Chapter 44: Gan Qiongying Has Plenty of Clever Tricks
However, Gan Qiongying quickly pulled back.
She rubbed their noses that had just touched and said with a smile, “My husband is immensely talented, managing merchant guilds across the land. Handling household affairs would be a breeze for you. There’s nothing inappropriate about it. Now that we, husband and wife, are in perfect harmony, I’ll rely on you from now on to live a good life.”
These words could not have been more sincere.
She intended to tie everything to Lihua. After all, her Princess Manor was in such dire financial straits—what did she have to fear?
As a penniless wretch, what did she, barefoot, have to fear from those wearing shoes?
Only this way could she get her hands on the mountains of gold and silver that slipped through the fingers of the God of Wealth.
She needed to plan and prepare slowly, so that when the plot eventually collapsed and the nation fell into ruin, she could pave a path to survival for herself and the Emperor with gold and jade.
Upon hearing this, Lihua remained motionless. He kept his head tilted at that angle, slowly turning back.
He couldn’t quite describe the feeling in his heart—a sense of loss he hadn’t even noticed began to seep out from the cracks within, quickly dissipating like a wisp of smoke.
Lihua sat there for a moment before saying, “Since the Princess trusts me, I can take over the affairs of the manor. However, I’ll need to transfer a few people from the merchant guild to first take stock of the Princess Manor’s treasury and shops, including sending people to inspect the actual conditions of the estates in various regions…”
Gan Qiongying naturally agreed to everything, repeatedly saying, “Good, good, good.”
“I’ll listen to whatever my husband says.”
Lihua hesitated for a moment before tentatively adding, “I’ll also need a detailed list of the social connections and exchanges within the Princess Manor.”
This meant he intended to thoroughly map out the Princess’s network of influence—the very purpose of Lihua’s marriage to Gan Qiongying.
It was what his biological father had forced him to do, threatening the lives of the attendants by his side.
He was to leverage Princess Duanrong’s influence to provide various conveniences for his younger brother.
He couldn’t allow his brother to become entangled with Princess Duanrong, lest he be tainted by association, yet he still needed to use her influence to stir the political waters. The only solution was to sacrifice someone to entangle with her.
Lihua was that sacrifice.
The irony was that he had been a sacrifice from the moment he was born.
Previously, no matter how hard Lihua tried to investigate, he couldn’t succeed due to the tight security around the Princess. He never expected that, in a sudden turn of events, she would lay everything out before him.
So defenseless, so unexpectedly.
Upon hearing this, Gan Qiongying said, “That’s not difficult either. I’ll have Manyue compile a list of names and records of all exchanges and gifts.”
Gan Qiongying even deliberately added mysteriously, “To be honest with you, I’ve been tight on funds these years and have accepted quite a few bribes from various places. Such matters should be kept low-key, ahem. If His Majesty found out, he’d surely scold me.”
Gan Qiongying put on the air of baring her heart and soul to Lihua.
In his shock, Lihua felt an indescribable emotion rise within him.
She was even telling him such things…
Could a momentary infatuation with someone’s appearance really make a person so open-hearted?
Lihua picked up the account book and slowly flipped through it, doing his best to suppress the turmoil and unease in his heart.
As for Gan Qiongying, even though she knew full well that he had a deep connection with Zhongli Zhengzhen, she still entrusted everything to him—not out of any great trust in him.
Nor was she even testing him to see if he would collude with Zhongli Zhengzhen.
Rather, it was because the path she would take in the future had nothing to do with these networks of influence or the great cause that Zhongli Zhengzhen was destined to achieve in the plot.
Whether her people betrayed her or not, or who used her influence, none of it mattered.
There was no situation worse than the present. If Lihua truly revealed everything to Zhongli Zhengzhen, and Zhongli Zhengzhen thoroughly disrupted the current state of affairs, it would only make it more convenient for Gan Qiongying to act amidst the chaos.
In any case, Gan Qiongying had successfully dumped the mess in her hands onto someone else.
She felt refreshed and invigorated.
“Since my husband is managing the household, what do you think would be appropriate to send for Princess Hui’an’s birthday banquet?”
Gan Qiongying seized the opportunity. Before Lihua had even finished reviewing the account books, she began asking him for things, because her own storeroom had nothing presentable to offer.
If she wanted to send something herself, she would have to use the money in her hands to find a way to buy it.
