Marrying the Crown Prince

"Did I do something wrong just now?" Zhou Yue cautiously looked up at her. "Did I cause trouble for my sister?"

So that's what it was all about.

Zhou Zhou slowly smiled. "No, I'm very happy that Yue'er stood up for me just now."

Zhou Yue was easy to coax, and she immediately beamed with joy, "Mmm!"

Zhou Zhou took the fish-dragon lanterns from the vendor, kept one for himself, and gave one of the remaining two to Zhou Yue and the other to Sizhu.

As they continued walking, they encountered Zhou Bai, who had come looking for them.

Zhou Bai strode over, and this time Zhou Zhou was checked from head to toe. Only after confirming that Zhou Zhou was alright did he breathe a sigh of relief. "Do you... have enough money?"

Zhou Bai originally wanted to ask them if they were frightened, but after touching the fish-dragon lanterns in their hands, he silently and stiffly changed the question.

"That's not enough, big brother. You'd better give me a big New Year's gift." Zhou Zhou smiled sweetly.

"Absolutely," Zhou Bai assured, patting his chest.

As the group walked further and further away, Zhou Zhou's voice could be faintly heard, "Big brother, how did you know we were in this direction?"

"My guess."

It's just a guess, a bet that Zhou Zhou still remembers the way back to the carriage.

"Tell your older brother the truth, were you scared?"

"Yes, I have."

The incident happened so suddenly that she was initially stunned, but she quickly realized that if she panicked too much, she would become a target for human traffickers. So she could only pretend to be calm and lead Zhou Yue to find the main group.

Hearing their cheerful voices, a young man wrapped in a thick cloak asked from not far away, "Whose family are they?"

Even though he was asking someone else a question, his voice was so low that it sounded like he was talking to himself.

"This...this servant doesn't know either. Should we send someone to investigate?"

The boy was about to speak when he coughed violently, startling the eunuch beside him, who looked at him with concern.

He waved his hand to indicate that it was alright.

Once his master's coughing subsided, the eunuch spoke up, "Young master, look, we've been out for a while now..."

"Is that so?" Li Ziyan said indifferently. "In that case, let's go back."

Zhou Bai and several others met up with Zhang at Kelaixuan. Seeing that everyone was alright, Zhang quickly put her hands together and muttered, "Thank God, thank the Jade Emperor."

Zhou Zhou handed the fish-dragon lantern to Zhou Heng, saying, "I saw it on the way, so I bought one for you too."

Zhou Heng happily accepted it, saying with delight, "Don't worry, I'll definitely rummage through my drawers and cabinets tomorrow to find you something good."

“Then I’ll be waiting,” Zhou Zhou readily agreed. “If you try to fool me with something random, I’ll go ask my older brother for it.”

Zhou Bai immediately surrendered, "Little sister, please spare me. I went through a lot of trouble to get this rare copy of Qi Baizi's calligraphy."

Zhou Zhou shook his head and sighed. This rare book was originally with the old Marquis Zhou. Later, Zhou Bai made some kind of bet with the old Marquis, and actually got his hands on it. Zhou Zhou was extremely envious of this.

Hearing the two of them discussing studying while out having fun, Zhou Cong interrupted, "Alright, alright, I know you two are very capable, can you ask the waiter to bring some more food?"

Zhang pretended to be angry, gave him two slaps on the bottom, and beckoned to the waiter to bring tea and snacks.

Since we had just had breakfast, the tea snacks we ordered were all delicate and small, one for each person. We listened to storytelling while enjoying Longjing tea, which was very relaxing.

The storyteller had been telling all sorts of strange and wonderful stories about various gods and immortals these past few days. The stories were interesting, and with his rhythmic and melodious voice, even Zhou Heng, who was usually restless, listened with great interest.

Because of the incident of Zhou Zhou going missing, after listening to the story, Zhang Shi did not want to go sightseeing anymore, so she took her people and returned home.

After all, there were still many things in the manor that she needed to check to ensure that staying up late tonight wouldn't be too boring.

In the evening, the entire Zhou family gathered for dinner, with the adults at one table and the children at another, creating a lively scene.

After finishing their New Year's Eve dinner, the younger children stood up to wish the adults a Happy New Year and ask for lucky money.

The Zhang family had prepared well in advance, giving each child a small, pure gold pig. The pigs were small and cute, and instantly became the favorite of all the children.

The old lady also found it quite interesting, and picked one up to play with it in her hand. "You have a lot of ideas. This year's banquet is very well organized."

"It's all thanks to Mother's excellent teaching," Zhang said without batting an eye, flattering her mother.

On the other side, Zhou Bai also instructed his servants to move the prepared fireworks and firecrackers to the corridor and invite the children over to play.

Zhou Zhou also lit a firecracker, then quickly ran back to the corridor. The crackling sounds and dazzling fireworks drew applause and cheers from the children.

Seeing the children having fun, the old Marquis became much more amiable and stopped being stern. He spoke to his sons and daughters-in-law about serious matters, saying, "A message has arrived from the palace this year."

"I wonder what Her Majesty's instructions are?" Old Zhou had some guesses in his mind, after all, those who were well-informed already knew about this matter.

"He just asked how things were at home, but didn't say much else," the old lord paused, looking at Zhou Zhou outside who had a happy smile on his face, "He just said he missed home and wanted to see his children."

Zhou Laoda and Zhang Shi exchanged a glance, understanding each other perfectly.

Zhou Laowu scratched his head and said sheepishly, "But are all the children going?"

Before the old Marquis could speak, the old lady snorted coldly, her tone unfriendly, "I've discussed this with the old man, and we'll take the eldest son's three children and your two children."

The tone was unfriendly, not for any other reason than that the old Marquis wanted Zhou Rong to come to the palace as well, so that she could broaden her horizons.

After all, the children of officials outside the capital have very few opportunities to enter the palace, but those who do enter are mostly people of both virtue and talent.

Zhou Rong was to be engaged in two years, which is why the old Marquis had this selfish thought.

But for the old lady, it wasn't like that at all.

You want to use my daughter as a raft to build a bridge for your son? Dream on!

The atmosphere was clearly tense, but Zhou Laowu, slow to react, still didn't notice. "Two? No, my family... ah—"

Zhou Laowu's face contorted as Zhou Laoda stepped on his foot. "Big brother, what are you doing?"

Boss Zhou calmly replied, "There was a mosquito there just now."

Anyone who believes that is a fool. Zhou Laowu doesn't consider himself a fool. "Brother, don't talk nonsense. You're doing this on purpose."

Seeing how stupid her son was, the old lady naturally vented her anger on him, saying, "I saw it, there really was a mosquito."

Zhou Laowu looked aggrieved—Mother, how could you bully me with my older brother?

old lady:"……."

Sometimes I really don't want to admit that this silly son crawled out of my belly.