Golden Branch

"Mountain forest?"

"Auntie, are you saying that the entire mountain is surrounded by the Princess's Mansion and the Duke's Mansion?"

"...Then, how big are these two houses?"

The Wang family's children were dumbfounded when they heard Wang Mian say that the Princess's Mansion and the Duke's Mansion "equally divided" a mountain forest.

In their opinion, the large mansion with five entrances and exits purchased by their elder sister (aunt) was already very large and luxurious.

Unexpectedly, the neighbor next door has a bigger and more luxurious house. He has enclosed a mountain, or rather half a mountain, in his backyard.

In fact, not to mention the children, even the elders of the Wang family and Wang Mian’s cousins ​​were all surprised.

Especially the young men of the Wang family, who had received education, and two or three of them had even gone to Beijing in advance to prepare for the imperial examinations. They naturally knew how expensive the land in the capital was.

Pingkangfang is a prime location where every inch of land is worth a lot of money. Courtyards with good locations and excellent feng shui in the square are not available even if you have money.

The family was able to purchase such a luxurious house in the noble area of ​​Pingkangfang. Needless to say, they spent a lot of money, and also took advantage of the power of the Duke's Mansion!

Otherwise, no matter how much money you have, it will be in vain.

Princess Langya and Duke Qi are of noble status, and their mansions are definitely not comparable to those of ordinary people like them.

But... half a mountain, even if it is just a small hill, it covers dozens of acres.

This is just the backyard.

In addition to a backyard, the two mansions also have a front yard, a central yard, a main courtyard and other courtyards.

"Yes! The princess has many pets and wants to build a zoo in her backyard!"

Wang Mian acted very calm at this moment.

I didn't feel the shock I had when I first saw the blueprints—how could this be a house? It was clearly a huge park!

In modern times, she also went to the Lama Temple to burn incense.

At that time, I was still thinking that the ancient royal palace might not be so big. It must have been expanded many times to reach this scale.

It was not until I saw the two imperial mansions of Wang Heng and Lou Yu that I realized that my imagination was indeed limited by poverty.

The powerful and wealthy in ancient times were so extravagant.

A mansion, even in the "city center" of the capital where land is extremely expensive, can cover hundreds of acres.

Getting lost at home and having to ride on a sedan chair or even an animal cart to visit your own garden is not a strange story, but a reality!

"Pets? A zoo?"

Everyone in the Wang family continued to stare in amazement—

pet?

It's just cats and dogs.

But the princess built a forest as a garden just for these little beasts?

When Wang Mian saw his family members with their mouths and eyes wide open, he knew they had misunderstood.

Jiu Niang not only has cats and dogs, she has a zoo.

Not to mention small animals like deer and lynx, or ferocious beasts like tigers, bears, and leopards, even the rolling animals were packed up in advance and shipped to the capital along with the slaves who took care of them.

Oh, by the way, there is also the "time-travel artifact" that Wang Mian secretly helped Wang Heng create. The Langya Princess Mansion not only has a zoo, but also an "aquarium"!

"Tsk, glass! One of the three great magical tools for time travel. After almost ten years, I finally made it!"

Wang Mian couldn't help but get excited when he thought about his magical design which he hadn't seen the finished product yet.

She was even more looking forward to seeing how Princess Langya's mansion would stun the world and cause a sensation in the capital when she warmed her chambers and hosted a banquet for her guests.

……

"Princess, what trouble is there at home?"

Zhao Annian escorted Wang Heng all the way to the princess's mansion. He hid in the team and silently watched the servants from the princess's mansion come to pay their respects.

He naturally did not miss the fleeting grievance and joy in the eyes of the servants, the housekeeper, and others.

He was bullied, and finally saw his master, and suddenly felt that he had someone to rely on?

Zhao Annian is Concubine Jiang's person, so he would not treat the daughter whom Concubine Jiang values ​​as an outsider.

Just now at the city gate, he was so polite because there were many playboys present and he wanted to save face for Princess Langya.

At this moment, there were no spectators around, so Zhao Annian didn't need to pretend.

He stood respectfully beside Wang Heng and lowered his voice, "If you need anything, just tell me. Although I'm humble, I can still do my best to help!"

"It's okay! It shouldn't be a big deal!"

Wang Heng hadn't asked carefully yet, and she didn't know what trouble her princess's mansion had encountered.

But, it shouldn't be a big deal.

It was probably some powerful noble who took advantage of the fact that the princess's mansion had no owner and made things a little difficult for the servants in the mansion.

"Yes, Manager Zhao, it's just a small matter, there's no need to trouble you!"

Lou Yu also came over, with a warm smile and a gentle voice: "It's getting late, and the Imperial Concubine can't leave without someone. Chief Steward Zhao, you should return to the palace."