That was absolutely impossible.
The money she had was meant for proper use.
Lihua hadn’t yet realized Gan Qiongying’s true intentions. After hesitating for a moment, he said, “I need to first understand Princess Hui’an’s preferences.”
Noticing a smudge of ink on his finger, Gan Qiongying casually wrung out a handkerchief, sat beside him, and as if for an intimate conversation, took his hand and began wiping it while saying, “Princess Hui’an is the elder sister of my birth mother. She is naturally strong-willed, married the top scholar of the previous dynasty. As for her preferences…”
Drawing from Duan Rong’s memories, Gan Qiongying detailed Princess Hui’an’s preferences.
She held nothing back, because she absolutely had to win her over during the birthday celebration in a few days.
In Duan Rong’s memories, Princess Duanrong and Princess Hui’an had always been at odds. Whenever Princess Hui’an saw her, she would scold her, speaking harshly and disapproving of her behavior.
There was a deeper reason: Duan Rong’s birth had caused the death of her mother, who was also Princess Hui’an’s younger sister, during childbirth.
It was understandable why her aunt looked down on her. Duan Rong’s origins were already disgraceful—she had caused her own mother’s death, acted recklessly for years, and done nothing but absurd things. What elder would like her?
But in Duan Rong’s memories, whenever she caused trouble and went too far, she always managed to escape unscathed. Even though the Empress Dowager had far-reaching influence, she never truly punished Duan Rong. Princess Hui’an must have intervened in those situations.
After searching through Duan Rong’s memories for a long time, Gan Qiongying realized that, as things stood, the only member of the imperial clan who could protect her and the Emperor was Princess Hui’an.
Gan Qiongying had to attend this summer hunt and, at the cost of her pride, win back the favor of her aunt.
Gifts were crucial when trying to win someone over. She went on at length, urging Lihua to carefully consider the matter on her behalf.
“My husband, I leave this entirely in your hands.”
Gan Qiongying said, “The birthday banquet will be held at the Princess’s estate outside the city, along with the summer hunt. If I’m not mistaken, all the noble ladies and gentlemen in the city will be invited. The Princess’s granddaughter is about to come of age, so she’s surely looking to find her a suitable match.”
“You’ll come with me then.”
Upon hearing this, Lihua’s hand trembled, and he looked up at her sharply. “What did you say? How could I possibly go?”
His status—the strict hierarchy of the imperial clan, the order of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants—placed merchants at the very bottom.
How could he attend such an occasion? Moreover… they had never gone out together. The world knew that he, as Consort, was even less regarded than the servants of the Princess Manor.
“We are husband and wife. You are the Consort. Why can’t you go?”
“By custom, after marriage, one should pay respects to the elders. Since our wedding, we have yet to visit Aunt. This time, we can both offer birthday congratulations. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”
She was determined to bring Lihua.
And there, she would put on a show of marital harmony with Lihua.
As for her purpose… it was certainly to disrupt the “arrow of love” between Zhongli Zhengzhen and Princess Xue’e in the plot.
In the story, Duan Rong also attended this summer hunt. As the “vicious female supporting character,” she naturally found no favor, made many blunders, and ended up harming herself instead of others.
She also indirectly facilitated the beautiful romance between Zhongli Zhengzhen and Wen Xueling, Princess Xue’e.
Gan Qiongying was now Duan Rong. Before she secured her escape route, she would never allow Zhongli Zhengzhen and the female lead, Wen Xueling, to smoothly embark on their illicit affair.
Both Gan Qiongying and the real Duan Rong shared the same goal: to keep them apart. As long as the Jinchuan royal family and that great tiger, Jingxi Wang, joined forces, Nánzhào would inevitably be thrown into turmoil.
But it couldn’t be thrown into turmoil just yet—not until she had her escape route ready.
Thus, Gan Qiongying and Duan Rong—one dead, one alive; two souls from different worlds, walking different paths of growth, yet intersecting by chance—ultimately converged in their approach to the plot.
To disrupt and interfere with the male and female leads.
However, compared to Duan Rong’s reckless charging, headlong collisions, self-sacrifice, and terrifying others with bloodshed…
Gan Qiongying had plenty of cunning methods to achieve her goals.
For example… she would never chase after Zhongli Zhengzhen.
She would make him chase after her.
And Lihua was her most convenient tool.