So Many People Waiting on You Alone?

The eldest princess changed her clothes and walked towards the front hall.

As soon as they reached the front hall, they heard Princess Jing'an's voice. "I heard that their house was taken away by Old Madam Zhou again today. How pitiful."

"I think my elder sister lives in an extremely grand house. Even ordinary princely mansions can't compare to this."

She glanced at a painting beside her and murmured, "My goodness, this is actually a Travelers in the Landscape,' which is priceless in the market."

The other princess also exclaimed in surprise:

"Look, the entire house is made of top-quality Phoebe zhennan wood."

It's extremely rare to find such a large set of materials being used in such a craftsmanship.

The princess on the far side sniffed gently and said:

Can you smell a faint fragrance in the room?

This is no ordinary incense. I can smell it; it's agarwood imported from Nanyang, and even a small piece is priceless.

Using this to fumigate the house year-round is going too far.

Princess Ningyuan and Princess Jing'an exchanged a glance; they had originally come to mock the eldest princess.

But now it turns out that this isn't the case at all.

The eldest princess came out of the house and said, "Oh dear, I didn't expect my sisters to be so eager to see me!"

Princess Ningyuan coughed and said:

"Yes! We were worried that our eldest sister might do something rash!"

So I deliberately sent some things over, just in case you didn't have anything to eat or drink here."

Princess Jing'an and Princess Ningyuan brought some food, while the other princesses brought some cloth.

Only one princess was on good terms with the eldest princess and gave her some gold and silver jewelry.

The eldest princess smiled at her and said, "Thank you for visiting me, Seventh Sister. You're very kind."

Princess Taiping seventh princess, smiled faintly and said, "Elder sister, everyone is hoping for your well-being."

The eldest princess knew that, of the 16 princesses, except for the seventh princess, the rest were all on good terms with Princess Jing'an and Princess Ningyuan.

Everyone can see the situation clearly.

Princess Jing'an and Princess Ningyuan, being born to the Empress Dowager, naturally enjoyed greater popularity.

The princesses talked for a while, then strolled around the courtyard.

Princess Jing'an sneered, "The entire courtyard doesn't even have a single servant. How desolate."

Princess Ningyuan looked at the eldest princess and said, "If you can't afford servants, I can give you a few."

The princess smiled faintly, clapped her hands, and then dozens of maids walked in from outside.

These servants were clearly well-trained, and were no less capable than the palace maids.

Princess Ningyuan's eyes widened as she exclaimed, "Ha! So many people serving you all?"

The eldest princess smiled and said:

"It's all because my granddaughter is so good to me! She insists on giving me so many servants."

"You know, at my age, wouldn't it be enough to just have two or three people to take care of me?"

Princess Ningyuan looked at the maids and said, "Your granddaughter is truly filial. Is she Zhou Wanwan?"

The eldest princess smiled faintly and said, "Yes, it's Wanwan! I was just talking about her, and here she is."

Zhou Wanwan walked in from outside and said, "Wow! Grandma, your yard is really lively today!"

The eldest princess smiled and said, "Yes, it is indeed quite lively."

Zhou Wanwan looked at the princesses and said, "Then we must treat you properly. You haven't had dinner yet, have you?"

The princesses smiled, and Princess Ningyuan said, "Everyone is saying your family is so poor you can't even afford to eat, but I don't know if it's true or not."

Princess Jing'an nodded and said:

"Elder sister, I think... where is the person?"

It's true that dignity is important, but one shouldn't be too concerned with it. Why force yourself to maintain a facade of dignity?

The other princesses nodded in agreement.

"Eldest sister, so what if our family is poor? There's nothing shameful about it."

But you insist on renting a place like this; isn't that just putting on a show of wealth when you're not?

It turns out these people thought his house was rented.

The princess smiled and said, "Yes, yes, my family is poor. Why don't you leave? I need to eat dinner."

Princess Jing'an said:

"But I think it shouldn't be a problem for my eldest sister to treat us to a meal!"

We actually care about you a lot, and we were worried that you wouldn't even have enough to eat, so we brought you some meat this time.

It's just some pork and mutton.

Princess Ningyuan said, "Elder sister, I brought some vegetables, eggs, and some fruit!"

The eldest princess ignored them and took Princess Taiping's hand, saying, "Taiping, let's go!"

Princess Taiping nodded and followed behind the eldest princess.

The princesses behind him muttered to themselves, "Sigh! I'm prepared to eat nothing but radishes and cabbage today. It's just one meal anyway. If it really comes to it, we'll go back and have something better."

"This eldest sister is so obsessed with saving face that she's willing to suffer for it. Now, everyone in the capital knows she's living a life worse than a pig."

"Isn't that right? I only found out today when I went to the palace that both of Zhou Wanwan's houses were given to the Zhou Family."

"The Empress Dowager treats that Old Madam Zhou quite well!"

"They're sworn sisters now, how could things not be good? Wanwan's been really unlucky this Zhou Wanwan."

"Not only the eldest princess, but Zhou Wanwan and the entire Zhou Family have become a laughing stock, hahahaha..."

Zhou Wanwan held the princess's hand and sighed. She really hadn't expected there to be so many gossips and rumors in the capital.

She's now rumored to be penniless.

Therefore, fame brings trouble.

Everyone was watching their family make a fool of themselves when Zhou Wanwan led a group of people into the house.

Then the princesses saw the table full of green and burst out laughing.

Princess Jing'an couldn't hold back any longer. "Elder sister, your family is really poor! A whole table of green things, it's hilarious!"

"Oh dear, I was hoping to see some meat today, but it's all green."

Several noble ladies, who had accompanied the princesses, were secretly laughing heartily.

"I didn't believe it before, but now I finally do. The Princess really does live a very frugal life."

"Alas! I never imagined that the eldest princess would have such a difficult time."

A lady looked at her with pity, then suddenly said, "Xiao Zhiyu, isn't this princess also considered a member of your Xiao Family?"

The room fell silent immediately after those words were spoken.

Xiao Zhiyu was silent for a moment before saying, "What nonsense are you spouting? How could my Xiao Family possibly be related to the Princess by marriage?"

In fact, many people in the capital had heard rumors that the eldest princess was not the Empress Dowager's biological daughter, but rather the daughter of Consort De.

But these things shouldn't be said in public.

The eldest princess said, "Everyone, please sit down and eat!"

The princesses looked at the dishes with obvious disgust.

Princess Jing'an sneered, "Is this all the food you're going to serve us? Eldest sister, just how dissatisfied are you with us sisters?"

Princess Ningyuan sighed and said, "I never imagined that my elder sister had fallen into such a state. Do you need your younger sisters to help you out?"

Another princess said, "Actually, I always said that people should be more modest. If you don't have money, don't pretend. Why live so well?"

"Just looking at this table of food makes me feel full. Even if there isn't a lot of meat and fish, there should at least be a balanced mix of meat and vegetables!"