Marrying the Crown Prince

"Yes, even the Master found it strange, so he asked him: What is the explanation?"

The answer was: Time flies like an arrow!

"Huh?" Qin Wei opened her mouth, "This..."

"Isn't it funny?" Zhou Zhou asked with a smile in her eyes, leaning closer to Qin Wei, her tone light and cheerful.

"Yes, it is quite funny." Qin Wei blinked, still trying to be supportive.

"Zhouzhou." Li Ziyan's voice came from not far away.

The two looked over, wondering how long the Crown Prince had been standing under the pavilion.

"Your Highness." Zhou Zhou walked briskly to his side. Seeing her so happy, Li Ziyan smiled inwardly as well.

“Sister-in-law,” he said, taking Zhou Zhou’s hand and looking at Qin Wei, “excuse me.”

"Eh," Qin Wei wanted to say something, but then quickly realized that today was the first day of two weddings, so she could only reply, "Okay."

Zhou Zhou followed beside him, curiously observing the man. "Your Highness, why did you arrive so quickly?"

She guessed that Empress Chu wouldn't release him until lunchtime. To be precise, Empress Chu didn't want to release him even after lunch, but Li Ziyan would come back on his own.

There's still some time before lunch, so why is he back already?

"Just got married..."

Li Ziyan's voice was somewhat muffled, and he only said half of what he wanted to say before stopping.

You are someone I went through so much trouble to get. From the time we got engaged until now, he has waited for so long, so he cherishes you terribly after finally winning you over.

Zhou Zhou was unaware of the many inner thoughts the Crown Prince had, and thought he simply liked to be clingy, so she didn't pay much attention to it.

How did Your Highness know I was here?

"Yes, I guessed," Li Ziyan answered truthfully, then asked in return, "I saw you chatting happily with your sister-in-law just now?"

“Your Majesty’s sister-in-law has a sincere heart.” Zhou Zhou’s answer was irrelevant, but Li Ziyan still understood.

“Yes, so both the Emperor and the Consort dote on and protect her, so…” Li Ziyan’s eyes gleamed with amusement, “Zhouzhou’s playful side just came out as well.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhou was certain that the guy had heard the whole joke. He felt a slight pang of embarrassment, but he didn't show it on his face. He then spoke nonsense with a straight face, saying, "I call it not revealing the Emperor's preferences to outsiders."

Li Ziyan had many concerns: "If others find out about your nonsense, what will happen?"

"So what if they know?" Zhou Zhou raised an eyebrow indifferently. "Besides you and me, only Father was present that day. Did they dare to confirm this with Father?"

Inquiring about the emperor's whereabouts and preferences is a serious crime, yet many people still try to gather information. Therefore, as long as it doesn't come out in the open, Emperor Chenze turns a blind eye.

Li Ziyan was left speechless.

Inside the Shou Kang Palace, the nanny beside the Empress Dowager sat on a small stool, reporting the contents of the day's observation records to the Empress Dowager.

"The Crown Princess looks delicate, but she has a very strong personality. It's hard to tell how intelligent she is yet. Judging from her temperament, she is the kind of person who can sit still and remain calm."

"Within this Shou Kang Palace, the Crown Princess shows almost no outward emotional fluctuations. She is obedient and docile. Forgive my poor eyesight, but I cannot see any difference between the Crown Princess and the others for the time being."

The Empress Dowager took out a new string of Buddhist prayer beads and kept turning them. "If it were that easy to tell anything, she wouldn't be in this position for long."

The old woman fell silent.

Well... that's not how it works. Didn't Empress Chu see a lot at a glance?

“The Empress is different from her.” The Empress Dowager glanced at the nanny.

Empress Chu is backed by the Marquis of Beiping, who has a distinguished military record and tens of thousands of Chu family soldiers. As long as she does not attempt to harm the imperial heir or commit treason, her position as empress is secure.

But what does the Crown Princess Zhou have?

A father who held the rank of fourth grade? This fourth grade was only because Zhou Zhou was going to become the Crown Princess, and Emperor Chenze disliked that the Crown Prince's father-in-law was too poor, so he specially granted him this honor.

Moreover, the requirements that the Emperor and the Emperor had for this Crown Princess were quite different from those for Empress Chu...

The crown prince is physically weak, so his principal wife will eventually have to learn how to handle state affairs so that she can assist the crown prince and even... support the young emperor.

Thinking of this, the Empress Dowager's breathing became lighter. She sighed and ordered, "Spread the word that the Crown Princess Zhou is always welcome to come to Shou Kang Palace."

"Yes." The nanny withdrew.

The Empress Dowager's eyes were deep and unfathomable. Looking through the window at the distant blue sky, she thought to herself: "Zhou, please don't disappoint me."

Soon it was lunchtime, and today's lunch was once again exceptionally lavish, consisting of twenty-four dishes.

Zhou Zhou didn't touch her chopsticks, and hesitantly asked, "Is Your Highness's diet always this lavish?"

Li Ziyan's mind worked faster than his mouth, and he immediately grasped the key point: "You and I have just gotten married, and according to clan custom, the first three days will consist of twenty dishes."

"We don't usually have this many dishes, but it's not a small number either; there are a total of eight dishes."

Compared to the previous dynasty's frequent hundreds of dishes, the emperor of Chen Kingdom was quite frugal. But there was no other way; the founding emperor came from a poor background and joined the army by chance, which is how he rose to power.

After becoming wealthy, he did not forget his original aspiration. In order to solve the problem of the extravagant lifestyle of high-ranking officials, he resolutely established a rule that the emperor's meals should not exceed nine items.

The emperor himself ate nine dishes. Who among the officials in the capital or the concubines in the palace dared to surpass him?

Of course, there are always exceptions. For example, palace banquets and weddings often have more than nine dishes.

"I see." Zhou Zhou was still calculating how much extravagance the Eastern Palace would have to offer if they ate like this every day, but when he heard Li Ziyan's words, it would be a lie to say he didn't breathe a sigh of relief.

After finishing their meal, the two sat on bamboo recliners to rest, chatting idly.

Li Ziyan closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep. He reached out and groped around Zhou Zhou's hand, finally finding it and gently wrapping it around hers. "Zhouzhou, your mother has a fiery temper. I'm sorry you had to suffer today."

Zhou Zhou felt that today's events were alright. There are plenty of mothers-in-law in the world who make things difficult for their daughters-in-law. Empress Chu's skin was relatively thin; after a few sarcastic remarks, she felt ashamed.

However, thinking something in your heart is one thing, saying it out loud is another.

“Sigh,” Zhou Zhou sighed heavily, looking very sad. “I don’t know why my mother is so hostile towards me.”

How could you not know?

“Mother is… stubborn and has a bad temper. She’s easily influenced and often gets egged on to do things that are both laughable and pathetic,” Li Ziyan carefully chose his words, unsure whether to explain or comfort. “So, whatever Mother does today or in the future, you… don’t take it to heart.”

Zhou Zhou did not want to answer this question.

Does "don't take it to heart" mean she should just keep enduring it?

In her heart, she certainly could do it, but being able to do it herself and being asked to do it by others are two different things.

"From now on, whatever Mother does, you don't have to tolerate it for my sake," Li Ziyan continued, his tone as serious as could be.