The nanny from Prince Cheng's mansion swiftly pushed Liu Fangniang out of the courtyard, the sound of her slapping her was crisp and clear, and she covered Liu Fangniang's mouth to prevent her from crying out.

Zhou Yuqing looked at his mother with concern, and Song Xia reassured her, "It's alright, your aunt is here."

"Yes, with me here, your father wouldn't dare do anything to me."

Just then, Zhou Yongli, who had received the news, rushed over. Seeing Liu Fangniang's cheeks flushed red, he felt extremely distressed.

"Stop! Who gave you permission to attack? She's a member of the Zhou family."

Ye Wanrou stood at the door: "I asked them to take a taxi, so what?"

Seeing her self-righteous demeanor, Zhou Yongli felt aggrieved, but considering his status, he could only ask in a restrained manner, "I don't know what my concubine has done to deserve such a harsh punishment from you, Madam?"

“I did this all for your own good, brother-in-law. Even you know to call me the Crown Prince’s wife, but she came in and called me in-law. Is that a title a concubine should use? She offended the dignity of the royal family! And the one who slapped her was none other than a nanny from the Empress’s palace.”

Although he knew this was a serious accusation by Ye Wanrou, Zhou Yongli had no choice but to admit that if Fangniang had really said those two words, she had indeed overstepped her bounds.

The matrons in the Empress's palace were exemplary in their adherence to royal rules; who could say their teachings were wrong?

Even so, this is the Zhou family's courtyard. As long as no one says anything, who outsiders would know? Didn't Song Xia know to stop them?

Ye Wanrou was born into a prominent family, but her home was never peaceful from a young age. She could guess Zhou Yongli's ulterior motives at a glance.

Then she sneered, "Brother-in-law, don't blame my sister-in-law for not stopping you. Who knows if there are secrets in the world? Yu-ge'er is seriously ill, and your Zhou family didn't report it to the Prince's Mansion, but everyone in the streets and alleys knows about it. You are the Vice Minister of Rites. How can the family of a dignified Vice Minister of Rites have no manners? Aren't you afraid of being impeached by the Imperial Censors?"

Zhou Yongli was truly terrified now, his back covered in cold sweat. He hadn't even considered this. If His Majesty were to be enraged, how could he possibly become the Minister of Rites in the future?

At the same time, he secretly resented his mother and Fangniang for telling everyone everything, letting the family's affairs spread everywhere. Even if Fangniang was not impeached for insulting the royal family, she would still be impeached for not managing the household properly. Fangniang used to be the most gentle and virtuous, how could she have made such a big mistake?

So Liu Fangniang could only watch helplessly as Zhou Yongli argued for her, only to be refuted and rendered speechless.

The two old women continued to discipline each other, slapping one of them.

Zhou Yongli felt heartbroken seeing this, but there was nothing he could do.

"Alright." Ye Wanrou waved her hand when she saw that the beating had gone on long enough. Anyway, she wouldn't kill him if she kept hitting him, so she might as well leave it at that.

"Just let her know the rules. Yu-ge'er is still sick, so don't let her disturb his peace. Brother-in-law, you can't be so indulgent in this way anymore. No matter how much you love a concubine, she's still just a concubine."

Knowing it was a warning, Zhou Yongli still had to thank her and say, "This humble official understands."

"Take her to the ancestral hall and make her kneel down."

Ye Wanrou feigned surprise: "A concubine can kneel in the ancestral hall?"

Zhou Yongli gritted his teeth: "Take her to kneel outside the ancestral hall. She is not allowed to get up without my permission."

Ye Wanrou then turned and went inside without saying a word.

Liu Fangniang was filled with resentment, never expecting to suffer such a great loss today.

The servants were terrified. They had often seen Consort Liu favored, and they had almost forgotten that although the lady was at odds with the master, she had a powerful maternal family behind her—the Prince Cheng's Mansion! No matter how much the lady was not favored, she did not rely on the master for a living!

Song Xia didn't care at all about their change in attitude. Anyway, she had always been in charge of the household, and no matter how many wives Liu Fangniang had, the servants wouldn't dare to disobey her.

If she hadn't been so unambitious in her past life, Liu Fangniang would never have been able to become a legitimate wife.

When Huaiyuqing was in trouble, she only fell victim to Zhou Yongli's scheme because she trusted him too much. Such a thing will never happen again.

After Zhou Yongli finished "dealing with" Liu Fangniang, he went into the room to see Zhou Yuqing, who closed her eyes at the opportune moment.

"Is Yuqing still not awake?"

Song Xia clearly felt her son's fingers twitch. If Zhou Yongli truly cared about their son, he couldn't possibly be unaware that Yuqing had woken up.

“He has always been taken care of by you, and I have never dared to say anything. But look at how well you have taken care of Yuqing. If he were even half as good as Shuqing, I wouldn’t have to worry.”

Song Xia felt her son's fingers twitch again, so she gripped them even tighter: "Is Master blaming me for not taking good care of Yuqing?"

"Shouldn't you be blamed?" Zhou Yongli vented his anger. "Luckily, I didn't leave Shuqing in your care back then."

"He wants me to take care of him? I won't. He's just an illegitimate son, does he deserve it?"

“You…” Zhou Yongli clearly did not expect Song Xia to be so harsh.

Ye Wanrou almost laughed too. The younger sister-in-law should be more assertive. Zhou Yongli is just a vice minister of the Ministry of Rites. What's with the airs?

She used to envy her sister-in-law for marrying into the Zhou family, where the family was small. Although it was a concubine's son who inherited the family business, Zhou Yongli was still a third-rank scholar in the imperial examinations, and he was quite talented and good-looking.

Little did they expect such a huge pitfall to await them. It was the fault of their Prince's Mansion; their sister-in-law hadn't even investigated Liu Fangniang's existence before getting married.

However, this also proves how shameless the Zhou family is. They were childhood sweethearts and in love, yet they kept it a secret so well that even their prestigious Prince's Mansion couldn't find out.

Since things aren't going well now, there's no need to be so tolerant. The people of the Prince Cheng's mansion are currently enjoying the Emperor's favor; what's there to be afraid of? Does Zhou Yongli really think he was promoted to the position of Vice Minister of Rites because of his own abilities? What a joke! He should look at the top scholar from back then; he's still serving in a post outside the capital!

Zhou Yongli's face was stiff: "Just pray that your good son will wake up soon."

"Don't worry, Master. Yuqing ate the ginseng bestowed by His Majesty and is protected by imperial aura, so he will naturally be fine. After all, he still has the heavy responsibility of the Zhou family on his shoulders!" Song Xia said slowly, determined to provoke Zhou Yongli.

She was not unaware that Zhou Yongli only had Zhou Shuqing as the heir to the Zhou family. However, she did not agree with Zhou Yongli's wishes. Even though Zhou Yongli was the head of the Zhou family, how could a son of a concubine inherit the family business? Even if he was biased, it was impossible. When the family was divided in the future, Zhou Shuqing could only take away 10% of the family's assets and a small subsidy from Zhou Yongli and the old lady. How much could that be?

Moreover, with her managing the Zhou family all along, how much could Zhou Yongli and the old lady possibly have saved up?

And then there's Zhou Ying, who in her past life had a dowry that rivaled that of royal brides and married in grand style; she shouldn't even dream of that in this life.

There are specific rules for the marriage of illegitimate daughters, as written in the Zhou family's clan rules, so no one can say that she, as the legal mother, is mistreating them.

Zhou Yongli, I really look forward to seeing how you react in the future!

With Yuqing's body protected, things will never go as you wish! This is just an appetizer, and you can't even handle it?