My elder sister is so noble, this time it's my turn to strike back

Wan Rongyue nodded in agreement after hearing this. "Ever since the Crown Prince was reprimanded by His Majesty and the Queen was confined to her house, His Majesty hasn't visited the Queen for more than ten days. It's normal for her to be angry."

"Has there been any movement from the Guo family these days?" Wan Rongyue asked.

"Yes, I heard that the Guo family held a flower viewing banquet at their mansion today, but the Prime Minister's wife only invited a few wives of officials with whom she had a close relationship, all of whom were of the third rank and above. The only exception was the wife of Mr. Zhou, the doctor of the Ministry of Rites."

"Mr. Zhou, the Minister of Rites...isn't that my father's subordinate?"

Wan Rongyue's father is now the Minister of Rites. Logically speaking, this Minister of Rites is just a small official of the fifth rank, and his wife should not appear at the banquet hosted by the wife of the Prime Minister.

Qingye was also a little suspicious.

"That's right. Logically speaking, the Zhou family is not qualified to attend the banquet hosted by Madam Guo. However, I heard that Madam Zhou went there under the guise of delivering flowers. It is said that the gardener in her house has cultivated Clivia."

Just when the master and servant were puzzled, Qiu Ning suddenly said:

"If my guess is correct, the Guo family should be sending someone to the palace soon."

Wan Rongyue and Qingye turned to look at Qiu Ning, their faces full of question marks.

Qiu Ning no longer kept the secret and explained, "Your Majesty, do you remember that I told you to pay attention to someone in the harem?"

Wan Rongyue only then remembered after hearing her reminder, "But didn't you say that this girl was a new concubine named Liu Qinqin?"

Qiu Ning nodded and said, "That's right, but now it seems that this woman is quite resourceful. I'm afraid she has already persuaded the Guo family to send her to the palace in advance."

She really underestimated Liu Qingqing's ability.

If what they had expected was correct, the Guo family's flower viewing banquet was specifically designed to test Liu Qingqing's identity. But now it seemed that not only had she successfully escaped from Guo Yian's clutches unscathed, but she had also convinced the Guo family to be her stepping stone.

Even Qiu Ning had to secretly say that this woman's methods should not be underestimated.

But it doesn't matter. Even if such an ambitious woman enters the palace, after a while, if she gives birth to a prince or something, will she still be willing to be controlled by the Guo family?

Even if she couldn't, Qiu Ning would find a way to make them turn their attention to the Queen, so that the Queen and the Guo family would suffer the consequences.

"This matter is nothing to worry about. Let's hold off for now. I think the most important thing right now is how to preserve the Ge family's assets."

Wan Rongyu also nodded, agreeing quite a bit.

There are countless beauties coming and going in the harem, so there is no need for her to target Liu Qingqing before she even enters the palace.

How can the emperor's favor be as secure as holding real power?

No matter how favored a concubine is in the harem, without giving birth to a prince and without the protection of her family, she is nothing. She can easily become cannon fodder in a struggle.

If Liu Qingqing really wanted to target her by relying on the Queen's influence, then she would definitely find a way to let the Queen taste her skills.

However, due to the lack of staff in the Wan family, the two were ultimately unable to reach any conclusion and could only temporarily allow the Ge family to continue running the business. However, the employment contracts of the shopkeepers and managers needed to be signed again with the Wan family.

The next day, Qiu Ning and Wan Zilang personally went to the Ge family to supervise the matter. As a result, they heard a secret from Ge Wanjin.

"Master Wan, we are now considered family. Right now, there is something on my mind that I don't know whether I should say or not."

Upon hearing this, Wan Zilang put away his nonchalant attitude and asked, "Master Ge, if you have something to say, feel free to speak!"

Ge Wanjin glanced at Qiu Ning standing beside him, seeming to want to say something but stopped himself.

Wan Zilang said seriously, "Don't worry, Patriarch Ge. Miss Qiu is now the Sixth Prince's female teacher and the female consort of the palace. You can absolutely trust her."

After hearing this, Ge Wanjin immediately looked at Qiu Ning with admiration and became more respectful.

"So it's Consort Qiu. I'm so sorry for my disrespect."

Qiu Ning waved his hand and said, "It's okay, Patriarch Ge, please get down to business first."

Immediately afterwards, Ge Wanjin dismissed his attendants and ordered his trusted aides to personally guard the door. He whispered, "I suspect the Guo family has secretly mined an iron ore near the Xuanwu Mountains."

"hiss!"

As Ge Wanjin finished speaking, Wan Zilang couldn't help but gasp. The expression on his face suddenly became serious.

"Does Patriarch Ge have any evidence for what he said? You must know that this matter is very serious."

Qiu Ning also suddenly narrowed his eyes, and his gaze swept towards Ge Wanjin like a sharp blade.

Even though Ge Wanjin had been in the business world for many years, this was the first time he had seen such a creepy look in a woman.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and answered firmly, "I wasn't entirely sure about this matter originally, but a few days ago, one of my trusted subordinates, accompanied by several expert guards, personally went to the Xuanwu Mountains. What did you find?"

"Deep within the Xuanwu Mountains, there was a small path leading to the outside world, with deep wheel tracks all around. The confidant led the group along the path and suddenly discovered a hidden cave. As they got closer, they could even hear the sound of excavating the mountain and chiseling the rocks from within.

My confidant didn't dare to enter rashly, so he searched the surrounding area and stumbled upon this object."

After Ge Wanjin finished speaking, he handed a black stone from his confidant A Kuan and placed it on the table.

Qiu Ning and Wan Zilang's eyes immediately fell on the stone on the table. It was not big, about the size of a fist, but judging from its quality, it should be a piece of iron ore.

At this time, Ah Kuan took the initiative to explain: "I found this stone near that path. It must have accidentally rolled out while being transported and no one found it."

"Oh? Then how can you be sure that this was done by the Guo family?" Qiu Ning's calm eyes flickered, and no one knew what he was thinking.

Hearing this, Ge Wanjin thought Qiu Ning misunderstood that he was seeking revenge and deliberately throwing dirty water on the Guo family, so he patted his chest and promised:

“I can guarantee with my life that the Guo family must have been involved in this, because they have a blacksmith shop on the street behind the alley.

The winery run by my Ge family is right across the street. If the sparks from the blacksmith shop hadn't flown into the wine and almost caused a fire, the people in the shop wouldn't have gone to the shop opposite to argue. As a result, my subordinates discovered that there was a hidden world inside the blacksmith shop. Not only were there a large number of swords, spears, halberds and other weapons hidden, but there were also many arrowheads piled on the ground.

How could an ordinary blacksmith shop have such a large supply of pig iron? According to the shop assistants, business isn't good; they haven't had a single customer in three days. Yet they keep working non-stop every day. What does this mean?

"Huh, what else can it mean?"

Wan Zilang tapped his fingers lightly on the edge of the table, his face filled with indignation. "This means that the Guo family not only possesses a large source of pig iron, but also secretly refines weapons. This is a heinous crime punishable by death for all nine generations of the family. Don't the Guo family fear death?"

Two pairs of doubtful eyes looked at Qiu Ning at the same time, but Qiu Ning looked serious and asked:

"May I ask Patriarch Ge, when did this happen?"

Ge Wanjin thought for a moment and replied, "I remember it was the night three days ago. The weather was dry, and that's why a big fire almost broke out."

When Qiu Ning heard this, his expression suddenly darkened: "It's bad!"