The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

How could the old lady possibly know?

The largest gambling dens, brothels, pawnshops, and even the largest brokerage firms in the capital are all owned by princes from the royal family.

That's why people say the royal family is the most ruthless lender in the capital.

However, they only lend money to wealthy people and cannot directly harm ordinary people.

These are all lucrative gray industries, rife with problems and trouble-making machines, with something happening almost every day.

Honestly, if there were fewer royal bigwigs in the capital, the overall environment would be much more peaceful.

"I just feel a little out of place!"

The old lady smiled bitterly and said, "If Prince Zhongshun really succeeds in achieving his goal, the power structure of the Great Qian Dynasty will likely undergo a major change!"

"The old lady has her own ideas too?"

Aunt Xue immediately realized what was going on and said with a smile, "With the Rong family's strength and influence, they can certainly get involved. At least Prince Zhongshun won't refuse to give them face!"

She was referring to Jia Huan, who already knew some of the inside story from his son Xue Pan.

To be honest, Prince Zhongshun's current predicament is largely due to Jia Huan's instigation.

Of course, if it's not yet accomplished, it's called bewitching; but now that there's hope, it's called having foresight.

The Xue family paid a considerable price for this!

They provided money, food, and manpower, and even organized a fleet of ships; they truly went to great lengths.

Despite this, Prince Zhongshun's attitude was lukewarm, but he treated Jia Huan with much more enthusiasm, practically regarding him as an honored guest.

Such differential treatment is simply because Jia Huan was born into the Rong Mansion.

Aunt Xue's idea was certainly somewhat extreme, but it also aligned with the mainstream of the time.

The Xue family paid such a high price, and they had no intention of expecting the Prince of Zhongshun to share in the profits from overseas; that was unrealistic.

In fact, what the Xue family wanted was very simple: to restore their ancestor's official title of "Ziwei Sheren"!

But now that things have come to this point, Prince Zhongshun has still not fulfilled his promise, and the Xue family is quite anxious.

Yet they dared not ask, which shows just how anxious they were!

"Yes, if the Rong family could have a fiefdom in the outer sea, then Baoyu would be completely worry-free in the future!"

The old lady sighed, "Let's see how things go. If there's a real opportunity, I definitely won't miss it!"

Hearing this, Aunt Xue secretly grimaced!

So, the old lady is thinking of increasing Jia Baoyu's future leverage again, without even considering whether he can hold onto it or manage his territory well.

Sometimes, even Aunt Xue didn't understand what the old lady was thinking.

Why do they favor Jia Baoyu the only grandson they have, when there are clearly other more promising ones?

But judging from Jia Baoyu's current behavior, he is clearly an incompetent fool.

Of course, she wouldn't easily voice these thoughts.

"There will be a chance!"

She herself felt that she was being quite perfunctory when she said those words.

Just then, a head maid came to report that the Dowager Princess of Nan'an had arrived.

Aunt Xue got up to say goodbye, showing no intention of getting to know the Princess of Nan'an.

The current Dowager Princess of Nan'an has become a laughing stock among officials and commoners in the capital.

The more effort she put into saving the Prince of Nan'an back then, the more awkward her situation is now!

As for the Prince of Nan'an's mansion, it was obvious to everyone that it had rapidly declined and that people were generally unwilling to associate with it anymore, showing signs of being rejected and isolated by the powerful and influential people in the capital.

This is the truth, quite cruel and realistic!

Especially now that Jia Huan has won the battle, it further highlights the incompetence of the Prince of Nan'an.

After leaving Rongqing Hall, Aunt Xue did not return to the Xue family immediately. Instead, she took a detour to Yingchun's place, where Xue Baochai and her sisters were indeed present.

Upon seeing Aunt Xue arrive, the group of girls hurriedly stood up to greet her.

Yingchun blushed slightly. Although Aunt Xue came to visit from time to time, she still felt a little embarrassed because her future mother-in-law was too enthusiastic.

"Mother, why are you here? Weren't you talking to the old lady?"

After Xue Baochai sat down, she asked curiously, "How about we go to Auntie's place?"

"Are you annoyed that I'm interrupting your private conversation?"

Aunt Xue rolled her eyes, making all the girls smile awkwardly. Then she said irritably, "The Dowager Princess of Nan'an is coming, so I took the initiative to avoid her!"

