Wouldn't Yanmen Pass Be Hers to Rule?
The old Princess Dai shed tears:
"Waaah... My good child, you're finally not silly anymore, your mother is so happy."
Did Zhou Wanwan lie to you?
The Prince of Dai shook his head and said, "No, I sold myself voluntarily, including all of our fiefdom."
The old Princess Dai was shocked and said:
A while ago, someone said they were coming to our house to buy our land, but I didn't believe it.
Now I finally believe you. Are you stupid, kid? That's a fiefdom!
Do you know how much benefit our fiefdom can generate for us?
The Prince of Dai said:
"Mother, I know all these things, but if it weren't for Zhou Wanwan, I would still be a fool."
Moreover, I can get ten percent of the profits from the fiefdom.
"A ten percent profit? Son, are you crazy? A ten percent profit isn't enough for us to live on!"
The Prince of Dai sighed and said, "Mother, do you think we can protect so many fiefdoms?"
The old Princess Dai fell silent; she wanted Zhou Wanwan to be her daughter-in-law.
Because Zhou Wanwan is the city lord of Yanmen Pass.
She continued, "Zhou Wanwan is the city lord of Yanmen Pass, and you are the Prince of Dai. I think you two are a good match."
The Prince of Dai shouted, "Mother, please mind your place! I've already sold myself to Zhou Wanwan, so don't mention this again!"
Shangguan Wan'er said sarcastically:
"Prince Dai, you weren't tricked by Zhou Wanwan, were you?"
If she tricks you, just blink twice.
The Prince of Dai glared at her and said, "You're really annoying, so noisy, shut up!"
Zhou Wanwan burst out laughing; she simply couldn't help it.
Shangguan Wan'er looked at her and said, "What are you laughing at? Zhou Wanwan, you even deceived the Prince of Dai, I don't know what you're so proud of."
Zhou Wanwan looked at Shangguan Wan'er and said:
"The person is right here. I can lie, and so can you!"
You should try deceiving the Prince of Dai and see if he'll even bother with you.
The Prince of Dai waved his hand and said, "Boss, don't tease me about her, I'm so annoyed by her."
Zhou Wanwan looked at the old Princess Dai and said:
"My men will take over those six cities tonight, so you should prepare in advance."
If you remain in your fiefdom, you will reside in the Prince of Dai's residence.
Of course, if you'd like to stay here, I can arrange accommodations for both of you.
Old Madam Zhou, standing to the side, frowned and said:
"Princess Dai, this child is very cunning. I don't think we can just hand over the fiefdom to her like this."
What if she doesn't give you even a fraction of it?
And who will guarantee the safety of you and your child?
The old Princess Consort looked hesitant. The Prince of Dai said:
"Mother, I've already signed the contract, what's done is done, you don't need to think too much about it."
Let me show you my yard!
The old Princess Dai was helpless; it seemed she had no way out now.
Old Madam Zhou looked at Zhou Wanwan and said, "You're really something, you even fooled the Prince of Dai! He's just a seven or eight-year-old child!"
Zhou Wanwan looked at him and said, "Old Madam Zhou, I'm only 6 years old too! I've never lied to him about anything; he did all of this willingly."
Soon, they arrived at the front of a courtyard.
Zhou Wanwan was given a large three-courtyard house to the Prince of Dai.
This three-courtyard house is magnificent and spacious, with a lush garden in the backyard.
In the center of the garden is a pond, with lotus leaves covering half of the water's surface. Koi carp swim back and forth, and weeping willows line the banks.
The old Princess Dai was dumbfounded. "My son! You're living here now?"
The Prince of Dai nodded and said, "Yes, doesn't Mother Consort love these flowers and plants the most? Shall I show you to your room?"
The old Princess Dai looked at the Prince Dai and said, "You even prepared a room especially for me?"
The Prince of Dai said:
Actually, it wasn't prepared by me; it was prepared by Zhou Wanwan for you.
She said I'm currently studying at the Yan Mountain Academy, and you'll definitely be coming along, so I prepared in advance.
