Gu Mansion
Gu Yanran was kept in the mansion by Old Lady Xu, hoping that she could stay at home for a while longer.
Taking the opportunity, Gu Yanran stayed in the mansion openly. She was unwilling to return to the Seventh Prince's Mansion. Now the Seventh Prince's Mansion was no different from hell to her.
"Fourth Miss, the old lady asked you to come back for dinner." People in the yard still liked to call her by her former name, and it did not change after she got married.
When Gu Yanran walked in, she saw a familiar figure sitting in the room.
"Since everyone is here, let's eat." Old Lady Xu spoke slowly. Steaming steam was swirling around and exquisite pastries were placed on the table.
Shen Qingqiu slowly and leisurely savored the eight-treasure lotus seed porridge in the porcelain bowl, picking up the crab roe and flour crisps with silver chopsticks and taking them into his mouth. Every move he made was extremely elegant.
Gu Yanran ate the meal absent-mindedly. How could she eat if she had something on her mind?
She wanted to tell Shen Qingqiu the truth about Princess Changping, but when she recalled what the latter had said to her, she couldn't get over it.
The pastries in the bowl were poked here and there by the chopsticks, and their original appearance could no longer be seen.
Old Lady Xu interrupted: "If you don't want to eat, I won't force you."
Gu Yanran looked pale and shook her head: "Maybe I just don't feel well."
Shen Qingqiu slowly wiped his mouth to remove the oil stains: "Old Lady, I'm full."
Gu Yanran watched the other person slowly leave the table, hesitation flashing across her eyes. She wanted to chase after him and tell him what she had heard, but her steps did not move at all, as if she was nailed down.
"Old Madam, I'm going out for a while." Gu Yanran left in a hurry.
Catching up with Shen Qingqiu, he saw him sitting in the yard, seemingly waiting for someone.
Gu Yanran was quite hesitant, not knowing whether to go over. This secret was hidden in her heart, and telling Shen Qingqiu was undoubtedly going against Princess Changping.
Recalling the words Princess Changping whispered in his ear, he tempted her with various plans and made her do the wrong thing again and again.
Tell the conspiracy and expose the other party's tricks.
Gu Yanran hesitated for a moment, mustered up the courage to walk over, and was about to pat Shen Qingqiu on the shoulder.
"You've been hesitating for so long and you're still not going to speak?" There were only two of them in the yard, and these questions were undoubtedly directed to Gu Yanran.
The latter was slightly startled and looked around: "I..."
Shen Qingqiu turned his head slowly, his eyes mixed with questions: "You looked at me for a long time while eating, so why don't you tell me what you want to do?"
A cup of tea fell on the empty seat, surrounded by curls of smoke.
Gu Yanran sat down and said softly: "Princess Changping is very dissatisfied with you."
"After the textile factory incident failed, she came to me and wanted me to steal the blueprints from you."
After she said it, Gu Yanran felt relieved. She then said everything she needed to say: "I don't dare to do such a thing, and I deeply regret some of the things I did to you in the past. So I told you to ease the relationship between us."
Gu Yanran took a sip of the tea on the table, nodded slightly and left.
Although she no longer had any ill will towards Shen Qingqiu, she didn't know how to get along with him. Now that she had told her everything, there was nothing else to say between them. After all, the gap already existed, and no matter what, they would never be as close as sisters as if they had not met before.
Looking at Gu Yanran's leaving figure, Shen Qingqiu frowned slightly. The other party's attitude was very correct, but what he said was not completely trustworthy. It was certain that Princess Changping would attack him again, but why did she choose Gu Yanran as the middleman? Gu Yanran had experienced many things, and the whole person seemed to have changed a lot, not like before.
"Do you believe what she said?" A voice came over, and Shen Qingqiu turned his head to look.
But it was Old Lady Xu who slowly walked out of the room. Shen Qingqiu said, "There's nothing to disbelieve. Changping wanted to harm me anyway. It doesn't matter whether he said it or not."
Upon hearing this, the old lady sighed: "Gu Yanran is not a bad person by nature. She was just misled by someone. She came back last night and told me everything in my arms." Thinking back to what happened yesterday, Old Lady Xu felt a little reluctant.
But after all, Gu Yanran had done too many wrong things in the past, and for the sake of Liu's baby, she couldn't be completely unprepared for her. "Whether she lied or not, whether the story is true or not, this matter still needs to be confirmed. But Qiu'er, you must be careful and be on guard against others."
Shen Qingqiu nodded in response.
Afterwards, Old Lady Xu sighed again: "Perhaps she really knows she was wrong, so she came back to cry. I also hope that Yanran can turn back from her wrong path... Alas"
She just wanted Shen Qingqiu not to misunderstand Gu Yanran too much. They were all children of the Gu family. Now Gu Yanran had gone astray and could not turn back. But as an elder, she still hoped that if she was on a dead end in the future, someone from the Marquis' Mansion could still rescue her once.
Shen Qingqiu also thought about it over and over but still couldn't understand, so he had no choice but to find Gu Yanwei.
He told Gu Yanwei everything that had just happened and waited for his response: "What do you think she wants to do?"
Gu Yanwei pondered for a moment: "What she said is very likely true. Princess Changping would indeed do such a thing. After all, you have useful blueprints in your hands and can occupy a dominant position. Who wouldn't be jealous of the profits of the textile factory?"
"If Gu Yanran wanted to deceive you... I just think her purpose is not very clear. Could it be that she wanted to use these words to make the relationship between you and Princess Changping more tense?"
Gu Yanwei analyzed carefully and discussed all the issues one by one to avoid any accidents.
