Forced to be a concubine? I turned around and married the scumbag's father.

"Oh dear, what a pity, the beauty is already taken."

Prince Sun, whose eyes were fixed on the opposite side, couldn't help but shout when he saw this.

The sixth prince, Zhao Yuwen, quickly looked over and saw a handsome man tying the hair of a young lady.

He sighed.

"What a pity. She even had flowers in her hair; he must be her future husband."

A surge of anger inexplicably rose in Mu Junyan's heart, and he quickly glanced at the object.

They really thought he was a sucker!

She begged for his protection and climbed into his bed, then turned around and smiled so brightly at other men, even having them adorn their hair with flowers in public!

Gu Hua picked up the teacup, but suddenly her hand trembled, and the tea splashed out, landing right on Aunt Pei's clothes.

"you!"

"Auntie, I'm sorry, I panicked for a moment."

Gu Hua was both flustered and embarrassed, and looked to Pei Yi for help with her beautiful eyes.

"Big cousin, do you have any new clothes prepared for the guests? Perhaps Auntie could change into something."

"Yes, yes."

Pei Yi hurriedly called out to the door, "Someone come here."

A maid lifted the curtain and came in.

"Quickly take your aunt to change her clothes."

Gu Hua lowered her eyes.

Aunt Pei glanced at Gu Hua.

It seems that little slut has also taken a liking to Pei Yi and wants to spend time alone with him.

She was initially worried that Pei Yi wouldn't keep a mistress for the sake of his reputation, but it seems that the little slut was easily seduced.

Men, they're all like cats that crave fish.

Seeing Aunt Pei leave, Gu Hua took two steps back, creating distance between herself and Pei Yi, and sat down properly.

She suddenly felt a strange sense of guilt, not towards Pei Yi, but towards Mu Junyan.

"Big cousin, please have a seat."

Pei Yi suppressed his excitement and sat down opposite her.

Gu Hua needs to understand Pei Yi's current situation before she can make any plans.

"Where does my older cousin work now?"

Pei Yi was a little embarrassed, and lowered his voice: "Oh, I'm just a lowly Minister of Revenue, please forgive my poor performance, Second Cousin."

When facing the young lady from the Marquis's mansion, Pei Yi always felt ashamed of himself.

Gu Hua, who knew little about officialdom, smiled and said, "My cousin is a handsome and talented man, and he will surely rise through the ranks. However, I've heard that it's not easy to get promoted in the Ministry of Revenue."

Even if she didn't understand, she knew that the Ministry of Revenue was a lucrative position, and Pei Yi had held that position for so many years, just like her scoundrel father.

This shows that promotion is indeed difficult.

Pei Yi's heart fluttered as he looked at the star-like girl: "My aunt said that my uncle is preparing to recommend me to his superior."

Gu Hua sneered inwardly.

Gu Yuan himself is in dire straits, yet he recommends him?

She looked surprised: "Father? He himself holds that sinecure and is worried about how to get promoted to a position with real power. How could he recommend my cousin?"

Pei Yi looked stunned.

Gu Hua guessed that Aunt Pei would not tell the truth, lest the Pei family refuse to provide offerings.

She looked worried and sighed, "I'm very worried about my aunt. She's using all the money you give her each month to subsidize the household expenses of the Marquis's mansion and my eldest sister's expenses in the Duke's mansion. She also wants me to become my brother-in-law's concubine to help her secure his favor."

The concubine's heart was filled with thoughts of the Marquis's mansion and her eldest sister; she was just afraid the money given by the Pei family would be wasted.

Pei Yi's eyes widened: "What? A concubine? You are a young lady of the Marquis's mansion, the eldest aunt's own daughter! Even if you are born out of wedlock, you can still marry into a slightly less prestigious family and become the head mistress of the household. Why should you wrong yourself?"

He looked at his little cousin, who was as delicate as a flower bud, with heartache, unable to understand why his aunt would do such a thing.

Gu Hua sighed, "Big cousin, you don't know, the Marquis's mansion is in a sorry state now. I'm afraid Father won't even pass this year's evaluation. He's even worried about losing his sinecure in the court."

My two younger brothers are young and in poor health, and they are also falling behind in their studies. It seems our Marquis's mansion is on the verge of decline, and Father is counting on the Pei family's monthly stipend."

Pei Yi was surprised.

With the Marquis's mansion in decline, how could the Pei family maintain its status as a top-tier imperial merchant in the capital?

Gu Hua could tell from his expression that he had taken it to heart.

He added fuel to the fire: "My aunt gave most of the silver notes to my elder sister, hoping that she could have a voice in the Duke's mansion. But my elder sister is the mistress's own daughter, so why would she care about the Pei family? I don't know what kind of spell my elder sister has cast on my aunt, but I don't seem like her real daughter at all."

