Chapter 43: Is It… to Kiss Him

Ever since Gan Qiongying finished burning paper offerings for herself, she had basically stopped feeling heartache.

A major reason was likely that she no longer dwelled on unhappy thoughts. After all, what did the resentment and suffering of Princess Duanrong have to do with her, Gan Qiongying?

After the fifteenth, Princess Hui’an’s birthday was approaching. These past few days, Gan Qiongying had been deep in thought, racking her brains to please the Prince Consort so he would help choose a birthday gift for Princess Hui’an.

After all, choosing one herself would cost money. Although the Princess Manor had its own treasury, after following Manyue inside for a look one day, Gan Qiongying realized deeply that she must cling tightly to the golden thigh of the God of Wealth.

Because her entire Princess Manor was now an empty shell.

Like a dried-up mantis, it still appeared to have those two large blades, but in reality, it had long been dead, hollowed out.

Moreover, her money—according to her probing of Manyue—well, it had all been spent on the wrong things.

Whenever she heard how much had been spent on the gentlemen in the rear courtyard, Gan Qiongying felt a fear of being drained dry by a swarm of buzzing mosquitoes.

And so, on such a sunny day,

Gan Qiongying, holding all the account books from her entire manor, cornered the Prince Consort, who was handling affairs, in his study.

“Husband, the kitchen has stewed ginseng soup. It’s cooled enough and is just right to drink now.”

Gan Qiongying wore a light, comfortable gauze dress in a pale color, her long hair tied up in a simple style, her hair accessories minimal yet exuding a refreshing, natural beauty like a lotus emerging from clear water.

Leaning against the doorframe with the account books in her arms, she saw Lihua pause his brush and look over. She tilted slightly to the side, and Manyue entered with the soup bowl.

Smiling broadly at the Prince Consort, she said, “Her Highness personally went to the kitchen to watch the fire this morning. It stewed for a whole morning. You must drink plenty, Prince Consort.”

Manyue’s attitude toward Lihua had done a complete one-eighty.

For no other reason than that after Gan Qiongying discovered the Emperor was on her side and the surveillance around her was for her protection, she no longer needed to maintain Princess Duanrong’s persona.

Once she understood this, she immediately seized the opportunity to give Manyue a thorough lesson.

From the minor details of the Princess Manor’s expenses and income to major matters of national survival, and even the impact of commercial development on history and all of humanity.

Manyue finally realized deeply just how important the “lowly merchants” despised by the nobility were in advancing human society.

If the Princess Manor lost the Prince Consort, this living God of Wealth, all four thousand-plus people in the manor would have to hang themselves or collectively beg on the streets.

Of course, there was some exaggeration in this.

But after being thoroughly indoctrinated by Gan Qiongying, Manyue finally saw the light. Now, whenever she saw Prince Consort Lihua, she automatically transformed his face into a golden ingot. How could she not beam with joy at the sight, even wishing to hug and take a bite out of him?

As the saying goes, servants resemble their masters. After master and servant united their ideological front, the entire Princess Manor instantly became harmonious and gentle. Anyone who looked down upon or excluded the Prince Consort or his people was severely punished without exception; repeat offenders were sold off.

Thus, within a few days, it was no exaggeration to say that Prince Consort Lihua had completely become the true master of the Princess Manor.

His every word and action now affected the nerves of all four thousand-plus people in the Princess Manor.

Even Chen Wa, the usually arrogant and unruly captain of the Princess Manor guards, had smoothed out his perpetually stiff face after being lectured twice by Gan Qiongying. Whenever he saw the Consort coming or going from the manor, he not only arranged carriages proactively but even smiled.

His smiles made San Jiu feel the urge to urinate every time he saw him, always suspecting that Chen Wa wasn’t showing goodwill but rather plotting to silence them when they least expected it.

Over the past few days, Gan Qiongying had been waking up early and staying up late to flatter and fawn, playing the role of an utterly obedient and doting wife to perfection.

And this morning, she finally secured this month’s two hundred thousand taels.

Combined with last month’s two hundred thousand taels, Gan Qiongying now had a total of three hundred and fifty thousand taels!

It wasn’t that she couldn’t do the math—it was just that the expenses in the manor were too damn high.

After all, with over four thousand mouths to feed, they had never lived a frugal life. From top to bottom, everyone emphasized extravagance, and no one knew the meaning of saving.

Gan Qiongying felt as though every day she opened her eyes, she saw piles of silver taels sprouting legs and running away, impossible to catch up with.

Manyue placed the ginseng soup beside Lihua’s hand, her big eyes blinking as she watched him drink.

Lihua’s fingers were somewhat stiff as he picked up the soup bowl, and Tianjiao, who served by his side, had her entire face twitching.

It was no wonder they were so “overwhelmed by the unexpected favor”—the entire Princess Manor seemed to have been infected by some strange epidemic.

Manyue had previously had some disagreements with Tianjiao, but over the past few days, she had sought Tianjiao out for late-night heart-to-heart talks and even slept with her for several nights. Now, whenever Tianjiao saw Manyue, not only did she not argue with her, but her face would also flush red and her neck stiffen.

Thus, although there were only four people in the room, the atmosphere was strangely tense. Each person harbored their own hidden agendas, making it seem like four individuals but in reality, a whole crowd.

