Chapter 166: The Vicious Eldest Daughter (31)

The other girls watched too, and in the end, none of them left.

Wen Wan carefully examined the faces of the forty-three remaining girls. Several of them were exceptionally beautiful, and Wen Wan pointed them out. "You girls, come out here and introduce yourselves."

Several people stepped forward.

"My name is Tan Chun."

"My name is Qiuyue."

"My name is Xia Lian."

"My name is Dongmei."

Wen Yan: "..."

Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter? This name is indeed very much like something out of an online novel, and it's the kind of name that someone is too lazy to come up with. Wen Wan looked at Mama Lin, who said, "They are the star performers of our Chunhua Courtyard. They usually serve high-ranking officials and nobles, and they are proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and songs. They also know a little about various musical instruments."

"Then they must have a lot of money on a regular basis, right?"

Lin's mother: "Yes."

Wen Wan looked at the four of them and asked, "Then why do you want to stay? After all, it's only five taels of silver a month."

Tan Chun: "Boss, you don't know, we are all women who have fallen into prostitution. Even if we leave, we can only become someone's concubine. We don't know how to make a living. It's better to stay. Boss is so kind, you will definitely have a good life."

Wen Yan: "..."

"Alright, since you're all willing to stay, I'll definitely take responsibility for you. You should go and rest now."

Wen Wan dismissed all the girls and then looked at Lin's mother, "Sister Lin, could you give me a copy of their detailed information? I need to market them effectively."

Lin's mother: "???" What does "marketing" mean?

"Also, please ask Mama Lin to hire a few dozen thugs for me."

"Thugs? What do you need so many thugs for?"

Wen Wan smiled and said, "Of course, it's to protect the girls and my Chunhua Courtyard. After all, this used to be a brothel. If any ruffians try to lay a hand on us, we'll throw them all out."

"Okay, I'll take care of it."

Wen Wan returned to the Prince's residence and found Gu Xi sitting in her courtyard drinking tea. Wen Wan quickly ran over, "Why did you return from the palace so soon, Your Highness?"

"If I hadn't come back soon, I wouldn't have known that the Princess was never home. What has the Princess been busy with?"

Wen Wan: "I just went out shopping, otherwise it would be boring to stay in this palace."

"I have already asked the Emperor for leave. During this time, I can accompany the Princess. Wherever the Princess wishes to go, please take me with you."

Wen Yan: "..."

Has she gone mad? If she brings the male lead along, then she won't be able to do anything! If the male lead finds out that she went to a brothel and exchanged all her rewards for money to buy Chunhua Courtyard, he might suspect her, and her plan to get rich quick would fail.

"Your Highness has been busy for so long, and you finally have time to rest. You should rest more."

Gu Xi chuckled, "Your Highness is unwilling to take me along? Is it possible that Your Highness is doing something you cannot let me know?"

"Of course not, how could that be? Ask Little Peach, Little Peach has been following me."

Wen Wan looked at Xiao Taozi, who was terrified, but still said, "Yes, this servant will always follow the Princess and will definitely protect her well."

"Since Your Highness is unwilling, I will not force you. However, recently envoys from various states have come to Mingzhou City, and the situation in the city may be quite complicated. Moreover, Your Highness will have to accompany me to the palace banquet. Therefore, Your Highness should try not to go out. If you do go out, please bring a few guards with you."

"Alright, I understand."

After saying that, Gu Xi left with his men. Wen Wan breathed a sigh of relief. "You must keep this a secret. If the prince finds out that I bought Chunhua Pavilion, there will be big trouble."

Little Peach: "Yes, Your Highness. But Your Highness, please let Wang Yaozu handle things in the future. As Your Highness, you shouldn't go too often to avoid giving yourself away."

“That’s true. Anyway, Wang Yaozu is good at this kind of thing. And according to what the prince said, the envoys from the Nine Provinces are coming, so they will definitely be spending money and having fun. Our reputation depends on them. If this is successful, I will make a fortune.”

...

On the other side.

Gu Xi went back to his study.

"Your Majesty, we have placed spies around the envoys from various states to monitor them at all times. The Emperor has entrusted the task of welcoming the envoys to Minister Lu Linfeng. He is a member of both the Empress's and the Crown Prince's factions, and I'm afraid he might have some influence over us." The guard began to report.

"Keep monitoring in place, and what's the status of the evidence we've collected against Lu Linfeng?"

"We've gathered quite a bit of evidence. Although he himself hasn't openly embezzled, his nephew has raped respectable women, and his wife's family members have also abused his status to prey on the people and harm their neighbors. All the evidence has been found." The guard handed a report to Gu Xi.

Gu Xi inspected the situation for a while, then inquired about the activities of the Crown Prince and the other princes. Only after asking these questions did he finally ask, "What's the current situation at Chunhua Tower?"

"According to Madam Lin, the Princess has bought Chunhua Courtyard and has been renovating it recently. She has also given the girls indentures and released more than a dozen girls to leave the profession. All the information is here." The guard handed over all the information. If Wen Wan saw it, she would find that it was extremely detailed. Even the renovation drawings she had drawn for Wang Yaozu had been given to Gu Xi exactly as they were.

"Your Highness's handwriting is... utterly appalling. Did you find the handwriting I asked you to find from the past poetry gatherings of the Princess?"

"Found it, please take a look, Your Majesty." The guard handed over a few more sheets of paper. Gu Xi examined them. There was no need to ask a professional to compare the handwriting. After all, one of them was written in delicate small regular script, with beautiful strokes. Although it was very crafted and the strokes were a bit rough, it was at least clear that the writer had practiced. The other one, on the other hand, was the Princess's recent painting and calligraphy. It looked like a child who had just learned to write. It was completely untouched by a brush and was extremely poorly written.

It seems that his queen is yet another secret.

Unless it's two different people, there couldn't be such a big difference. However, if it was a different person, Madam Chu of the Prime Minister's residence couldn't have failed to notice. Moreover, he had spent some time with the Princess and had also investigated the situation, finding no trace of disguise. This was her original appearance. Upon investigating the Prime Minister's residence, it was discovered that Madam Chu had only given birth to one daughter and had no other twin sisters.

Could it be the legendary technique of possession?

If that's true, then is Chu Sisi, the illegitimate daughter of the Prime Minister's family, also so strange because of possession?

"And our people haven't left Chunhua Courtyard; they're all lurking among the girls there."

"Tell them not to give themselves away, not to stop the princess from doing what she wants, and to secretly help her remove any obstacles or people who might expose her identity."

"yes."

"Also, ensure the safety of the princess, have people follow her at all times, but make sure she doesn't discover anything."

After the guards left, Gu Xi looked at the two completely different handwritings on his hand, his expression complex.