The reborn girl always wants to escape, but the abstinent marquis hugs her and coaxes her!

Chapter 17 General Mu is still useful

The Lin family's carriage was running wildly on the pipeline.

On the way back, Lin Jiaoyue got on the carriage.

Looking through the curtain at the western suburbs camp getting farther and farther away, she put away her grief-stricken expression and said gloomily, "Mirror."

The maid immediately took out a palm-sized banana leaf mirror from a box in the corner of the carriage and carefully brought it over.

Lin Jiaoyue faced the mirror, raised her chin slightly, and a tear slowly slid down her cheek, looking broken and beautiful.

The maid was startled and at a loss.

Lin Jiaoyue ignored her and just muttered to herself: That's right...

She is very confident about her appearance and understands what most men like.

Mu Rong was born into the imperial family, his mother being the emperor's eldest sister. He carried the aloofness of a royal family in his bones. Furthermore, having followed his father into battle since childhood, he had witnessed the bloody battles of the battlefield and naturally found the tenderness of his youngest daughter unacceptable. Therefore, boldness and brightness would attract his attention, while occasional vulnerability would only deepen his sympathy.

Children of wealthy families are spoiled by nature, have high expectations but poor skills, and are more concerned about face. Being considerate is her shortcut to impressing them, making them think that they are recognized and naturally agree to you unconditionally.

As for other people, if she, as a princess, lowered her status a little and gave them some sweet treats, they would be grateful to her.

But why, now her method seems to have no effect on Mu Rong?

After returning to the capital, he met his father, the Minister of War, in front of the Lin Mansion who had just returned from his duty.

Seeing her dusty and worried look, Lin Zhihen frowned and said, "Come with me to the study." Lin Zhihen had been injured on the battlefield in his early years, so he only had one legitimate son and one daughter in his family. After returning to the capital after his injury, he took in seven or eight concubines, but no more children.

The eldest son, Lin Yunce, was the General of the Capital Guard, and the second daughter, Lin Jiaoyue, was revered as the most beautiful woman in the Great Zhou Dynasty and was personally conferred the title of Princess Qingyang by the emperor.

Because there are few people in the mansion, Lin Zhihen has always placed high hopes on these two children.

Lin Jiaoyue's ambition was also cultivated by him early on.

Despite his high position as a minister, the Lin family had a shallow foundation among the aristocratic families of the capital. He only had one son, so naturally, it was not enough. Lin Jiaoyue's appearance was his best weapon to win people over.

Lin Jiaoyue single-handedly caught two big fish, Mu Rong and the fourth prince Wu Tianqi.

But recently it seems that his daughter has lost control of Mu Rong.

Entering the study, he handed a memorial to Lin Jiaoyue. "This is the memorial from Jiangxia County complaining about the Crown Prince's younger brother's seizure of the salt mountain. The Ministry of Works submitted the memorial in early July. This is the handwritten copy I received during the meeting. What are your thoughts on this matter?"

Lin Jiaoyue opened it and briefly flipped through it before replying, "On the surface, His Majesty is in his prime, the Empress and the Emperor are in love, and the Crown Prince's position is secure. In reality, the Empress is of humble origin, and the Crown Prince has no support from his maternal family. His only support is the Crown Princess. This memorial is undoubtedly intended to exploit this situation and undermine the Crown Prince's power. Many of the adult princes are capable. Aside from the Fifth Prince, who died young, the Second, Third, and Sixth Princes all have powerful maternal families and extensive connections within the court. This memorial must have come from one of them."

Lin Zhihen remained calm: "You continue."

Lin Jiaoyue said, "The salt industry is the lifeblood of our Great Zhou. However, this memorial was submitted in early July, and it's been twenty days now, and His Majesty still hasn't approved it. I think something went wrong."

Lin Zhihen nodded and said, "Your analysis is exactly the same as the Fourth Prince's. I have already found out the reason. Mu Rong had already informed the Crown Prince of this matter before the memorial was submitted. The Crown Prince investigated and discovered that it was his brother-in-law who was being exploited by his retainers. Now that everything has been cleared up, this memorial has become a piece of waste paper."

"Why would Mu Rong interfere in the Crown Prince's affairs?" Lin Jiaoyue asked in surprise. She then asked, "Does the Fourth Prince have any plans?"

"This matter itself does not stand up to scrutiny. Since it has already been resolved by the Crown Prince, the Fourth Prince must not interfere at this time. Since we cannot use this matter to cause the Crown Prince to fall, then we should continue to lie low."

After Lin Zhihen finished speaking, he asked again: "Fourth Prince and Weiyuan Marquis Mu Rong, have you thought it through?"

Lin Jiaoyue was slightly stunned. When she thought of Mu Rong's indifference today, she couldn't help but bite her lip.

Seeing her face turn cold, Lin Zhihen said seriously, "What's the matter? Is it as your father expected before, that Mu Rong is no longer under your control?"

Lin Jiaoyue remained silent.

