Marrying the Crown Prince

Zhou Heng whispered to Zhou Zhou, "We must get justice for my sister."

Zhou Zhou glanced at the dozen or so nannies sent by Madam Du beside her, a slight smile playing on her lips, but her eyes were filled with coldness. "Don't worry, they will."

Justice will be served sooner or later; let's collect interest today.

The carriage slowly made its way to the Jingwen Earl's residence. Because they had not sent a visiting card in advance, they had to wait quite a while before a matron came to greet them.

The old woman spoke humbly, "Madam, what bad luck! Our Countess is out today. Look at this, this..."

Madam Zhang smiled warmly, "It's alright, it's the same as us talking to your sixth young mistress."

As Zhang was about to step inside, the old woman remained still. "This...this isn't quite right, is it?"

“What’s wrong with that?” Madam Zhang laughed heartily. “Even if she marries into the Earl’s family, isn’t she still my niece?”

Cold sweat slowly broke out on the old woman's back. She knew that this reason was untenable and secretly groaned: Why did such a terrible job fall on my head?

But she still had to stop her, and her tone involuntarily became pleading, "Madam, the young mistress is ill and should not receive guests. You see, you should..."

Upon hearing her words, Zhang was shocked and anxious. "What? My Rong'er is sick?"

"What a coincidence that we're here today!" Zhang patted her chest, looking very grateful. "Come on, lead the way, let's go see what's going on."

The old woman was almost in tears. She wanted to reach out and stop them, but she didn't dare to actually touch Zhang Shi. In the end, Zhang Shi and her people rushed in.

Madam Xu, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Earl's mansion, watched from the sidelines. Seeing this scene, she had no choice but to step forward and greet her warmly, "Oh, Madam Yongjing, what brings you here? You are truly a rare guest."

Zhang raised the corners of her eyes slightly and said calmly, "Alas, I originally wanted to come and catch up with your mother, but who knew she wasn't here."

“Perfect timing! I just overheard this old servant saying my niece is ill, and I was just about to go see her.” At this point, Zhang turned her attention to Xu, “It’s perfect that you’re here. Please take us to see her.”

Madam Xu was much more shrewd. She avoided the main issue and instead pointed directly at the old woman's nose, scolding her: "What kind of incompetent thing is this? You didn't even inform me when Mother wasn't here? Can you bear the responsibility for neglecting our distinguished guest?"

The old woman knelt down with a thud, bowed her head and admitted her mistake, "It's my fault, I was so stubborn, I didn't expect the young mistress to be here."

“The servants are ignorant, please don’t take it to heart, Auntie.” Madam Xu warmly embraced Madam Zhang’s hand.

Madam Zhang slowly withdrew her hand, her tone indifferent, "When your household instructs its servants, please don't involve me."

Madam Xu's smile froze for a moment, then returned to normal. She said to the old woman, "Hmph, since the Lady of the Marquis says she doesn't care, then you'd better get out of here!"

The old woman looked old and plump, but upon hearing Xu's words, she quickly straightened up and rolled away in a round shape.

Their agility was astonishing.

Zhang smiled coldly and didn't respond.

Madam Xu was extremely aggrieved and secretly cursed Lady Jingwen and Zhong Xu in her heart.

Since she married into the Jingwen Earl's mansion, she has cleaned up so many messes for this younger brother-in-law. It's really bad luck!

She took two deep breaths and put on a polite smile again. "I'm sorry you had to see this, Auntie."

"Young Madam has had her fill of showing off her power," Madam Zhang said calmly. "Isn't it time to invite us in for a seat?"

Xu unconsciously clenched her handkerchief. "Look at my head, it was my oversight."

Finally, the people from the Yongjing Marquis's residence entered the backyard of the Jingwen Earl's residence. After all, what was the point of all that commotion just now?

Zhou Heng whispered to Zhou Zhou, "Isn't this just asking for trouble?"

Zhou Zhou moved his head slightly, as if in response.

In her opinion, it was indeed self-humiliating, since if something happened at the main gate, everyone would know about it.

If she were Lady Jingwen, she would properly invite the person into the backyard, then find some excuse to leave, leaving the person waiting for an hour or two.

then……

Madam Zhang tapped her teacup impatiently, her tone unfriendly, "Hasn't your eldest young mistress finished her work yet?"

Indeed, Madam Xu led them to the hall, where the head housekeeper called them away.

"Please forgive me, Madam. The eldest young mistress has sent word that she will be back soon." The tea-serving maid looked nervous and was almost crying, afraid of incurring Zhang's wrath and being pushed out by Xu to take the blame.

"How many times have you said this before?" Zhang was furious, speechless at this shameless tactic. "If I don't want to listen to you, can't I at least go see my niece?"

After saying that, she stood up, intending to leave.

The two tea-serving maids inside the room were so frightened that they knelt down. "Madam, have we done something wrong to make you angry?"

"You mustn't wander off. If anything happens, I... I'll be dead."

As they spoke, they scrambled over to Zhang's side, each grabbing a leg and wiping away their tears.

Zhang couldn't break free and almost fell, so she angrily sat back down.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Zhou Zhou stood up and called to Zhou Heng, "Fifth Sister, come with me to change my clothes."

The tea-serving maid naturally couldn't refuse such a request, so she had no choice but to ask the nanny who lifted the curtain to take Zhou Zhou and Zhou Heng over.

Then the dozen or so maids who had been following at the door also followed behind Zhou Zhou, making the tea-serving maid tremble with fear and ask uncertainly, "There are so many maids serving us?"

"My daughter was naturally pampered and spoiled as she grew up, and she could be served by many people." Madam Du said with great arrogance.

Although the tea-serving maids had their doubts, they ultimately pretended not to know anything—after all, Madam Xu hadn't said they weren't allowed to change clothes, nor had she said anyone wasn't allowed to go with her; she had only told them to stop anyone from seeing Zhou Rong.

Along the way, Zhou Zhou chatted briefly with the old woman who was leading the way. Perhaps because she had been instructed beforehand, Zhou Zhou couldn't get any useful information from her, but that wasn't her intention either.

Upon arriving at a certain place, Zhou Zhou raised her chin, full of curiosity, and asked, "Is that where my second sister lives?"

The old woman leading the way felt a chill run down her spine and dared not speak.

Zhou Zhou continued, seemingly oblivious to her surroundings, "Fifth Sister, let's go find Second Sister to play together."

The old woman quickly blocked their way, saying, "Ladies, we should go back now, or the Lady of the Marquis will worry."

Zhou Zhou gently raised her eyelids, her expression as calm as still water. "It's not like we're going into some dragon's den or tiger's lair, what's there to worry about?"

"There can't be something shameful about your Jingwen Marquis's mansion, can there?" Zhou Zhou pressed on relentlessly, forcing the old woman into a corner with nowhere to retreat.

After saying that, Zhou Zhou lifted his foot to walk around her, but the old woman grabbed his clothes.