The Eldest Daughter Returns: Imperial Uncle, I'm Pregnant!

"Hey ladies, if you're not buying anything, why don't you go look around somewhere else? This little shop still needs to make a living."

The foolish shop assistant, Fugui, saw off the Third Prince and the two young ladies from the Minister's mansion. Coincidentally, there were few people in the shop at that time. When the shop assistant turned around and saw Gu Qingwan and the others still standing there, and the fact that the three distinguished guests hadn't recognized them, it proved that his idea was correct. So his tone and attitude became even more impolite.

"Siqi, let him know that your young lady is not someone who can be bullied like this."

Siqi nodded, and before the shop assistant could react, blood trickled from the corner of her mouth as he grabbed her collar and fanned her mouth from side to side.

"Ouch! How dare you hit me! Shopkeeper, shopkeeper, someone's causing trouble!"

"Who dares to be so insolent!" The shopkeeper stormed out angrily. Since opening their shop, they had served only dignitaries and important figures. Even their competitors had to give them some face. How dare this "Miss" come to cause trouble!

Inside the main hall, Gu Qingwan sat at the head of the table, while the shopkeeper stood below with his back bent. The waiter named Fugui covered his face and knelt there, not daring to make a sound. The waiter named Linsheng stood at the very back, also with his back bent, not daring to raise his head or speak.

"Miss, this shop assistant is someone I brought from my hometown. He has never seen you before and has offended you greatly. Please forgive him." The shopkeeper wiped his forehead with his sleeve.

However, Gu Qingwan did not respond. She simply held her teacup, smelled the aroma of the tea, and sipped it. The room was quiet except for the sound of Shishu calculating on the abacus and flipping through the account books on the table next to her.

After a while, Gu Qingwan saw that Shishu was not acting strangely, and realized that she had not misjudged the manager back then and that he had not betrayed her. She calmed down, put down her cup, and placed her hands on her knees.

"Manager Wang, of course I understand you. I have already punished him, so naturally I will not blame him anymore."

"Thank you, Miss! Thank you, Miss!" Shopkeeper Wang looked at his boss with delight and slapped the young shop assistant on the back of the head. "Hurry up and thank the Miss!"

"Thank you for your forgiveness, Miss. I was blind and offended you. From now on, if you tell me to go east, I will never go west."

"Get up."

"Thank you, Miss."

Fu Gui quickly stood up and moved to Lin Sheng's side, pushing Lin Sheng aside. His eyes were full of calculation and wishful thinking. Seeing this, Gu Qingwan coughed lightly. Shi Shu looked up and happened to see her mistress's eyes, and immediately understood.

"Miss, there's a discrepancy here."

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper's heart tightened. He quickly went through the accounts again in his mind. There shouldn't be any problems; every single transaction was clear.

Since the young lady took over the shop, changed its name, and gave him guidance, he has been able to run the shop very successfully. Most importantly, the young lady pays him extra wages. The better the business is, the higher his income will be. During holidays, the young lady also gives him benefits and allows his whole family to live in a small courtyard with two courtyards behind the shop without charging rent.

There's no other boss like him in the entire capital, so why would he falsify accounts for such a small amount of money? He knew that if his employer found out, he would be taken to the authorities, and his whole family would never have a good life.

"Young Miss, please be wise! Young Miss, please be wise! I would never dare to falsify accounts or deceive you!" The shopkeeper knelt down on the ground with a thud, and Fu Gui and Lin Sheng behind him also knelt down immediately.

The wealthy man was sweating profusely, his mind racing: Could he really be that unlucky? He was found out by this young lady just once? Could she be bluffing them?

"Miss, look."

Gu Qingwan looked at the account book in the direction Shishu pointed, flipped through the first and second pages, and then gestured for Shishu to give the account book to the shopkeeper.

"Manager Wang, I naturally trust your character, otherwise I wouldn't have kept you here in the first place. But there is indeed a problem with the accounts. The amount isn't huge, but it's not small either. Judging from your appearance, you seem unaware of it, but I would like to hear your explanation."

Manager Wang quickly stood up, took the account book from Shi Shu, and looked at it. He flipped through it from front to back, but couldn't recall anything. He looked at the date on the account book, closed his eyes, thought carefully, and then suddenly opened his eyes to look at Fu Gui kneeling there.

Fu Gui was already very nervous, and now his face was pale and he was covered in sweat. When he saw Manager Wang looking at him, he was immediately frightened and at a loss for words. "I didn't, I didn't, Uncle, it has nothing to do with me, it must have been Lin Sheng who did it!"

"Me? How could it be me? I didn't even touch it! Fugui, stop slandering an innocent person!"

"I'm framing you? You usually seem so honest and unassuming, but who knows what kind of bad intentions you might have? Everyone else might not know, but I know perfectly well that you've seduced the shopkeeper's daughter! Humph!"

