After being forced into a marriage with a wealthy family, the virtuous wife caused a huge uproar.

Rong Yingluo nodded emphatically.

"I'm going to find A-Ce." Gu Jingheng had never been so excited.

Rong Yingluo's arrival today was like timely rain, nourishing his parched heart.

His stepmother has let go of the past and will no longer suppress him.

He could continue his scientific expeditions, and he wanted to stand tall with his wife.

Rong Yingluo smiled sweetly; it seemed she had made another good connection.

Gu Jingheng bowed deeply to Rong Yingluo, walked out of the study, and went directly to the front yard.

Rong Yingluo took Gu Qingling back to Yinliu Courtyard to choose a suitable dress and jewelry to take back, and arranged to meet at the gate on the day of the birthday banquet.

She wrote another letter and asked Wu Dali to deliver it back to the Rong family. Before it got dark, Wu Dali delivered the reply to the Silver Willow Courtyard.

It was the eldest brother who replied. The Rong family was willing to provide the Gu family with a batch of fine silk to alleviate their immediate crisis, but the settlement price would be half a percent higher than the purchase price.

In other words, the Rong family isn't giving it away for free; they have to provide some profit.

Rong Yingluo passed this message on to her third uncle, telling him to talk to her eldest brother directly the next day.

The next day.

After learning how to manage a household from the old lady, Rong Yingluo had lunch and then quietly left through a side door with Yinghong, passing through the alley and arriving at the Prince of Beijun's residence.

To avoid attracting attention, she didn't use the front door, but instead went through the back door.

The gatekeepers, upon seeing Rong Yingluo arrive, led her inside without needing to announce her arrival.

Rong Yingluo visited her former residence many times, and most of the servants and guards in the Northern Prince's Mansion recognized her, knowing that she was their master's sworn sister.

Rong Yingluo was led to the study and saw that Yuwen Zhang was actually doing accounts.

"Brother Zhang can do accounting too?" Rong Yingluo had only ever seen him practice martial arts.

"The way you put it makes it sound like I'm an idiot," Yuwen Zhang chuckled. "I've learned everything a prince is supposed to learn. Isn't it normal for me to know how to do some accounting?"

Yuwen Zhang put down the account book in his hand, turned his wheelchair to the tea table, and the servant immediately served him tea.

Rong Yingluo picked up the teacup and took a sip: "Hmm, the treatment is indeed different. This tea is a rare find, pre-rain Longjing. It's already mid-October, and this kind of good tea is hard to find on the market. We'll have to wait until next year for it to be available."

"You're right. This was a gift from the Emperor," Yuwen Zhang said with a smile.

A great fire brought him before his father, the emperor, where he received a sliver of the emperor's pity.

Only after receiving a large mansion and a large amount of rewards did he have the opportunity to settle accounts.

In the old days, in that small house, we didn't even need to keep accounts; we could calculate everything clearly in our minds.

Now he also owns his own farmland, shops, and money.

"I've come to discuss something important with you," Rong Yingluo said, putting down her teacup and getting down to business.

"What is it?" Yuwen Zhang's gaze froze.

"Do you remember the time I told you about my encounter with bandits who tried to rob and kill me?"

"I remember. The time you went to Jing'an Hall with the third young mistress of the Qi family." Yuwen Zhang remembered Rong Yingluo's affairs very clearly. He even had someone investigate that incident.

He suspected it was the Duchess who was behind it, but a closer investigation revealed otherwise. The real culprit remains unknown to this day.

"Yesterday, Uncle Gu said that a batch of goods he had purchased was robbed by bandits in Huangling Mountain, Gong County," Rong Yingluo said.

"You want me to bring the goods back for your Gu family?" Yuwen Zhang raised an eyebrow; this wasn't going to be easy.

"Of course not. I just want you to make a fortune." Rong Yingluo smiled mysteriously.

"What do you mean?" Yuwen Zhang's spirits lifted.

He needs money most right now, to support so many people, and the daily expenses are considerable, not to mention the continuous influx of people coming in the future.

