However, Gan Qiongying quickly withdrew.
She touched their noses, which were rubbing together, and said with a smile, "My husband is very talented. He manages the world's commerce associations, so managing a household is a piece of cake for him. There's nothing wrong with that. Now that we are a harmonious couple, I will rely on my husband to live a good life from now on."
These are words that are as sincere as can be.
She wanted to tie everything to Li Hua. After all, her princess mansion was in such a state of financial ruin, what did she have to be afraid of?
She's a poor wretch, why would she be afraid of someone wearing shoes when she's barefoot?
Only in this way can one snag a share of the wealth that the God of Wealth peeks through his fingers.
She could slowly plan and scheme, so that when the plot collapsed and the country was shattered, she could pave a path to survival for herself and the emperor with gold and jade.
Upon hearing this, Li Hua did not move. He maintained the angle of his head tilt and slowly turned around.
He couldn't describe the feeling in his heart. A sense of loss, which he himself was unaware of, slowly seeped out from the cracks in his heart, quickly turning into a wisp of smoke and disappearing.
Li Hua sat there for a moment, then said, "Since the princess trusts me, I can take over the affairs of the manor. However, I will need to transfer a few people from the merchant guild to take stock of the princess's storerooms and shops, as well as send people to various places to check the actual condition of the estates..."
Gan Qiongying naturally responded to all of them, repeatedly saying "Okay, okay."
"I will do whatever my husband says."
Li Hua hesitated for a moment, then tentatively asked, "I also need a detailed list of the social interactions within the Princess's residence."
This was to thoroughly understand the princess's network of influence, which was Li Hua's original intention in marrying Gan Qiongying.
It was his biological father who threatened him with the lives of the servants who accompanied him, forcing him to do something.
The purpose was to leverage Princess Duanrong's influence to provide various conveniences for his younger brother.
Since they couldn't really let his brother get involved with Princess Duanrong, lest he get himself into trouble, but they also wanted to use her influence to stir up the political situation, the only option was to sacrifice someone to get entangled with her.
Li Hua was the victim.
Ironically, he was a victim from birth.
However, no matter how Li Hua tried to investigate before, he could not succeed because the princess was heavily guarded. But unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better, and she turned around and laid everything out in front of him.
So completely unprepared, so catching us completely off guard.
Gan Qiongying said, "That's not difficult. I'll have Manyue compile a list of names and a list of all the gifts exchanged."
Gan Qiongying deliberately spoke mysteriously, "To tell you the truth, I've been short of money these past few years and have received a lot of bribes from various places. It's better to keep this low-key. If His Majesty finds out, he'll definitely scold me."
Gan Qiongying acted as if she were laying her heart bare for Li Hua to see.
Li Hua was startled, but also felt a strange mix of emotions.
She even told him this kind of thing...
Can a momentary attraction to beauty really make someone so open and honest?
Li Hua took the ledger and slowly flipped through it, trying his best to suppress the turmoil and unease in his heart.
Gan Qiong knew perfectly well that he and Zhongli Zhengzhen had a close relationship, yet she still entrusted everything to him, which did not mean she trusted him that much.
It wasn't even a test to see if he would actually collude with Zhongli.
Rather, it has absolutely nothing to do with the path she will take in the future, these power networks, or the great cause that Zhongli is destined to achieve in the story.
Whether her people betray her or not, or who uses her power, it doesn't matter to her.
There couldn't be a worse situation than this. If Li Hua really reveals everything to Zhongli Zhengzhen, and Zhongli Zhengzhen completely disrupts the current situation, it will be perfect for Gan Qiongying to take advantage of the chaos.
In short, Gan Qiongying successfully got rid of the mess she had made.
I felt refreshed and invigorated.
"Since you are in charge of the household, what do you think would be appropriate to send as a gift for Princess Huian's birthday banquet?"
Gan Qiongying seized the opportunity and, before even finishing reading Li Hua's account books, began asking him for things, because her storeroom had absolutely nothing of value to offer.
If she wanted to deliver it herself, she would have to use the money in her possession to find a way to buy it.
That's absolutely impossible.
She has money for a legitimate purpose.
