Gu Qinlan smiled calmly and said, "This was entrusted to me by the young master before he went to war. He knew I was a reliable wife, so he gave me this private seal. Now, do you trust me?"
Shuangjiang frowned, pondered for a moment, his eyes filled with doubt and resentment.
Fuyu glared fiercely at Shuangjiang and scolded, "Shuangjiang, how dare you be so rude! The Crown Princess is here, how dare you not open the treasury door and question the mistress's private seal?"
Shuangjiang bit her lower lip tightly, her face pale, but she still raised her head and answered, "I don't know if the Crown Princess's private seal is genuine, how can I open the treasury door casually?"
Gu Qinlan smiled, but her eyes revealed a sharp glint: "Shuangjiang, you did a good job. Since you have doubts, let's verify the authenticity of the private seal."
Having said that, she immediately took out the exquisite private seal and handed it to Shuangjiang. Shuangjiang took the seal, gently stroking it. After a moment, her eyes narrowed, and she said, "This private seal is indeed genuine!"
Shuangjiang's face grew increasingly grim; she clenched her fists tightly, a hint of resentment flashing in her eyes.
Fuyu smiled smugly, snatched the private seal, and glared at Shuangjiang: "Shuangjiang, do you know that your behavior has violated the rules? Questioning the mistress, you are courting death!"
Shuangjiang gritted her teeth, looked at Gu Qinlan, and hurriedly explained, "Princess Consort, I did not mean to make things difficult for you. It is only because the Prince has ordered that the private treasury must not be opened at will. Please forgive me."
Gu Qinlan smiled slightly, her eyes revealing a hint of tolerance and understanding: "Shuangjiang, I understand your predicament. You just need to follow orders and don't blame yourself too much. Now, quickly open the door to the private treasury."
Upon hearing this, Shuangjiang hurriedly pulled out her keys, her hands trembling slightly. She looked down at the keys, her heart filled with turbulent emotions.
Once this private treasury is opened, all its secrets will be exposed to Gu Qinlan. But she also knows what disobeying the Crown Princess's orders means.
The key was inserted into the lock, and the door slowly opened.
Gu Qinlan led Fuyu and Hongye into the warehouse, and the scene before her eyes shocked her.
Inside the warehouse, a dazzling array of items filled the entire space. Various precious ancient books, calligraphy and paintings, porcelain, jade, gold and silver jewelry—everything imaginable was there.
"It's quite remarkable that this storeroom is built under the study; it's half the size of the courtyard! The items inside are dazzling and abundant, which shows that the Prince Duan's mansion is indeed very well-established."
Gu Qinlan looked on in astonishment.
Shuangjiang followed behind and explained, "Princess Consort, these are all treasures carefully collected by the Prince. Some are tributes from previous years, and some were personally selected by the Prince."
Gu Qinlan looked around, her eyes sharp, examining each item in the storeroom. She couldn't help but exclaim, "The young master really knows how to hide things! Such a large storeroom, yet it holds so many treasures!"
Shuangjiang followed carefully behind, explaining, "These are all treasures collected by the Crown Prince. He instructed me to keep them safe. Crown Princess, look at this jade ruyi. It was made by a famous craftsman in our country and is priceless."
Gu Qinlan gently picked up the jade ruyi, examined it carefully, and a hint of admiration flashed in her eyes: "It is indeed a fine piece of jade. However, I am more interested in these ancient books. Shuangjiang, do you know the origin of these ancient books?"
After a moment's thought, Shuangjiang replied, "Your Highness, some of these ancient books were collected by Your Highness from various places, some were gifts from Your Highness's maternal grandfather, and some were left by Your Highness's grandfather."
Gu Qinlan smiled slightly and put down the jade ruyi: "I didn't expect that they would leave so many treasures for the young master."
Gu Qinlan continued browsing through the storeroom, while Shuangjiang followed behind her, explaining the origins of various items from time to time.
"Frost's Descent, what is the origin of this jade pendant?" Gu Qinlan suddenly stopped and asked, pointing at the jade pendant.
Shuangjiang was taken aback for a moment, then replied, "This was acquired by His Highness the Crown Prince during his travels in Jiangnan. It is said to be a family heirloom."
Gu Qinlan smiled slightly, picked up the jade pendant and examined it carefully: "This jade pendant is very similar to the heirloom of our Gu family. Could it be that our two families have some kind of connection?"
Shuangjiang shook her head: "Princess Consort, I don't know about that. However, His Highness the Crown Prince cherishes this jade pendant very much and has never shown it to anyone."
Gu Qinlan nodded thoughtfully, looked at Shuangjiang, and said, "Bring me the storeroom ledgers, I want to take a look."
Upon hearing this, Shuangjiang nervously swallowed, carefully handed the ledger to Gu Qinlan, and then lowered his head.
Gu Qinlan took the ledger and turned page after page. Looking at the densely packed words, a hint of doubt flashed in her eyes. She looked up at Shuangjiang and asked, "What are all these?"
Shuang lowered her head and explained, "These are all the Crown Prince's trading companies. He has an extraordinary talent for business. Although these companies are not large in scale, they have already brought the Crown Prince a lot of wealth."
Gu Qinlan smiled slightly. Zheng Dinglian's talent was not only on the battlefield, but he also had unique insights into business.
As she looked at the account book, her admiration for Zheng Dinglian grew even stronger.
"Are these all maritime businesses?" Gu Qinlan asked again.
Shuangjiang nodded and said, "Yes, the young master has unique insights into maritime business. He can always accurately grasp business opportunities and bring substantial profits to these trading companies."
Gu Qinlan listened, feeling increasingly satisfied.
"Are all these businesses managed by the young master alone?" Gu Qinlan asked again.
Shuangjiang shook her head and said, "No, although the young master is good at business, he also has his own things to do. So, he found some reliable people to help manage these businesses."
Gu Qinlan listened, then stirred. She looked at Shuangjiang and asked, "Are these people reliable?"
Shuangjiang smiled slightly and said, "They have all been carefully selected by the young master and are absolutely reliable."
Gu Qinlan nodded, looking at the ledger, her mind made up. She closed the ledger, looked at Shuangjiang, and said, "I want to take over these businesses."
Shuangjiang was taken aback. He looked at Gu Qinlan, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. He hadn't expected Gu Qinlan to make such a request.
“Madam, this…” Shuangjiang hesitated.
Gu Qinlan smiled slightly and said, "I know this may surprise you. But I think this is also my way of supporting Zheng Dinglian. I will do my best to make these businesses more prosperous."
Gu Qinlan took a few steps forward, when suddenly her eyes were drawn to some rare overseas items. Her gaze finally settled on a dazzling red coral.
She gently extended her finger, about to touch it, when she heard a tense reminder from behind.
"Madam, that red coral is the young master's favorite. Please be careful." Shuangjiang rushed out hurriedly, her brows furrowed, her tone revealing a hint of anxiety.
Gu Qinlan smiled slightly and turned to look at Shuangjiang: "Oh? Is that so?"
A flicker of panic crossed Shuangjiang's eyes, but she quickly regained her composure and nodded, saying, "Yes, the young master is particularly fond of it. If Madam were to accidentally break it, I'm afraid..."
Gu Qinlan gently touched the red coral, her eyes deep in thought. Suddenly, she looked up, staring intently into Shuangjiang's eyes: "Shuangjiang, you're lying!"
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