The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

"Who else wants to seize your property? Those shops were run step by step by me and my mother and I from scratch, and you never helped at all!" Gu Han said, gritting his teeth.

Yan Erlang smiled contemptuously: "A daughter born out of adultery is a daughter born out of adultery, born inferior. Without the convenience of my Yan family, how could your business be successful? Just ask, which customer is willing to give you a little alms only because of the reputation of our Yan family?"

"You!" Gu Han's heart was filled with unspeakable grievances.

Gu Jiayin touched her gently and looked at Yan Erlang: "Okay, since you said that the income of those shops in recent years is all thanks to your Yan family's reputation, I admit it, but has Han'er ever done anything to damage your reputation?"

"She did it!" Yan Erlang's expression suddenly changed, and he twitched his lips a few times, but he couldn't explain it clearly.

At this time, a lady wearing the attire of a third-rank imperial official suddenly came out, knelt down and saluted the emperor and empress, saying, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I may know something about this matter."

"Madam, please speak." Xie Yuzhen said.

The lady bowed slightly and said, "To be honest, my family is also a frequent customer of the shop run by Mrs. Gu and Miss Gu. The incident mentioned by Yan Erlang was just some gossip among children. Miss Gu was just wronged and had to confide in her friend."

She turned around and glanced at Yan Erlang, and before he could speak, she said in a clear voice, "Not long ago, Madam Gu sent some festival gifts to Yan Erlang. I don't know why Yan Erlang was dissatisfied, so he actually rushed into his step-cousin's yard with the gifts, not only threw the gifts, but also smashed things in the house, which scared Miss Gu and the maids and servants in the house."

Thanks to the strong advocacy of Xie Yuzhen and others, the restrictions on women in Dasheng have been relaxed a lot. However, it is still too much to let a nominal "cousin" who has no blood relationship break into the yard of a girl's home like this.

I broke in today and happened to run into Gu Han settling accounts with the maids and the nanny, so I didn't get hurt. What if I break in again tomorrow and happen to run into Gu Han sleeping or doing something else?

In the eyes of those who are familiar with the Gu "mother and daughter" and know their personalities, Yan Erlang's actions are truly vicious and despicable.

His face turned pale, and Yan Erlang said stubbornly: "That day...I was really angry, I..."

There were too many eyes that saw what he did that day. Because the noise was so loud, it also attracted Gu Jiayin, who was checking accounts with the shopkeepers. Because the mother and daughter were not liked by the Yan family, their courtyards were at the very edge of the Yan Mansion, which was very convenient for entering and exiting.

Gu Jiayin took the shopkeepers to see the scene of Yan Erlang going crazy regardless of anything. Even if he wanted to deny it, he could not hide it. What's more, the one who was helping the Gu "mother and daughter" to speak was a third-rank imperial official. He thought of the words of the man who instructed him to seek the emperor's decision, so he decisively admitted his mistake and gave up the idea of ​​using this point to attack the two Gu family members and restore his good reputation.

He then turned to continuously attack the abnormalities of the two Gu family members, and believed that if they were killed, they were demons that had resurrected from the dead and were trying to seize the Yan family's property.

He kept repeating the same thing several times but still refused to change. Xie Yu really felt a little bored, so she tilted her head slightly towards the emperor and said, "There is one thing that I am a little curious about."

"What's the matter?" asked the emperor.

Xie Yuzhen laughed: "Since this man keeps saying that the Gu mother and daughter are demons who have taken over other people's bodies and are trying to seize the Yan family's property...why can't they just use magic to kill their uncle and nephew after they get married? Why are they still working so hard to manage his family's property?"

"Yan Erlang, can you help me solve this puzzle?"

Yan Erlang opened his mouth and uttered, "Perhaps only in this way can they make people think that they are good to the Yan family, so that they can let down their guard and make it easier to harm people later."

"You're talking nonsense!" Gu Han cursed, "We are clearly managing our own business, and you didn't help at all. It was you who shamelessly insisted on giving our shop your family name when you saw that it was doing well!"

Seeing this, Gu Jiayin hurriedly stopped her again, but did not back down or deny Gu Han's statement. Instead, she continued in a relatively less angry tone: "Yes, at the beginning, we did use some of your Yan family's money to do business, but over the years, the money we provided to the Yan family from the shop has long been hundreds or thousands of times more than that time."

She took a deep breath, looked up at Xie Yuzhen, and said earnestly: "Empress, don't say that those shops were only managed by me and Han'er from the beginning. We planned everywhere, made connections, and came up with ideas. It was not easy to pull them up. Even if the shop did borrow the power of the Yan family, I think that the income fed back to the Yan family in the past two years is enough to repay the kindness of his family to us. Even if we are servants in the family, we should pay a monthly commission to hire a shopkeeper in the shop!"

"My queen, Han'er and I have no ill will towards the Yan family. We are willing to leave the house and leave all the money in the shop to the Yan family. Please divorce me, Mr. Yanzhuang. And please don't slander us with weird words like demons and ghosts taking over our bodies."

The tone of her voice and some of the words she used seemed familiar to Xie Yuzhen - Fu Qingsu also liked to speak like this.

Xie Yuzhen looked at her, the young soul trapped in the body of this weathered middle-aged woman: "Are you really willing?"

"I...I am willing." Gu Jiayin answered without hesitation.

But Xie Yuzhen turned his eyes away and asked the lady who had spoken for them earlier, "Madam, I have something to ask you."

"Please teach me, Madam."

"What was the Yan family like before Gu married in? If Gu and Yan Zhuang divorced and continued to run their own business, would you recognize the Yan family or her surname Gu?"

The lady replied respectfully, "The Yan family has been a farming and reading family for decades. Before Madam Gu married into the family, they had never been involved in business. Yan Erlang kept saying that Madam Gu's shop was built by borrowing the power of the Yan family. I am curious, why was his home so clean before Madam Gu came?"

She smiled and said, "As for me, I would naturally prefer to do business with acquaintances rather than with such an ungrateful family. After all, I have always been timid and afraid of strangers."

The lady's words made Yan Erlang's face change drastically. He subconsciously looked at Yan Zhuang, who had remained silent the whole time. However, the latter still maintained his "upright gentleman" demeanor, saying nothing, as if he was detached from the world and untainted by the mundane world.

"A gentleman like my uncle would not think about those things. They are clearly trying to deceive a gentleman! Your Majesty, please understand!"

"......It took Madam Gu and Miss Gu less than two years to expand their business throughout the Northern Frontier?" The emperor suddenly interrupted, stroking his chin.

Just when everyone was confused, Xie Yuzhen looked at his expression and knew what this person was up to.

The emperor clapped his hands and said, "Such a genius, only mediocre people would think that it was a demon that possessed his body. I see that the Yan family has only a reputation for literature but has not read much. Madam Gu and Miss Gu are clearly the awakening of their innate wisdom and are gifted by heaven! What do you think, Xianming?"

Xie Yuzhen treated him very gently: "I think your majesty is right."