The concubine, a former cannon fodder, becomes pregnant, and the childless prince spoils her rotten.

"Unlike now, when you, young master, are in charge of the entire shop, everyone calls you the shopkeeper!" Lin Zhizhi said with a smile.

Liu Gulan's mind wasn't on this; she felt the words were sarcastic.

Both ashamed and angry, she retorted sharply, "You're nothing but a lowly rogue serving the prince. Do you really think you're on par with those pampered noble ladies?"

Lin Zhizhi knew that she was still angry about how she had made things difficult for her in front of the prince. "Young master, your words are so sarcastic. It's a pity that the prince has no homosexual desires. You can't serve him even if you want to."

"Bullshit! Who cares?" Liu Gulan slammed her hand on the table, her palm stinging and tingling from the force.

Then, recalling how the concubine had previously expressed her deep hatred for her when she showed goodwill, he said, "You won't be smug for long. Just you wait and see."

Having witnessed the concubine's methods, she now had a new understanding of the power of noblewomen from wealthy families, and thus her previous contempt for the concubine diminished.

Lin Zhizhi was too lazy to argue with her, so she picked out a few styles that she remembered were popular among wealthy women.

Without giving Liu Gulan a chance to stop him, he left directly.

"Who gave you permission to touch my goods? How could you do this? Did the Prince appoint you to manage the shop with me so you could line your own pockets? Your mother embezzled from the shop, raising a dishonest daughter."

Lin Zhizhi frowned, turned to look at Liu Gulan, and said, "Are you really that foolish? If you have any objections, you can go directly to the Prince and ask him to replace me."

From the very beginning, Lin Zhizhi had a very bad impression of Liu Gulan because she caused the downfall of the royal family.

After witnessing her methods, he found it even more unacceptable. Upon learning that Liu Gulan was colluding with the concubine, he was now too lazy to even put on a show.

Both sides are wary of each other, and their relationship has long been beyond repair.

Seeing Liu Gulan trying to pull her away, Lin Zhizhi dodged, saying, "Young master, men and women should not touch each other. If you continue like this, I will shout 'Indecent assault!'"

"Who would want you? How could you be so shameless!" Liu Gulan shouted, while scrutinizing Lin Zhizhi.

Seeing the allure in her eyes and brows, he became even more furious, calling her a "vixen."

Lin Zhizhi found it strange. Liu Gulan's malice towards her didn't seem like it was to ruin her plans, but rather it seemed like she was jealous because of Lin Zhizhi's closeness with the prince.

Wasn't Liu Gulan the one who most despised the power struggles within the inner quarters? Could it be that after aligning with the concubine, she can't stand seeing her favored?

Lin Zhizhi found it absurd when she heard Liu Gulan ask, "How do you know Fang Bin? Are you also from another time?"

"Young master, please don't joke. All children are born of fathers and mothers. How could the skill of threading a needle possibly produce a living child? If it were possible, the royal family would be thriving by now."

Liu Gulan was taken aback by her words, but after confirming that Lin Zhizhi was unaware of the plot, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Just as I was about to ask more questions, I realized that Lin Zhizhi had already walked quite a distance away.

He calmed down and began to reflect on his recent actions.

She had already left a bad impression on Fang Bin. Since Lin Zhizhi had beaten her to it, perhaps she could try to get in touch with Fang Bin in other ways.

For example, you could directly invite the other person to your home.

Having made up his mind, he bought some candy and entered the no-man's-land.

Xiao Liu noticed them as soon as they stepped inside, and before they even got close to Fang Bin's residence, they were stopped by his aunt.

"Where do you want to go? This isn't a place where just anyone can wander around. If you want to buy something, go to the street." The aunt was a big, burly woman, holding a kitchen knife in her hand, and looked quite menacing.

Liu Gulan dared not confront her directly, and said gently, "I have been entrusted by the Prince to come and offer my condolences to Fang Bin's family."

The aunt chuckled. If he really was sent by the prince, how could she not know?

That scoundrel of a scholar is again abusing his power in the name of the prince.

"Why would the Prince send someone to such a small place with such meager gifts? Get out of here! Fang Bin's family just had a bad time. You must have ill intentions for coming here. If you come any closer, I'll have someone throw you out."

Liu Gulan was not a patient person, and now that she had been stopped, she was enraged. "Who do you think you are, daring to stop me? What is your punishment for delaying such an important matter?"

How could her aunt be fooled?

"You lackey, remember this! I'm your great-aunt!" With that, her cleaver came crashing down.

He was skilled in martial arts, so the kitchen knife only managed to tear Liu Gulan's clothes.

She stumbled and dodged, scattering the candy in her hand all over the ground.

He thought to himself that everything was going wrong today, and that seeing Lin Zhizhi must have brought him bad luck.

Fang Bin had received the news earlier, but he had remained at home and refused to see Liu Gulan.

I just felt that she was using the prince's name to cause trouble, and that she was only courting disaster.

However, Lin Zhizhi was also interesting. She kept mentioning the Prince's Mansion, but never specifically said that she came on the Prince's orders.

She was inextricably linked to the Prince's mansion; rather than asking him to work for the Prince, it was more as if she herself was extending an olive branch.

He did find Lin Zhizhi more pleasing to the eye than the scholar. Although the prince did not show himself, he sent people to wait here.

Firstly, it was to restrain those who wanted to defame the prince; secondly, it was because they probably already had doubts about his identity and wanted to continue investigating.

I just don't know how the prince views Lin Zhizhi.

Then I remembered Lin Zhizhi's coaxing skills back in the government office; maybe that person actually enjoyed them.

Is it the Prince's Mansion?

Seeing that her father was staring at the book in his hand, Fang Qiao didn't dare to make a sound and just played with her fingers.

The warm, smooth jade pendant hung around her neck, hidden in her faded, washed clothes.

Fang Bin eventually used the silver coins to give Fang Qiao candy.

After returning to the mansion, Lin Zhizhi switched shifts with the maid on duty and presented the account book with a hopeful expression. After confirming that no one was around, she said softly, "These are the accounts that Mother used to oversee. Although I am not very bright, I can still see that these figures do not match the silver in the treasury."

Before Cen Jingyi could even ask, she blurted out, "Your Highness is so wise and powerful, you must have already noticed something was wrong."

"When my mother had her accident, I really didn't dare to take out the accounts. Yesterday, after receiving a suggestion from the prince, I felt that it would be safest to leave these items in the prince's hands."

"Please, Your Highness, spare my life, considering how diligently I have served you for so many years."

She then knelt down, awaiting the prince's judgment, while pondering how to casually bring up the matter of the plague.

"I never said I was going to punish you, so why are you talking so much?"

Seeing that Cen Jingyi found her noisy but did not get angry because the account book was delivered late, Lin Zhizhi smiled and raised her head, "I went to get some patterns. I want to meet with the Fifth Prince's concubines these days and send these embroideries out."

She said she would give it away, but she wasn't in a hurry to open up sales channels. She wanted to see how Liu Gulan, who disdained dealing with these women in the inner quarters, could manage to make the shop successful.

As long as she had been in contact with that concubine, she would have a reason to inform her about the epidemic.