However, if the Zhou family's eldest brother and his wife couldn't help themselves and didn't pay attention to the situation, it wouldn't be a big deal. Everyone knows that the eldest brother of the Zhou family dotes on his wife and daughter as if they were his life!

At this time, the eldest son of the Zhou family was probably still under the oppression of his stepmother and had to leave the capital again and again to serve as a local official. The wife of the Prime Minister did not expect that she thought she had won by expelling the obnoxious eldest son from the Prime Minister's Mansion, but she did not know that adversity breeds talent.

The achievements made by the eldest son of the Zhou family during his tenure are enough to make people ignore the fact that he is the son of Prime Minister Zhou. When he comes back in a few years, his brilliance will be so great that even the Prime Minister's wife will not be able to suppress it.

It's a pity that Shen Xinyan is just a woman in the inner court. She knows very little about the officialdom of the previous dynasty. What she knows is limited to what she heard from the gossips of the noble ladies in the capital. She has no way of distinguishing the truth from the false, so naturally she may not take it as the truth.

"They are actually from the Prime Minister's family. Tsk tsk, it's true that you can't judge a person by his appearance. They look like decent people, but I didn't expect them to be so shameless and corrupt!" Yang still had a look of disdain on her face.

Shen Xinyan smiled slightly: "I guess this is what operas say about being overwhelmed with love!"

Yang curled her lips in disdain and muttered a few words, but Shen Xinyan didn't hear clearly and didn't take it to heart. She just looked deeply at Mrs. Zhou's graceful figure in the distance, her eyes deep.

Mrs. Zhou was already blessed with a beautiful appearance and figure, and her daughter Zhou Wanning was even more beautiful than her. Although Shen Xinyan had never taken a liking to Zhou Wanning, she had to admit that Zhou Wanning's charming and unpretentious charm was indeed rare in the world.

However, Shen Xinyan still remembered the Grand Princess's evaluation of Zhou Wanning when Wei Chenglin proposed to marry her that day - "She can be a beautiful concubine, but not a virtuous wife, and even less worthy of being a clan wife."

These words were indeed cruel, especially since Zhou Wanning was not an ordinary girl at that time. Her father was a third-rank official and was highly regarded by the emperor. It was possible that she would enter the inner cabinet like her grandfather in the future.

If the Grand Princess' words were to spread, Zhou Wanning would never be able to marry into a good family in her lifetime! Judged by the current emperor's aunt, the Grand Princess Jinghe, as "not a good choice for a wife", which good family would dare to marry her?

Although it was a bit unkind, she admitted that she felt very happy when she heard the Grand Princess' words!

As it turned out, Zhou Wanning was not a qualified mistress. However, she had a very "all-powerful" husband, who could handle the imperial court and the inner house, and she did not have to worry about anything inside or outside the house.

Shen Xinyan had to admit once again that Zhou Wanning was indeed the natural protagonist in that strange play!

***

Wei Junhang stared at the strange little figure in the room in surprise. How come the lady came back with a child after going to the temple?

"Prince, please have some tea!" As soon as Lingfu saw him come in, he guessed that he was the prince that Chunliu mentioned - the kind-hearted lady's husband, so he hurriedly and attentively moved a stool and poured fragrant tea, and at the end he even brought out clean clothes to help him change.

"I'll do it, I'll do it!" Wei Junhang had never been served by such a young child before. He was frightened by his behavior at first, and then he saw him staggering on the embroidery cushion while holding his clothes, so he quickly lifted him down.

"Kid, why are you climbing so high? What if you fall down?"

"No, no, I'm standing very steadily. I won't fall down. Besides, I have thick skin. It won't hurt even if I fall." Pingfu was afraid that he would dislike him, so he patted his chest and said hurriedly.

Wei Junhang amusedly pinched and patted his little body here and there, and finally pinched his little face lightly: "I see that you have a very thin body, but you are quite thick-skinned."

Is this considered praising oneself? Ping Fu was suspicious.

"Look at you, how grown up are you? And you still bully a child!" Shen Xinyan came out from inside when she heard the noise, and glared at her husband when she heard the words.

Wei Junhang chuckled, washed his hands with the basin of water Xia He brought, and then wiped off the water droplets with a clean towel from Pingfu's hand, who was looking at him expectantly with twinkling eyes.

After he sat down, Shen Xinyan told him everything about Ling Fu.

"So that's how it is! In that case, let's keep him!" Wei Junhang nodded, looked at Pingfu who was staring at him, as if he was afraid that he would chase him away, and asked with a smile, "How old are you, little guy? You actually want to sell yourself, how much do you want to get for selling yourself?"

"Seven years old. Well, Prince, can I sign a living contract instead of selling myself?" Pingfu licked his lips uneasily.

"You also know about the existence of a living contract?" Wei Junhang pretended to be surprised.

"You don't have to sell yourself or sign a working contract. Master Huiming has asked us to take care of you. You can live here with peace of mind from now on." Shen Xinyan helplessly pushed Wei Junhang, who was obviously amusing himself with the little guy, and said softly.

"No, no, you must sign the contract! Daddy said that one cannot accept favors from others for free." But Lingfu shook his little head like a wave drum.

Wei Junhang and his wife looked at each other, both surprised by his answer.

"You are still a child..." Shen Xinyan tried to persuade him.

