Cen Yueqin, however, was rather impressed. "That just goes to show how capable Mrs. Gu is. To go from a farmer's wife to an Imperial Merchant... that's something we could never learn to do.
"To be honest, I really admire Mrs. Gu. She has her own way of making money and has built her business so successfully. Many men can't even compare to her."
Seeing her daughter hold Jin Qianqian in such high esteem, Mrs. Cen Zhang was displeased. "So what? A woman's duty is to manage the inner household. For someone like her to be in the limelight, who knows how many people are just waiting for her to make a spectacle of herself.
"Being so generous this time, giving away one hundred thousand taels of silver—she was probably just showing off to us.
"In any case, I can't stand her, and you'd better not learn from her example.
"Being so flamboyant… I just hope she doesn't bring disaster upon Mr. Gu down the line."
