Reborn as a Merchant Girl, the General's Beloved

The Crown Princess soon received Anan's letter of apology. She had been staying out of the matter to begin with, so she naturally would not punish Anan to kneel, and would not summon the Countess who had an imperial edict to question him. So she just treated it as a joke and ordered people to send some toys from the palace to Mingxiangju, telling Anan to live in Mingxiangju with peace of mind and not to be too cautious. No matter what, if anything was broken, he could just ask her for it.

The Earl's Mansion was never a pushover. When rumors spread that the Countess had come to humiliate her daughter-in-law, they began to fight back. At noon that day, it was reported that the daughter of a certain assistant minister had an affair with a guard, and that the guard was actually the illegitimate son of a certain lieutenant general! People who like to join in the fun never stick to one thing or another. Therefore, the little awkwardness between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in the Earl's Mansion was drowned out without a trace.

The Hong family thought that the news was covered up and the matter would end soon. Unfortunately, they had never had in-depth contact with the merchants, so they naturally did not understand that the merchants also had their own methods. The Yuan family had no official position, but they were definitely the best in business. Together with the two aunts and Jinxuan's family, they almost covered the food, clothing, housing and transportation in the capital. Even though the Earl's Mansion was extremely wealthy, it still had to rely on the merchants they despised the most in daily life.

The four major medical clinics, led by Yishantang, refused to accept outpatient consultations from the Earl's Palace.

Jinxiufang turned down all the ready-made clothing orders from the Earl's Palace.

The Heshan Escort Agency cancelled the New Year’s goods order from the Earl’s Palace.

In addition, all previous bills of the Earl's Mansion at major restaurants must be recovered before the New Year, and no one in the Earl's Mansion can make a reservation for a table.

It was not a big deal, but it was extremely embarrassing. She had been running into obstacles everywhere in recent days, and everyone was scratching their heads. They all ran to the Countess to talk about this and that, all of which were trivial matters. Ge was so angry that her head was dizzy. She had just sent the accountant to settle the bills at various major restaurants, and then hurriedly ordered people to go to a small clinic in the suburbs of Beijing to find a doctor for her little son who had caught a cold. She even mobilized the palace soldiers to deliver New Year's goods. In addition to the daily social interactions, she was very busy.

However, the youngest daughter, Hong Ling, who had married into the Minister's house, hurried home to cry and complain, saying that she had bought a lot of silk with her private property and had shipped it to the border town a long time ago. However, the person who had agreed to do so suddenly changed his mind, and she had not been able to exchange it for a salt permit. Now she was accused of being involved in treason, so all the silk had been confiscated, and her most capable steward had also been arrested.

"Mother! My mother-in-law is very unhappy with me because of the housekeeper's power issue. She has been hoping that I would make a mistake so that she can beat me to death! The concubines in the courtyard are eyeing me covetously, and they all hope that I will die soon! And my two sisters-in-law are not easy to deal with either. If this matter gets out, how will I live in the future?" When Hong Ling said this, the more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt, and she burst into tears.

Mrs. Ge felt a splitting headache and shook her head, saying, "Don't hang out with those unpresentable women all day long. Go and learn from your sister. The Right Prime Minister's Mansion is so noble, how could there be such dirty things? The Assistant Minister's Mansion is not a big place, but the things are not small!"

Being touched on a sore spot by Ge, she had no words to refute. She just knelt there, hugged Ge's thighs, and cried.

Mrs. Ge was annoyed and cursed: "It's just some silk, you just deducted it, and threw it into the puddle as if it were silver! He is just a servant, and you say you knew nothing about it! Do I need to teach you about this kind of thing?"

"I..." Hong Ling sobbed, covered her face and started crying again. After a long while, she said, "They told me that this deal is very profitable. I..."