Becoming a widow for the sake of good fortune? The short-lived prince lived a hundred years

All three shops were making losses on paper and their expenses were not enough to cover their income.

The account balance of Jinruitang was particularly excessive, with a debt of 1,700 taels of silver.

Huarongju also owed 970 taels on its account.

Guanxiang Garden actually owed 327 taels of silver on its books.

The accounts are clear and every item is recorded clearly.

Even if we check the accounts, we can't find any clues.

The shopkeeper of Jinruitang was in his forties, skinny and with a pair of small, rolling eyes. He made a bitter face and started to complain about his poverty to Yan Xining, "Princess, you don't know, but this shop's business is not good. There are not many customers, and we have always been unable to make ends meet. It is the Marquis's wife who is struggling to keep it going, giving out several hundred taels of silver every year to subsidize it. It has been making losses for the past two years. I also advised the Marquis's wife to close the shop, but she said that this was the dowry of the late wife, and she couldn't let it go in her hands. Even if the losses continue, we have to make up for it, and we have to keep the shop open!"

The rouge shop owner was younger, in his thirties, with a kind face. He rubbed his hands and said, "Princess, it's us who are incompetent. There's really nothing we can do. The master chefs in the shop are skilled, but both the raw materials and the production cost money. It's a considerable investment, but in our business, competition is fierce. Others' new products are always better than ours, so we have to lower our prices, and this leads to losses."

The owner of Guanxiang Garden was in his fifties, with a bitter face. "Princess, business is tough right now. Customers are picky. We're struggling to survive. We're already trying our best to minimize our losses, but without business, there's nothing we can do!"

Knowing that she wanted to check the accounts, Chu Jinxun asked Wu Yuxing to transfer two people from the accounting office to help.

Seeing Yan Xining looking through the books herself and not asking them to look at them, they couldn't help but feel a little surprised. So, the princess knows how to check accounts? Didn't they say that she came from the countryside and had never learned these things?

Yan Xining looked through the account books that were sent to her. These were two months' worth of account books. She asked calmly, "What about the ones before that?"

Seeing her calm expression, the shopkeeper of Jinrui Hall clearly approved of the account book and said hurriedly, "The Marquis' wife previously made up for the shortfall, and the account balance has already been balanced, so I didn't take it. Princess, do you want to see the previous one? I'll have someone bring it over later!"

"Forget it!" Yan Xining said calmly, "No need to take it, you guys go back first!"

It was a profitable shop that had made them money for more than ten years, but after only two months of getting it, they still played this kind of trick on her.

These account books are carefully kept, and the accounts are very balanced without any flaws.

But they must have the real account books, but now we don’t know where they are. It seems we have to go to Weiyuan Marquis Mansion.

The three shopkeepers all had smiles on their faces when they left, but the emotions deep in their eyes were different.

The shopkeeper of Guanxiang Garden had a gloomy face. He had been working there for ten years. Business used to be good, with a profit of several hundred taels of silver every month. But since several other shops opened nearby, business had been declining day by day. However, thanks to his hard work, even though the profit was small, it was not too shabby.

Just two months ago, the Marquis's wife sent someone to inform him to make another set of accounts.

The profit for these two months was clearly 757 taels, but it turned into a loss of more than 300 taels.

It was only later that he found out that these were the dowry of the late wife, and now they were in the hands of the eldest daughter who had returned from the countryside.

So the fake accounts were made for the young lady to see.

He had been worried all the time, and sure enough, the eldest lady notified him today that the account book would be sent over.

Although the eldest lady didn't notice anything, he still felt very uneasy.

After leaving the palace and walking a long way, they saw that there were no people around. The shopkeeper of Huarongju smiled and said, "Madam is really very foresighted. As expected, she didn't wait until the end of the quarter to check the accounts. If we hadn't been prepared in advance, she would have been caught off guard."

The shopkeeper of Jinruitang gave him a warning look: "What are you talking about? Can you say that in a place like this? Do you want the lady to skin you alive?"

The shopkeeper at Huarongju patted his lips and said with a smile: "Look at my mouth. I just said something because I saw that country boy didn't see anything. But there's no one else here. Shopkeeper Qi, you are too cautious!"

He knew that Qi Mingda was a relative of the Marquis's wife. Whenever the major shopkeepers gathered together, he would look down on them, act superior, and have a strong sense of superiority.

I don’t know where his sense of superiority comes from. Aren’t we all servants?

If I go to Jinruitang, I might earn more than him.

Qi Mingda glanced at him and said, "Better safe than sorry, Shopkeeper Wei, has the Madam told us to keep our mouths shut?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Wei Qing was very dissatisfied in his heart, but he answered in a very flattering way.

Huang Bozhong, the owner of Guanxiang Garden, also nodded.

Seeing that they were quite sensible, Qi Mingda snorted, "So now all of this belongs to Princess An, but let's not forget who our master is! Remember?"

"remember!"

Qi Mingda looked at them disdainfully, then left in a swagger.

The three people were heading in different directions. After Qi Mingda left, Wei Qing and Huang Bozhong were still on the same road.

Wei Qing spat in the direction Qi Mingda left, "Who does he think he is? We're both shopkeepers, but we don't own the same shop, so why should we listen to him? He even acts so high and mighty that anyone who doesn't know him would think he's the boss!"

"Maybe it's because the shop he manages makes a lot of money." Huang Bozhong said a little listlessly.

Wei Qing didn't like what he said. "The gold jewelry store is definitely profitable. He's not the master craftsman, nor is he the assistant. He can make money just by keeping a pig there as the shopkeeper!"

Huang Bozhong laughed at this, but then turned around and frowned again: "Logically speaking, the shop now belongs to Princess An, so our master has become Princess An. Is this appropriate for us? Will it cause any trouble?"

Wei Qing glanced at him and said, "What kind of trouble could there be? What can he see from calling a country girl? We can just cry poor and ask her to give us more money. If we can reduce the loss on the account, he will even praise us for our good work!"

As he said this, he walked straight into an alley.

Huang Bozhong hurriedly asked, "You must have gone the wrong way. Why are you going that way?"

"Old Huang, I'm not saying anything bad about you, but you just don't know how to adapt. Don't you know this is the shortcut?"

Huang Bozhong was stunned. He always did things in a proper and orderly manner and had never taken this shortcut before. So he followed Wei Qing into the alley.

Seeing that the alley was deserted, Wei Qing spoke even more boldly. He first greeted Qi Mingda dozens of times, then turned around and threatened Huang Bozhong: "Don't even think about snitching on Qi Mingda. Even if he did, it would be useless. He relies on being his wife's relative and won't take us seriously at all. Even if you try to please him, he won't take you seriously."

"No, no!" Huang Bozhong smiled. He regretted leaving with Wei Qing. Although these words sounded straightforward, neither of them was a good person.

He looked up and saw the alley winding and twisting. He couldn't help but ask, "How long will it take? Why does it feel even further away?"

"Are you stupid? We'll be there in just a few dozen yards through the alley. If we don't go through this alley, we'll have to walk three streets! I and..."

The person in front suddenly fell silent. Huang Bozhong, who was walking with his head down, looked up in confusion and his face suddenly changed.