Li Hua had not yet realized Gan Qiongying's true purpose, and hesitated for a moment before saying, "I need to find out the preferences of the Grand Princess Huian first."
Seeing that there was an ink stain on his finger, Gan Qiongying casually wrung out a handkerchief, sat down beside him, and began to have a long talk with him. She took his finger and wiped it as she spoke, "This Grand Princess Huian is my birth mother's older sister. She is naturally strong-willed and married a former top scholar of the previous dynasty. As for her preferences..."
Based on Duanrong's memories, Gan Qiongying carefully recounted the preferences of the Grand Princess of Hui'an.
She didn't hide anything, because she had to appease the Grand Princess on her birthday in a few days.
In Duanrong's memory, Princess Duanrong and Grand Princess Huian had always been at odds. Grand Princess Huian would scold her whenever she saw her, saying extremely harsh things and disapproving of her behavior.
A deeper reason is that Duanrong's birth caused her mother, who was also Princess Huian's younger sister, to die in childbirth.
There's a reason why this aunt dislikes her. Duanrong's background was already disgraceful. She killed her own mother and has been reckless and foolish for many years. What elder would like her?
However, in Duanrong's memory, she caused trouble several times, but was always able to get away with it easily. The Empress Dowager had connections everywhere, and she never really did anything to Duanrong. Princess Huian must have been involved in all of this.
Gan Qiongying used Duanrong's memories to search for a long time and found that, now, the only member of the imperial family who could protect her and the emperor was the Grand Princess Huian.
Gan Qiongying had to go on this summer hunt, and she even had to swallow her pride and coax her aunt to change her mind.
The most important thing is to give a gift to appease someone, so she talked at length about it, asking Li Hua to carefully consider it for her.
"My husband, I'm leaving this matter entirely to you."
Gan Qiongying said, "This birthday banquet will be held at the Grand Princess's estate outside the city, along with a summer hunt. If I'm not mistaken, she will invite all the noble ladies and gentlemen in the city. The Grand Princess's granddaughter is about to come of age, and she will definitely help her find a suitable husband."
"My husband will come with me then."
Upon hearing this, Li Hua's hand trembled, and she abruptly looked up at her: "What did you say? How can I go?"
His social status was strictly hierarchical, belonging to clans and royalty, with scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, among whom merchants were the lowest in status.
How could he possibly go to such an occasion? Besides... they've never gone out together. Everyone knows that he, the prince consort, is not even as good as a servant in the princess's household.
“We are husband and wife, and you are the prince consort, how can you not go?”
"Logically speaking, one should always pay respects to elders after getting married. We haven't paid respects to our aunt since we got married. Wouldn't it be wonderful to pay respects to her and wish her a happy birthday?"
She's definitely going to take Li Hua with her.
They also planned to stage a harmonious performance of love songs with Li Hua there.
As for the purpose... it's definitely to disrupt the "love at first sight" relationship between Zhongli Zhengzhen and Princess Xue'e in the storyline.
In the story, Duanrong also went to this summer hunt. As a "vicious female supporting character", she was naturally disliked everywhere, made a lot of jokes, and got hurt instead of harming others.
It also indirectly facilitated the beautiful love story between Zhongli Zhengzhen and Princess Xue'e, Wen Xueling.
Gan Qiongying is now in a difficult position. Before she prepares a way out, she will never allow Zhongli Zhengzhen and the female lead Wen Xueling to successfully carry out their affair.
Gan Qiongying and Zhen Duanrong had the same goal: to prevent them from being together. As long as the Jinchuan royal family and the powerful King of Jingxi joined forces, Nanzhao would inevitably begin to face turmoil.
We can't float yet; we'll float after she's fixed the back path.
Therefore, Gan Qiongying and Duanrong, two people who died and were reborn, two souls from different worlds who accidentally crossed paths, ultimately ended up converging on the same point in the story.
To disrupt and interfere with the male and female protagonists.
However, compared to Duanrong's reckless charging, head injuries, bloodshed, and self-sacrifice, which instilled fear and dread in others, Duanrong's actions were far more egregious.
Gan Qiongying has plenty of unscrupulous methods to achieve her goals.
For example... she could never possibly chase after Zhong Lizheng.
She wanted him to chase after her.
And Li Hua was her most handy tool.
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