Marrying the Crown Prince

The tea served to the bride was Qimen black tea, which Emperor Chenze did not like. Fortunately, there was no formal tea ceremony for the bride, and the in-laws only accepted the bride after drinking it.

Therefore, Emperor Chenze only took a small sip before putting down the teacup. “You are the Crown Prince’s wife. Although you do not need to be well-read like a scholar, you must be knowledgeable and reasonable, not be biased, be able to distinguish right from wrong, and be decisive and worthy of being a role model for women in the world.”

The way they say it makes it sound like they're marrying a court official, not a daughter-in-law.

Zhou Zhou pondered carefully, and finally raised his eyes firmly to meet the emperor's gaze, saying each word clearly, "Your subject will certainly not fail your father's expectations."

After saying this, she bowed deeply.

Emperor Chenze took a wooden box from Wei Yi's hand, his tone gentle, like that of a kind and approachable elder, "That day, I bestowed upon you that jade pendant with the dragon soaring ten thousand miles, but you dared not accept it and instead gave it to the Crown Prince."

"This jade pendant is made from the same material that I found in the storeroom as the one from that day."

"It's a perfect match with the previous one, and it'll be just the right amount for your wedding gift. Don't refuse this time."

Zhou Zhou accepted the gift with both hands, saying, "Thank you for the gift, Father. Your subject will do his best to assist Your Highness."

"Hmm, if the two of you can live in harmony, then I can't say I've been setting you up haphazardly." Emperor Chenze smiled with satisfaction, gesturing for Wei Yi to help the woman up. "Get up quickly and go serve tea to the Empress."

"Yes."

Zhou Zhou rose, picked up the tea, knelt before Empress Chu, and raised her hands high, saying, "Your Majesty, I, Zhou, would like to have some tea."

Empress Chu did not accept it, but instead began to admonish: "As the Crown Prince's principal wife, you must be gentle and humble, and ensure that the Crown Prince has many children. You must not be jealous, and you must not be sour or jealous, causing chaos in the Eastern Palace. Otherwise, I will be the first to not forgive you."

"You must understand that the Crown Prince is the heir apparent, and you are the Crown Princess. You are to be a role model for all women in the land. Serving your parents and in-laws goes without saying, but you must also learn etiquette and cultivate your character..."

"Ahem!" Emperor Chenze coughed lightly, interrupting Empress Chu.

Empress Chu glanced at him unhappily, but didn't say anything more, after all, she had already deliberately had Zhou Zhou serve tea for so long.

So she reached out and took the tea.

Zhou Zhou stood up smoothly, a cold smile curving her lips, her eyes chillingly cold. "Thank you, Mother."

Seeing her get up, Empress Chu was about to lash out, but then Zhou Zhou continued, "Your Majesty, I deeply admire what you said today. I will serve you well from now on and will not let others laugh at me."

For some reason, Empress Chu, whose mind is usually a bit less sharp than most, suddenly understood everything today.

She saw the concubines whispering among themselves, and the Noble Consort and the Virtuous Consort even covered their mouths and laughed out loud.

They were laughing at themselves, laughing at how they had embarrassed the bride on their very first day of marriage.

Zhou Zhou's talk of watching the joke unfold, isn't it just a joke now?

Empress Chu was somewhat embarrassed and reluctantly replied, "It's very kind of you to have this intention."

Then she gestured to her personal maid, Ruosong, to give the prepared gift to Zhou Zhou.

"Take this Guanyin statue for granting children to Deguang Temple, where it will be consecrated by Master Mingde. It was a gift from the Empress Dowager when I was pregnant with the Crown Prince. Now it is in your hands, so that the Crown Prince may have many children."

This gift is quite valuable, but something feels off about it.

This goddess of fertility must have been a royal consort, obtained by Empress Chu from the Empress Dowager, after which she conceived Li Ziyan; now she is entrusting the goddess of fertility to her daughter-in-law…

Zhou Zhou lowered his eyes—Hmm, this can be kept as a family heirloom and given to his daughter-in-law later.

She was inwardly complaining, but didn't show it on her face; in fact, she even showed a flattered expression, saying, "Thank you, Mother."

After paying respects to her parents-in-law, Zhou Zhou had to perform the junior etiquette for the four concubines one by one. There was no need to kneel or offer tea; a simple bow was sufficient.

The four consorts were only able to receive the courtesy due to the Crown Princess today. In the future, when Zhou Zhou, as the Crown Princess, bowed to them, they would only be able to turn to the side and receive a half-bow.

"During the Peach Blossom Banquet, I felt that the Crown Princess and the Crown Prince were destined for each other. I never thought that they would actually become a couple." The Imperial Concubine said meaningfully, handing a pair of exquisite nine-turn red gold bracelets to Zhou Zhou.

Zhou Zhou's eyes flickered slightly, but he didn't respond to her words.

At the Peach Blossom Banquet, Zhou Zhou was Consort Mei's niece and was also among the candidates for the principal wife of the Fifth Prince, Li Zichen.

Upon hearing the Consort's words, both Empress Chu and Consort Mei's faces fell.

Consort Shu took out the gift she had prepared at the right time, saying, "I don't have anything good to offer, except for a red gold double happiness auspicious cloud hairpin that His Majesty gave me when I was conferred the title of Consort."

As soon as she spoke, everyone's attention shifted from the Peach Blossom Banquet to the hairpin in Zhou Zhou's hand.

Emperor Chenze also sighed, "I remember it has been more than thirty years since you were made a concubine."

"Yes, it has been thirty-two years, Your Majesty," Consort Shu said softly, her words filled with tenderness.

Hearing her words, Emperor Chenze's gaze towards Consort Shu softened.

After that, the gifts from Consort Mei and Consort De were all unremarkable and failed to cause any further stir.

The greetings are over, and it's almost time.

Emperor Chenze stood up and said to the four consorts, "Alright, the Empress and I still need to take the Crown Prince and his wife to pay our respects to the Empress Dowager. You may all leave now."

Although the Empress Dowager was not Emperor Chenze's biological mother, she played an indispensable role in his success in seizing the throne among many princes, and therefore Emperor Chenze respected her.

Unfortunately, in the first few years after Emperor Chenze ascended the throne, the Empress Dowager still made some moves to help the country. Later, seeing that the country was stable and the emperor was capable of handling things on his own after experiencing so many things, the Empress Dowager preferred quiet and hid in Shou Kang Palace, rarely going out and not seeing outsiders.

Even on the first and fifteenth of each month, Empress Chu was not allowed to enter the gates of Shou Kang Palace; she could only kowtow outside as a way of paying her respects.

If asked when Empress Chu could see the Empress Dowager, she could only do so on the first day of the Lunar New Year. Therefore, she had no impression of the Empress Dowager.

Emperor Chenze arrived at Shou Kang Palace with several people. The little eunuch at the gate hurriedly knelt down to pay his respects, but before he could finish speaking, Emperor Chenze stepped over the threshold and went inside.

He walked briskly and soon arrived at the main hall.

The incense burner in the main hall was still burning, and the sandalwood fragrance wafting out was very distant and ancient, suggesting that the Empress Dowager had recently taken a liking to Buddhist worship.

As expected, Zhou Zhou followed Li Ziyan into the main hall and saw that the Empress Dowager had a string of Buddhist prayer beads in her hand.

"Your son/grandson greets His Majesty/Grandmother."

"Emperor, you've arrived." The Empress Dowager opened her eyes, her pupils dark and stagnant like a pool of still water, staring straight at people, sending chills down their spines.