Lihua held the soup bowl and drank the tonic meant to nourish his body.

Manyue, despite her young age, smiled like Lihua’s wet nurse, her face filled with the kind of tenderness one shows when watching a child nurse happily.

“This servant will go watch over the medicinal meal for the Consort. The preparation of such meals is most particular about timing and heat—it cannot be left unattended for even a moment.”

As she spoke, Manyue picked up the empty bowl and plate and, in the process, pulled Tianjiao along to leave the room.

Tianjiao, her face tense in an indescribable way, said, “Sister, don’t pull me. I need to grind ink for the Consort…”

“You two sisters go and have fun. I’ll help my husband grind the ink.”

Gan Qiongying stepped forward, placed the account books on the corner of the table, rolled up her sleeves, and began grinding the ink.

She usually wore elaborate and luxurious attire, but today her clothing was light and practical, making it very suitable for grinding ink—clearly, she had come prepared.

Tianjiao was dragged away by Manyue.

Only Gan Qiongying and Lihua remained in the room.

Though they shared a bed every night and went everywhere together, once the door closed, an inexplicable and indescribable atmosphere seemed to permeate the space.

Lihua set down his brush, turned his head to look at Gan Qiongying, and asked, “What does the Princess wish to discuss?”

Gan Qiongying didn’t beat around the bush. She pushed the account books forward and said to the Consort, “These are all the account books of the Princess Manor. They give me a headache. Could you help me take a look, husband?”

Gan Qiongying pulled a stool over and sat down right next to Lihua.

Lihua’s expression remained unchanged, but the faint redness on his ears was impossible to hide at such close proximity.

The Princess had been… a bit too clingy lately.

Especially after falling ill, she had almost stayed in the manor all day, turning down all the invitations she used to enjoy. Except when Lihua went out to inspect the shops, she followed him around all day.

Recently, she had even turned down two invitations from Zhongli Zhengzhen.

Initially, San Jiu was worried that Lihua would suffer if he moved into the Princess Manor, so he sought Zhongli Zhengzhen’s help.

Zhongli Zhengzhen was willing to assist, but Princess Duanrong simply refused to see him.

Princess Duanrong had done countless outrageous things for Zhongli Zhengzhen, disregarding her reputation and charging ahead recklessly, even falling from her horse and suffering serious injuries while chasing after him.

But now, she actually refused to see him.

Lihua was also quite shocked when he found out.

“Aren’t the account books of the Princess Manor managed by specialized Momos?” Lihua asked calmly, not immediately looking at the account books.

Indeed, there were specialized Momos managing them, and they were even the best people sent by the Emperor from the palace.

However, while these Momos were top-notch in following rules and procedures, they were not skilled in business operations and lacked understanding of market conditions. Although they managed the Princess Manor in an orderly manner, even the most capable housekeeper couldn’t make something out of nothing.

Gan Qiongying couldn’t rely solely on the monthly relief money Lihua provided; she also had some properties of her own.

As the saying goes, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” She was essentially asking her Consort for the fishing gear.

For her grand escape plan, she needed to first get these estates and shops scattered across various locations up and running before she could develop other branches capable of deceiving everyone.

By placing eggs in countless baskets, no matter which direction she and the Emperor fled, they would have eggs to eat.

“The Momos are getting on in years,” Gan Qiongying said. “They came to the Princess Manor to retire in the first place. How can I keep troubling them with my affairs?”

After grinding ink and washing her hands, Gan Qiongying wiped them dry and stood behind her Consort, actually starting to massage his shoulders.

Lihua’s back instantly tensed up completely. There wasn’t a single part of his body that wasn’t sensitive, especially his back.

However, though he stiffened in response, he didn’t stop Gan Qiongying.

Because aside from being sensitive, he had another unspeakable quirk: even when he resisted, he greatly enjoyed—even craved—physical contact with others.

Gan Qiongying spoke softly and gently, tilting her head close to Lihua’s ear. “Husband, you are skilled in business. My estates and shops are all operating at a loss. Why not hand them all over to you to manage and see if they can be revived?”

After all, once they’re all given to you, if they can’t be revived, it’s your problem!

Gan Qiongying was purely planning to act shamelessly.

But her attitude was genuinely so good that Lihua couldn’t refuse, because revitalizing a few shops and estates was effortless for him.

He was just quite shocked. Entrusting him with all the account books of the manor—wasn’t that equivalent to handing the entire Princess Manor over to him?

Such an act, essentially placing one’s own neck in another’s hands, was no different from allowing oneself to be manipulated, wasn’t it?

“This might not be appropriate,” Lihua said.

Lihua wanted to turn his head to see Gan Qiongying’s expression but accidentally brushed against her face, which was close to his.

Lihua instantly froze completely, nervously gripping the corner of the table.

He knew Gan Qiongying’s sudden change was due to being captivated by his looks, but although they had slept together for many days and there had been many intimate gestures, they had always remained within the bounds of propriety.

Since the first day Gan Qiongying wanted to share a room with him, over half a month had passed since moving into the Princess Manor, and she had not made any excessive moves.

Lihua thought her leaning in like this meant she was going to… kiss him.

His mind instantly became chaotic, unsure how to react.