After getting married, she spent every night alone in her room; when she asked for a divorce, he kne

Liu Yuansheng stared at the contract in his hand, feeling apprehensive.

She only agreed to marry into the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion for the sake of Abbess Jing'an, and she was prepared to be harassed in every way. She thought that as long as Abbess Jing'an was safe, she didn't care if she suffered all kinds of humiliation in the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

But things were clearly not as she had imagined.

Here she has a loving grandmother, in-laws who never criticize her, and an older brother, sister-in-law, and younger brother-in-law who never cause her trouble.

The servants were very respectful to her, and even Xiao Jinghan's children liked her very much and relied on her like a family member.

The only thing that occasionally made her feel uncomfortable was her husband, Xiao Jinghan, who slapped her on their wedding night. However, Xiao Jinghan tacitly agreed to be her husband, and he did not mistreat her. He would even help her when she was in trouble.

But Xiao Jinghan isn't by her side right now, so she has to handle this herself.

"What's wrong? Too many contracts, are you overwhelmed?"

Before Liu Yuansheng could come up with a solution, the old lady picked up two contracts and suggested, "Why don't you practice with these two shops first? One sells grain, and the other sells cloth. The accounts are simple, and the distance is short. It won't take much time to go back and forth. You can go and take a look today."

As he spoke, he stuffed the contract into Liu Yuansheng's arms. Liu Yuansheng had no choice but to agree and left Baohe Hall with the contract.

Back at Chenxiang Courtyard, Liu Yuansheng summoned Ying'er and asked her to style his hair into a simple bun and change into some light clothing.

Xiao Jinghan was lying on the bed playing with Yan'er. Yan'er could already roll over, raising her arms and legs, trying her best to roll around on the bed, looking like a round, chubby ball of flesh, which made Xiao Jinghan laugh out loud.

"Alright, alright, my child, you'll fall to the floor if you keep rolling." Xiao Jinghan scooped Yan'er, who had rolled to the edge of the bed, back into his arms, and looked at Liu Yuansheng, who had put on her veil, and asked, "It's almost noon, are you still going out?"

"My grandmother gave me a grain shop and a cloth shop and taught me how to manage them," Liu Yuansheng said.

"A grain shop? A cloth shop?" Xiao Jinghan chuckled. "Do you know how to manage one?"

"Of course I don't know," Liu Yuansheng said honestly.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jinghan immediately softened his tone and earnestly comforted her, "It's alright. No one is born knowing everything. The old lady has her reasons for making you learn. Just study hard."

Liu Yuansheng tied the ribbon on her veil and looked at Xiao Jinghan lying on the bed through the gossamer-thin gauze curtain.

He was holding up a rattle to tease Yan'er, his lips curved into a smile, his eyes sparkling, clearly showing he was genuinely happy.

Even the way he looked at her was full of kindness, no longer as cold as when they first met, as if he had forgotten what happened at the Princess's residence and no longer cared.

Liu Yuansheng's eyes dimmed, and she shook off the unpleasant memories in her mind, saying, "Then I'll go."

Xiao Jinghan: "Go."

Liu Yuansheng nodded and led Ying'er out of the room. Xiao Jinghan then stood up and instructed the servants, "Go and tell the eldest young mistress that the third young mistress has gone out to sort out the accounts. I'm a little worried. I'd appreciate it if the eldest young mistress could take the third young mistress to Donghua Street first, and then to Nanhua Street."

"Yes."

The servant obeyed and left. Xiao Jinghan handed Yan'er over to Nanny Li and went to his study.

Just as Liu Yuansheng boarded the carriage, a clear voice called out to her, "Third sister-in-law, wait for me, I'll go with you."

Liu Yuansheng turned around and saw Xie Qinghe walking over hurriedly with two maids.

Liu Yuansheng hurriedly got off the carriage and bowed to Xie Qinghe, "Sister-in-law."

"Get up, get up, why are you being so formal?" Xie Qinghe helped Liu Yuansheng up. "Where are you going?"

Liu Yuansheng then told Xie Qinghe everything about how the old lady had entrusted her with the two shops.

Xie Qinghe laughed and said, "What a coincidence! I also need to check on my shops. How about we go together? After we've finished dealing with things at the shops, we can stroll around outside and buy some new gadgets. What do you think?"

"I'll follow my sister-in-law's arrangements."

"Alright, let's go!"

Xie Qinghe helped Liu Yuansheng into the carriage. The two had barely left when someone ran out of the side gate of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion and headed straight for the Prime Minister's residence...

Throughout the journey, Liu Yuansheng listened to Xie Qinghe speak. Xie Qinghe came from a humble background; her father was only a fifth-rank official in the capital, and her maternal family had been merchants for generations. If it weren't for Xiao Jingting's disability, she would never have been able to climb the social ladder to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

After marriage, she and Xiao Jingting were quite loving and harmonious, but they still had no children after many years of marriage, which was a hidden pain in their hearts.

Xie Qinghe was open-minded and cheerful, and had excellent interpersonal relationships in the mansion, which was very different from her husband Xiao Jingting. As the eldest son of the Duke of Zhenguo, Xiao Jingting was originally the designated heir of the Duke of Zhenguo, but after an accident, he became disabled in both legs, and the position of heir fell to Xiao Jinghan.

Perhaps for this reason, Xiao Jingting was very distant from Xiao Jinghan, but very close to the Yuan family.

"I heard that the old lady is taking you to the Jade Void Temple for a religious ceremony. I'll go too, and we'll pray for a son together! Let me tell you, you can't get a foothold in the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion without a son!"

