Marrying the Crown Prince

Only after the Kongming lanterns soared high into the sky and disappeared from their sight did Li Ziyan begin to explain—

"The frontier is constantly at war, and many soldiers have lost their bodies, their souls wandering in that harsh land. When Shun'an learned of this, he wrote a letter back to the capital to inform his father, the Emperor."

"Therefore, he specially ordered people to light a thousand Kongming lanterns at the Ghost Festival, firstly to pray for the soldiers, and secondly to guide the wandering souls of the soldiers back home."

Shun'an was the title of the Sixth Princess, Li Zixiao.

Of course, she also wrote a letter to Zhou Zhou after she arrived at the border. The letter was received before New Year's Eve. The letter did not describe too many of the hardships at the border. It was mostly about what she saw and heard on her way to the northern region, as well as how she was impressed by the local customs and culture.

She said that one should really travel around in this life so as not to have lived in vain.

“Princess Shun’an…” Zhou Zhou thought for a moment and then stopped speaking.

Li Ziyan, however, helped her fill in the gap, saying, "Shun'an has grown up."

After he finished speaking, the boat stopped, and Chang Yi walked in from outside, saying respectfully, "Your Highness, Miss Zhou, we have arrived."

Zhou Zhou raised an eyebrow. "Where are we?"

Li Ziyan didn't sell coffins; he simply told her, "It's about docking near the city wall."

"Ok?"

So is it really what I think?

“Let’s go release lanterns and pray for blessings,” Li Ziyan replied to Zhou Zhou’s thoughts with certainty.

The boat was moored to the shore, and people walking on it would sway slightly. Therefore, after Li Ziyan jumped off the boat, he reached out to support Zhou Zhou and only felt relieved after she landed safely.

Seeing his nervousness, Zhou Zhou was both amused and exasperated, and said, "I've been learning horseback riding and archery since I was a child, I'm not that delicate."

You should know that when the assassins attacked before, she could kill them one by one with an arrow; while our Crown Prince could only hide behind a tree and "tremble with fear".

Li Ziyan remained silent for a while before finally asking, "How come your horsemanship and archery are so good?"

Is it possible to achieve perfect accuracy with just five hours of riding and archery lessons a week at Jingyang Palace? Did you really not secretly put in any hard work?

"I don't know either," Zhou Zhou answered truthfully. "I've always been a fast learner since I was little."

Li Ziyan sighed, forced to admit a fact: "I am not as good as you."

He didn't have much talent in martial arts; he was only better than others at reading and writing.

“Everyone has their strengths. Although Your Highness is not good at riding and archery,” Zhou Zhou glanced at Li Ziyan before continuing, “Your Highness is exceptionally handsome.”

After saying that, Zhou Zhou skipped and hopped forward.

It was clearly a rather audacious joke, but Li Ziyan couldn't get angry at all. He shook his head indulgently and chased after her.

The two of them ran all the way to the city wall, both of them panting heavily.

Changyi and Sizhu also ran up. They were used to working, and even though they had run such a long distance, they were only a little out of breath.

When the soldiers guarding the city gate saw people approaching, they hurriedly and rudely shouted, "Hey, what are you doing?"

Chang Yi strode forward and whispered a few words to the soldier. When the soldier saw the token, his legs went weak, and Chang Yi pulled his arm to keep him from kneeling. After that, the soldier became curious and secretly glanced at Li Ziyan a few more times, but Chang Yi blocked his view completely.

Zhou Zhou held his hand and waited beside him, asking curiously, "Could the plaque that Eunuch Changyi took out be from the Crown Prince's Palace?"

His Highness the Crown Prince sneaked out of the palace and even wandered around the city walls, acting suspiciously, before being caught by the soldiers guarding the city.

If this gets out, our Crown Prince will never be able to show his face again.

“No,” Li Ziyan replied in a low voice, “I’m using my father’s token.”

Zhou Zhou frowned slightly, but quickly realized what was happening.

"So Your Highness was able to leave the palace tonight on the Emperor's orders to come here and pray for the soldiers?" she asked.

Her almond-shaped eyes, beneath her arched eyebrows, sparkled with intelligence. Although her face remained unchanged, she appeared much more radiant than before, causing Li Ziyan to catch his breath slightly.

His Adam's apple bobbed slightly, but he maintained a calm and collected demeanor. "Zhouzhou's talent is always astonishing."

Chang Yi returned soon, bringing with him the captain who was guarding the city.

The captain had a large beard, and when he wore a helmet, all that could be seen were his sharp, ruthless eyes, like those of an eagle.

He held a torch and, by its light, clearly saw Li Ziyan's face.

“Your Highness,” the captain’s voice was not rough, but rather had a scholarly air, “the things are ready, this way please.”

"Thank you for your trouble." Li Ziyan nodded and led Zhou Zhou toward the city wall, climbing the steps one by one.

The city wall stairs were small and high, and now that it was night, the path was even more difficult to walk, so the group did not walk very fast.

During this time, the captain who was by their side did not say a word, but simply held a torch and quietly lit the way for the two of them.

They had just climbed onto the city wall when they saw an unmarked Kongming lantern at the top of the stairs.

The captain looked at the lantern, and the murderous aura around him finally dissipated a bit. He handed the torch to his subordinate and picked up the lantern himself, so that His Highness the Crown Prince could inscribe words on the Kongming lantern.

Li Ziyan picked up a brush and, with swift strokes, left eight large characters on the Kongming lantern: "Peace and prosperity for the nation, favorable weather for crops."

Zhou Zhou remembered that the last time he saw him write calligraphy was at the Peach Blossom Banquet. His formal style of calligraphy scared him half to death. But this time, these eight characters were powerful and vigorous, like a dragon soaring through the air, capable of inspiring the spirits of ten thousand soldiers with a single stroke.

The brushstrokes are like hooks, and the characters are like cypress trees, just like soldiers on the battlefield, holding weapons and waving battle flags, brave and fierce, showing an irresistible power. This magnificent momentum is enough to make the enemy tremble without a fight.

Most of the generals in Chen Kingdom were scholar-officials, and those who were illiterate found it difficult to get promoted. Therefore, this captain had studied for several years and could naturally see the impressive style of Li Ziyan's calligraphy.

His expression was no longer arrogant, and his tone was more respectful. "Please, Your Highness, light the Kongming lanterns to pray for the people of Chen Kingdom and for the countless soldiers on the border."

Li Ziyan picked up a tinderbox, bent down, and lit the Kongming lantern. As the fuel burned, the lantern gradually rose and finally floated into the sky.

Everyone present fell silent, stood up straight solemnly, and quietly watched the Kongming lantern in the sky until it flew high and far away, becoming a single point among the stars in the sky, no longer distinguishable.

Li Ziyan felt inexplicably heavy-hearted; the gentleness in his eyes had vanished, replaced by sharpness and authority.

This version of Li Ziyan was undoubtedly unfamiliar to Zhou Zhou, but she knew that this was the real His Highness the Crown Prince.