When Manager Wang heard this wealthy man speak so recklessly about his daughter, he was furious. "You scoundrel, shut up!"

"That's for sure. Alan doesn't like me; he must have been seduced by this pretty boy!"

"Are you trying to drive me crazy?!" Manager Wang's chest heaved with anger.

"Alright, I don't want to hear about your family matters. Manager Wang, please explain the accounting issues to me properly." She couldn't stay here any longer; she had other things to do. It was almost lunchtime, and she was planning to take Siqi and the others out for a nice meal.

"This..." Manager Wang seemed to struggle for a moment, but still decided to tell the whole story. "I wasn't in the shop during the days when the accounts were in trouble. Something happened at my hometown and I went back. I temporarily handed over the shop's affairs to Fugui. You can compare the handwriting; it's definitely not my handwriting."

"Wealthy?"

"Fugui, you'd better tell the truth, or we can send you to see the authorities!" Siqi threatened.

Fu Gui realized he couldn't hide it anymore, so he knelt down and cried, "It was me, but I didn't mean to."

"Hurry up and tell me! Maybe the young lady will spare your life, otherwise you'll be facing a lawsuit." Manager Wang said earnestly to Fugui.

It turns out that Fugui liked Wang's daughter, Alan, but Alan never paid any attention to him. Later, Lin Sheng came to the shop, and the shopkeeper kept praising Lin Sheng for being hardworking and able to endure hardship. He was jealous because Lin Sheng was more handsome than him.

That day, he went to confess his feelings to Alan again, but was rejected by her once more. Frustrated, he went out for drinks and happened to meet a drinking buddy. After drinking, they went to the casino.

"What! How did you end up at the casino!" Manager Wang was very surprised. Although Fugui was usually cunning, he knew that Fugui was a decent kid.

"It's because that person said that gambling can make up for heartbreak. The reason Alan doesn't like me is because I don't have money." Fugui said, head down.

The man said that gambling was the fastest way to make money, and that winning once could earn him more than his monthly salary. He added that once he had money, Alan and the manager would definitely think highly of him, which tempted him.

At first, things were going well; he was able to win a few rounds. But later on, he kept losing. Eventually, his friend persuaded him to leave. Back in his room, Fugui couldn't stop thinking about how he was so unlucky. He couldn't win over the girl he liked, and he couldn't even win money. No, he had to turn things around. So that night, he went to the casino again.

For several days in a row, Fugui lost all his money but remained stubbornly deluded, thinking about how to make money.

"That day, the shopkeeper said he had some things to do back home and needed to go back for a few days, so he asked me to help look after the shop. I thought I would just take a little bit out of the accounts so that the shopkeeper wouldn't notice when he came back."

"So how did you distribute it evenly?"

"I didn't do anything. I just secretly took some materials out and sold them at a low price, then put the money in my own pocket, and then..." Fugui lowered his head and secretly glanced at the shopkeeper, "and then, I stole a little bit of silver from the public funds, and that was it."

"Also, didn't you raise the prices of some of the ready-to-wear garments?"

How did you know?

"Fugui, Fugui, are you trying to ruin our Caiyi Pavilion by doing this? You should know that it has not been easy for Caiyi Pavilion to get to where it is today."

"Uncle, I didn't mean that. It was that person who said that Caiyi Pavilion is rich and powerful, and that you can't tell if something is missing even a little bit. Besides, it doesn't matter if Caiyi Pavilion's prices are high, since they are all rich people and nobody cares."

"Who is that person?" Siqi stepped forward, interrupting Fugui.

"I...I...I don't know either. I met him while we were drinking. That guy was so mean. He actually asked me for money and said that if I didn't give it to him, he would come to the store and complain about me."

"So what?" Gu Qingwan thought Fugui was incredibly stupid. There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. He was just ignorant.

Fugui moved his mouth but didn't say anything more, his head almost touching the ground.

"Miss, it was my mistake at work. Please punish me. However, Fugui is my cousin's only son. I hope you can be lenient." Manager Wang knelt down in front of Gu Qingwan, holding the account book.

Gu Qingwan glanced at the two of them, stood up, and gestured for Siqi to help Manager Wang up. "Manager Wang, please get up. Punishment is necessary. Now that the deficit in the accounts has been found, you should make up for it. In addition, you will be fined half a month's salary. Do you agree?"

"Yes, yes, Miss has already been very kind."

"As for Fugui, settle his wages for this month and give him an extra month's wages. This money is enough for him to go home, get married, and make a living. He doesn't need to stay in the shop anymore."

Manager Wang was shocked by Gu Qingwan's kindness. He never expected that the young lady would not only spare Fugui but also be willing to settle his wages. This was simply a great favor.

"Hurry up and thank the young lady!" Manager Wang hurriedly beckoned to Fugui, who was kneeling on the ground in a daze.

Fu Gui was very grateful and kept kowtowing to Gu Qingwan.