Xie Qinghe had been imparting the survival rules of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion to Liu Yuansheng the whole way. Liu Yuansheng listened silently, keeping his eyes fixed on Xie Qinghe as a sign of respect. This emboldened Xie Qinghe, who continued, "When we get to Yuxu Temple, let's get some of that talisman water to drink. It's said to be incredibly effective! I also have a secret recipe for having a son. I'll give you a copy later. Remember to drink it on time!"

Liu Yuansheng was so frustrated she could hardly bear to listen anymore.

According to Ying'er, she and Xie Qinghe were both granddaughters-in-law of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, and were at the center of the power struggle within the household. They should have been irreconcilable enemies, fighting to the death. However, Xie Qinghe was very enthusiastic in trying to get her to have children together, and even taught her the secret to having children.

Having children? Liu Yuansheng had never thought about this. She felt that she would never be pregnant and give birth in her life.

Before we knew it, we had arrived at Donghua Street.

The carriage slowly came to a stop. Ying'er opened the door and poked her head in, saying, "Miss, Young Madam, please get out of the carriage. We've arrived."

"Oh my, we're here so quickly! I haven't finished talking yet." Xie Qinghe bent over and stood up. "Let's go, let's go take a look at my shop."

Liu Yuansheng nodded and followed Xie Qinghe off the carriage, entering a shop called Baiweixiang.

This was a distillery, filled with the rich aroma of vinegar and wine. The manager, Wu Zhou, waited quietly outside the shop. Seeing Xie Qinghe approach, he stepped forward and said, "Greetings, sir! It's been so long since you've visited; I've missed you dearly!"

After speaking, she glanced at Liu Yuansheng, who was following behind Xie Qinghe, her face veiled and exuding a cool and aloof air. "And who is this?"

"This is the Third Young Mistress," Xie Qinghe said.

Wu Zhou suddenly realized, "So it's the Third Young Mistress! Greetings, Third Young Mistress! The arrival of the two young mistresses truly brings honor to our Hundred Flavors Fragrance Hall!"

"Alright, enough with the banter." Xie Qinghe went straight into the main hall. "It's been a while since I've been here. How's business at the shop?"

Wu Zhou looked troubled. "Well... why don't you take a look yourself, boss?"

After saying that, he went straight into the accounting room and handed the account book to Xie Qinghe.

Xie Qinghe quickly flipped through the list and said, "Why were so many collected?"

"Business hasn't been good lately," Wu Zhou said. "Young Madam, you've come at the perfect time. Please think of something to help us. If this continues, this brothel might have to close down!"

Xie Qinghe sneered, her beautiful face full of mockery. "Can't keep it open? This is a shop my mother gave me. You think it'll close down while I'm in charge?"

"Also, this ledger is used to deal with the authorities; go and bring me the secret accounts!"

Xie Qinghe, being from a merchant family, immediately spotted the problem with the ledger. Wu Zhou, not daring to be careless, quickly retrieved the secret ledger and handed it to Xie Qinghe.

Xie Qinghe quickly flipped through the documents, then flew into a rage, "You've collected so much from the secret accounts too! What are you doing?"

She grabbed the ledger, her fingertip lightly pointing to the abruptly inflated prices of drinks and vinegar. "You've more than doubled the prices. Who would come in to buy anything at such exorbitant prices?"

Wu Zhou rubbed his palms together and said with a wry smile, "Master, you are wise. Recently, there have been continuous floods in Jiangnan, and the waterways have been cut off. The price of rice used for brewing and making vinegar has increased by 30%. With the cost of raw materials remaining high, if the prices of wine, rice, and vinegar are not raised, the distillery will suffer losses. I had no choice but to adjust the prices."

Xie Qinghe raised her eyes, a half-smile on her face, and said, "You're making up this excuse because you think I'm young and easy to fool? The distillery's warehouse has a large stockpile of reserve grain. The purchase price was low, and the reserves are plentiful. How can you say that we were forced to raise prices due to rising raw material costs?"

Wu Zhou looked flustered and waved his hands repeatedly, "Master, you don't know, the warehouse is located in a low-lying area. It has been damp from the rain for days, and most of the stored grain has become moldy and rotten. It can't be used to brew wine, so we can only buy rice from outside at high prices, which naturally increases the cost."

"Moldy stored grain?" Xie Qinghe scoffed, raising his hand to order the servants behind him, "Go open the warehouse and summon the grain dealers."

Upon hearing this, Wu Zhou knelt down with a thud, his face instantly turning deathly pale.

Liu Yuansheng had already guessed what was going to happen next. She had been standing for a long time and was tired, so she tugged at Ying'er's sleeve and quietly left the hall.

"Miss, why are you out here? Don't you want to know how the eldest young mistress will deal with that Manager Wu?"

Ying'er, who was thoroughly engrossed in watching the excitement, said reluctantly.

Liu Yuansheng sighed, "What can we do? If he really embezzled the money in the account, my sister-in-law will definitely try to get the money back and send Manager Wu to the authorities."

Ying'er nodded, clenching her fists, and said, "This servant believes that Manager Wu must have sold the rice in the warehouse at a low price, put the money in his own pocket, and then used the excuse that the rice was moldy and unusable to deceive the young mistress."

"That's probably true." Liu Yuansheng walked out of the shop and said, "Human greed is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant; insatiable desires often lead to trouble in the end."

"Liu Yuansheng!"

Almost the instant Liu Yuansheng finished speaking, a sharp female voice entered her ears.

"You bitch, you really are here!"