Yang Ning's scalp itched and she asked, "Sanniang, tell me, how do you know that I like her?"
"Are you a Sanniang or a child?" Gu Qinghan said with a smile: "If we meet by chance, why would this girl come to the capital and wait for you in the Marquis' Mansion?" He said confidently: "She didn't say anything. , it just means that there is something going on in the middle. Ning'er, don't be afraid, even if you really like Miss Tang, Sanniang won't say anything more, which is a good thing."
"A great thing?" Yang Ning asked seriously, "Where do you start talking about this?"
Gu Qinghan pursed her lips and smiled, charming and beautiful, and said softly: "Sanniang knows that you have grown up. If Su Zhen hadn't reneged on the engagement, Sanniang would have already prepared to get married to you. You are the heir apparent in Jinyi, nothing unexpected happens. If so, when the new king ascends the throne, your title will also come down. You are not too young, and you have reached the age to get married. The Madam does not care about foreign affairs. Now that our Marquis Mansion has severed ties with the Qi family, your marriage Only Sanniang can worry about it."
"Sanniang, are you so anxious to marry me a wife?" Yang Ning sighed. Of course, he was not very interested in this topic. After all, he didn't even know how long he could pretend to be the Crown Prince of Jinyi. Maybe one day He suddenly disappeared. If a marriage really happened, it wouldn't be a matter of just leaving.
Gu Qinghan frowned and became serious, saying: "Why are you so anxious to marry you? You are the prince of Jinyi, and it is your responsibility to continue the incense of the Qi family, and it is not up to you. Ning'er, other things I can let you do it. Even on this matter, you have to listen to me."
"Okay, Sanniang, if you ask me to get married, you won't ask me to marry Miss Tang, right?" Yang Ning said helplessly: "You didn't even understand the situation, so you just arranged the marriage in such a haphazard manner?"
Gu Qinghan thought for a while and then said: "Actually, if you really want to marry Miss Tang, she is not from a very good background. The Madam may not agree, but... But if you really like it, I will convince the Madam to let Miss Tang be a concubine for you first. Room, what do you think?"
Yang Ning thought that the minds of people in this era were indeed different from those of later generations. When Gu Qinghan said this, he obviously felt that it was normal for men to have three wives and four concubines.
"Sanniang, let's not talk about whether I like Miss Tang or not. Let me ask you, if Miss Tang doesn't want to be a concubine, or even doesn't want to marry into the Hou Mansion, so what?" Yang Ning said with a smile: "You can't tie her up. Will you marry me?"
"I knew you liked it, now admit it?" Gu Qinghan said with a smile: "Aren't you just worried that Miss Tang won't want to marry? Sanniang thinks this shouldn't be the case. My Ning'er is good-looking, smart, and has a good temper. What's more, he is still the prince in Jinyi. Many girls can't get in, so Miss Tang will not be unwilling."
"Good-looking, smart, good-tempered... Sanniang, it seems you think highly of me." Yang Ning laughed and said, "Do you think all women like me?"
Gu Qinghan immediately said: "Of course, who wouldn't like my Ning'er? Then she must have no vision?"
Yang Ning looked at Gu Qinghan's delicate and beautiful face, her watery bright eyes turned slightly, charming but not vulgar, and blurted out: "Sanniang, do you also like me like this?"
Gu Qinghan was quite excited at first. Hearing what Yang Ning said, he was startled at first, then raised his eyebrows and said: "What nonsense are you talking about again? If you continue to talk nonsense, Sanniang will have to take care of her." He picked up a chopstick and raised it He hit Yang Ning on the arm with little force, and scolded: "I'm talking to you about serious matters, so don't interrupt."
Yang Ning knew that it was okay to say something superficial, but she couldn't go too far. She could only say: "Sanniang, when it's time to get married, I will naturally let you prepare it. Miss Tang, you'd better forget it. I Again, she and I are at best friends, and she may not even consider me a friend... You said you want to talk about serious things, but I really have serious things to ask you."