Although they didn't use a sarcastic tone, a certain thought involuntarily arose in the minds of the girls present: the Princess Consort of Nan'an is not favored by Aunt Xue.

Indeed, they were not well-liked, so who would dare to easily associate with the Prince of Nan'an's mansion at this time?

If things go wrong, the current emperor might take notice of them.

Do you really think the current emperor will remain indifferent to what the Princess Consort of Nan'an did before?

He was simply in the wrong and didn't want to get entangled with an old woman.

However, the Princess Consort of Nan'an has caused the current emperor to lose face, and may even be recorded in the history books. That is not something that can be explained away simply by offending her.

At this time, only close relatives dared to contact the Dowager Princess of Nan'an; everyone else avoided her like the plague.

Aunt Xue's attitude was already quite good; she was just a complete stranger.

If it were someone with a less virtuous character, the Dowager Empress would probably have had to endure a cold shoulder.

Of all the girls present, Tan Chun's feelings were naturally the most complicated!

Who told the former Dowager Princess of Nan'an to intentionally send her out to help with the 'marriage alliance'?

Even if Madam Wang and the old lady tried to hide it, the Rong Mansion was a big sieve, how could they possibly hide it?

Tan Chun was quite frightened at the beginning!

Fortunately, both Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai were sensible people and immediately told her not to worry, that such a thing could never happen.

The mere fact that Jia Huan and Jia Cong disagreed was enough to constitute a valid reason.

For the same reason, Tan Chun also harbored resentment towards the Prince of Nan'an's mansion!

It must be said that the current Prince of Nan'an does have daughters, and quite a few at that.

Whether they are born of the principal wife or an illegitimate child, why do people cherish their own daughters while harming other people's daughters? It's truly wicked how people can be so cruel.

Previously, I had heard that the Prince of Nan'an's mansion had no choice but to send out his concubine's daughter, and I had felt a sense of schadenfreude. I never expected that there would be another change in the situation.

Aunt Xue has a very good temper, and if she really wanted to get along well with the girls, it would be quite easy for her.

And so, she showed no intention of leaving. She sat down and chatted and laughed with the girls, even recounting her conversation with the old lady.

That's why I say Aunt Xue has amazing social skills!

What she had told the old lady before, others would certainly not easily tell their juniors.

Those who hold power in a family will not easily discuss such important matters with their children unless they are carefully grooming the next generation of heirs.

It was as if their own authority would be damaged by saying these things.

Aunt Xue didn't have such concerns, since she wasn't the one in charge at home anyway.

Sure enough, the girls immediately became interested and started chattering excitedly about the information Aunt Xue had given them, each one beaming with joy.

Lin Daiyu casually drew a simple map of the sea on a piece of white paper, pointing out that this was the Prince Zhongshun's stronghold in the outer sea, and what kind of development plans he had in the future.

This left not only the other girls speechless, but even Aunt Xue was dumbfounded.

The way they looked at Lin Daiyu was completely different.

Although Lin Daiyu humbly stated that Jia Huan had provided her with this specific information, Aunt Xue still felt that Lin Daiyu was quite extraordinary, and that she must have her own understanding and insights into the things she had just described.

Besides, the fact that Jia Huan could tell her these things meant that he absolutely approved of her.

In other words, Jia Huan and Lin Daiyu had a pretty good foundation for their relationship!

Tsk tsk, how come I never noticed this before?

Aunt Xue's gossip-loving spirit burned brightly, and then she sat quietly to the side, listening to the girls' heated debate based on the information from the nautical chart provided by Lin Daiyu.

Just listening to them from the sidelines, I could clearly feel the girls' remarkable talent!

Chapter 359 The Slap in the Face Came Too Quickly (Please Subscribe)

Because of the engagement, or perhaps because the Rong family wanted to save face, Yingchun got her own small courtyard.

Of course, it's only a temporary stay; the courtyard will be taken back after the wedding.

That's why the girls could really show off their skills; otherwise, there wouldn't be enough space.

Lin Daiyu may have had experience; Jia Huan had previously given her many sand tables, allowing her to simulate business operations and construction, which gave her insights and, combined with her own knowledge, a strong sense of the big picture.

Even someone like Aunt Xue felt enlightened and had all her doubts resolved after listening to Lin Daiyu's eloquent discourse.

In fact, that's not the case at all!