The life swap begins with Consort Hua becoming Lady Qin.

Shilan did not reject her affection.

From her perspective in her past life, Wang Ruofu was undoubtedly a fool.

She allowed her husband to have an affair with his nominal sister-in-law right under her nose;

It was clearly a marriage of convenience, but Sheng Hong, who was pursuing an official career through the imperial examinations, would have to rely on his maternal family.

She stubbornly allowed Sheng Hong to welcome the heavily pregnant vixen into the house, and she even gave birth to a son and a daughter, whom he raised personally.

Sure enough, when that illegitimate daughter grew up, she surpassed her mother in ability, using the seductive tricks she had learned from her mother on outsiders, almost harming all the daughters in the family.

That is, Wang Ruofu's biological daughter!

In the imperial harem, someone like Wang Ruofu wouldn't even be deserving of a severe punishment from Consort Hua.

But after experiencing life and death in this lifetime, she has a completely different view of such people.

Wang Ruofu, who is easily influenced and simple-minded, and would never harm others even with minor evils, is quite good. At least, she is a thousand times, ten thousand times better than Cao Qinmo, who is two-faced and treacherous.

A fleeting thought even crossed her mind:

Wang Ruofu is simple-minded and easily fooled, but she is kind-hearted and generous. If she could become my second sister-in-law...

Why should she worry about not being able to win over her second brother, having her dowry stolen, or being sold off cheaply?

Unfortunately... thinking of her second brother Qin Zhengyang, who had become increasingly unable to hide his thoughts lately, Shilan shook her head.

Compared to Sun Baoqi, who is pampered and born into a noble family, Wang Ruofu is definitely easier to control and get along with.

But compared to Wang Ruofu, who is right next to him, Sun Baoqi, who is as bright as the moon in the sky, is more likely to inspire his second brother to strive for success.

Never mind, let's take it one step at a time.

Halfway through the banquet, Ying Qiongfang and Madam Wang were still chatting animatedly, and even ordered their maids to make tea. Seeing this, Shilan took Wang Ruofu to another courtyard.

While Wang Ruofu was admiring the garden of the Marquis's mansion, she took out an account book of the shops in the outer courtyard that she carried with her and continued to look through and check it.

These days, the accounts within the manor have been basically sorted out. However, the Marquis's manor has been operating for nearly a hundred years and has numerous shops and estates under its name, even in other places.

Because neither the Marquis of Dongchang nor his wife were good at managing the household, and due to years of neglect, deep-seated problems had accumulated.

She wanted to continue cleaning, but she was simply too young at the time.

One of the obvious disadvantages was that the maids who could act as her confidantes were all young. Even if they were loyal, they lacked the ability and experience to share the burden with her.

Shilan had no choice but to do everything herself, which is why progress was slow.

But settling accounts is like fighting a war; speed is of the essence. If the managers who are away from home don't catch up on the accounts by then, they will become suspicious once they receive news from inside the mansion and try to falsify the accounts to deceive her.

Oh well, human strength has its limits, so let's do as much as we can.

Now that she has the power to manage the household, she will be able to save up enough dowry before Qin Nanyan is divorced and marry herself off.

As for who to marry...

Let's see in a few years.

Shilan pulled herself out of her thoughts and focused on calculating the amount for a silk purchase. She frowned slightly, feeling that something was wrong with the numbers, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Suddenly, a chubby, pale finger timidly pointed to a spot in the account book: "Sister Shilan... isn't something amiss here?"

Shilan was taken aback and looked at Wang Ruofu with considerable surprise.

Wang Ruofu felt a little embarrassed when she looked at him, but still mustered up her courage to explain, "Sister, look, this record says that twenty bolts of Hangzhou silk were purchased at a price of three and a half taels each. But that month, due to heavy rains and reduced silk production, the market price for Hangzhou silk from Jiangnan generally rose to around four taels. His price is almost half a tael lower than the market price. Moreover, the wastage rate of this batch of silk recorded later is also a full ten percent higher than the industry standard... There's a significant difference in price."

Upon hearing this, Shilan was even more surprised. She carefully checked the information Wang Ruofu had pointed out and recalled the reports from her subordinates who had recently inquired about prices in the market. Sure enough, the figures were roughly correct!

"How...how do you know so much?" Shilan couldn't help but ask.

Seeing that he had guessed correctly, Wang Ruofu's face showed a little pride, along with a touch of naivety: "I grew up at my uncle's house when I was little. My uncle was a merchant, and his family owned a silk shop and a general store. From the time I was old enough to understand things, my uncle would hold me on his lap and let me look at these account books. I learned a little bit about them by being exposed to them."

As she spoke, her tone became somewhat downcast.

How happy she was at her uncle and aunt's house! No matter how many cousins ​​she had, no matter what she did, she was always her uncle and aunt's most beloved little Ruofu.

Unlike here...

Shilan looked at her, her eyes growing brighter and brighter.

The joy in my heart spread like ripples!

How could she have forgotten this? The original text clearly states that Madam Wang was a skilled housekeeper; otherwise, how could Sheng Hong, a mere fifth-rank official, possibly afford to provide for his concubines with property even with the support of his first wife's business?

And then there are the three Lans in the family. Although they are the legitimate daughters of minor officials, the clothes and jewelry they wear are of extremely respectable quality, even when attending occasions attended by royalty and nobility.

So this is hardly "knowing the basics".

Clearly, he possesses extraordinary talent!

Such sensitivity to market prices and thorough understanding of industry practices and losses make her exactly the kind of talent she urgently needs and finds most difficult to acquire!

She looked at Wang Ruofu as if she were a traveler who had been trekking through the desert for a long time and suddenly discovered a clear spring.

Shilan put down the account book, grasped Wang Ruofu's hand tightly, and smiled with an unprecedented brightness and sincerity: "Good sister, this is no small matter, you have done your sister a tremendous favor!"

She is simple-minded and extremely good at managing money.

Such a talented person, it's a bit of a waste for her to be a sister-in-law.

They should be under my command!

Looking at Wang Ruofu, who was bewildered yet filled with the joy of being recognized, Shilan smiled kindly.

"Songzhi, bring the account books!"