The old Princess Dai looked at the room full of flowers and plants and said:
"Oh my! These are all my favorite flowers and plants: Songmei, Lvyun, Longzi, and Fugui."
Grand First Rank, Silver-edged Tribute, Huizhou Ink, Snow White Heart, Golden Edge, Chen Mengliang, Jade Pillow Fish Orchid, Emerald First Rank, Heavenly Lotus...
"Am I dreaming? These are the flowers I've always dreamed of!"
Zhou Wanwan said:
If you like them, then keep them all.
There's a glass greenhouse over there; it has some different varieties of plants inside. You can take a look.
Old Madam Zhou said beside her:
"Princess Consort, please don't fall for her tricks."
"This Zhou Wanwan is the best at sweet-talking. Besides, what's the value of these little flowers and plants?"
The old Princess Dai looked at Zhou Wanwan and said:
"Wanwan, you're too kind, child."
"I just want to ask, will we be able to return to our own fiefdoms in the future?"
Zhou Wanwan looked at the old Princess Consort of Dai and said, "I can help you preserve your Dai Prince's Mansion. You can go back and stay there if you want."
Princess Dai quickly nodded and said, "Alright, it's settled then. I really love this place."
Zhou Wanwan said:
"Don't complain about the small size of the yard. I just think it's just right for you and your son to live here."
Let's go take a look at the glass conservatory in the back.
The Prince of Dai led the old Princess of Dai to the back, where they saw a large glass greenhouse filled with all sorts of flowers.
There are roses, lilies, tulips, peonies, chrysanthemums, daffodils, and all kinds of orchids.
Princess Dai exclaimed excitedly, "Oh my! I'm so excited to see these flowers! They're so well-cared for; I've never seen flowers grown so beautifully before!"
Zhou Wanwan said:
"Yes! You're so old, why bother with all that?"
Moreover, even a 10% profit is definitely higher than you imagine. You should know about Yanmen Pass, right?
The old Princess Dai looked at her and said, "I know! You mean, that place will be comparable to Yanmen Pass in the future? That can't be, can it?"
Zhou Wanwan laughed and said, "Of course! Why not? This 10% profit can be settled once a year or once a month, it's fine with me."
The old Princess Dai said, "Then let's have it once a year! It'll save me the trouble, but there's not even anyone to serve me here."
Zhou Wanwan smiled and said:
"How could we not have one? We have a dedicated butler here."
You can have any service you need, but these services will cost money.
The food here is also excellent. If you want seafood, you can eat seafood; if you want all kinds of pastries, you can find all kinds of pastries.
You can stay here for a while, and if you feel it's not suitable, you can return to your fiefdom.
However, the fiefdoms over there definitely need to be reorganized.
The fiefdom of the Prince of Dai was indeed very poor. They could only grow some grain and raise some chickens and ducks. At most, they could only give them a few thousand taels of silver a year from the six cities.
How could the old Princess Dai possibly manage such things?
Zhou Wanwan took over, and she was happy to have an easier time.
The old Princess Dai held Zhou Wanwan's hand and said, "Girl, it's fine to hand over this fiefdom to you, but can you guarantee that the people in the fiefdom will have enough to eat?"
Actually, the old Princess Dai was not a bad person.
Zhou Wanwan nodded and said, "Don't worry, now that I've taken over this fiefdom, I'll make sure they're well-fed and watered."
Old Madam Zhou was standing nearby, said, "Your Highness, don't believe her nonsense. She's just trying to fool you!"
The old Princess Dai smiled and said:
"Grand Preceptor, I think Zhou Wanwan is quite reliable. Isn't she your granddaughter?"
Shouldn't we all hope the younger generation does well?
Besides, she cured my son's brain; I'm so grateful to her!
Old Madam Zhou was so angry that she stomped her feet. She actually had a plan to marry Zhou Wanwan off to the Prince of Dai.
When that time comes, she'll be confined to her fiefdom, and wouldn't Yanmen Pass become her domain?
Old Madam Zhou took out a token and said:
"Zhou Wanwan, have you seen the token in my hand?"
This is a token given to me by the Empress Dowager. She said I can just ask for anything I want.
I want it right now...