Shen Shen Shen doesn't pursue men, only money

Zhu Yanxiao stood in front of the large desk, bowed to his father who was sitting, and said, "Father, I went to check the Heyin Tower today, and I came here to report."

After he finished speaking, he quickly glanced at his father's desk. Not far from the piles of documents, there was a green and yellow glazed bowl with a blood swallow in it, and next to it was a glazed plate of the same style with two pieces of mung bean crisps. The red and green of the ingredients and the colors of the glazed plate complemented each other, making it very appetizing.

Given by Concubine Huo.

Prince Zhong Zhu Haoyu flipped through the official documents and said, "Please sit down. Ziyuan, I heard from Xingyun that you met Miss Shen Er in the Marquis' Mansion today, so you were delayed in returning home?"

Zhu Yanxiao sat on a chair beside the desk. When his father's personal maid Yiluo served him hot tea, his mind raced: Concubine Huo, although she was called a concubine, was actually a concubine. She had entered the mansion early and had a pair of children. She had been favored by his father for a long time. According to the reports from the spies, she was still well behaved in the mansion, so there was no need to distract him for the time being.

"My father, Miss Shen had an accident some time ago, and I haven't been to visit Zhixi to reminisce about the past for several weeks. Today, I happened to meet her, and I should show my courtesy to the Marquis's mansion, so I stayed for half an incense stick of time." Zhu Yanxiao suddenly thought of the agreement he had made with Shen Shen the day after tomorrow, and said, "Zhixi also got the news that Miss Shen had recovered. I guess my seventh sister will immediately invite Miss Shen to visit the mansion in the next two days to reminisce about the past."

Prince Zhong listened to his eldest son's reply, put down the official documents, leaned back on the large round chair made of golden nanmu, and adjusted himself to a comfortable position: "Speaking of which, Ziyuan is almost old enough to discuss marriage. When your father was your age, you, your second brother, and your third sister were all born."

Zhu Yanxiao didn't know how many times he had heard his father mention his marriage. His expression was calm: "For me, the honor of the palace is the most important. There are many noble ladies in the capital who are suitable for me. My father and mother can take their time to choose. I will just listen to your arrangements."

Prince Zhong was very satisfied with his eldest son, who looked and acted like him. This eldest son was very smart and would always put the interests of the palace first in everything he did, so he asked the emperor for permission to make his eldest son the crown prince.

At the same time, he felt that the eldest son was too calm in everything, giving people an inhuman coldness. In the capital, outsiders said that Zhu Yanxiao, the prince of the Zhongqin Prince's Mansion, was humble and polite, but only his father knew that the eldest son was humble because he looked down on everyone in his heart and was extremely arrogant. Apart from a little concern for himself, the princess, and several brothers and sisters of the same bloodline, he was not interested in anything else.

Prince Zhong was silent for a while, and said, "Next year, after the mourning period is over, this prince and your mother will discuss your marriage as soon as possible. You are the prince of the royal family, and the prince's consort must be a good match for you. This prince has always felt that the Shen family of the Marquis's Mansion is a suitable in-law. The Marquis and his wife are well-educated, and the status of the Marquis's Mansion in Dongxiang is comparable to that of the royal family. It's a pity that the eldest daughter, who is the most beautiful and talented in the capital, is already married and will get married next year. As for the second daughter... This prince has also met her twice. This second lady is not suitable to be your prince's consort in terms of appearance, talent, temperament and means, and the other fifth lady of the Marquis's Mansion is of too poor a background. That's it, it's a pity for the in-laws of the Marquis's Mansion."

Zhu Yanxiao listened to his father's chatter while thinking: his father has very high requirements for his daughter-in-law's family background. Only a family like the Shen family can marry into the prince's family. As far as the Shen family is concerned, the eldest Miss Shen, who can bear the title of princess, has already been engaged, and only the second Miss Shen is left.

Zhu Yanxiao thought for a moment and said, "Father, the Second Miss Shen I met today is very different from the Second Miss Shen before the accident at the Marquis' Mansion. She has been to the mansion these few days, and Father happens to be in the mansion, so I want Second Miss Shen to come and greet Father."

"Oh! Miss Shen was able to get Ziyuan to personally bring her to see me? It's not like I haven't seen her before."

Prince Zhong looked at the eldest son with a little interest. This was the first time he had taken the initiative to bring a girl to see him. Before, the second young lady of the Shen family would never appear in the eldest son's mouth. He knew too much about the relationship between men and women. The prince had some other ideas.

Zhu Yanxiao did not respond and remained silent. He himself felt that it was abnormal that he was so concerned about the stupid fat Miss Shen Er, whom he had never even looked at, after only meeting her once today.

Seeing that his eldest son was silent, Prince Zhong knew that it was time to quit while he was ahead, so he stopped dwelling on the matter and changed the subject: "What's so special about going to Heyinlou today?"

Zhu Yanxiao collected his thoughts and spoke in a cold and magnetic voice: "The income from business operations is still not improving much. I have looked at the account book and the deficit of the entire store has exceeded the original expectation. Because we still need to make new popular styles of pearl flower jewelry every quarter and month, this is the largest expense, followed by the daily expenses of the store manager, servants, maids, etc. The deficit is almost 20 taels of silver every thirty days."

Prince Zhong's face darkened. "That old dog, the Duke of Sheng, always goes against me in everything. In the past, the two cloth and perfume shops for the palace were not enough, and in less than half a year, he opened a jewelry shop. I don't know what tricks he will come up with next year. Our shop is in big losses, and I don't believe his shop will make a profit. Humph~ I will fight him to see who can last."

Prince Zhong didn't care about the profits and losses of the original few stores. The businesses of the prince's mansion spread throughout the Dongxiang, with considerable income every year. Not to mention supporting a jewelry store in the capital, it would be more than enough to support dozens more.

But because it was the Mu family of the Holy Duke who targeted the palace, the two families had been grudges against each other for a long time and hated each other, and they were always against each other in the court and in business. The relationship deteriorated to the point that the two relatives who had quarreled in the court several times were ready to fight in front of His Majesty.

Prince Zhong calmed down and looked at his eldest son who had outstanding abilities but no preferences. He relaxed his tone and asked, "Ziyuan, have you come up with a foolproof plan against the Mu family?"

"My father, last time because of the Heyinlou incident, Fusu acted inappropriately and beat someone. His Majesty has reprimanded my father in front of all the officials, but in fact it was a warning to us not to fight too much. If I fight back with the unbearable means of the Mu family, the Mu family will exaggerate and complain to the Empress, which may displease His Majesty and the Empress, and cause more trouble for my father. I still want to use an open strategy."

"Ziyuan has already thought of a way to deal with it?"

"I wonder if my father will be free after noon the day after tomorrow?"

"The Minister of War has invited me to play chess at his residence after the court session. I wonder if I can return home."

"If my father returns home, I will bring the second daughter of the Shen family to see you and give you a solution." For some reason, he trusted Shen Shen very much.

Prince Zhong looked at the eldest son, smiled, and nodded: "Okay." Then he picked up the official document and waved to Zhu Yanxiao: "Go and get busy."

Zhu Yanxiao stood up, bowed, and turned to leave Prince Zhong's study.