If anyone dared to bully Ah Heng, Lou Yu would be the first one to stop it.

Although Concubine Jiang is Aheng's mother, Lou Yu will never let anyone interfere in protecting Aheng.

"..."

Zhao Annian looked at Wang Heng, then glanced at Lou Yu. He bowed slightly and said, "In that case, I will return to the palace first!"

Zhao Annian did look up to Princess Langya because of Concubine Jiang, but Princess Langya was not a real princess after all.

Moreover, between Concubine Jiang and Princess Langya, Zhao Annian values ​​the former the most.

Zhao Annian didn't want Concubine Jiang to have a useless and hopeless daughter, and he didn't want Concubine Jiang to be implicated.

Before Princess Langya arrived in Beijing, the princess's mansion encountered trouble.

Yes!

Zhao Annian wanted to take this opportunity to see if Princess Langya could still gain a foothold in the capital without the support of Concubine Jiang!

After seeing off Zhao Annian and several other eunuchs, the Eastern Palace guards also took their leave.

Outside the princess's mansion, Lou Yu and Wang Heng stood side by side.

"Brother, let's go! Let's go into the mansion!"

Without outsiders around, Wang Heng felt completely relaxed.

"Ok!"

Lou Yu agreed and went into the gate with Wang Heng.

The two walked while looking at the scenery around them.

There are front yard, middle yard, main courtyard, garden, waterside pavilion, rockery, and forest in the backyard.

The two of them walked in front, and the servants followed behind in an orderly manner.

The housekeeper from the princess's mansion came forward and kept introducing things.

"...Okay, I can see all of this. Tell me what I don't know."

The group walked and browsed, and unknowingly arrived at the backyard.

Wang Heng raised her hand and interrupted the housekeeper's chatter.

She looked at the housekeeper and asked, "What happened in the mansion? Is someone causing trouble? Bullying?"

"Princess!"

When asked about this, a trace of struggle flashed in the eyes of the housekeeper, but she finally replied truthfully: "Actually, it's not a big deal!"

"It's just that a batch of timber that the mansion purchased was forcibly 'bought' away by someone midway!"

"Guard Captain Ah Hu was so angry that he took people to argue, but he got beaten up instead."

"...The servants only then realized that the person behind the forced purchase of the timber was actually, actually, Princess Ping'an."

When mentioning "Princess Ping'an", the housekeeper was obviously a little afraid.

This person is the saint's biological daughter, a true royal daughter.

Our own princess is just a piece of shit.

"Princess Ping An?"

Wang Heng was stunned for a moment. It wasn't that she didn't know who this person was.

Princess Ping'an is considered the saint's "eldest daughter" and the saint's first daughter.

However, she was not born to the queen, her biological mother was just a concubine.

This concubine was not favored by the saint either.

When the saint was still a young general, his concubine was just a maid, not even a concubine.

The sage conferred the title of King of Qi on the concubine. The Queen of Qi, considering the concubine's contribution to childbearing, proposed to give her the status of a concubine.

At that time, Jiang, who had no children, had already become a concubine.

The concubine was given a title, but she was still not favored.

She didn't even live to see the saint ascend the throne as emperor.

Nowadays, Concubine Jiang has become Concubine Jiang, and Princess Ping'an's biological mother who passed away can only be vaguely called "Concubine Zhou".

He had no title, let alone posthumous honors; he was simply a long-forgotten figure in the saint's harem.

The sage did not care about the long-dead Concubine Zhou, but he did not completely ignore Princess Ping'an, his eldest daughter.

After the saint ascended the throne, after conferring titles on the empress, the crown prince, and the concubines, he conferred the title of Princess Ping'an on his eldest daughter, with a fief of 600 households.

Not too much pampering, but not ignored either.

However, Princess Ping'an had already married and had several children.

From a concubine to a phoenix girl, Princess Ping'an not only changed her status, but also received a princess mansion granted by the emperor.

It was this princess's mansion that caused the trouble—

Princess Ping'an was almost canonized together with Princess Langya.

The princess’s mansion was also rewarded.

However, although Princess Langya was a fake princess, she had a favorite mother and a "brother" named Duke of Qi.

Lou Yu had his own selfish motives. After personally selecting his own Duke's Mansion, he also enclosed the house behind the Mansion.

That was before Lou Yu saw Wang Heng, who had successfully lost weight. Heng was still his fat girl.

He had already decided on the fat girl, but they didn't get married in the end.

Moreover, the fat girl is already a princess. Even if she doesn't need it, she must have a separate princess mansion for the sake of decency.

However, Lou Yu didn't want to be separated from his fat girl, so he decided to be her neighbor.

