Peerless Physician: The Path of a Foolish Eldest Daughter's Rise to Power

Gu Xinyue felt exhausted. To improve her life, she had to handle everything carefully. Xiaomei had mentioned earlier that they were out of money, so Gu Xinyue asked Granny Liu to bring the account books so she could review the expenses over the past few years.

In the hall, she slowly flipped through the account books. They had brought 2 taels.

The first book cost 985 taels, the estate owner earned 100 taels, and there was a surplus of taels.

The second book cost 2008 taels, Zhuangzi earned 90 taels, and had taels remaining.

The third book cost 4020 taels, Zhuangzi earned 70 taels, and had taels remaining.

The fourth book cost 5066 taels, the estate owner earned 50 taels, leaving a balance of 8231 taels.

The fifth book cost 5407 taels, leaving a balance of 2824 taels.

After an incense stick had burned, Gu Xinyue looked up at Granny Liu and said, "The remaining 2824 taels were spent on my clothes and calligraphy practice paper. Actually, these were all unnecessary expenses."

Granny Liu was stunned. The young lady had never learned how to manage a household. She thought the young lady didn't know how to handle accounts. The young lady flipped through the first book very slowly, but then she got faster and faster. She thought the young lady couldn't concentrate on reading the account books, so she was speeding up.

Furthermore, the young lady said that the expenses spent on her were unnecessary, while the expenses spent on her were all justified.

"Miss, you can manage the accounts now!" Granny Liu said excitedly. Their young lady was so intelligent that she had learned it all on her own.

"Granny Liu, from now on, let's just focus on eating our fill and not be too picky about other things. Use the 500 taels we just used to call over the embroiderers from Li Niang's Embroidery Shop. We'll each make two sets of clothes."

"Miss, today?"

"Didn't you see your clothes? I feel embarrassed to go out with you. People will think your family is incredibly poor."

"Okay, Miss, I'll arrange it now."

After Granny Liu left, Gu Xinyue thought that such a wasteful maid was no wonder she was so absurd as to want to sell her mistress to be her concubine.

Mother Liu once said that one coin could buy a vegetarian bun, and the daily wage for a male servant was 20 coins, while for a female servant it was 15 coins. In the surrounding area, a dowry of 10 taels was considered a grand wedding gift for a daughter.

Xiao Mei once said that in the capital, even the most powerful and wealthy families would only give their eldest daughter a dowry of 5000 taels of silver.

That spendthrift Xiaomei, in this remote place, managed to squander the entire dowry of a noblewoman in a year. She's really something.

The piano in the study belonged to her mother. She remembered that her mother often sat by the piano and guided her. Although she tried very hard, she could never get the hang of it. When she remembered a piece that her mother often taught her to practice, she would play it.

Music theory is the same. The original owner was familiar with every fingering, but she couldn't integrate them. Through repeated practice, she finally became familiar with them, and each time it was more effective than the last. In the past 25 years of her life, she had been busy since she started school, and she had never had the time to sit down and play the piano in peace.

Living such a leisurely life, reading books, playing the piano, practicing calligraphy, and studying medicine is not bad.

Gu Xinyue was unaware that Granny Liu was overjoyed to hear that her playing the zither had improved significantly, and that her young mistress's comprehension was still as good as ever.

In the afternoon, Manager Wan of Liniang Embroidery Shop arrived at the hall with his employees and embroiderers.

Manager Wan was of medium height and had a full figure. She wore a light green dress, which was both elegant and appropriate.

The shop assistant is taking Gu An's measurements, while the embroiderer is taking Liu Mama's measurements.

Manager Wan and Gu Xinyue exchanged pleasantries. Manager Wan assured Gu Xinyue that their quality was excellent, and that every piece of clothing Gu Xinyue wore came from their embroidery shop, albeit one in Mianzhou.

"Miss Gu, look at our fabrics, they're all quite nice. They'd make great clothes. Would you like to choose a color?"

"Come here, each of you choose two bolts of fabric, and pick your favorite colors," Gu Xinyue said with a smile, pointing to the fabric.

Everyone was happy to have new clothes to wear. They chose the colors and had the staff write them down.

"Manager Wan, how much silver is it in total?"

“Miss Gu, you are a regular customer of mine, so I can give you the lowest price. The fabric you chose is quite good. Plain silk is 1 tael of silver, and linen is 200 cash, so it's 7 taels of silver in total.”

"Where are the shoes?"

"The shoes cost 20 coins; I can deliver two pairs to each person."

How many days will it take for these clothes to be delivered?

