Marrying the Crown Prince

Zhou Zhou blinked.

In the end, Li Ziyan still defied the rules and filled in the missing half, saying, "The Empress Dowager is timid. You can teach her a lesson a few times. If she wants to make things difficult for you in the future, she will think twice."

Zhou Zhou: "..."

Aren't you sure you won't get beaten up for doing that?

Sages govern the world with filial piety; disobedience and lack of filial piety are serious crimes, punishable by execution in the autumn.

However, few parents would go to the government office to accuse their children of being unfilial.

"Your Highness, you mustn't say this to anyone else." Zhou Zhou rubbed his temples, unsure of what to say.

Judging from her actions and intentions, she is not a good-tempered person. If Empress Chu gives her the cold shoulder too often, she will definitely take action. But it's better to keep this to yourself than to say it out loud.

Li Ziyan hesitated, but ultimately said nothing, only letting out a soft sigh.

No one would say such a thing, so Zhou Zhou's reminder to herself was not what she really meant.

She... doesn't believe in herself.

After all, a man's words and promises don't require any real effort; they're just empty words. When the time comes, it's up to him to decide whether his wife or mother sides!

Li Ziyan understood this principle; after all, how many people in the world can wholeheartedly trust others?

I can't even do it myself.

Why force others to do the same?

Having figured this out, Li Ziyan gripped Zhou Zhou's hand tightly, feeling extremely depressed, and then mischievously tickled her palm.

A dense, itchy sensation, mixed with a slight tingling, came from her palm. Zhou Zhou tried to resist, but couldn't pull her hand away.

"Your Highness..."

Her tone was soft and ingratiating.

Li Ziyan's heart trembled, his voice low and filled with indescribable affection, yet also conveying the helplessness of the world, "Zhouzhou, I really can't do anything with you."

After taking a short nap, Donghe noticed that it was almost time and gently reminded her, "Your Majesty, it's almost time."

Her voice was soft and slow, and she even leaned close to Zhou Zhou's ear to speak, but she still woke up both of her masters.

Zhou Zhou looked at him with a smile, "Your Highness, please rest a while longer. This kind of thing doesn't require Your Highness to get up personally."

If the master lord accompanies a servant on his first visit to the mistress, it can be interpreted as the master lord valuing the mistress, but it can also be interpreted as the master lord not trusting the mistress's abilities.

"Well, I'll just sit here for a while," Li Ziyan said, not insisting.

"Yesterday I saw a dark blue brocade robe in the closet, with a phoenix soaring through the clouds and crossing mountains and seas?" Zhou Zhou looked at Dong He.

During the first month of marriage, it's not advisable to dress too elegantly; the more elaborate the better.

Donghe understood immediately, "Yes, Your Highness, this servant will help you change your clothes right away."

With such luxurious clothes, the makeup and styling naturally had to keep up. Zhibei and Donghe worked together, and it took them almost half an hour to finish combing her hair.

Of course, Jufang and Sizhu stood by and watched, praising, "You two sisters are so skillful. In no time, the hair buns are finished."

"Practice makes perfect, and it's slow at first too." Although Donghe was the head palace maid, she was not strict and spoke in a gentle tone.

However, could someone with a truly gentle nature break through the encirclement and become the head of Changxin Palace?

Looking at herself in the bronze mirror, Zhou Zhou noticed that her eyebrows were no longer the thin willow-leaf eyebrows of the past, but rather feather-like eyebrows that flew into her temples, exuding an air of authority without anger. A phoenix-shaped floral decoration, painted between her eyebrows in red and gold, adorned her forehead, adding no charm but rather enhancing her noble and heroic air.

This was my first time trying this makeup look, and the results were surprisingly good.

She stood up and said, "No, we can't keep people waiting for so long."

A comb-backed armchair has been placed under the eaves of the courtyard, with patterns of deer roaming in the deep forest carved on the back and armrests.

"This servant greets Your Highness the Crown Princess, may Your Highness live a thousand years!"

The servants had already lined up, a large group of fifty or sixty people, all kneeling down and kowtowing in unison, creating a magnificent scene.

Zhou Zhou's eyes swept over the faces of the people in front of him, and after sitting down in a chair, he said indifferently, "Stand up and speak."

"Thank you, Your Highness." The palace maids and eunuchs then stood up.

"Who's in charge?" Zhou Zhou got straight to the point, without beating around the bush.

"This servant often greets Your Majesty with my humble servant Yangxi, wishing Your Majesty a long and peaceful life."

The first person on the left in the eunuch line and the first person on the left in the maid line both stepped forward. One of them was the head eunuch of the East Palace, and the other was the head maid of the East Palace.

"Is everyone here?"

Chang and Yangxi exchanged a glance and respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, apart from those who are on duty and cannot leave, everyone else has arrived."

"Yes, that's good."

After saying this, Zhou Zhou stopped being polite and gave them a whack with a stick. "I'm sure you all know that from now on, I will be in charge of all your duties in the Eastern Palace."

"I am young, so it's no wonder you look down on me. You take advantage of your age, act arrogantly, and it's not uncommon for servants to bully their masters."

"This servant dares not."

"Ha!" Zhou Zhou said coldly, "Whether you've ever had such thoughts or not, from now on you'd better swallow them back, do your jobs properly, and don't betray your own side. If we find out..."

"I cannot tolerate any nonsense in my eyes!"

"This servant will remember Your Majesty's teachings." The palace maids and eunuchs knelt down again to show their loyalty.

"Alright, get up." Zhou Zhou's expression was indifferent, his gaze deep and sharp, as if he could see through the secrets in people's hearts.

The palace maids and eunuchs all rose with trepidation.

"Go ahead." Zhou Zhou raised his chin and instructed Ju Fang, Dong He, and the other four women beside him.

Donghe spoke first, telling them to separate the men and women, one side having been in the East Palace for more than three years, and the other side having been newly sent in just a few months.

There weren't many new recruits, only about ten, and they were mostly doing cleaning and sweeping work.

Donghe and Zhibei, who recently joined the Crown Prince's Palace, are responsible for recording where each person worked and what they did before joining the palace.

After each entry was recorded, Donghe and Zhibei would give that person half a string of cash.

Therefore, for the sake of the money, no one said anything negative, and they all cooperated to the best of their ability.

As for everyone else…

Zhou Zhou finally smiled. "Today is the first day of my wedding, which is a joyous occasion. Everyone should go to Jufang and Sizhu to receive a string of cash as a good omen."

Zhou Zhou understood the principle of giving a slap followed by a sweet treat.

There weren't many people. After receiving their rewards and kowtowing, they went back to their duties.

Donghe and Zhibei handed the notebook with the records to Zhou Zhou, saying, "Your Majesty, these people have very clear family backgrounds and histories. We can't find anything out."