The princess was ordained by Heaven.

Chapter 120 Occupy

Next, Zheng Xun listened as Zhao Xiulan praised her again and again.

She considers herself thick-skinned, but she still blushed a little when praised.

Well... how should I put it, I guess she has good taste.

In fact, Zheng Xun was very pleased with her changes.

From "Zhao Shi" to "Zhao Xiulan," one awakens and another follows; the meaning of her coming into this world begins to take shape.

Zheng Xun was very happy.

That night, she watched Zhao Shi and Bai Xiaoyang's conversation for a long time.

She couldn't bear to turn off the canopy, because she felt as if she were looking at a possible, bright future.

With the canopy open, the emperor and crown prince, fearing they might miss important information, dared not leave and were forced to stay up all night with Zheng Xun.

Zheng Xun was still in high spirits, and the emperor was also vigorous despite his age, but the crown prince and Li Xiaojun were listless.

During the morning court session, Zheng Xun, in a good mood, surveyed the court officials around him.

I discovered...

The ministers instantly became awe-inspiring.

[The minister's inner circle has some talented women; how can we bring them out and make good use of them?]

Some of the more conservative ministers immediately muttered to themselves that she was talking nonsense.

If all the women in the back courtyard leave the inner quarters, who will serve them?

[We could send them to help Zhao Xiulan, but most of them are too proud and probably wouldn't want to. Even if they don't want to, it's fine, but I'm worried they'll just be putting on a show. Looks like we'll have to be careful in choosing them.]

"Ahem..." The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War had just stepped forward to speak when he thought of his generous and elegant wife and realized that this was a good opportunity to curry favor with Princess Yuanjia. So he quickly brought up the words the emperor had instructed him to say.

He was referring to the arrangement of people to patrol the Twelve Guards. This was the first time such a blatant patrol had been carried out. It was good to have Zheng Xun around; after all, no matter how much evidence was concealed, it couldn't escape Zheng Xun's eyes.

Things that the emperor had already decided on were naturally finalized very smoothly.

The final choices were Zheng Xun and the Crown Prince.

Ever since rumors of their discord began to circulate, the emperor has been extra careful in such matters, rarely bypassing the crown prince in any affairs, large or small.

As a result, the crown prince was in trouble. He was so busy every day that he was like a spinning top. At a young age, he was already old and looked exhausted. How could he be described as "miserable"?

The words of the Left Vice Minister of War also successfully caught Zhou Xuan's attention.

[Hmm? The Left Vice Minister of War? Zhou Xuan, the man from humble beginnings...]

[Third Brother wanted to ask him to teach him about his family's ancestral Zhou embroidery, but little did he know that he had approached the wrong person at all. Zhou embroidery should actually be called Xu embroidery. The one who truly created Xu embroidery was Zhou Xuan's poor first wife, Xu Xiuniang.]

Zhou Xuan's family was poor, so they arranged for him to marry a woman ten years his senior. She was essentially a maidservant, responsible for his education, household chores, and caring for his parents.

What's rare is that Xu Xiuniang has an extraordinary talent for embroidery, so she raised Zhou Xuan very well.

However, due to overwork, her eyesight and health deteriorated. She thought that even if Zhou Xuan didn't have marital feelings for her, he should still remember her kindness. But after Zhou Xuan passed the high school entrance exam, he immediately married someone else.

He told his new wife that Xu Xiuniang was his sworn sister, and then turned around and kicked Xu Xiuniang out of the house.

It was the dead of winter, and Xu Xiuniang, a frail woman with poor eyesight, froze to death on the street within two days. Zhou Xuan, meanwhile, took her embroidery and gave it to his superiors and colleagues as a stepping stone to his meteoric rise in rank.

Many in the imperial court vied for a single piece of Xu embroidery, yet Zhou Xuan, as the master of Xu embroidery in the eyes of the public, was highly sought after. However, no one knew that the true master of Xu embroidery techniques had long been murdered by a despicable villain.

Originally, someone of her stature should have enjoyed both fame and fortune, living a life of unparalleled glory. But she married the wrong person and ended up being devoured, leaving nothing but bones.

Zhou Xuan was trembling, not because the matter had been discovered, but because he knew he had offended Zheng Xun.

He didn't think there was anything wrong with what he did. After all, his family had spent money to get Xu Xiuniang, so she should serve the Zhou family like a slave, even if it meant dying.

However, offending Princess Yuanjia is a different story. The princess is highly favored by the emperor, and if he is disliked by her, his career will likely be hindered!

However, it can only be said that karma is cyclical and retribution is inevitable. The noblewoman he painstakingly married disliked his lack of virility, so she frantically took in concubines for him. She even took in pitiful women in dire straits, giving them a place to stay. Zhou Xuan thought he was incredibly charming, and he believed his wife loved him so much that she tolerated everything about him.

In reality, he was stingy, old, and ugly. He didn't like to bathe, and his hair and feet were stinky. He snored and loved to insult and belittle people. His concubines received nothing except for two taels of silver a month. Fortunately, Madam Zhou was good at managing the household and helped them open a shop to do business, which allowed everyone to live a comfortable life.

[We spend our days playing mahjong with our girlfriends, enjoying the flowers in spring and the snow in winter, living such a carefree life, we almost wish he were dead.]

Not only did his wife despise him, but all his concubines in the courtyard also disliked him. So they conspired to drug him, and now it's working, he's impotent~ He'll never have the chance to enjoy the bliss of having multiple wives again~

Zhou Xuan: !!!

a bolt from the blue!

How could he not hesitate! And now everyone knows...

Feeling the different gazes around him and the whispers in his ears, his face turned pale and then red, wishing he could disappear on the spot.

However, Zheng Xun was unaware of his inner thoughts and decisively added fuel to the fire.

When the curtain of light opens, those who have been to the Zhou family's residence will know that the scene inside is the Zhou family's courtyard.

At this moment, a dozen or so women were sitting or standing in the courtyard, each with a relaxed expression on their face.

Madam Zhou was surrounded by a group of beautiful women, one massaging her shoulders, another rubbing her legs, and yet another peeling grapes for her.

"The weather is gradually getting colder, so we need to get some thicker leather coats. Each of you girls can have one, so you'll all be warm and look good. I'll be happy to see you all dressed comfortably..."

"Oh, Madam, you are so kind and benevolent. I am truly blessed to have met such a lady-in-waiting!"

"Yes, yes, Madam is beautiful and generous, with an elegant and graceful demeanor like a fairy princess. Being in the same room with Madam makes me feel a few years younger."

"With the madam taking care of me, life couldn't be more comfortable. It's just a pity that the master always comes to the backyard, which is so annoying."

Some were a bit arrogant: "Let them come. They're just pretty faces. We'll treat them like a little puppy for company and coax them a bit."

"If only I could always be with my wife and sisters."

"Oh dear, I made a fortune while you were gone last night!"

"It's all the master's fault! I'm so angry! If I were here, I wouldn't have let you play the hero."

“Are you all silly? When the master comes to my place, I’ll just give him a bowl of sweet soup with some sleeping pills in it. I guarantee he’ll sleep like a log all night, and then I can still go out and have fun.”