Li Huang put down the book and looked at him with interest: "Can you tell a story?"
Mo Jingzhan raised his eyebrows: "As long as Your Highness the Princess wants to hear it, I will tell you anything."
Tea was boiling on the charcoal fire, and apart from the gurgling of tea, the only sound left in the room was Mo Jingzhan's slow and slow voice.
After about half an hour, Lingyuan came back full of disappointment.
"Your Highness, I heard that Mrs. Xu has taken over several of the Gu family's shops in one fell swoop and is preparing to reopen them at a certain date!"
Her tone couldn't conceal her excitement, and her almond-shaped eyes sparkled with gossip.
"My slave guesses that the Gu family won't be able to hold on for a few more days."
Unexpectedly, the plan went so successfully.
Li Huang curled his lips: "Mrs. Xu is indeed a smart person."
That day in Ruyi Building, she just mentioned it casually, but she didn't expect that Mrs. Xu not only listened to it, but also acted so quickly.
It seems that talking to smart people does not require a lot of words.
"I heard that when Pingyang was in charge of ordnance earlier, he misappropriated part of the military resources. Later, in order to fill the hole, he even sold hundreds of acres of his ancestral property."
"Presumably the Gu family is just hoping that those shops and farms can recover some money by the end of the year."
"Now, I'm afraid it's going to be urgent."
Otherwise, I spent more than 60,000 taels of jade last time and spent most of the money in their house.
At this time, several stores with good locations were lost. The Pingyang Houfu family may have been unable to sit still for a long time.
No, as soon as Li Chuchu came out of the palace, Mrs. Han led Gu Ningshuang to the door.
But, where does Li Chuchu have money?
Wasn't she just entering the palace to get 60,000 taels of silver for Gu Chenzhou?
However, not only did she not get the money, she was also locked up in the palace.
Now, she had just gained freedom and came out of the palace. The mother and daughter didn't care about her, but came up to complain to her.
"Second princess, if the eldest princess hadn't been evil-minded and did what she did in front of Ruyi Tower, why would our Gu family's business be like this?"
As Han said this, he tucked up the corners of his eyes with a handkerchief and started to show off.
Gu Ningshuang also took the opportunity to pull Li Chuchu's sleeve and said: "Sister Chu Chu, you must help us. Now the Gu family's reputation has plummeted, and no one is willing to do business with us. If this continues, our Houfu
I won’t be able to open the pot anymore.”
For the pampered eldest lady, asking her to cut expenses would literally cost her her life.
Anyway, Li Chuchu was also a princess, so she didn't believe it. That bitch Li Huang had it, but she didn't.
Besides, if she likes her eldest brother so much, how can she bear to see the Houfu in decline?
I have to say that selfish people will always take it for granted when they ask others.
At this moment, no matter how much Li Chuchu liked Gu Chenzhou, she could not help but feel a little bored with his family.
"Madam, Shuang'er, I will definitely find a solution for you on this matter. You should go back first."
Hearing this, Mrs. Han held her hand and said, "I know that the second princess is the one who understands justice the most. Don't worry, I will never allow the eldest princess to enter our home under any circumstances."
No one knows Li Chuchu's thoughts better than Han, who has been here before.
When she said this, it was obvious that she was thinking about An Li Chuchu.
However, the irritable Li Chuchu was not comforted.
After all, with the current situation, it's not that Li Huang is stalking Gu Chenzhou at all, but it's a bit like Gu Chenzhou can't let go of Li Huang.
So what if I don't marry her?
How could she, Li Chuchu, be willing to let her man always have another woman in his heart?
"Sister Chu Chu, it's all my fault. I couldn't help it that day, so I had a few words with the eldest princess in Ruyi Building. I didn't expect her to be so ruthless. I won't talk about the current situation of the Gu family. The important thing is,
My eldest brother will go to Lijing to control the flood soon."
"It's okay to let him lead troops to quell the chaos, but he can't do it to control floods. Besides, how can he endure a place like Yuzhou?"
No matter how talented Gu Chenzhou was in both civil and military skills, he had never mastered the art of water control.
Gu Ningshuang's words made Li Chuchu somewhat moved.
Even if she no longer looked down on his family members, she was still worried about Gu Chenzhou.
Not to mention that his injuries were not completely healed, but the weather in Yuzhou was still very bad, and it would have killed even a strong person if he went there, let alone him.
The more Li Chuchu thought about it, the more anxious she became. She held Gu Ningshuang's hand and said, "Don't worry, I will find a way to deal with this matter. You should go back to the palace first and follow me to the palace tomorrow morning to learn the rules."
When Gu Ningshuang heard that he could take her into the palace to learn etiquette, her eyes immediately lit up.
"Concubine Zhang is indeed a good person."
Mrs. Han was also very happy. After all, the reputation of the Gu family had deteriorated to such a bad extent. If Gu Ningshuang could enter the palace and learn etiquette from the princess, it would be somewhat redeemable.
After sending away the Gu family mother and daughter, Li Chuchu walked around the house several times, finally gritted her teeth and called for Ning Yan.
"Second Princess."
Li Chuchu ordered: "Go to the warehouse and pick out a few large, round pearls and jewelry. Find a way to sell them on the black market."
Ningyan hesitated for a moment and asked: "But, Second Princess, those are gifts from His Highness the Crown Prince, wouldn't it be bad to sell them?"
Li Chuchu glared at her: "Then tell me, where else can I get money?"
Seeing that Gu Chenzhou was about to be sent to Yuzhou, if she didn't think of ways to raise some money, what would Gu Chenzhou do?
How to restore your reputation and promote relationships without any money?
Ningyan knew that Li Chuchu would get angry if she continued to persuade her, so she quickly went to the warehouse to pick out the items without obvious markings, let Li Chuchu take a look at them, and then packed them up and prepared to take them out to exchange for money.
Of course, Li Huang couldn't hide what was going on at the Second Princess's Mansion.
Everything was as she expected.
"Your Highness, where are the Third Highnesses, when are we going to do it?" Lingyuan took a piece of thick clothing for her and put it on, "There has been news from Yunwailou that all the things have been sold, and there are still a few pieces left.
It’s specially reserved for the second princess.”
The palace maid next to Li Chuchu, Ning Yan, although she was a little loyal, she didn't have enough brains.
Her biggest weakness is that she loves to take advantage. If someone lures her with something better, there's no guarantee that she won't do something stupid just to get more money.
"Send someone to follow that palace maid. As soon as she takes action, you will take action immediately."
Lingyuan got the order and hurriedly went out to give instructions.
Li Huang has already played this game of chess and is waiting for the result.
Mo Jingzhan peeled a plate of melon seeds for her and asked, "You don't really want someone who doesn't know anything about water management to control water, do you?"
This is tantamount to making fun of the lives of the people of Yuzhou.
The corner of Li Huang's mouth twitched: "This is recommended by the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, and it has nothing to do with me."
Of course, there are many duplicitous people among them, just to please her, the eldest princess, with this matter.
"Besides, my father is not a foolish king. Of course he knows whether Gu Chenzhou has the talent to control floods. Therefore, Gu Chenzhou will not be the only one sent to Yuzhou this time."
Even if Gu Chenzhou goes, he will only be a helper at best. Important decisions cannot be left in his hands.
He knew it himself, so he had been moving around for a while, trying to find someone to speak for him so that he could cancel his trip to Yuzhou.
Mo Jingzhan lowered his eyes and looked at the melon seeds in his hand, and suddenly asked: "I heard that your royal family is vigorously searching for the whereabouts of Prince An?"
Li Huang was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect that he was also interested in this matter, so he couldn't help but squint his eyes.