grows up and takes over the Marquis's mansion, you can tell him that you are his biological mother. Xie can be divorced then."

Gu Chengyan told Guan Yingying about his plans, showing his consideration for her and the child in every way.

Guan Yingying thought it didn't seem so bad. In those CEO romance novels, Cinderella couldn't enter a wealthy family, but the child grew up in the wealthy family, and eventually the whole family "got together".

Gu Chengyan lingered with Guan Yingying for a long time before returning to the Marquis's residence.

Shin-chan unlocked a new skill: he used the silver Yuan-yuan gave him to hire someone to steal a listening old man.

This thing is absolutely amazing.

He kept watch outside, and when a stranger entered Guan Yingying's courtyard, he immediately turned on his listening ear.

He overheard Gu Chengyan and Guan Yingying's conversation and immediately told Yuanyuan.

Xie Zhaozhao frowned when she heard that Gu Chengyan had secured the grain supply for the extended section of the Grand Canal and was going to take Guan Yingying to stay in the south, leaving Gu Yuebai to Xie Xiangxiang.

In his previous life, Gu Chengyan was also responsible for supplying rice and grain to the laborers along the Grand Canal.

At that time, after the autumn harvest, when grain was cheapest, Gu Chengyan stockpiled 400,000 shi of rice and grain, which cost two wen per jin, and spent 120,000 taels of silver (naturally, it was Xie Zhaozhao's dowry).

She remembered it clearly: a week after the Double Ninth Festival, an earthquake suddenly struck Zhongzhou, causing houses to collapse and countless deaths and injuries.

Grain prices soared from two to four coins per jin to over two hundred and sixty coins, and there was still demand but no supply.

Gu Chengyan and Tu Qianyue immediately took out 200,000 shi of rice from their stockpiled 400,000 shi and sold it for money, making more than 8 million taels in one go.

In her previous life, Xie Zhaozhao, a model mistress, devised plans for Gu Chengyan, providing silver and grain, and offering 100,000 shi of grain to the imperial court at an extremely low price.

Gu Chengyan was commended by the court for "helping the needy and contributing grain," and rose through the ranks to become the Minister of Revenue, making him Xie Yu's superior.