Lin Zhihen sneered: "Since he is useless, he should be abandoned. Can't you let go of your brother Rong?"

Lin Jiaoyue quickly stated her resolve: "Father, you know that romantic relationships are not what I desire. Although Mu Rong has made outstanding contributions, he is only your Majesty's nephew after all, and his title of Marquis has already ended. But the Fourth Prince has great potential. His mother's family is humble, so if he wants to ascend to the throne, he will definitely need external help. In this situation, if our Lin family is willing to lend a hand, he will seize it firmly. When he succeeds, I will naturally make the Lin family the leader of the aristocratic families. Compared with the two of them, I naturally know which is more important."

Lin Zhihen had never been too concerned about matters between men and women. Seeing his daughter's confidence, he stopped dwelling on it. "That's good. I thought he was being used by you before, and he would be a great help to the Fourth Prince. Now that he's out of control, my Lin family needs to make a long-term plan."

The father and daughter discussed the situation in the court for a while and then dispersed.

When I left the study, it was already completely dark. Lin Jiaoyue's maid Mu Xin was waiting outside.

Seeing that his young lady looked unhappy, he stepped forward and asked, "What's wrong, young lady?"

Lin Jiaoyue ordered coldly: "Go find out who that Xu Rongrong is!"

On this side, Xu Rongrong, who was being thought about by Lin Jiaoyue, was busy with the affairs of Luming Street.

Luo Chen's information had been sent to the government office. Luming Street was a large area, and the surrounding area was messy and isolated, so there were many empty houses. Luo Chen made some inquiries and found that there were more than 20 houses where he could find the owners to discuss in detail.

Based on the drawings provided by Luo Chen, Xu Rongrong circled out eight houses along the street, with good garden views, and connected to shops, and asked Luo Shu to buy these eight houses one by one from different brokerage firms.

Houses on Luming Street have always been difficult to sell, and it is rare to find someone willing to buy them. Both the real estate agent and the homeowner were overjoyed. In just a few days, Luo Shu got the deal done.

Now, the eight property deeds were neatly folded by Xu Rongrong and placed in a small box.

Luo Shu was a little puzzled. "The money Madam left behind should still leave a lot of money. Since Miss thinks the houses on Luming Street will appreciate in value in the future, why doesn't she buy a few more?"

Xu Rongrong smiled and said, "As you said, Luming Street is remote, and even in a month, there are only a few transactions. We bought eight in just a few days. Wouldn't it be eye-catching if there were more? Besides, considering the terrain and scenery of these places, holding on to them for a few more years will not lose money."

Wen Yao was collecting the papers and pens on the table when she heard this and whispered, "I saw Madam acting suspiciously earlier. I asked around and found out Madam is lending money at high interest rates. I heard the returns are very high. If you want to make some money, could you give it a try?" "No!" Xu Rongrong shook her head. "You must never touch money that is at high interest rates. Not only me, but even if you marry and become the head of a household, you must never engage in such lending."

In her previous life, she had seen many people who lent money at usury start to taste the sweetness of success, but in the end they lost everything, were divorced, and their children were kicked out of the house.

Xu Rongrong was rarely so stern. Wen Yao and Luo Shu were frightened by her sudden rise in power and knelt down in response: "Your servants will remember this."

……

As the lights began to light up, Wen Yao came in and asked, "Miss, would you like some food? The people from the Moon Archway have come twice already today."

Xu Rongrong felt she had no appetite, so she shook her head. "Tell them to go back. Ask the kitchen to prepare some porridge and send it over. Also, have Luo Shu go and settle the banquet bills for the four restaurants over the past few days."

"But Yi Changshi of the Marquis' Mansion said earlier that he would handle all of this..."

"We are not on the same page as the Marquis' Mansion. We agreed to this offer to facilitate Luo Shu's travel. The Marquis' Mansion has already been of great help in this matter, so we naturally have to be grateful. How can we expect them to bear the additional expenses?"

The young lady's words made sense, and Wen Yao didn't want to persuade her any further. These days, she was completely convinced that her young lady had no other thoughts about Weiyuan Hou. After Wen Yao left, Xu Rongrong was the only one left in the room. She sat quietly by the table, watching the candlelight burning by the window.

The fire flickered, and her heart gradually calmed down.

Out of the 1,800 taels of silver notes her mother left behind, she only spent about 400 taels on purchasing the courtyard on Luming Street. In a year, this house will bring in nearly 2,000 taels of profit. The total of 3,400 taels of silver should be enough to support her to take Wen Yao and Luo Shu to live in Jiangnan for a while in the future.

When we get there, we will cancel the slave status of the two maids, give them generous dowries, and let them live their own happy lives.

As for herself, using the methods of identifying herbs and medicines that she had learned while killing time in Weiyuan Marquis' Mansion in her previous life, it should not be difficult for her to open a medicine garden in Jiangnan and make money.

She held her chin and fantasized. The fatigue from two bumpy lives was completely released at this moment. Suddenly, she felt cold all over and slowly fell on the table.