Marrying the Crown Prince

The female officials who followed into the bridal chamber spoke auspicious words and brought out nuptial wine.

The elderly female official smiled, her face showing loving wrinkles, "A gourdful of water, a drink that lasts forever."

Zhou Zhou and Li Ziyan each picked up a small wine cup in front of them. The cups were made of pure gold, engraved with a loyal bird—a wild goose, and inlaid with red agate and green jade, making them extremely luxurious.

It's said to be a single sip, but you can only take a small sip before putting it back.

Several female officials scattered red dates, peanuts, longans, and lotus seeds on the bed. The onlookers laughed and said, "The bride and groom are so beautiful, their baby will surely be very good-looking too."

The speaker was a woman wearing a five-tailed golden phoenix hairpin, unique to princesses. Her tone was cheerful, and she appeared to be around forty years old.

Since its founding, the Chen Kingdom has not had many people who have been granted the title of prince, and most of them are the emperor's uncles or brothers.

The late emperor's offspring were few and far between, leaving no brothers for Emperor Chenze. As a result, there are very few princes left in the capital. Including the three who are bedridden and unable to move, there are only five in total.

Therefore, the prince, who was in his forties...

Zhou Zhou searched his memory and finally confirmed her identity—she should be the wife of Prince Yongle, the Imperial Clan Court's Chief Clan Member.

Prince Yongle may not be old, but he is of a very high seniority. Even Emperor Chenze has to call him Imperial Uncle, not to mention Li Ziyan and the others.

“Auntie is absolutely right,” Princess Wuxing chimed in, “The bride’s attire today has made our groom’s eyes pop out.”

Li Ziyan wholeheartedly agreed with this, and her gaze toward Zhou Zhou became even more intense.

In private, when alone, Zhou Zhou would occasionally reveal a shy charm unique to young women; in public, when looked at with such ardent gaze from His Highness the Crown Prince, Zhou Zhou's reaction was to look back, then smile, instantly captivating all who beheld her.

As a result, Li Ziyan successfully blushed.

Seeing that the atmosphere was just right, the lady-in-waiting continued, "May the groom and bride drink from the same cup together, and from now on walk hand in hand through life, growing old together in harmony and happiness."

Zhou Zhou and Li Ziyan exchanged wine glasses and drank the rest of the wine in one gulp.

"The ceremony is completed——"

After the ceremony, the groom, Li Ziyan, was called out, and the bridal chamber was finally empty. Zhou Zhou moved her stiff neck and looked at Chang Yi.

Changyi was someone Li Ziyan specially left behind when he left, saying that he would feel at ease with Changyi serving him.

Zhou Zhou was somewhat amused and exasperated. Although he felt a little out of place in this unfamiliar place for the first time, he didn't think it was a land of wolves and tigers.

"I'll be back soon." Li Ziyan gently grasped her hand with his warm palm and said solemnly.

What to do when His Highness the Crown Prince is too clingy?

Others could tolerate it, but the three princes couldn't. Each of them grabbed one of his arms and lifted him up, saying, "Alright, alright, we're just going out for a drink. People who don't know better will think you won't be back for three or five years."

Li Ziyan walked away while turning back, silently saying, "Wait for me."

The scene was quite comical, and Zhou Zhou smiled as he watched, a sweet feeling welling up inside him.

But sweetness can't fill you up, much less relieve fatigue, so Zhou Zhou looked tired and asked in a low, languid voice, "Eunuch Changyi, where are Jufang and Sizhu?"

“The two young ladies have been settled in the side room,” Changyi replied, bowing. “Your Majesty, please wait a moment, this servant will go and invite the young ladies over.”

Soon, Jufang and Sizhu appeared before Zhou Zhou. Both of them were dressed in red today, with flowers and birds embroidered on their clothes, and they wore hair ornaments. Even daughters of wealthy families couldn't be more elegant than this.

"Quick, come here, help me take off my hair ornament." Upon seeing someone approaching, Zhou Zhou's first reaction was to remove a section of her costume.

Changyi saw this and instructed the other two palace maids in the room—

"Zhibei, go fetch a basin of water."

"Donghe, go and urge the kitchen staff to bring over all the food His Highness has already ordered."

Zhou Zhou had no objection to this arrangement. His face showed little expression, but deep down he couldn't help but sigh: No wonder he had served Li Ziyan for so many years and even risen to his current position; he was indeed much more quick-witted.

Soon, the crown on Zhou Zhou's head was removed, and she reached out and pressed a mark on her forehead.

Hmm, not bad, it really left a mark.

Seeing that Zhou Zhou had finished untying her hair, Chang Yi, with great tact, said, "Your Majesty, this servant will wait outside the door. If Your Majesty has any instructions, please just send someone out to inform this servant."

After the items were removed, Zhou Zhou felt much lighter on his head, and his neck, which had been stiff, could finally move.

She nodded slightly, indicating that she understood, "Mm."

As the door opened and closed, Changyi went out, and Zhibei, carrying a basin of water, came in.

She placed the basin of water down and quietly stepped aside, minimizing her presence.

To be honest, Zhou Zhou had momentarily forgotten that there were two other people in the room when she was wondering whether Chang Yi should call them.

But now that he's noticed her, Zhou Zhou will inevitably confront her at least once to find out her background.

"I just heard Chang Yi call you Zhibei?" Zhou Zhou asked directly, "Which two characters were they?"

“Yes,” Zhibei said humbly, her eyes lowered. “The white clouds of Beishan are as fine as woven silk, which is my name.”

A palace maid, spouting poems and songs at the drop of a hat...

Zhou Zhou smiled innocently, "In that case, come and help me wash my face."

"Yes."

The makeup wasn't heavy; Zhou Zhou only needed to wash her face three times to get it clean.

During this time, Zhou Zhou wanted to wipe his hands, but before he could speak, a dry handkerchief was handed to him.

"Your skills in serving people are indeed quite good." Zhou Zhou wiped his hand on his handkerchief, seemingly asking casually, "Where did you serve before?"

"This servant was previously responsible for cleaning Your Highness's living quarters, and was only assigned to work here a month ago." Questioning is something every new master would do, so Zhibei didn't think there was anything wrong with it and honestly told her about her former employer.

"Hmm, do you know where I keep my casual clothes?"

This was something Zhou Zhou had to ask, because she needed to change out of the heavy suit she was wearing, which weighed over ten kilograms.

"Yes."

Soon, with the help of the three maids, Zhou Zhou successfully changed into a dark crimson dress with gold embroidery of flying birds, clouds, and lilies.

Zhou Zhou remembered the wardrobe that was full of clothes and casually remarked, "There are quite a lot of clothes there."

"I heard that these were all made by the embroiderers of the Clothing Department after His Highness the Crown Prince returned from Chengming Palace in early autumn last year."

This is something most people wouldn't know, but something quite big happened back then, so now everyone in the palace knows that the future Crown Princess—or rather, the current Crown Princess—is the Crown Prince's most beloved.