Pei Yi's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

The glory of the Pei family rests on his shoulders.

He would value anyone who was beneficial to the family, regardless of who they were.

He knew that his aunt was ambitious and scheming, while his younger cousin was innocent and pure, and her words were more trustworthy.

"You mean your eldest aunt is worried that the Marquis's mansion can't help the Pei family, so she wants to ask your eldest cousin to put in a good word for her?"

“I think so. I’ve been in the Duke’s mansion with my elder sister for a month now, sent by my aunt. During this time, I’ve also noticed that the eldest son-in-law has no real power. He has seven or eight concubines in the backyard, and he especially dotes on Yaoyao, who came from the brothel. Even my elder sister’s most capable maid, Yinzhi, has been taken as a concubine and promoted to a concubine.”

My eldest sister is shameful and unloved; she hasn't even gained the power to manage the household. I don't know what my aunt is thinking, trying to push me into this mess.

Besides, the Pei family's money didn't grow on trees. You can throw it in water and hear a splash, feed it to a dog and get a couple of barks in thanks, but if you give it to the Gu family or your elder sister, will they actually help the Pei family? Our Marquis's mansion is a bottomless pit.”

Gu Hua knew one thing.

Although the Pei family were imperial merchants, they were located in Jiangling and were exploited several times by the top-level imperial merchants in the capital.

The Pei family wanted to squeeze into the capital and become first-class imperial merchants.

However, the Pei family had been operating in the capital for seven years and had done quite well, but unfortunately, it was difficult to become a first-class imperial merchant.

Without deep connections, one can't even get close to them and can only be a bottom-tier imperial merchant.

At present, the Pei family is trying to secure something.

The royal family is collecting samples for the cotton cloth and cotton business, but the Pei family can't even find a way to get in touch with them.

Even if Pei Yi were to serve in the Ministry of Revenue, it would only be a very minor official position.

The other forces in the court surrounding the Marquis of Wenchang's residence were not strong either, and they were in a precarious position.

Gu Hua could use this to deceive Pei Yi and gain his trust.

Isolate Aunt Pei.

This cut off Aunt Pei's support.

But Gu Hua had never been involved in such matters before, so she could only explore and test the waters to see where it would be most appropriate to start.

Even if you're not confident, you can try to fool Pei Yi first and see how things go.

Pei Yi fell silent.

Aside from the fact that my aunt had just married into the Gu family as a concubine, and that Marquis Gu had introduced a middleman who helped select this prime piece of land, though it was also quite expensive.

In order to gain a foothold in Bianjing, the Pei family reluctantly spent a large sum of money to acquire this land.

The Pei family has always paid homage to the Marquis of Wenchang's mansion because the Marquis's mansion represents the highest-ranking and most powerful family that the Pei family can reach.

On second thought, if you have money, can't you get good land?

Later, the Gu family did not provide much help to the Pei family; it was all thanks to him and the Pei family's hard work.

Pei Yi looked at the resentful Gu Hua with great pity: "Do you want to leave the Duke of Yong's mansion?"

Gu Hua smiled bitterly: "Whether I leave or not is up to my aunt. However, I can still say a word or two to the Duke of Yong."

"The Duke of Yong?" Pei Yi's eyes lit up.

This is someone the Pei family could never reach, no matter how hard they tried.

"I was lucky. The Duke of Yong's beloved wife died young, and he had always wanted to find a noblewoman who wrote in the same small regular script as his deceased wife to help her transcribe her manuscripts. It just so happens that I do."

Nowadays, I copy books in the study of the Duke of Yongguo every day, and I often see the Duke of Yongguo.

My elder sister finds it difficult to even catch a glimpse of the Duke of Yong. If my cousin has anything he wishes to say to the Duke of Yong, I might try to put in a word.

Pei Yi's mind started to wander.

He had been trying to establish connections with winter supply buyers as winter approached.

The Duke of Yong not only commanded 500,000 troops, but also served as the Minister of War.

If he were to ask, the winter supplies order could be secured entirely.

Pei Yi pondered for a moment: "Little cousin, may I ask you a favor?"

Gu Hua immediately perked up and straightened her back: "Big cousin, just say the word. Even if it's just for the expensive coming-of-age gift you gave me, I'll do my best to help you."

……

Mu Junyan suddenly sneezed.

I rubbed my nose. What's wrong?

His body is strong and he has never been sick, so how could he have caught a cold?

His eyes instinctively looked across at the other side, then he suddenly sat up straight and stared intently.

When did Aunt Pei disappear?

So, the two of them, a man and a woman, were left alone in the room?

They seem to be having a very pleasant conversation!