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

"Your Highness, this Wang Ruyan is truly remarkable. I never expected that in just a few years she could replace almost all the staff at Madam's shop, and she did it so cleanly that no one dared to go back and complain to the old lady."

"Hmph, her methods? Her methods are indeed formidable." Gu Qingwan thought to herself, if her methods weren't formidable, how could she have fallen into his hands in her past life?

"What should we do with these people?" Shi Shu asked.

“There’s no need to do anything. Now that your master’s status is higher, we have quite a few shops and plenty of money. Moreover, we need to free up manpower to deal with things in the north, and the household affairs here at the Prince’s Mansion are also waiting for me to handle. So it’s better to end it quickly than to suffer for a long time. Let all these problematic shops close down.”

"All businesses closed? What about the shopkeepers and employees?"

“Drive them all away, leave no one alive.”

Shi Shu thought that this was the only way to solve the problem once and for all. She didn't know which of the shopkeepers, employees, and the princess were loyal and which were traitors, so it would be simpler to just take them all out at once.

Even if we take a step back and assume that those employees who didn't betray us are implicated, they are not entirely innocent. At the very least, if they knew there was a problem in the store, they should have reported it to the Ning family immediately, instead of turning a blind eye and acting as opportunists, constantly watching to see how things would turn out.

"Your Highness, please rest assured, I know how to handle this and will definitely give you a satisfactory answer."

"Yes, I trust you to handle things, but you still need to be flexible. If there really is a good one, you can secretly keep it. The shop in the north should be able to use it."

"I understand, Princess."

For a moment, the only sound in the study was the clattering of the abacus. The stacks of account books in front of Gu Qingwan almost buried her, but thankfully, her maid had already helped her sort and categorize them beforehand.

Shi Shu also felt sorry for her princess. She had helped manage the shops that the princess had been running before, so she didn't find it too difficult to help again. However, the affairs of the palace were beyond the reach of a mere maid like her, and the princess had to do everything herself.

"By the way, Shishu, has there been any news from the Makeup Pavilion lately?"

"Ever since the incident at Caizhuangge, Caizhuangge has not been as good as before. At first, they would refund the money, but later they stopped accepting refunds, saying that it would affect their resale. At first, the money was refunded in a timely manner, but later it became less convenient."

How could it possibly be suitable? With so much silver in their pockets, everyone was all smiles, especially Consort Yu, who spends money so lavishly, how could she possibly run this shop properly?

"However, I heard that the Third Prince is planning to sell the shop, saying that his concubine is pregnant and he doesn't want her to have to work so hard."

Gu Qingwan put down her calligraphy brush and picked up the teacup handed to her by Shishu, preparing to take a break.

"It seems that the Third Prince and Consort Yu have conspired to make Gu Hanjiao take the blame. Ha, our concubine is probably going to be furious."

Thinking of this, Gu Qingwan felt extremely happy.

Gu Hanjiao finally opened her cosmetics shop, and the profits were soaring. Little did she expect that her future mother-in-law would have her eye on it.

To please her mother-in-law, she gave away such a good shop, originally intending to solidify her own position. But what happened? The cooked duck flew away, and she lost her position as the prince's consort. At least she managed to keep her position as a concubine because of the baby in her belly.

In order to get revenge on Consort Yu, she came up with this plan. However, she never expected that the Third Prince would be such a filial person, and he directly pushed her out to take the blame.

"Your Highness, the steward has arrived," said the maidservant serving outside.

"Quickly, please let the butler in."

"Greetings to Her Highness the Princess."

"Uncle Hua, I have some questions I'd like to ask you."

"No, no, Your Highness, please speak freely. This old servant will tell you everything I know without reservation."

The servant brought a cup of tea to the steward from the side.

"No need for you to trouble yourself, Miss Shishu."

"Uncle Hua has been busy all morning, so come here to rest. Oh, and there are some snacks made by Ruhua on the table. Uncle Hua, please try them."

"Oh, Miss Ruhua's cooking skills are quite good. Once you've tasted it, you'll crave it for a long time. I never thought this old servant would be so lucky. If the boys in the courtyard knew, they would be so envious."

Shi Shu covered her mouth with a handkerchief, probably laughing out loud, and Gu Qingwan also felt that the atmosphere was very relaxed and comfortable.

After exchanging pleasantries, Gu Qingwan finally asked her question.

"Uncle Hua, do you know anything about Princess Zirui's daughter, Zhu Xiaoyan? I see that this roster only records that Zhu Xiaoyan got married, and there is no further record."

“Zhu Xiaoyan…” The butler thought hard for a moment, “It seems there is such a person.”

"Shishu, take a pen and ink and write this down. Afterwards, organize it and re-register it in the roster."

"Yes, I understand."

The butler thought for a moment, sorting through everything he knew in his mind to make sure nothing was missing, before slowly recounting what he had learned.

"Your Highness, you may not know this, but Zhu Xiaoyan is indeed the daughter of Princess Zirui, and her only legitimate daughter. However, she married into the Yi'an Marquis's household in the capital a few years ago and is the wife of the Yi'an Marquis's heir."

"Marquis Yi'an?" Gu Qingwan still couldn't remember. "Since it's the Marquis's residence, and she's the wife of the heir apparent, I should have met her before. Why don't I have any recollection of her?"

"It's not that the princess doesn't remember, but this Marquis of Yi'an went to guard the important border town in the south with the prince a long time ago. It must have been five or six years ago. And the wife of the Marquis of Yi'an is a second wife, not the first wife, so the women in the Marquis of Yi'an's household rarely go out."

Even if he rarely went out, the palace banquets should have included invitations to the Marquis of Yi'an's residence.

"However, Marquis Yi'an is the Second Prince's maternal uncle."

"The Second Prince's maternal uncle?" Gu Qingwan was shocked to hear this. She had never heard that Consort Xiang came from the Marquis of Yi'an's family.

If that were truly the case, then someone from such a family and of such status wouldn't be forced to be subordinate to a noble concubine from a merchant family, constantly being controlled by others.

The steward continued, "This old servant isn't entirely clear on the details either."

It's already quite impressive that a steward of a royal palace would know these things.

"Thank you, Uncle Hua. Shishu, could you please go to the small kitchen later and bring some of the pastries that Ruhua has made to Uncle Hua and take them to the front yard?"

After everyone had left, Gu Qingwan picked up the letter that Princess Zirui had sent and read it again.

In the letter, Princess Zirui pleaded with the clan leader to help save her only daughter for the sake of the clan, and Princess Zirui herself was already on her way to the capital.

Gu Qingwan waved her hand, and the hidden guards immediately appeared.

"princess."

"Go and investigate the affairs of the Marquis of Yi'an's residence, especially Zhu Xiaoyan, and also that Lady Bo. See what the Marquis of Yi'an's current situation is."

"Yes."