"What?" Seeing Yang Ning's seriousness, Gu Qinghan asked, "What serious thing are you going to say?"
"Silver!" Yang Ning said: "Can the tax money brought back be enough for the house's expenses? We burned so many shops, so the compensation will be quite large."
Gu Qinghan frowned and said, "Speaking of this, I almost forgot to tell you." After a pause, he said, "Ning'er, do you remember what you said last time that oil traces were found in the burned-down pawn shop?"
Yang Ning nodded and said: "Yes, so there must be a mole in the pawn shop. Originally, I was planning to find the mole, but then a series of things happened and I was delayed."
"Don't look for it anymore. The traitor has been found out." Gu Qinghan's pretty face was covered with frost, "After you reminded me that time, I felt like you that there was something wrong in it, so Zhao Wushang was always there Investigate this matter.”
"Is there any result?"
"Everyone in the pawn shop investigated carefully and found nothing wrong. Only on the day the pawn shop caught fire, Qiu Yi went to the pawn shop and entered the pawn warehouse." Gu Qinghan sneered and said, "Zhao Wushang finally targeted Qiu Yi. After interrogating him again, he refused to admit it at first, but Zhao Wushang frightened him, and he finally revealed the truth."
Yang Ning frowned and said, "Is it the idea of the three old men?" He shook his head and said, "No, this matter involves Dou Lianzhong, and it should be closely related to Dou Lianzhong."
Gu Qinghan said: "Yes, the burning of the pawnshop has nothing to do with the third old man. It was Dou Lianzhong who was behind it."
Yang Ning clenched his fist and said, "It is indeed that bitch, I can't spare him."
"Do you know what Dou Lianzhong's purpose is?" Gu Qinghan asked.
Yang Ning said: "I heard that Dou Kui, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, has a feud with our Jinyihou Mansion. Does Dou Lianzhong want to take the opportunity to avenge his father?"
Gu Qinghan said: "This is one of the reasons. His purpose is for our pharmacy."
"Drug shop?" Yang Ning asked curiously: "Sanniang, the Dou family should not be short of money, why are you thinking about running our drug shop?"
Gu Qinghan sighed softly and said: "You don't know something. The former Marquis Mansion was short of money for a while. I asked Qiu Yi to borrow money from the bank. I got the tax money back two days ago. I sent someone to repay the borrowed money. Canghai found out , the owner behind the bank is Qiu Yi, he is the son of the Minister of Hubu, and he is not easy to show off, so not many people know that the bank is also his property. "
Yang Ning understood instantly: "I understand, Qiu Yi and Dou Lianzhong conspired to borrow money from the Dou family's bank. They had planned it long ago. They knew that we could not repay the loan as scheduled, and then they could force us to use the drug store to pay off the debt."
"That's what I was thinking." Thinking about it now, Gu Qinghan felt a little frightened. He raised his hand and patted his chest, "Their repeated attacks are just to put our Hou Mansion into a desperate situation and let others slaughter us." He said bitterly: "Qiu Yi, that wolf-hearted person. The thing not only teamed up with the three old masters to harm us, but also secretly became the Dou family's lackey, plotting against us behind our backs."
At this time, Yang Ning also felt a chill running down his spine.
The person who delivers the fatal blow is often not the enemy standing on the opposite side, but one of his own standing behind him. If he hadn't caught Dou Lianzhong's hand and pinned him down with a glazed horse, he would have been in the same situation as entering the Marquis' Mansion. It will be more difficult.
Gu Qinghan said as expected: "Ning'er, if you hadn't thought of a way, even if you get the tax money back, it might not be of any use. Fortunately, you caught Dou Lianzhong's handle, and the banker knew it well, and they didn't come to ask for it later. They are afraid that they will offend us and make themselves uncomfortable."
