How Could You Favor One Over the Other?

The Old Scholar Tree nearby nearly suffered internal injuries from holding it in.

Would you dare say that Zhou Wanwan owns only a pittance? She's probably the only one who does.

The Old Ancestor snorted coldly and said:

"It's really unlucky to encounter such a self-righteous woman, and all you get in return is a pittance."

"We must have over two hundred estates in the capital by now, right?"

The Old Scholar Tree nodded and said, "That's right! It's unfair to our brothers! They have to work so hard every night."

Zhou Wanwan cultivates so many fields that it's simply not cost-effective to use manual labor; she hired large trees for all of them.

Now she takes turns going to the estate every night to channel spiritual energy into the trees and crops.

That's how the crops grow quickly!

It's no wonder she was in such a hurry; it's just that her business is doing so well.

The Dongshan Prefecture is such a vast area; all the grain grown there, besides what they eat themselves, is exported overseas.

It was simply impossible to transport them to the capital.

Currently, all the takeout orders in Beijing are produced by their own farms, and fortunately, there is still some surplus.

But she really disagrees with the claim that what she has is just a pittance.

Zhou Wanwan looked at Princess Ningyuan and said:

Princess Ningyuan does indeed own quite a few estates!

But it's no use! You don't have a son, so what do you need so many estates for?"

Grand Princess Ningyuan was so angry she felt dizzy. "You brat, haven't you had enough of the Cold Palace yet? Believe me or not, I'll throw you there right now!"

Zhou Wanwan nodded and said:

"Sure! I don't care, it's all the same where I live anyway."

But wasn't I telling the truth?

Princess Ningyuan has only given birth to two daughters so far, but her health deteriorated and she could no longer have children.

She couldn't have children, and she wouldn't let the prince consort have any either.

Fortunately, the Prince Consort Ningyuan of Prince Consort Ningyuan already has a son outside the marriage, and recently he has been trying to find a way to have that son recognized as part of the family.

Zhou Wanwan looked at Princess Ningyuan, shook her head, and said, "Poor thing!"

There's always a reason why someone is pitiful.

Princess Ningyuan was furious.

Princess Jing'an snorted coldly and said, "Sharp-tongued, aren't you afraid of biting off more than you can chew?"

Zhou Wanwan looked at Princess Jing'an and said:

Princess Jing'an did have five sons, but unfortunately, none of them were any good!

I heard your youngest son got into trouble recently?

He beat the second son of the Marquis Jing'an's Residence to death in the street, tsk tsk tsk...

This matter has caused quite a stir recently. Princess Jing'an doted on this youngest son the most, but unexpectedly, he actually beat the second legitimate son of the Marquis Jing'an's Residence to death.

Marquis Jing'an was furious. He went directly to the palace to complain, and now his youngest son has been imprisoned in the Imperial Clan Court.

Princess Jing'an was so angry her hands were trembling. "What's it to you? Watch your mouth!"

She was also very anxious today and planned to go to the palace to plead with the Empress Dowager.

Zhou Wanwan took the princess's hand, and the princess patted her head, saying, "Wanwan, let's go for a walk in the Imperial Garden."

As soon as she entered the Imperial Garden, she looked at Wanwan and said, "You silly girl, didn't I tell you to talk less and do more? You're certainly well-informed."

Zhou Wanwan chuckled and said:

"I'd like to talk less and do more, but these people won't give me the chance!"

They always think they're superior, without even considering who they are.

The eldest princess nodded and said:

"Never mind all that, we're going into the palace to be happy."

Let's go to the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility to pay our respects to the Empress Dowager.

They certainly disliked the Empress Dowager, but once they entered the palace, they couldn't fail to pay their respects to her, could they?

They entered the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility in a grand procession, where they saw the Empress Dowager sitting at the head of the table. She said, "Mingzhao, it has been a long time since I've seen you. How have you been?"

Grand Princess Mingzhao lowered her head and smiled, "Thanks to you, everything is well."

The Empress Dowager nodded and said, "I only have three daughters. I'm at ease as long as you're doing well."

She looked at Old Madam Zhou beside her and said, "I heard you're living with them now?"

Old Madam Zhou nodded and said:

"The house you gave me is overgrown with weeds and uninhabitable."

Our own house is overgrown with weeds, so we have no choice but to stay with them.

Unfortunately, the place I live in now is quite cramped; it's in that side hall, and that side hall is too small.

Moreover, my son and daughter-in-law are quite filial to the princess, but they have some complaints about this old woman."

The Empress Dowager said with a stern face:

"Liu Su'e, Zhou Fusheng, what's going on with you two?"

Zhou Fusheng, this is your own mother who raised you. How can you show favoritism?

You must take good care of your biological parents from now on, do you hear me?

Zhou Fusheng reluctantly agreed.

The ladies and young women around were whispering among themselves, "Indeed, they raised him all these years, and now that he has a better place to go, he's forgotten his own mother."

"How can someone be like that? I find it disgusting! So what if he thinks he's gotten close to the princess?"

"Zhou Fusheng is just a peasant. I heard his family relies entirely on Zhou Wanwan. If it weren't for Zhou Wanwan's business acumen, their family would have gone bankrupt long ago."

"The poor are destined to be poor, there's really nothing they can do. I never expected that Old Madam Zhou would save the Empress Dowager's life and suddenly rise to prominence."

"I heard that the Eldest Princess is currently living at Zhou Wanwan's house; the whole house belongs to Zhou Wanwan."

"Look at those women, I heard they're going to marry Zhou Wanwan's three older brothers."

"Su Zhixia, who are the other two?"

"Feng Yueyao and Shen Yunshu, don't you know?"

"Su Zhixia is the legitimate daughter of Su Jingzhi, Principal Fourth Rank scholar in the Hanlin Academy. I don't know the other two."

Someone introduced:

"Feng Yueyao should actually be called Cheng Yueyao, but her parents are divorced and she now takes her mother's surname."

Her mother is Feng Jiao, you should all know her!

Everyone suddenly realized:

"Feng Jiao? I heard that Old Master Feng Weizheng, has returned and been reinstated to his original position."

I heard he's the Book of Documents of Ministry of Personnel.

What about Shen Yunshu?

"Her father is Shen Congrong, who has just been promoted from Dongshan Prefecture to the position of Minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud of Subordinate Third Rank official."

Everyone was stunned.

Someone couldn't help but say:

"My goodness! We had no idea until we searched it up, what kind of family is this?!"

"I can't believe they found these three families to be my daughters-in-law."

Who are Zhou Wanwan's three older brothers?

"What kind of background could a peasant from the countryside have? I've only met him once, and he was just an ordinary guy."

They're dressed so plainly and unfashionably, just ordinary country bumpkins, nothing special at all!

Are those three families all brain-dead?

Everyone was puzzled. The Empress Dowager asked, "Are Su Zhixia, Feng Yueyao, and Shen Yunshu here?"

The three men approached and immediately bowed.

The Empress Dowager looked at them and said, "These three children are really beautiful, not bad at all. I heard that none of you are married yet!"

Su Zhixia quickly replied, "Your Majesty, we are already married."

The Empress Dowager looked at her and asked, "So, which family are you marrying into? I'm quite curious."

Su Zhixia said, "The marriage is with the Zhou Family."