Shen Qingqiu took the brush and wrote on the rice paper without intending to do so, with a trace of sadness between his brows: "The Princess of Changping and I are mortal enemies, and there is no point in our hatred deepening."
“Gu Yanran’s actions must be true.” Shen Qingqiu put down the things in his hand and said solemnly: “Whether you believe it or not, you should be careful now that I’ve told you.”
"Princess Changping has always liked to stir up trouble. The end of the textile factory incident does not mean the end of the conflict between her and me. I have already expected that she would find ways to attack me, but I am not sure what methods she will use." Shen Qingqiu has always been on guard, and now what Gu Yanran said also reminded her in this regard.
The blueprints of the textile factory are particularly important. If you have them, you can turn the situation around. If Princess Changping really wants to steal them...
"As long as the blueprint remains in my hands, she will never give up. How to completely resolve this matter remains to be considered." Shen Qingqiu sneered.
"Then what do you want to do?" Gu Yanwei was slightly worried, his eyes fixed on her.
"Guess?" Shen Qingqiu smiled mischievously, but did not reveal his plan.
"Anyway... I'm already prepared."
Gu Yanwei glanced at him approvingly: "It's always right to be on guard."
"It won't be very peaceful right now, so you should be more cautious." A caring tone sounded, and Gu Yanwei's eyes were full of concern.
Shen Qingqiu slightly looked away, a blush unconsciously rising on his face: "Got it."
I don’t know when it started, but the boy has slowly grown into a young man. When the two of us stand together, he is actually a head taller than me.
"I... I'll go first." Shen Qingqiu felt awkward for some reason, so he ran away, leaving Gu Yanwei alone.
"You..." Gu Yanwei didn't know whether to laugh or cry, watching the other person's back as he left.
After separating from Gu Yanwei, Shen Qingqiu returned to the mansion. She looked at the blueprint in her hand and pondered. As long as she had this thing in her hands, others would always be thinking about it. The only way to prevent others from always thinking about it was to find a new way.
Princess Changping has been able to get to where she is today thanks to the support of Empress Pei and the gold and silver contributed to the national treasury.
But the emperor is the emperor after all, he can't tolerate it again and again. For the emperor, power is in his hands, and he will not tolerate provocation from anyone.
Princess Changping has made many mistakes, not just the Jiangnan fraud case. If I break what she relies on, will I send her into the abyss?
Shen Qingqiu narrowed his eyes slightly and stopped thinking about this matter.
Besides, only those who commit thieves all day long will not be on guard against thieves all day long. Instead of waiting for Changping to attack him, it would be better for her to attack him first. Thinking of this, Shen Qingqiu went directly to find Gu Yong,
"Dad, Princess Changping has always disliked me. She might attack me. You should add more people to the Gu Mansion recently."
Gu Yong said: "Don't worry, this mansion is as solid as an iron barrel, nothing will go wrong. If Princess Changping comes..."
Before he could finish his words, Shen Qingqiu interrupted him coldly: "No, you just need to protect your mother's safety and your study."
"If anyone comes in, they will only come for me. Dad, then you just protect mother and don't have to worry about the rest."
Gu Hou was puzzled: "What do you mean? Aren't you afraid that she will cause trouble for you?"
"Although Princess Changping wants to kill me, she only wants to take things and not her life. I set a trap for her." Shen Qingqiu said coldly: "She wants my blueprints, then I will give them to her. I want to see how she swallows this hot potato!"
The repeated pursuits had already made Shen Qingqiu angry. She was not someone who liked to give in step by step. Once someone tried to bully her, she would definitely fight back! -
Early the next morning, Shen Qingqiu went to ask for an audience with the emperor.
"Your Majesty, Lord Kangle requests to see you." The eunuch in charge spoke softly, interrupting the emperor who was dealing with memorials.
"Yes." The emperor responded while dealing with the memorial in his hand slowly.
There was a creaking sound, and Shen Qingqiu walked in respectfully and saluted: "Your Highness."
"What's the matter?" The emperor asked casually without looking up.
Shen Qingqiu said softly: "My textile factory has made a lot of profit, and I am very nervous about having so much property. I came to see you today to ask the emperor a question."
"I want to transfer some of the profits from the textile factory to the national treasury to enrich it. As a citizen of the capital, I also hope to do my part. Even if the profit is not much, it is a token of my appreciation."
Shen Qingqiu opened his mouth slowly, his plain words telling earth-shattering words.
The emperor looked up in surprise, his eyes fixed on Shen Qingqiu: "Are you serious?"
He had also heard about the profits of the textile factory. Shen Qingqiu gave these things away easily. Didn't he feel reluctant?
Shen Qingqiu nodded firmly: "Yes."
"As a common people, we should also make contributions. It's just a small profit." As soon as he finished speaking, he took out a stack of silver bills from his sleeve and handed it to the steward beside him.
The emperor casually flipped through the silver bills presented to him, looking around, and there seemed to be some disbelief in his eyes about this matter.
The textile factory was Shen Qingqiu's own business, so no matter how much money was earned, it was his business. And now she had handed over part of the profit...
The person sitting on the throne is always suspicious and looks at everyone with caution.
Looking at Shen Qingqiu's calm face, it seemed that things were really as simple as they seemed.
"As expected of you, you are the Lord of Kangle Township. I am very satisfied."
Listening to the emperor's praise, Shen Qingqiu bowed.
As she left, a slight smile appeared on her lips. This was her trap... I don't know if Changping dares to snatch the things that have already entered the national treasury from the emperor?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
