Reborn to be replaced, remarried to the royal palace to raise children and train husband

Mr. Gu's strategy undoubtedly shows his wit and far-sightedness.

However, the only thing he hadn't counted for was her.

She is the biggest hidden threat to the Gu family.

Mr. Gu personally handed over the control of the family business to her. This was undoubtedly a godsend opportunity, and she naturally would not let it go easily.

In front of the warehouse in the west of the city, Gu Qinlan slowly stepped down from the gorgeous carriage. In order to facilitate walking, she deliberately chose men's clothing that was easy to move in.

In addition to the loyal Fu Yu and the clever Hong Ye, they also included Sang Qian and two of his capable followers.

The door of the warehouse was tightly closed, but the sounds coming from inside could be clearly heard.

Sang Qian assigned an attendant named Deng Zhong to go and knock on the door.

Soon, the heavy door of the warehouse slowly opened, and a burly man poked his head out and asked warily, "Who are you? What can I do for you?"

Deng Zhong was tall, half a head taller than the man. He spoke in a loud and rough voice: "The eldest daughter of the Gu family has come to inspect the warehouse in person. Why don't you open the door and welcome her!"

The news that Gu Qinlan was taking over the family business had already spread widely within the Gu family. When the man heard that it was the head of the family who was coming to inspect the place in person, he immediately did not dare to be negligent and hurriedly called other servants to open the door completely together.

When Gu Qinlan stepped through the gate, she saw the spacious yard filled with grains drying in the sun, many of which were charred black.

She casually asked, "Were these grains salvaged from the fire?"

A thin old man came running over and answered respectfully, "My lady, that's true. Our warehouse stores grain. The fire that night was very strange. Fortunately, no one was injured, but the grain in the warehouse was still damaged. Thanks to the guys who risked their lives to save it, most of the grain was saved. We have been busy drying it these days. Fortunately, only a small part of the grain was burnt, and the rest was just damp. It has been dried almost completely and can be used again."

The situation in several other warehouses was quite bleak. It was said that the stocks therein had been damaged by fire, with the loss being as high as 70% to 80%, which was a heavy loss.

Gu Qinlan's face was as solemn as lead, but his heart was filled with irrepressible pleasure.

After all, all this was the result of her clever arrangement.

The Gu family intended to use the treasures in their hands to show goodwill to the Third Prince, so she decided to destroy these treasures so that the Gu family would lose all their qualifications to flatter.

Since this warehouse was used to store grain, Gu Qinlan specifically told Polang to just keep the warehouse in a show and not to actually do anything about it.

Therefore, the damage to this warehouse was relatively minor.

Gu Qinlan said to the old man who managed the storehouse, "Your performance is outstanding. Each of you will be rewarded with half a tael of silver. The reward will be paid out along with your monthly salary."

The old man was pleasantly surprised and knelt down hurriedly to express his gratitude: "Thank you for your gift, young lady."

A fire in a warehouse was a serious matter. If the owner was cruel, it would be easy for him to beat them up and sell them as slaves.

However, unexpectedly, the eldest girl not only did not punish him, but generously rewarded him with silver.

It was really surprising and delightful.

Gu Qinlan continued, "There is obviously something fishy about this fire. You must have done your best to protect these grains. I have always been clear about rewards and punishments. You have made great contributions this time, so you deserve a generous reward. All right, go get the account book. I want to take it back to the mansion and check it slowly."

The old man did not dare to delay and quickly fetched the account book.

Hongye took the account book and handed it to Gu Qinlan. After Gu Qinlan gave a few more instructions, he led his followers to the next warehouse.

She inspected each warehouse one by one and finally collected all the account books in the warehouse.

The Gu family suffered heavy losses this time. Except for the warehouse where grain was stored, which suffered minor damage, the other warehouses were all severely damaged, and very few supplies were salvaged.

According to a rough estimate, the loss was worth no less than 20,000 to 30,000 taels of silver.

Gu Qinlan didn't feel bad about this. After all, the money and property had nothing to do with her until she got it.

When she returned home with the account book and just stepped into the courtyard, she saw Xiaoman and Mangzhong constantly looking at her.

Gu Qinlan couldn't help but ask: "What happened?"

Xiaoman walked closer with a smile and whispered to her, "The old lady just sent Aunt Zhang to give Madam a gift."

Gu Qinlan walked into the room and saw the coffee table piled with various gifts. She took a quick look and found that there were not only high-quality, slightly aged fabrics, but also rare jewelry and a hundred-year-old mountain ginseng.

In Xiaoman's smiling face, she whispered softly: "These treasures were personally selected by the old lady from her private collection."

Gu Qinlan frowned slightly, with a puzzled look on her face: "Why would they send such a generous gift? Could it be that some wealthy family is going to hold a banquet? Why would they choose this time?"

Xiaoman shook her head slightly and explained, "Madam Zhang said that this was specially prepared for you, Madam."

"For me?"

Gu Qinlan thought about it for a moment and immediately understood. She couldn't help but burst out laughing. It turned out that the other party was showing goodwill to her.

Obviously, what was said that night really shocked them deeply.

Xiao Man said with a smile on her face: "The old lady has always been cautious and meticulous. The treasures in her private vault are not easy to obtain even for the eldest daughter of the family."

Princess Duan's family was not prominent, and her family background was ordinary, so her own dowry was quite limited. Since she married into the Zheng family, in addition to the monthly silver from the public treasury, she only had the items given by the court after General Zheng won on the battlefield, as well as some spoils of war he brought back, plus the filial piety of several sons.

However, the rewards from the imperial court were not allowed to be bought or sold, and for Princess Duan, these were of little use. The only things that were really valuable were some spoils of war and gifts from her sons.

Princess Duan was very thrifty and had been saving money for decades, finally amassing a considerable fortune. But she was always stingy, only paying attention to income but not expenditure, so no one could easily get a penny from her.

This time, she even went so far as to offer such a generous gift to please Gu Qinlan, which shows how deep her sincerity is.

Gu Qinlan naturally knew Princess Duan's character very well, and couldn't help but feel warm in her heart for her deep affection.

After thinking for a moment, she instructed Fu Yu, "Go to the storehouse to get the key, select a few treasures, and send them to the old lady as a return gift."

She knew very well how difficult it was for the old lady to accumulate some private money, not to mention that the old lady also had to prepare dowries for the two daughters of the Zheng family.

After carefully selecting the gift, Fu Yu went to Princess Duan in person to present it.

When Princess Duan saw this, she thought that Gu Qinlan had returned all the gifts she had given him, and she immediately became anxious: "Qinlan refuses to accept my gifts? Is he not satisfied with these? Then I will go and choose again right away."

Before she finished speaking, she signaled to Aunt Zhang to get the key quickly.

Fu Yu quickly explained, "The old lady misunderstood. Our lady really likes the gifts the old lady sent. When the lady was happy, she asked me to bring these gifts in return."

As she spoke, she displayed the gifts she had brought one by one. Those treasures sparkled in the sun, showing their luxury and preciousness.