"Oh dear, Miss Gu, to be honest, a very important person is coming to Mianzhou, and all the young ladies are preparing to attend the banquet. Mianzhou is very busy, and several of my embroiderers have been transferred there, but I will finish yours as soon as possible."

When important figures arrive, the young ladies of each family will dress up elaborately at the banquet, hoping to catch the eye of the dignitary and find a good husband.

"Manager Wan, some of my clothes are too small to wear now. I'd like to wear something simpler. Could you take this opportunity to buy me my old clothes?"

Manager Wan said happily, "This will solve our urgent problem. Your clothes are all top-quality items from Liniang Xiufang. I'll take them with me today."

"Okay, I'll give you 20%."

"Your clothes cost anywhere from 50 to over 100 taels, and I will sell them for a good price."

Inside the room, Granny Liu opened the wardrobe, and the embroiderer's eyes lit up. She had seen something amazing today, with top-quality fabric and exquisite embroidery.

Shopkeeper Wan was overjoyed when he saw the clothes. Miss Gu was tall, and the clothes she had made in the past two years could be worn by shorter ladies. With high-quality ready-made clothes, the pressure on the embroiderers would be reduced.

Manager Wan wanted to take everything away, which made Granny Liu anxious. She complained inwardly, "If you take everything away, what will my young lady wear?" In the end, Granny Liu kept two sets of clothes for her.

Shopkeeper Wan cautiously asked upon seeing the shoes, "Miss Gu, can I take these shoes with me if you're not going to wear them?"

"Granny Liu, find all these jeweled shoes and let Manager Wan take them. I'll keep a few simple pairs for myself." Gu Xinyue finished speaking and turned to Manager Wan, "Do you want some jewelry?"

"Yes, yes, yes, I'll pick some to match these clothes."

After Granny Liu brought it over, Manager Wan personally selected the items.

After making her selections, Manager Wan said with a smile, "Miss Gu, I've taken 36 pieces of spring and autumn clothing, 25 pairs of shoes, and 30 pieces of jewelry. I'll go to Mianzhou first thing tomorrow morning. Once these are sold out, I'll come back to you."

"Okay, and could you also make me two sets of simple, elegant silk clothes?"

"I'll arrange it right away. I'll deliver all the clothes and shoes the girl wanted today."

"Then I'll thank Manager Wan."

After seeing Manager Wan off, Granny Liu asked Gu Xinyue, "Miss, you can sell clothes that you can't wear anymore, so why are you selling the clothes that you can still wear?"

Seeing Granny Liu's furrowed brows, Gu Xinyue slowly said, "Granny Liu, we will eventually return to the Marquis's mansion. These clothes and shoes are just a burden to bring. Anything that can't be taken back to the capital can be pawned. Just look at what Manager Wan took away. How much silver could he get for it?"

“Miss is right.”

"Manager Wan will take at least 2000 taels of silver with us."

“Miss is right.” Li Mama’s worries disappeared, and she became happy.

"Besides, this is a small town. Not only would dressing up like that be out of place, but it would also cause trouble for yourself. We don't know if there will be any more problems with Du Yao's matter."

Seeing that Granny Liu remained silent and seemed lost in thought, Gu Xinyue continued, "Granny Liu, I'm not stupid anymore. You've become too stupid from the five years of leisurely life you've had in this manor. I hope you'll pick yourself up and take good care of our family."

"Miss, this old servant is ashamed. From today onwards, I will do everything properly."

"Next time Manager Wan comes, take everything she can take with her. Are you worried I won't have any clothes to wear when I get to the Marquis's mansion?"

"Don't worry, Miss, this old servant knows what to do."

After staying at home for three days, Gu Xinyue had adapted to life here. As long as she had books, she didn't feel lonely.

After administering the last acupuncture treatment to Gu An, Gu An tried it out and happily said, "Miss's skillful hands have brought me back to life. I feel perfectly fine."

Gu Ran said, "Brother Gu, I'll practice with you from now on. My martial arts skills are far inferior to yours."

"All three of you are practicing, but your skills still need improvement."

Gu Ran scratched his head sheepishly.

"Keep practicing and improve! With such a great master, I look forward to you all becoming experts like Brother Gu."

"Miss, I will strive to become a martial arts master."

“Miss, I see you exercise every day. Let me teach you some basic boxing techniques.”

"it is good."

As soon as Gu Xinyue finished speaking, Gu Yang came in with an invitation.

Upon opening it, she found that Hong Yu, the second-in-command of Black Fox Mountain, had invited her to meet at Yajuzhai at noon the next day.