"Without my mother's protection, I am now all alone and powerless. The emperor only cares about me superficially. In the end, he is just taking advantage of my loneliness and helplessness." Princess Fuyang slapped away the nanny's hand and slumped down on the soft stool, dejected.

Why is her fate so tragic? At 16, she was married off to a lousy old man in the north, and now she has to marry that disgusting bastard Zhou Ping.

Why? Why?!

Why should an ugly country bumpkin like her steal her husband?

Gu Nanjiao, that bitch, I really underestimated her!

The Chu Emperor's years of preferential treatment had warped Princess Fuyang's mind. She seemed to have forgotten what life was like before the marriage alliance and what kind of miserable life she had afterward.

Since being brought here, she has become arrogant, believing that self-sacrifice is greater than anything else and that everyone should respect her and give way to her.

Princess Fuyang clenched her fists tightly, her face growing increasingly grim.

She absolutely refuses to marry that disgusting bastard Zhou Ping!

The old nanny next to her looked up and was startled by the gloomy look on Princess Fuyang's face. Princess Fuyang came back to her senses and smiled slightly: "I heard that the Crown Prince's concubine is still waiting outside the mansion. Let her in."

"yes!"

A moment later, Zhou Wan came over and bowed tremblingly: "Greetings, Your Majesty!"

Fu Yang glanced at Zhou Wan with some disgust: "Speak, what do you want from me? If you still want to scheme against me, I'll make sure you regret it."

Faced with the accusations, Zhou Wan did not rush to defend herself. Instead, she smiled mysteriously and said, "Aunt, I know that you were tricked into marrying Zhou Ping by Consort Yue and Gu Nanjiao, and I am resentful. I have a big secret about the two of them. If the Emperor finds out, the Zhou family will be exiled at best, and executed at worst."

"Hmph!" Fu Yang snorted contemptuously, leaning back on the soft cushion behind her, looking down at Zhou Wan: "The Zhou family is your maternal family, and Consort Yue is your aunt, yet you dare to tell me the secret."

Fu Yang's face instantly turned fierce, and her voice became shrill: "Are you going to harm me again?!"

“Aunt, I have never harmed you. I don’t know why you keep misunderstanding me.”

Fu Yang was taken aback by Zhou Wan's composed and unyielding attitude. Could it be that she wasn't just paying lip service?

But who knows what kind of evil scheme she and Consort Yue's family will be plotting this time?

This time, regardless of whether Zhou Wan's words are true or not, Fu Yang will not unconditionally believe Zhou Wan.

"Tell me, what secrets do Gu Nanjiao and Consort Yue have?"

Zhou Wanlian moved lightly and whispered a few words into Fu Yang's ear.

"Wh...what?" Zhou Wan's words exploded in Fu Yang's mind like a thunderbolt. She looked at Zhou Wan in disbelief and couldn't help but ask again to confirm, "You mean Consort Yue and Gu Nanjiao..."

"This is absolutely true, and I, your niece-in-law, would never dare to deceive you, Your Majesty." Zhou Wan bowed, a cold smile playing on her delicate lips.

If Fu Yang were to expose this matter, firstly, she and the Crown Prince could clear themselves of any wrongdoing, and secondly, the downfall of Consort Yue would be entirely beneficial to the Crown Prince.

Thinking of how she had been subservient to Consort Yue for so many years, enduring humiliation and swallowing her pride, Zhou Wan felt as uncomfortable as if she had swallowed a fly.

Fu Yang squinted at Zhou Wan, a hint of mockery in her eyes: "Why are you telling me such secrets? Besides, Consort Yue and the Zhou family are both your maternal families. I don't believe you would harm yourself!"

She didn't believe Zhou Wan was so kind; she probably just wanted her to be the one to fight so she and the Crown Prince could reap the benefits.

Zhou Wan pursed her lips and smiled at Fu Yang: "Royal Aunt, I am now a royal daughter-in-law and have no further connection with the Zhou family. As you know, the Crown Prince and Prince Cheng are enemies, so the Crown Prince's enemy is my enemy, Zhou Wan's enemy."

"I know Zhou Ping's character perfectly well. Could it be that my imperial aunt has just escaped one danger only to step into another?"

Fu Yang naturally didn't want to. As a first-rank princess personally appointed by the emperor, even if she couldn't marry Lu Yanzhao, she could still keep a few handsome male concubines. If she married Zhou Ping, Minister Zhou would be very powerful, and Consort Yue would be the most favored concubine in the harem. No one would let her do whatever she wanted.

Zhou Wan also said that Prince Cheng might not be of royal lineage, and that only the Crown Prince's legitimate son would be rightfully his.

If she pledges allegiance to the Crown Prince, she will become a meritorious official once he ascends the throne. At that time, she can marry whomever she wants, and let's see who dares to stop her.

Looking at Princess Fuyang, who was deep in thought, Zhou Wan's eyes flickered, and a hint of disdain on her lips vanished in an instant.

A princess born to a palace maid, she gained the emperor's favor through good fortune and became arrogant in everything she did. If she had any sense at all, she wouldn't have been manipulated by Consort Yue.

Fu Yang waved to Zhou Wan: "You should go back first! This matter has had too much of an impact on me, and I can't process it in a short time."

Zhou Wan bid farewell to Fu Yang and left, supported by Qing Ci.

The carriage came to a standstill halfway through its journey. Zhou Wan, somewhat annoyed, lifted the curtain and asked Qingci, "What's going on up ahead? Why is it so congested?"

"Your Highness, I heard that a new restaurant called Meiwuzhai has opened and is doing very well. Everyone is queuing up to taste the food, which is why there's a traffic jam in front of us."

Zhou Wan had something urgent to report to the Crown Prince and didn't want to waste time. Besides, what kind of behavior was it for a small restaurant like Meiwuzhai to allow customers to block the Crown Prince's concubine's carriage?

"Qingci, you know what to do!" Zhou Wan gave Qingci a deep look and then lowered the curtain.

"Yes!" Qingci was very happy to do this. It had always been like this before. Her young lady would pretend to be kind-hearted, while she would play the role of a vicious maid who protected her mistress.

Qingci pointed to the guards beside her: "You, you, and you, come with me."

Gu Nanjiao was busy greeting customers at the entrance of Meiwuzhai, while Lu's mother was supervising the work in the kitchen.

She never expected that Meiwuzhai would be so popular with people in Beijing as soon as it opened, with people queuing up to eat from one end of the street to the other every day, and the tables turning over seven or eight times a day.

She's going to limit the number of people allowed in; otherwise, if so many people line up and cause traffic jams at the street corner, it will be her fault.

Just as he handed the number plate to the customer in line, he heard an arrogant voice: "Make way, the Crown Prince's concubine has arrived, get out of the way immediately."

With her hands on her hips and a fierce expression, Qingci stood behind four armed guards. Her imposing figure frightened the customers in line, who scattered and made way for her.

"Qingci, do not be rude!" A gentle female voice came from inside the carriage.

Then the female voice said, "Qingci, don't frighten the people. It won't hurt for this concubine to wait a little longer. Why make them move aside?"

The customers who had moved away praised her, saying, "The woman in the carriage must be the Crown Prince's concubine; she's beautiful inside and out."

"That's right, I heard that before the Crown Prince's concubine got married, she often went outside the city gate to distribute porridge."

"We can't block the path of the goddess, Your Highness. We'll make way for you, please go first!"