"I'm not a child anymore. Daddy said that when mom is gone, I'm the little man of the family! Now that dad is gone too, I'm the grown man!" Pingfu frowned and seriously corrected her.

Shen Xinyan couldn't help laughing.

Wei Junhang laughed loudly and patted his shoulder, almost knocking the "macho man" to the ground. He quickly reached out to hold him up.

"In that case, Madam, sign a working contract with him!"

Shen Xinyan wanted to say more, but Wei Junhang winked at her. She was stunned for a moment, but soon understood and asked someone to prepare the four treasures of the study.

Less than half a minute later, she looked at the neatly signed name of Pingfu on the "living contract" with some surprise.

It seems that this child not only knows how to read, but can also write well at such a young age. Judging from the handwriting, it is not much worse than that of Lin Geer, who she has carefully raised since childhood.

"Madam, what do you plan to do with this child? Why not let him live with Lin'er?" Wei Junhang was also surprised by his move. He touched his head appreciatively and asked Shen Xinyan.

"I want him to follow Chunliu to get familiar with the mansion for a while, and then let him go to Lin Ge'er." Shen Xinyan had already made a plan.

"This is more comprehensive." Wei Junhang nodded in agreement.

"Dad!" The little girl's clear and loud voice suddenly rang out. Wei Junhang smiled when he heard it. He smiled and reached out to take his daughter, pinching her rosy cheeks, "Good girl!"

The father and daughter were happy for a while, and the little girl finally realized that there was a strange child next to her mother.

"Mom, who is he?" Noticing that her mother looked at the boy with tenderness, the little girl quickly broke free from her father's arms, ran to her mother's side, hugged her mother's waist tightly in a possessive posture, stared at Lin Fu, and asked defensively.

"Don't be so rude. You have to call him Brother Lingfu. He will live in the mansion from now on." Shen Xinyan said helplessly, not noticing her daughter's hostility towards Lingfu.

Lin Fu's eyes flickered, and his mouth opened slightly, as if he was somewhat surprised by Xiao Yingzhi's appearance: "Madam, this little sister is so pretty, is she your daughter?"

"Yes, her name is Yingzhi. She is one year younger than Lingfu. From now on, you can treat her like your own sister." Shen Xinyan replied softly.

"Who is his sister! I am not his sister!! He is obviously not as tall as me, nor as good-looking as his brother. I don't want to be his sister!" The little girl was unhappy and retorted loudly.

When Lin Fu heard this, his face flushed and he couldn't speak for a long time. After a while, he stammered, "I, I will grow taller in the future."

"When you grow taller, I will be taller too, so I don't want to be your sister!" Xiao Yingzhi snorted and proudly compared her height with him, "See? I am taller than you! I am taller than you now, and I will be taller than you in the future!"

He was indeed half a head shorter than the other person. This was the fact and Lin Fu could not say anything to refute it. He looked for help at Shen Xinyan who was standing beside him with a smile.

Shen Xinyan chuckled as she pushed down her daughter, who was standing on tiptoe to make herself look taller, and pinched her bulging cheeks: "Lin Fu is older than you, so he is naturally your older brother."

Seeing that her mother didn't help her, the little girl was unhappy and immediately turned around and rushed to her father: "Dad——"

Wei Junhang laughed and hugged her, coaxing her: "What's wrong with being a younger sister? Brothers have to give in to their sisters!"

The little girl buried her face in his arms, twisting her body like a drum candy and humming.

"Madam, how about I just be your younger brother?" Lin Fu said in a low voice.

"No, let it be what it is. How can we let her do that?" Shen Xin frowned and glared at his daughter.

This girl has a somewhat lawless temper. If she is not suppressed, she might develop a willful and capricious character. What will happen to her in the future?

Seeing her mother like this, the little girl felt even more wronged. Tears welled up in her big eyes. She suddenly rushed towards Lin Fu and pushed him hard, shouting, "It's all your fault! I hate you!"

Lin Fu was pushed by her and fell to the ground with a thud.

Shen Xinyan quickly pulled Pingfu up and stared at her daughter as she ran away for a moment. She said to Wei Junhang angrily, "Look at what you've done to her. She's so young but she already has such a bad temper!"

Wei Junhang touched the tip of his nose and smiled at her flatteringly: "Isn't she still young?"

"As the saying goes, a child's character can be seen at the age of three. She is so willful and loses her temper when things don't go her way. Who will be able to stand her in the future?" Shen Xinyan felt her heart tighten as she thought of the time when her son repeatedly blamed his daughter for being "stubborn and willful" in her previous life.

She was not afraid of anything except that her daughter would become "stubborn and willful" in the future, protecting her cousin and opposing Zhou Wanning at every turn, eventually putting herself in an irreversible situation.

"How can it be as serious as 'losing your temper when things don't go your way'..." Prince Wei retorted in a low voice, but when he saw his wife's dark face, he swallowed his words of defense and dared not say another word.

"Ma'am, don't be angry, it's my fault." Seeing that he had caused trouble the day before, Ping Fu felt a little frustrated. He pulled Shen Xinyan's sleeve nervously and said softly.

Shen Xinyan took a few deep breaths and gave him a gentle smile: "It has nothing to do with Pingfu."

She was just suddenly affected by the events of her previous life.