Marrying the Crown Prince

Upon hearing that Zhou Zhou was interested in the Prince of Wuxing's mansion, Liu Jingyuan naturally did not hesitate to share.

She quickly and clearly explained the cause and outcome of the matter.

It turns out that the largest industry of the Wuxing Prince's Mansion was making rouge and lipstick.

However, ever since Zhou Zhou's Jade Beauty Shop suddenly appeared, the shops of the Prince of Wuxing's Mansion have gradually become deserted.

Later, in order to transform their business, they had to borrow a sum of money from a money exchange.

Who knew that Qingrong would be so ruthless? While others were transforming into high-end luxury brands, they started offering discounts and introduced a new feature—writing and drawing on fingertips.

This unique and exquisite beauty instantly attracted many girls.

Subsequently, Qingrong also used its financial strength to short-sell raw materials.

As a result, the Prince of Wuxing's mansion is on the verge of collapse, and in recent days, it has been frequently selling off its assets.

In other words, Princess Wuxing thought that Zhou Zhou was holding a grudge and was deliberately trying to harm them.

Faced with this strange misunderstanding, Zhou Zhou said it was nothing to worry about; they were just a group of short-sighted people, and let them hold a grudge.

However, to Zhou Zhou's surprise, Qing Rong, who looked gentle and weak, was actually quite ruthless, truly embodying the saying "take advantage of your illness to kill you."

After recounting the story, Liu Jingyuan curiously propped her chin up and asked, "You really didn't know about this?"

Zhou Zhou shrugged. "These are trivial matters. My subordinates can do whatever they want with them. I never interfere."

One principle is to trust those you employ and not to employ those you distrust.

Secondly, you need to give your subordinates certain rights within a certain range. Otherwise, if you restrict and control this person and that person, do you still want others to make money for you?

Finally, this year's income has increased, which is a good thing. Zhou Zhou wouldn't be so idle as to investigate how Qing Rong did it for no reason.

Liu Jingyuan listened to Zhou Zhou's words but was not surprised. She said frankly, "Indeed, when I heard it, I also felt that it didn't seem like something you did."

"Oh?" Zhou Zhou raised an eyebrow with interest.

“You don’t seem like the kind of person who would go to such lengths to kill someone,” Liu Jingyuan replied. After thinking for a moment, she added, “Of course, if the other party has offended you, that’s another story.”

However, ever since she met Zhou Zhou, she had never seen her suffer any loss.

Therefore, it was impossible for Liu Jingyuan to believe that the Prince of Wuxing's mansion had offended Zhou Zhou.

Zhou Zhou fell silent—their guess was quite accurate; the Prince of Wuxing's mansion had indeed offended him.

This matter happened many years ago, and when Zhou Zhou mentioned it, it felt somewhat unfamiliar.

When her birth mother was mentioned, her eyes darkened.

Although Zhou Zhou was exceptionally intelligent, she had absolutely no recollection of her birth mother, Gao Shi.

When I was a child, it would be a lie to say I wasn't curious or indifferent; now, I'm usually fine, but when it's actually mentioned, a sense of melancholy still rises in my heart.

Upon hearing Zhou Zhou's explanation, Liu Jingyuan stared wide-eyed in disbelief, wishing she could slam her fist on the table, put her hands on her hips, roll up her sleeves, and seek justice for Zhou Zhou.

However, just as she was about to slam her hand on the table, she noticed a cold gaze.

Liu Jingyuan froze, stiffly turning her head to look over, only to see her mother-in-law giving her a "sweet" smile.

So she quickly sat up straight and gave Zhou Zhou a standard, slight smile.

Zhou Zhou: "..."

"You're not suited to laughing like that. If you can't laugh next time, then don't laugh at all."

Liu Jingyuan quickly wiped the fake smile off her face.

Finally, time flew by, and on the fifth day of the month, Zhou Zhou met the people from the Yongjing Marquis's residence.

Of course, when they arrived, they first went to Empress Chu's place, and then to Consort Mei's place.

After retiring from officialdom, Zhou Laoda passed on his title to Zhou Bai.

Therefore, the people who entered the palace this time were Zhou Bai's wife, He Shi, and Zhao Yuehua, who had a very good relationship with Zhou Zhou.

Consort Mei was not very familiar with these two people, so she did not keep them for long, only asked them a few simple questions and then sent them away.

It's clear that the resources of the Yongjing Marquis's residence are starting to favor Zhou Zhou, rather than Consort Mei.

Faced with this situation, Consort Mei simply sighed softly and said nothing more.

After all, whether it's a prince or a crown prince, anyone with eyes can tell which one to choose.

Of course, the support that the Yongjing Marquis's mansion could provide wasn't very useful.

He and Zhao Yuehua arrived at the Changxin Hall of the East Palace and immediately knelt down to pay their respects, saying, "Your humble servants He and Zhao greet Your Highness the Crown Princess and wish Your Highness a thousand years of peace and health."

Zhou Zhou smiled and waved to Ju Fang and Si Zhu to help the person up. "You two are too kind, we're all family, please get up quickly."

After saying that, she looked at Zhibei and said, "I remember a few days ago, the Emperor bestowed upon me some excellent oolong tea, which is fragrant and mellow. Go and brew a pot of it."

Hearing Zhou Zhou's words, Madam He showed a hint of joy.

After all, besides paying their respects and building a relationship with Zhou Zhou, another mission they had to take when they entered the palace was to find out Zhou Zhou's status as the Crown Princess in the Eastern Palace, and even in the hearts of Emperor Chenze and Empress Chu.

Only when Zhou Zhou's position is secure can the Yongjing Marquis's mansion get any benefits.

Of course, Zhou Zhou also knew about He Shi and Zhao Yuehua's mission, otherwise why would he have made a special mention of it?

Soon, the tea was ready. Zhou Zhou picked up the teapot, poured tea for his two sisters-in-law, and then gestured for them to try it.

Zhao Yuehua had a good relationship with Zhou Zhou, so she wasn't as reserved as He Shi and adopted a more open and natural manner.

After tasting it carefully, she praised it without hesitation: "This tea has a rich aroma and a sweet taste. It truly deserves to be called a fine tea bestowed by the emperor."

Hearing this, Zhou Zhou smiled and said, "If you like it, sister-in-law, take a few packs with you when you go back."

“Then I shall gladly accept your offer.” Zhao Yuehua smiled.

Seeing Zhou Zhou and Zhao Yuehua chatting happily, Madam He was filled with envy—they were classmates and also her own sister-in-law…

Thinking of this, Madam He took a deep breath and made her move, "Speaking of which, everything at home is thanks to Your Majesty's guidance."

Indeed, after Zhou Laoda and Zhou Laowu left officialdom, Zhou Bai, who originally needed to accumulate seniority in the Hanlin Academy, was transferred to a different position by Zhou Zhou.

It's worth noting that Su Ye, who was born in the same year, is still compiling books at the Hanlin Academy.

As luck would have it, that year, the lecturer who served Emperor Chenze was promoted and transferred to the Ministry of Revenue as a sixth-rank official.

He had served the emperor for many years, and now he had been promoted. Although his official position had not changed much, it was obvious to anyone with eyes that Emperor Chenze was intentionally grooming him.

Therefore, the position of Lecturer became vacant, and everyone was scrambling to fill it, even though it was only a seventh-rank position.

So how did Zhou Zhou get his hands on it?

The matter is actually very simple. He often goes to the Imperial Study to read books, so it's not unreasonable for him to bring someone with him, right?

Seeing Zhou Zhou bring people over and help organize the books, Emperor Chenze couldn't help but be curious and said a few more words.