After marrying a sickly and powerful official, Jiaojiao cries every day

Feng Qiwu smiled with an ambiguous meaning, "Yeah, how could it be so decadent and destitute?"

These shops can be considered old stores, including gold houses, wine shops, tea houses, rouge shops, etc. They are all very profitable businesses. And they are located in such a busy area, so they should be making a fortune every day. How could they barely cover daily expenses?

On weekdays, the Duke's Mansion acts very low-key, without any extravagance, and their food, clothing, and behavior are all in accordance with the rules. Is such a large sum of money secretly hidden?

Or use it for other purposes?

Could it be that these shops only look good on the surface, and they really don't make any money behind the scenes?

Wen Ranyan looked at the tavern filled with guests, a radiant light falling into her eyes, like rippling water.

She said: "The expenses in the palace are indeed heavy, but the profits of these old shops are much more than we imagined. With money to bribe people, connections, and the title of Duke, how could it be possible for it to decline to this extent?"

She would never believe that these shops were not profitable and could only barely cover daily expenses.

Take her own Juxianlou for example. The daily income is enough for her to live a luxurious life, not to mention the old shop that has been established in Beijing for many years.

She brushed her sleeves and said, "I'm afraid that poverty is just an illusion, and it's true that you can use it for other purposes."

Feng Qiwu's eyebrows were dim, and he agreed with what she said, "This Duke's Mansion has been honest and upright for many years, but I didn't expect that it was all a lie."

"But it's just a guess right now. What if it's really just a superficial glory?" Wen Ranyan said this, but a gleam of light flashed in her beautiful eyes.

Feng Qiwu curled his lips, his eyebrows and eyes were unfathomable, "Since you suspect it, then go and investigate."

The tavern was bustling with people. They had eaten before leaving the palace to fill their stomachs, so they didn't feel hungry at this time. Feng Qiwu took her to the Golden Tower opened by the Duke's Mansion.

This Golden Building has stood tall in Beijing for many years. It is deeply loved by customers because of its novel style and high-quality materials. Even after so many years, it is still bustling with guests.

Today, Jinlou has launched a new style, which is a set of gorgeous headwear, surrounded by pearls and jade, elegant and luxurious, very suitable for married and well-known ladies.

The ladies are the most wealthy, so they come early to line up and compete for the tickets.

"A set of pearl and jade head ornaments costs a hundred taels of silver. It's really expensive." Wen Ranyan whispered in Feng Qiwu's ear, "However, with so many noble ladies coming to the door today, the income must be at least a thousand taels. How could it be just a superficial glory?"

Feng Qiwu smiled but said nothing.

He gently stroked the jade ring on his thumb. The delicate jade made his fingertips look slender. His skin was as white as jade, his figure was as straight as Lanzhi, his red clothes were shimmering, and he exuded elegance and grace just by standing there.

The manager of the Jinlou had been immersed in the business world for so many years that he was the best at judging people. Looking at the two people's good attire and noble demeanor, he knew that they were not ordinary people.

The steward said with a smile: "Since the distinguished guest has come, why don't we go to the inner room to see him?"

Feng Qiwu glanced at him, then nodded, "Lead the way."

The inner room is not as noisy as the front hall. Perhaps in order to show off the distinguished status of the guests, the decoration is extremely gorgeous and luxurious, with golden sparkles everywhere. It feels a bit dazzling after looking at it for a long time.

The steward said, "Here are the new products introduced today, a set of pearl and jade headwear. If you don't like something too gorgeous and heavy, here are a few elegant tassel hairpins."

The wooden carved trays were brought up one by one, on which were displayed various tassel jade hairpins, and the new set of pearl and jade headwear was also among them. In an instant, they sparkled and sparkled, dazzling the eyes.

"Manager, please go out. We want to watch quietly." Wen Ranyan's words were to send someone away.

The steward responded and left, leaving only the two of them in the room, which suddenly felt a lot quieter.

Wen Ranyan picked up a butterfly-shaped hairpin with beads and played with it in her hand, with a smile on her face: "The workmanship is really exquisite. No wonder the business is so good. The wine shop we just saw is also booming."

She paused for a few moments, then continued, "By the way, since the shop is so prosperous, but the Duke's Mansion is crying poor and declining every day, haven't others ever doubted it?"

As she spoke, she pinned the hairpin in her hair and looked at herself in the bronze mirror. The tasseled butterfly hairpin was particularly fresh and elegant, setting off her skin as white as cream and looking as if she were still worldly. She looked extremely beautiful.

But it didn't match her red dress, so she had to take it off and replaced it with a gold hairpin inlaid with pearls.

Feng Qiwu took the golden hairpin from her hand and helped her put it into her hair. She smiled tenderly and said, "This is interesting. None of these prosperous shops are under the name of the Duke's Mansion."

His tone was casual and smiling, but there was a hint of sharpness and coldness in the ending of his voice.

"Where is that?" Wen Ranyan was still staring at the bronze mirror. The red dress and the golden hairpin matched well, and she was very satisfied.

Feng Qiwu looked into the eyes of the girl in the bronze mirror. His black eyes were like the unfathomable sky, which could not be fathomed at a glance. However, there was a smile in his eyes, which looked like a dark cloud covering the city.

He put his hand on her delicate neck, stroking it lightly, and said with a smile: "They are all registered under the name of the nanny in the Duke's Mansion. Although it is reasonable for the shop to be registered under the name of a confidant, this nanny is not a confidant. Instead, she is just an old nanny raised in a remote farm. She has no name, no surname, and no power. This is really unusual."

Originally, these shops had been open for so many years and were doing legitimate business, so generally speaking, there was no need for a detailed investigation. However, recently, the investigation into money laundering was underway, and it was inevitable that some deeper investigation was done along this line.

Suddenly, I dug out these good things.

Wen Ranyan understood, "Since she is an old nanny raised in the manor, it is understandable that people in the capital do not know her. No wonder the shop is so prosperous and no one associates it with the Duke's Mansion. It turns out that they are making a fuss about it."

"They did it so secretly and carefully. There must be something fishy going on when things are out of the ordinary."

As she spoke, she wanted to take off the gold hairpin.

Feng Qiwu tried to stop her, leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Just wear it, it suits you very well."

Wen Ranyan also stopped moving. The two pressed against each other, the burning desire rose, and the charming feeling enveloped them both.

"Since she can register so many shops under the name of that madam, how can she not be considered a trusted one?" She raised her head, her eyes sparkling, "Who is that madam, and what's so unusual about her?"

As if he was waiting for Wen Ranyan to ask this question, he raised his lips and smiled even more charmingly, "This is even more interesting. Perhaps because they were afraid that we would find out something, the nanny's past was completely erased. On the surface, she is just an ordinary farm lady."

It might be because of that batch of arms that the people in the dark were afraid and alert, so they did this secretly to avoid leaking the news. It also caused some obstacles to their investigation, but it was not a big deal.

"How could a peasant woman deliberately cover up her tracks? This sounds very unusual." Wen Ranyan's face relaxed and she smiled, "But the more you do, the more flaws you'll reveal. We'll just have to continue investigating."

Just keep an eye on the old lady and you won't have to worry about her running into someone in the dark.