Is This What They Call a Grandparent's Special Affection?

Liu Su'e knelt down and said, "Your Highness is too kind. Our family has always favored Wanwan, and Wanwan has always been our priority."

The eldest princess sneered:

"Everything revolves around Wanwan, do you believe that?"

The child has been in the palace for so long, yet you don't seem to care at all.

My poor Wanwan, I wonder what kind of life she's living in the cold palace.

Zhou Qingyan, Zhou Qingchen, and Zhou Qinghe also came today. Zhou Qingyan looked at her and said, "Princess, this is a misunderstanding. Wanwan is not as weak as you think."

The eldest princess stared coldly at them and said, "Misunderstanding? I haven't even mentioned you three brothers yet! You really don't care about her at all."

Zhou Qingchen said helplessly, "Wanwan is really amazing, she's now..."

Then Zhou Wanwan's voice came from outside. She walked in and said, "You're all here!"

The princess's eyes reddened as she looked at Zhou Wanwan and said:

"Wanwan, you've suffered so much. It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back."

Oh dear, you've lost so much weight! That cold palace is a monster; we're never going there again.

Zhou Wanwan chuckled and said:

I came back to see you because I was afraid you would worry.

By the way, I'm doing quite well in the Cold Palace, so don't worry!

The eldest princess wiped away her tears and said:

"Nonsense! Everyone knows what kind of life she lived in the Cold Palace, but don't I?"

My mother was once imprisoned in the Cold Palace, and I spent two years there myself. I couldn't bear to live like that for even a day.

Wanwan, you'd better not go back. I don't believe they can do anything to you.

Zhou Wanwan waved her hand and said:

"Grandma, it's really great. I can eat anything I want in the palace."

I must say, the dishes prepared in the Imperial Kitchen are truly excellent; they have a perfect combination of color, aroma, and taste.

Zhou Wanwan took out more than a dozen dishes and said, "Dad, Mom, brother, these are all freshly cooked. Please try them, they're delicious!"

Braised bear paw, braised fish maw, matsutake mushroom stewed pigeon, abalone sauce with king oyster mushrooms, gold leaf chalcedony cake, fish maw stewed with snow fungus, imperial deer tongue, lotus seed paste, pearl dumplings, rock sugar snow frog paste, braised shark fin...

Zheng Xing'an instructed the maid beside her to lay all the dishes on the table.

The princess was dumbfounded. "Where did you get all these dishes?"

Zhou Wanwan chuckled and said:

"The Imperial Kitchen! Those chefs Imperial Kitchen are truly skilled."

There are a few really nice elderly people here; I was planning to invite them!

The chefs in the Imperial Kitchen would be dismissed from the palace when they reached a certain age. In fact, they were all only in their forties or fifties, which was the age when they should be making their mark.

Therefore, Zhou Wanwan plans to take all these masters under her wing.

Today, Zhou Wanwan went to the Imperial Kitchen to discuss this matter, but unexpectedly, the chefs cooked a huge feast for her.

After all, working for Zhou Wanwan would earn a solid fifty taels of silver a month, which was no less than the salary in the palace.

Back in the palace, even a chief steward's monthly salary was only 10 taels of silver.

They can get fifty taels of silver as soon as they go out. The key is that Zhou Wanwan has little to do. All they need to do is cook.

Zhou Wanwan looked at the Princess and said:

"Why don't you try it? Consider it a new dish."

"Our other restaurant will be opening soon, and we'll use these dishes as our signature dishes."

The eldest princess ate the dishes and said, "This tastes just like the food in the palace. It seems you've been living quite well there."

Zhou Wanwan nodded and said, "It's really quite good. I even tidied up the Cold Palace; it's really hard to stay in there."

The eldest princess smiled and said:

"That must have been tough on you. It must have been quite cold in the Cold Palace, right?"

I'll pack you some clothes, charcoal, and a heater when I leave, so you don't get cold.

Zhou Wanwan quickly shook her head and said, "It's not cold in the Cold Palace, really. Besides, there's charcoal in the Cold Palace, so don't worry, I won't get cold there."

But how could the eldest princess believe that?

The eldest princess patted her hand and said:

"I am your grandmother, there is not much I can do for you."

But if you really run into trouble, I'll risk my life to protect you.

The eldest princess truly loved Zhou Wanwan from the bottom of her heart.

Strangely enough, she didn't have any particularly deep feelings for Zhou Fusheng, but it was different for Zhou Wanwan.

He doted on her and wanted to give her the very best.

Is this what they call grandparental affection?

Anyway, even the eldest princess couldn't say for sure.

Watching Zhou Wanwan disappear into the night, she sighed deeply, "That girl is really amazing. I was genuinely afraid she might have been wronged."

The old nanny beside him reassured him, "Don't worry! The young master doesn't seem like the type to suffer injustice."

The eldest princess said helplessly, "Others may not know, but don't you? This palace is full of Noble Consort Ning's people. I'm really afraid she'll suffer."

The old woman advised, "There's nothing we can do about it. The one in the palace won't let you in; she's clearly favoring Noble Consort Ning."

The eldest princess sighed, "How could he be so foolish? What's so good about Noble Consort Ning? He's like a lost soul, he listens to everything she says."

The old woman kept quiet.

The eldest princess rambled on and on:

"Look at Zhou Fusheng and Liu Su'e, they're not very close to me, and those three grandsons don't seem to be close to me either."

"Only Wanwan is really good to me."

"Yes, yes, the young master is truly good to you, and he really treats you like his own grandmother." The nanny nodded repeatedly.

When the eldest princess mentioned Zhou Wanwan, her smile deepened, "Yes! I heard that those three young men are already engaged. Which families are they from?"

The old woman replied:

"The eldest son, Zhou Qingyan, is Su Zhixia from the family of Su Jingzhi, a fourth-rank Hanlin Academy lecturer."

The second child is from the Feng Clan; she is the granddaughter of Feng Zhengwei, the patriarch of the Feng Clan.

The third son is engaged to Shen Yunshu, the daughter of Shen Congrong from the Shen Clan family.

The eldest princess chuckled and said:

"The eldest and third sons are both quite good, so why would the second son betrothed to Feng Zhengwei's granddaughter?"

None of the Feng Clan are currently serving as officials in the imperial court. Oh well! We'll have to ask them again later!

To be honest, their status is not worthy of my grandson.

The old woman whispered, "This marriage was arranged beforehand, it's probably not going to be changed."

The eldest princess snorted coldly and said, "That's true, but I want to personally choose the best marriage for my Wanwan."

The nanny didn't dare say anything.

Zhou Wanwan returned to the palace, she found that several hundred more trees had appeared in the Cold Palace, making it look vibrant and full of life.

At night, these trees would also turn over the ground of the Cold Palace, making it easier for them to plant crops the next day.

There was originally no water in the Cold Palace, but ever since a pond was dug, the trees have diverted the water from the pond into the vegetable garden.

This is starting to look quite nice.

Zhou Wanwan returned to the Cold Palace and fell asleep quickly. The next morning, she woke up all the concubines in the palace.

"Get up and get to work. I'll lead you through some yoga today to loosen up your muscles."

Then we can start working.