Reborn as a bride, pretending to be virtuous, the prince held his waist and regretted

Emperor Kangping personally helped the queen up and said, "We have been in love for many years. We were in the Qiandi Palace at the beginning. It has not been easy to get to where we are now."

"I am injured, and I only have the crown prince. Parents love their children, and they plan for them in the long run. Only by balancing the court, the princes, and the relatives can we be invincible."

The Queen stood up and looked at her husband with an old face. "Your Majesty, I know. Whether it is a vassal king or a foreign relative, they all need to be balanced by the court officials. This time, Gu and Zhou Jin were able to escape, so they must have had some grudges in their hearts. If Your Majesty does not teach Xueying a lesson, I will not be able to rest assured."

Emperor Kangping nodded, "Li Niang, you are right. It would be best if the Queen Mother could take good care of Xueying. If not, then we can only make other arrangements."

The Queen was startled. "Your Majesty, be careful! There are also royal relatives who are loyal to Your Majesty. If Xueying affects the royal family's loyalty to Your Majesty, it will be more trouble than gain."

Emperor Kangping hesitated, "Anyway, the Queen Mother has taken Princess Xueying away and won't be back for a year or so. Li Niang, let's make a long-term plan to prevent future troubles."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The Queen agreed, "Now that the Crown Prince is old, it's time for him to choose a concubine. Does Your Majesty have any candidates?"

Emperor Kangping thought for a moment, and then said, "The family of the Minister of Rites, the family of the Vice Minister of Personnel, and the family of the Marquis of Suiyang do have daughters of the right age, but they are all ladies from wealthy families, and I have never seen them."

"Li Niang, you can summon noble ladies to the palace frequently. If there is a suitable one, let the prince see it. After all, he will have to live with him, so he has to be satisfied. By the way, Queen, do you have a suitable partner?"

The Empress counted a few, and Emperor Kangping listened, "Anyway, as long as they are not the left or right prime minister, not the emperor's uncle, and not the Marquis of Changning's mansion, other families are within the scope of investigation."

The queen was startled, and suddenly thought of someone, "Your Majesty, I have thought of a girl of suitable status, but she is too young, only eight years old."

Emperor Kang Ping was startled. "Who is it?"

"Gu Yunshu, the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Jingyang, does not have a prominent status. The eldest aunt, Gu Xirong, married Xie Jin and is very ambitious. The second aunt, Gu Xiling, married into the Marquis of Changning's mansion." The Queen Mother replied.

Emperor Kangping was surprised. "If she is fifteen years old, it is indeed very suitable. It doesn't matter if she is young, she will grow up eventually. Let's first decide on the Crown Princess, and then the daughter of the Gu family can be the concubine."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Although the Queen Mother favored her natal family in her heart, her natal family also had to come after her son.

As long as her son becomes emperor, all problems in her mother's family can be solved.

Gu Xiling and Zhou Jin returned safely to the Changning Marquis Mansion from the imperial farm, and they both looked at each other in surprise.

"Is it so quiet?" Gu Xiling showed suspicion. This doesn't seem like Princess Xueying's style.

Zhou Jin shook his head. "I could only be on guard, but I didn't do anything. My methods couldn't reach the imperial manor. I wanted to borrow a secret guard from my father, but he refused."

Gu Xiling thought for a moment, "There must be something we don't know. By the way, is father back?"

Zhou Jin shook his head. "It's winter now. We are not busy at the Qingshui Office of the Agricultural Department. We don't need to go today. But there are unusual movements in Beirong, so my father went to the Ministry of Rites."

"Then let's wait patiently for father to come back and ask him." Gu Xiling said in a deep voice, "Let's not be anxious. Anyway, we are in the mansion and it is safe."

Zhou Jin agreed, "My lady is right."

As soon as he came in, the doorman came forward and saluted, "Prince, Madam, the Marquis's wife has instructed that after returning to the mansion, you should go to the main courtyard."

When they arrived at the main courtyard, they saw that Song was in good condition and felt relieved.

Seeing her son and daughter-in-law return safely, Song asked hurriedly, "Did anything unexpected happen last night?"

Gu Xiling briefly said, "...My husband and I thought this morning would be restless, but we didn't expect it to be so quiet."

Song frowned, "This matter is not that simple. Let's wait and see what news your father has. It's good that you come back safely. Come and take a look!"

Song pushed an exquisite mahogany box towards Gu Xiling.

Gu Xiling was slightly startled, "Mother, what's inside?"

"You'll know when you open it." Song smiled, with hope in her eyes.

Gu Xiling opened the box and saw the full banknotes. "Mother, I borrowed 20,000 taels of banknotes from you, but I haven't paid you back yet. Why did you give me so many banknotes? Did you sell the furs?"

Song nodded. "It's unusually cold in the north this year. The furs are sold out very quickly after being shipped to the northern border. It's snowing heavily there now. There may really be a snowstorm this year."

"With an investment of 100,000 taels of silver, I bought the best furs. In previous years, I could earn half the profit, but this year it has doubled. After deducting some expenses, it is a full 90,000 taels of silver."

"I have already collected the capital, and I have also withheld the twenty thousand taels of silver you borrowed. Here are the seventy thousand taels of silver notes, all for you."

Hearing this, Gu Xiling was stunned, "Mother, this is too much, right? I can't accept it."

Song thought for a moment, then said, "Mrs. Xie earned so much money because of the news she told you. You should keep it."

Zhou Jin also advised, "Xi Ling, since your mother gave it to you, you should take it."

Gu Xiling thought for a moment and took out 20,000 taels of silver notes from the box. "Mother, although I got the news from Sister Rong, the capital and the caravan were arranged by the Marquis' Mansion. These 20,000 taels are for the Marquis' Mansion."

Gu Xiling took out another 10,000 taels of silver note and said, "There is a snowstorm in the north and the imperial court is providing disaster relief. The capital will certainly donate money when the time comes. I will donate another 10,000 taels of silver."

"In addition, Lord Yu has made great efforts in purchasing furs this time. Our dealings with Lord Yu are not business-related, so if we make money, we will donate another 10,000 taels to Qinglan County."

"Master Yu, you can use this money to build bridges and roads to improve Qinglan County. If you can do business for a long time, although you won't make as much as you did this time, you will have a good source of goods and a lot of profit."

"For the remaining thirty thousand taels, your daughter-in-law will not be polite to you. Mother, husband, how do you think about this?"

Zhou Jin was startled, his eyes showing admiration, "My wife is so righteous."

Song immediately agreed, "Okay, this is a good way to distribute the money."

In the evening, Marquis Changning came back feeling cold.

Song told Marquis Changning about the way Gu Xiling distributed the money, "Our daughter-in-law is really not simple."

Marquis Changning smiled with satisfaction, "Of course. The response last night was also very good. We managed to stay the same in the face of all changes and avoided all the tricks used by Princess Xueying."

When Song heard Marquis Changning mention it, she asked, "Xi Ling and Jin Er thought Princess Xueying would do something naughty this morning, but it seems that nothing happened."

The corners of Changning Hou's mouth curled up, full of sarcasm, "If you want to harm others, you must be prepared to be harmed."

"My Lord, you did it?" Song asked in surprise, "How did you do it?"

Marquis Changning raised his eyebrows, "Of course we will use the same trick as her and expose all the things she has done. After His Majesty and the Queen know about it, they will immediately tell the Queen Mother."

"In order to protect her only granddaughter, the Queen Mother did not even return to the capital. Today, she has set off to the Thousand Buddha Temple in the south to worship Buddha, and she has taken Princess Xueying with her."