"Huangling Mountain is only a little over a hundred miles from the capital, yet there is such a group of bandits. Do you think it's because the local officials are incompetent, or because the officials and bandits are colluding?" Rong Yingluo's eyes revealed a deep meaning.

"They even dared to rob the goods of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, so the most likely explanation is that they are colluding with officials and bandits." Yuwen Zhang understood immediately upon hearing this.

"That's right, so reporting it to the authorities won't be of any use to Third Uncle."

As the prime minister, Gu Ce might be able to exert pressure on the prefect of Gong County in his name, but the money in the hands of the bandits would end up in the national treasury.

"If we double-cross them, the bandits' money will end up in your pocket." Rong Yingluo revealed a sly smile.

Yuwen Zhang's eyes suddenly lit up; he immediately understood what Rong Yingluo hadn't explicitly said.

He now has over three hundred remaining soldiers, whose weapons he borrowed from the military arsenal have not yet been returned. He can use them again to secretly wipe out the bandits in Huangling Mountain, and the wealth on the mountain will be his.

The distance of a little over a hundred miles is not far; if you travel at a fast pace, you can get there in two days at most.

"Good idea." Yuwen Zhang gratefully refilled Rong Yingluo's tea.

"I'll only touch on this matter briefly. You can ask Prince Li for a plan. He understands military strategy better than you." Rong Yingluo didn't look down on Yuwen Zhang, but rather that they each had their own strengths.

Although Yuwen Zhang was two years older than Li Xuanye and had been in the army for several years, he was still inferior to Li Xuanye, who had been groomed as his successor since childhood.

"Wait for my good news," Yuwen Zhang assured him.

After Rong Yingluo left, Yuwen Zhang went to Zhenwei Escort Agency.

They discussed the matter seriously with several leaders.

That very day, Yuwen Zhang dispatched dozens of clever men out of the capital, heading straight for Gong County to gather information about the news and the terrain.

Rong Yingluo returned to the mansion and continued to repair her silver plate.

Each piece features a unique fish pattern and pose, but all are paired up in playful poses, making them a perfect wedding gift for the eldest sister.

However, it only lasted for an hour, which was much better than the first time she saw it.

To completely eradicate them, we'd have to try raising two red-striped toads.

"Husband, where did the people you sent to find the Red-banded Toad find it?" Rong Yingluo asked, wiping Gu Ce's hands and face with a handkerchief.

Having endured a torment, Gu Ce was still in relatively good spirits and was even able to walk to the bedside and lie down on his own this time.

"They found a hot spring on a mountain. The spring was too hot to be used for bathing, so no one disturbed it, making it a perfect habitat for the red-striped toad."

"How far is it from the capital?" Rong Yingluo asked.

"Huizhou Prefecture is about a thousand li from the capital. Why are you asking this question?"

"I don't know much about the habits of the red-striped toad. If I still can't bring it back by then, I'll have to go there myself." Rong Yingluo had a feeling that she might not be able to bring it back even by summer.

"Alright, then I'll send someone to buy that mountain. I'll go with you then," Gu Ce decided.

He desperately wanted to rid his body of the toxins.

Two days later, Rong Yingluo finally repaired the eighteen silver plates. Yinghong neatly arranged the eighteen silver plates on the table, the gold and silver colors complementing each other beautifully.

"Miss, it's so beautiful. I've never seen such an exquisite gilded silver platter with two fish." Yinghong exclaimed in amazement.

"Yinghong, wrap them all in cloth, find a larger box, pack them up, and send them to Liaocheng immediately." Rong Yingluo was very satisfied with her craftsmanship.

From now on, my eldest sister will use this set of silver plates as tableware. If anyone tries to poison her, this set of silver plates will be able to stop them from doing so.

She had a premonition that her brother-in-law was no ordinary person. How could someone who could afford to employ bodyguards like Ling Feng and Ling Yun be just an ordinary merchant's son? Therefore, her eldest sister would inevitably face the complexities of the inner quarters of the household in the future.

"Why send it to Liaocheng?" Gu Ce's voice rang out at the door.