"Yes, how is the situation now?"
"The pawn shop has suffered a lot of damage. Many goods were destroyed, so we have to pay double the compensation." Gu Qinghan said: "Although the banker didn't find it, we can't lose the money that should be repaid."
"How long can we last with the money we have left?" Yang Ning knew that in the Jinyihou Mansion, even if it didn't cost money, a lot of money would be spent on eating, drinking and sleeping in the mansion every day.
Not to mention anything else, Qi Jing's funeral and the compensation after the pawnshop was burned, both of which cost a lot of money. Without the pawnshop, the Hou Mansion will have one less source of income. Although the immediate difficulties have been overcome, But I am afraid that the Hou Mansion will still be stretched in the future.
"I have also cleaned up and sorted out the money in the past two days. According to the daily expenses, if nothing unexpected happens, the money saved will not last for less than two months." Gu Qinghan said with a wry smile: "Originally, these tax dollars are for After holding on for half a year, we are now at a loss for several months." He shook his head and said, "I can only think of other ways."
"What else can I think of?"
Gu Qinghan hesitated for a moment and then said: "If it doesn't work out, send someone to Jiangling to find the Gu family...!"
Yang Ning immediately said: "Sanniang is planning to borrow money from your mother's family?"
"This is the only plan for now." Gu Qinghan said helplessly: "Everyone in the house still needs to eat and drink. There may be other things. Without money, nothing can be done."
Yang Ning solemnly said: "This is absolutely impossible. Sanniang, ask the Gu family to borrow money. This is easy to say, but not nice. If outsiders know, what will they think of the Hou Mansion? And what will the Gu family think of you? Besides, the Hou Mansion only relies on Borrowing money is not enough, we must find a way to get more money."
"There is nothing we can do about this." Gu Qinghan said with a wry smile: "I also know how to increase revenue and reduce expenditure. It's okay to reduce expenditure, but if you want to increase revenue, it's not easy."
Yang Ning said: "I will figure out a solution for the money matter. Since grandma handed over the Hou Mansion to me, it is my responsibility to ensure that everyone in the house has enough food." But in his heart, he was thinking about one of the important tasks next. , but began to use his strengths to make money, "By the way, how did Qiu Yi deal with it? Is he still locked up in the Hou Mansion?"
"Canghai and the others want to send Qiu Yi to the Yamen, but I think his father and son have been in the Hou Mansion for many years. If they really hand him over to the Kyoto Mansion, he will probably spend his whole life in prison." Gu Qinghan was a little bit confused. Uneasy, her beautiful eyes looked at Yang Ning, "I originally wanted to wait until you come back, but I also know your temper. If I really want to wait for you to come back, I might throw him into prison, so... So I made the decision and put him in jail." He was expelled from the house, but...but he took the initiative to hand over the several houses he bought in the Hou Mansion in order to save his life. Ning'er, you...you won't blame me, will you?"
Yang Ning sighed: "Sanniang has a good heart, how can I blame you? Since he has been expelled, I will spare him once. As long as he does not provoke us in the future, he will be treated as if he does not exist."
Gu Qinghan breathed a sigh of relief and smiled sweetly: "I knew you wouldn't care." The whole person was like a bright peach smiling in the spring breeze, very delicate and charming.
At this moment, I heard a voice coming from outside: "Third Madam, Miss Tang is here!"
Gu Qinghan agreed, Yang Ning stood up, and the door was pushed open. He saw a person wearing a rose red gold silk cloud brocade jacket, with a blooming ice lotus embroidered on the collar, and a rose purple long skirt with a lining underneath. Wearing a peacock blue floral satin inner skirt, her slender hands were naturally folded in front of her abdomen, and she entered the house with very light steps.
Yang Ning was stunned for a moment, and after taking a closer look, he recognized that it was Tang Nuo. However, he was dressed very differently from the last time they met, and he couldn't recognize him even though he was so cold.