Chapter 35

The moment they entered, they immediately understood why.

With the Crown Prince standing up for them, all the elegantly dressed noble ladies in the room turned their scrutinizing gazes towards Xu Wan and the other woman, making them feel like they were sitting on pins and needles.

And knowing that Zong Jincheng was with the Crown Prince, the Crown Princess's smile began to falter.

She had married into the East Palace but had not borne any children. Although the truth was that the Crown Prince was sickly, and they had not conceived after five years of marriage, there were always those who liked to blame the woman, saying it was her inability to conceive, especially since the Crown Prince, for her sake, refused to take any concubines.

Now that the Crown Prince showed a strong liking for children, the others' gazes towards the Crown Princess became even more complicated. It was easy to imagine that behind her back, they were surely mocking her for being unable to bear children.

"Madam Zong, come sit by my side," the Crown Princess said with a warm smile, gesturing towards her, which finally put an end to Xu Wan's uneasy state of sitting.

—Only to transition into an uneasy state of standing.

Xu Wan was inwardly groaning. Whether intentional or not, the little demon was causing her trouble. This was the esteemed Crown Princess; how could she possibly afford to offend her!

Looking at the smirks on these people's faces, it was likely that the Crown Princess would soon make things difficult for her.

This is a disaster!

Xu Wan took a deep breath, stepped forward to pay her respects, and was seated beside the Crown Princess, who began to gently interrogate her.

The ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​‍two women, both smiling tigers, exchanged pleasantries, and surprisingly, they hit it off.

The Crown Princess, after all, harbored no ill will towards Xu Wan. Xu Wan was newly married into the marquis's household, and even if the Crown Prince had some connection with Zong Jincheng, the new bride likely didn't know much about the inner workings.

"I see that the Crown Prince quite likes your Zong Jincheng. If you have time, do bring him to the East Palace more often. Don't just keep him cooped up at home studying. Such a big child can easily get stifled."Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Xu Wan smiled, "Thank you, Your Highness, for your kindness. Zong Jincheng is quite mischievous and might disturb the Crown Prince and Your Highness. I'll need to discipline him a bit more before bringing him to the palace."

The Crown Princess covered her mouth and laughed, "Alright, I'll leave it to you. I see you're a very responsible stepmother, even more so than many biological mothers."

Xu Wan inwardly muttered: Of course, biological mothers raise their children out of maternal love, while I raise my child because of that one-hundred-million-tael silver pie.

One hundred million taels!

Pure, white silver!

Even Confucius would have to force Zong Jincheng to study for eight hours a day!

"It's all thanks to my mother-in-law's trust. I wouldn't dare to let her down."

The Crown Princess said, "Your mother-in-law certainly knows how to pick people. Look how well you've raised Zong Jincheng. I only just learned that he bluntly criticized Zhai Yao, the dissolute son of the Zhai family, at the gate, leaving him speechless. He's quick-witted and has excellent moral character. You know, those kids—I've heard there's even a ranking of the four most dissolute, all of whom are ten-year-old children. They're more difficult to manage than adults, but none of them are as well-behaved as your Zong Jincheng."

Xu Wan: "……"

For the first time in her life, she felt utterly at a loss for words. The Crown Princess was kindly praising Zong Jincheng, but it seemed to have backfired.

Xu Wan timidly said, "That... Zong Jincheng... seems to be on that list as well..."

She didn't dare to hide this fact, as if it were exposed to the Crown Princess, it would only make things worse.

"Ah?" The Crown Princess's smile froze on her face. "Is there something wrong with this list? Could the other three children also be wrongly accused?"

Xu Wan coughed, then truthfully said, "There's one more you've met."

"?"

"It's Zhai Yao."

The Crown Princess: "…………"

Her worldview was suddenly turned upside down.

The Crown Princess's birthday celebration wasn't too grand. Neither the Emperor nor the Empress attended, only the wives of various families were present in full force.

Xu Wan, at the banquet, was enjoying the food in silence when Cui Zhi nudged her, whispering in her ear, "Madam, look over at the Duke of Jin's wife."

Xu Wan followed her cue and saw a familiar figure—her younger sister, Xu Lian'er, sitting beside the Duke of Jin's wife, laughing and chatting.

This really is... birds of a feather flock together.

However, the Duke of Jin's wife was about the same age as her own mother-in-law. Xu Lian'er was so eager to please her; could it be that she wanted to marry into the Duke of Jin's household?

She asked Cui Zhi, "Does the Duke of Jin's household have an unmarried eldest son?"

Cui Zhi nodded, "Yes, the eldest son, who just turned twenty this year. He's already a fourth-rank official at a young age, with both character and ability. Many noble ladies want to marry into the Duke of Jin's household."

Xu Wan said, "Sounds like an excellent young man. With my father being the Minister of Justice, our family is certainly a match for the Duke of Jin's household. My stepmother has made a good choice."

Much better than the list she had when she got married.

Cui Zhi couldn't tell if she was happy or unhappy, so she leaned in and whispered a bombshell piece of information: "This eldest son has a mistress outside, who used to be the top courtesan at Yihong House."

Xu Wan: "!"

"How do you know this?" Xu Wan was shocked.

In the strictly hierarchical Great Chu Dynasty, a man having a concubine before marriage was already a huge scandal; if the concubine was a courtesan, it was even worse.

A wife being forced to acknowledge a courtesan as a sister was a great humiliation to the noble lady and her family.

Cui Zhi whispered, "Cui Liu accidentally stumbled upon it while running an errand. The old madam told us not to spread it around; almost no one in the capital knows about it."

Xu Wan swallowed hard, thinking how complicated things were.

On the surface, he seemed like a promising young talent, but he could also be a massive pitfall.

Xu Lian'er and her mother had mistreated the original owner, and now their bad deeds were catching up to them.

Knowing this piece of information, Xu Lian'er's pretentious demeanor now just seemed pitiful.

Forget it, let her and the Duke of Jin's wife engage in their own domestic strife.

After the banquet, Zong Jincheng, holding the inkstone gifted by the Crown Prince, grinned all the way home.

Xu Wan rubbed her temples in frustration. No one knew that while it seemed like their family had climbed the ladder to the East Palace, in reality, the Crown Prince's sudden intervention had disrupted her plans.

Although Zhai Yao was mischievous, his studies were quite solid. Xu Wan had originally planned to use the deepening conflict between the two to motivate the little demon to continue studying, but instead, the boy was directly sent to the slums.

What a headache...

That night, Xu Wan tossed and turned, thinking of various ways to cultivate the little demon into a top scholar after he started studying, but she was stuck on how to get him to study in the first place. It felt like an insurmountable chasm.

The next morning, Baili Xi, seeing her listless appearance, chuckled and asked, "Zong Jincheng's recent progress in his studies is so smooth, why does Madam look even more worried?"

Xu Wan looked at this highly respected tutor, thinking how impressive it was that he could cultivate a child like Zong Zhao. But the little demon was unwilling to study; even if she forced him, it wouldn't work.

"To be honest with you, Master, Zong Jincheng's current efforts are due to a promise I made with him. In a few days, this promise will be fulfilled, and I'm worried he'll go back to slacking off."

"I see. No wonder he suddenly has such a strong drive to study," Baili Xi said. "However, I've noticed that he quite likes writing. Although his handwriting isn't that great yet, with this enthusiasm, it won't be long before he's on the right path."

Hearing this, Xu Wan's heart skipped a beat, as if something clicked in her mind.