It happened that there was a mountain forest in the Duke's Mansion that Lou Yu chose. Thinking that the fat girl liked to keep pets, Lou Yu included this mountain as well.

"With this forest as our boundary, the fat girl and I will be neighbors!"

From the outside, the Princess's Mansion and the Duke's Mansion are not even on the same street.

However, the two mansions are directly connected, without even a wall in between!

Lou Yu was very satisfied with his arrangement, and the sage and the prince also indulged him.

With both the Supreme Father and his son agreeing, the demarcation and reconstruction of the Princess's Mansion and the Duke's Mansion went very smoothly.

The only one who was dissatisfied was Princess Pingan——

She also took a fancy to that forest!

She also wants to be a "neighbor" of the young and handsome Duke of Qi!

Well, although Princess Ping'an is married, her status has become noble.

My husband, who used to be pleasing to the eye, now seems so mediocre, ugly and boring!

Even such a despicable person actually kept a courtyard full of concubines.

In the past, Princess Ping'an was just a concubine of the royal family, and being able to marry into a noble family was already considered an excellent marriage.

But now it’s different, she has become a royal lady, her father is the emperor, her brother is the prince, she, she is fully qualified to act arbitrarily and domineeringly!

Princess Pingan became proud and arrogant, and began to imitate the princesses of the previous dynasty and her aunts...

Of course, the Duke of Qi was not an ordinary handsome man, so he definitely could not be taken into the mansion to be his concubine.

But, you can "get the moon first if you are close to the water".

Being neighbors, if you interact with each other more often, you will be able to...

Princess Ping'an's plan was good, but Lou Yu was more favored and had more freedom to make decisions.

The princess mansion chosen by Princess Ping'an was "stolen" by Princess Langya.

What made Princess Ping'an even more intolerable was that the princess mansion designated for her by the Ministry of Rites was not as good as Princess Langya's mansion in terms of location or area.

"I am a daughter of the Yang family, a member of the royal family, and yet I am not as good as a mere servant?"

Princess Ping'an, who was already unable to fulfill her wish and was suspected of being bullied, exploded.

She even thought of her deceased mother. Whether in the general's mansion or in the Prince of Qi's mansion, her mother was a poor person who had fallen out of favor, while Jiang was the most glorious person.

Even Princess Ping'an, a "lady", had to respectfully call Jiang "Empress" when she saw her.

She doesn't even have the qualifications to be called "Auntie" affectionately.

This is the "superiority and inferiority" between the favored concubine and the unfavored illegitimate daughter.

It would be fine if the mother and daughter were afraid of Jiang, after all, she was their father's favorite woman.

But, what right did Jiang's daughter have to suppress her and snatch away the handsome boy she liked? Oh, no, she robbed her princess mansion!

It is unbearable.

New and old grudges!

Princess Ping'an had already started to bear a grudge against Wang Heng before she even met her.

Before Wang Heng arrived in Beijing, the construction of her princess mansion was in full swing.

Princess Ping'an was filled with jealousy and ordered her men to make things a little more difficult for him.

This is also a test.

If Princess Langya is easy to bully, Princess Ping'an doesn't mind taking revenge and venting the resentment she has accumulated over the years.

But if——

"Forced to buy lumber? And assaulted?"

A hint of coldness flashed in Wang Heng's eyes.

She is indeed good-tempered and will not take the initiative to cause trouble.

But if she is bullied, she doesn't mind showing her claws.

She is no longer the motherless little Baicai who was abandoned in the countryside of Hedong and no longer needs to endure.

She is the Princess of Langya. She represents not only herself, but also the face of her mother, the imperial concubine.

Princess Ping'an not only hit Princess Langya in the face, but also challenged the dignity of Concubine Jiang!

"Come here, take my business card and go to Princess Ping'an's mansion to reason with me!"

Wang Heng said in a cold voice, she is a reasonable person.

Courtesy first, then attack!

Moreover, even if you are wrong, you cannot lose your momentum.

She was the daughter of a favorite concubine, so how could she not be flamboyant and domineering?

"Princess! Princess! The Chief Secretary of Princess Ping'an's residence wants to see you! The Chief Secretary said, he, he's here to apologize!"

Before Princess Wang Heng's personal guards could gather, a little maid came running over to pass on the message.

A cold glint flashed in Wang Heng's eyes. "Apologize? You're such a cunning fellow!"

Lou Yu's smile was also a little cold, "Nothing special, just changing with the wind!"

There are no secrets in the capital.

An hour ago, what happened at the city gate had already spread quickly throughout the circle of powerful people.

Princess Ping'an got the news and knew that Princess Langya was not someone to be trifled with, so she naturally stopped provoking her.

This was originally a test to determine the other party's strength, so Princess Ping'an naturally wanted to "seek reconciliation" as soon as possible...