Are These Two Devils?

Sure enough, that evening, Eunuch Hai came to deliver the invitation.

His high-pitched voice rang out:

"By order of the Empress Dowager, with the end of the year approaching, a New Year's banquet will be held in the palace on the first day of the Lunar New Year, and the female members of the Princess's household will be invited to the banquet."

"Enter the palace for an audience at the appointed time; there must be no delay."

After announcing the imperial decree, he added, "The Empress Dowager also said that you must attend."

Zhou Wanwan looked at him and asked, "What exactly does the Empress Dowager mean?"

Eunuch Hai said softly, "This time, only ladies of noble birth, daughters of the imperial family, and eligible young ladies from prominent families are allowed to attend the banquet. I wonder what they're planning."

Zhou Wanwan frowned and said, "That old hag is stirring up trouble again."

Eunuch Hai smiled helplessly and said, "Alright, I'll head back now. She's definitely up to something."

"Just deal with whatever comes our way."

After Eunuch Hai left, Su Zhixia, Feng Yueyao, and Shen Yunshu all came in from outside.

These are Zhou Wanwan's three sisters-in-law. Although they haven't married into the Zhou Family yet, they still come to visit Zhou Wanwan often.

Su Zhixia pulled Zhou Wanwan and said:

"You've been busy all the time since you came back to the capital."

He started out in the palace, and now that he's out, he's too busy to go home.

I have no idea what you've been busy with.

Zhou Wanwan chuckled and said, "Of course I'm busy. I won tens of millions of taels of silver from them yesterday!"

The three of them gathered around, and Feng Yueyao asked, "How did you win? My god, your money-making ability is terrifying!"

Zhou Wanwan thought for a moment and said:

"I don't know what Xie Cheng'en was thinking. I ran into him yesterday, and he insisted on taking me to his gambling den. I'm quite curious, you know!"

"Fine, let's go take a look!" But he insisted on getting those wealthy businessmen to gamble with me.

Let's gamble it out! As it turned out, all the people he brought in were wealthy merchants from Jiangnan, Zhejiang, Anhui... all sorts of people.

Those wealthy businessmen thought I was easy to bully, but...

Feng Yueyao said with a "so":

"Oh, I see! I knew it!"

Oh, by the way, we came to tell you that the Empress Dowager wants us to come to the palace tomorrow as well.

Zhou Wanwan frowned and said, "She wants you all to enter the palace? What exactly does she want?"

Shen Yunshu shook her head and said:

"Nobody knows what she's up to right now; we're engaged."

Generally speaking, the palace doesn't allow us to attend banquets.

But this time, the palace specifically requested that we go.

Zhou Wanwan looked at them and said, "Then you guys go! It'll be a good opportunity to see what she's up to."

Early the next morning, Zhou Wanwan changed her clothes, and the Princess, Liu Su'e, and Zhou Fusheng also got into the carriage.

The eldest princess said, "We all need to be careful when we go to the palace this time. We don't know what she's up to."

Zhou Wanwan nodded and said, "There's a war going on at the border right now, and I never expected they'd still hold a banquet. It's ridiculous."

The front lines have just suffered a defeat. No matter how capable the old man of the Xie Family is, he's still over 60 years old. How can he withstand such torment?

In addition, his soldiers were all good-for-nothings, utterly incapable of fighting.

Of course, the palace is not yet aware of the defeat at the front; even if the news is sent as quickly as possible, it will take several days to reach them.

Otherwise, today's banquet might not be able to take place.

Zhou Wanwan nodded and said, "I know, I'll definitely talk less and eat more."

The eldest princess looked at her and said, "Don't eat anything from the palace casually. If someone smuggles something in, it will be troublesome."

Zhou Wanwan nodded obediently. Their carriage was stopped as soon as it entered the palace gate.

The guard with the sword looked at them and said, "Princess, we need to search the items in your carriage to prevent any problems from arising."

The princess's lips twitched. Ever since the last time, she had to be searched every time she entered the palace.

The guards searched for a long time, making a mess of the clothes the princess had prepared.

The eldest princess looked at them and said, "Are you all crazy? Why are you making such a mess of our things while searching?"

The guards explained, "Please calm down, Your Highness. There's nothing we can do about it."

This was a secret order given by people close to the Empress Dowager; they had no choice but to comply.

The eldest princess gritted her teeth and said, "Fine."

She boarded the carriage, and the eldest princess sneered, "She's really something else; her heart is so small, she can't tolerate anyone at all."

Zhou Wanwan said in a low voice:

"This Empress Dowager is no ordinary person; she has harmed many concubines in the harem before!"

"And the children of all the concubines in the harem, she killed them all."

The eldest princess said softly:

"It not only harmed them, but also many old ministers. My mother's family is now forced to farm."

I've been thinking of visiting them lately, but I don't know where they are now.

Zhou Wanwan said calmly:

"They're in a small village in the western suburbs. We can go and visit them sometime."

However, their current status is that of slaves; you should be prepared for that.

Zhou Wanwan only found out about it in the last two days.

The eldest princess nodded and said, "It's alright. I have to go see them, otherwise I won't feel at ease."

The carriage arrived at Palace of Compassion and Tranquility quickly, and the eldest princess stepped down from the carriage. Many people had already arrived.

Princess Jing'an and Princess Ningyuan saw her arrive and walked over. Princess Jing'an said, "Oh! Isn't this our eldest princess? I heard she's living in a suburban estate now. I wonder if she's settling in well."

Princess Ningyuan covered her mouth and said:

"Oh my! Eldest sister, really? You live in the suburbs now?"

"You live quite far away, so it must be difficult for you to even go out to the street, right?"

The eldest princess looked at them and said, "We have everything we need at home; there's no need to buy anything."

Princess Ningyuan covered her mouth and said:

"I'm afraid I can't afford much. Your estates are indeed quite nice, especially the fruit trees, they're planted really well."

"By next spring, we'll probably have a bountiful harvest."

Princess Jing'an nodded and said, "Those shops are good too; they can make a lot of money if rented out!"

Zhou Wanwan hummed softly. Those fruit trees were indeed quite nice; she had long wanted to move them back home.

Her base of operations is in Dongshan Prefecture, Dongshan Prefecture is getting better and better, especially Dongshan Prefecture fruit trees, which are gradually gaining fame.

The eldest princess looked at them and said, "Then I'll give them to you. There's nothing to be proud of. Taking other people's things will eventually come at a price."

Princess Jing'an snorted coldly:

"What price could there be? It's not our fault!"

Who told you to upset Mother?

Princess Ningyuan looked at Zhou Wanwan and said, "I heard you own many estates! And the vegetables and fruits from your estates are quite good!"

Zhou Wanwan looked up at them. Were these two devils? They didn't spare anything.

Princess Ningyuan covered her mouth and said, "I was just kidding! I really wouldn't look down on your paltry sums."