Marrying the Crown Prince

Emperor Chenze was momentarily speechless, but he couldn't do anything about it. He could only go along with her and drink the chrysanthemum tea in one gulp. After finishing it, he quickly covered the mouth of the cup with his hand before the Empress Dowager could refill it.

Empress Dowager: "..."

What is he doing?!

Emperor Chenze chuckled, "Mother, the Crown Princess is just a little clever. She's still so young. If you don't teach her, there's no guarantee she won't become a mediocre person in the future. How can I entrust the country to the Crown Prince?"

"Hmph," the Empress Dowager snorted, "Don't use Jin You as a shield. Just tell me, why are you suddenly coming to me to ask for this favor?"

Emperor Chenze slowly recounted the events in detail.

After saying that, he added, "Really, Mother, the Crown Princess is not stupid. She will remember your teachings and will definitely respect you in the future."

The Empress Dowager immediately retorted, "If I don't teach her, will she disrespect me?"

Emperor Chenze clicked his tongue again, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back, his expression complex.

"Alright," the Empress Dowager said, knowing when to stop. "Since Your Majesty has spoken, I have no choice but to risk my old bones and help you one more time."

"I will forever remember Your Majesty's great kindness," Emperor Chenze hurriedly said, fearing that the Empress Dowager might change her mind.

Therefore, after Li Ziyan recovered from his illness, the palace maids from Shou Kang Palace appeared in Changxin Hall of the East Palace.

"This servant greets the Crown Princess. May Your Highness be well."

"Aunt, please get up quickly." Zhou Zhou gestured for Zhi Bei to help the person up.

This little palace maid wasn't a well-known servant in Shou Kang Palace, but she was still qualified to serve inside the palace. However, Zhou Zhou was willing to call her "aunt" only because she served the Empress Dowager.

"I wonder what brings you here, Aunt?" Zhou Zhou asked.

"Her Majesty the Empress Dowager said that she has not seen the Crown Princess for a long time and misses her very much, so she instructed me to come and invite Her Majesty to Shou Kang Palace."

I had only met the Empress Dowager once before, so why do I miss her so much?

Besides, the Empress Dowager prefers quiet and forbade her to go over to pay her respects. Why has she changed her mind now?

The thought raced through Zhou Zhou's mind, but his face remained calm as he calmly replied, "Okay."

"But please wait a moment, Aunt, allow me to change my clothes before I go."

"Your Majesty, your words are serious."

Zhou Zhou nodded and led Ju Fang and Si Zhu into the bedroom.

Jufang was a little nervous. In her opinion, the Empress Dowager's invitation was no small matter. As for whether it was good or bad, she could only leave it to fate.

"Look at you, it's not like you haven't been there before." Zhou Zhou chuckled and tapped her forehead. "Go and get my smoky blue soft silk dress."

It wouldn't be appropriate to wear something too extravagant when visiting the Empress Dowager, so Zhou Zhou chose an elegant dress.

If you dress elegantly, you can't go without any hair accessories, otherwise people might think someone in your family has died and you're in mourning.

However, anything too elaborate wouldn't work, so Zhou Zhou instructed, "Give me a snake-shaped bun and insert a long, gilded, kingfisher-feathered hairpin immediately."

The Ling She Ji hairstyle is not complicated; Si Zhu can comb it up in no time.

Zhou Zhou glanced at the items and was quite satisfied. "Let's go, don't keep others waiting."

Upon arriving at Shou Kang Palace, Zhou Zhou chose to perform a grand ceremony, kneeling down and bowing deeply, saying, "Granddaughter-in-law Zhou greets the Empress Dowager, wishing her long life and all the best."

"Good child, get up quickly. Why perform such a grand ceremony? It only makes us, grandmother and grandson, feel distant," the Empress Dowager said with a smile, gesturing for Changzhu, who was standing to the side, to help the person up.

Zhou Zhou remained calm despite the honor and disgrace, but he still had many doubts in his heart. Why was the Empress Dowager so much more amiable than last time?

You can't really say that you've developed a genuine grandmother-granddaughter relationship with her!

However, Zhou Zhou soon found out the answer.

"I called you here today for no other reason than that Jinyou has a favor to ask of me." The Empress Dowager changed Emperor Chenze's name to Li Ziyan, attributing this favor to her husband so that if there were any misunderstandings between them in the future, Zhou Zhou could be more forgiving towards him because of this favor today.

Zhou Zhou was stunned by the Empress Dowager's words. After all, she had spent the last few days with Li Ziyan and had never heard him mention this matter before.

"I heard that you were the one reviewing the memorials during the days Jin You was ill?" the Empress Dowager asked kindly, but Zhou Zhou still broke out in a cold sweat.

The Empress Dowager asked the question at Shou Kang Palace and specifically sent the palace servants away, so she probably wasn't angry. Or perhaps, even if she was angry, she didn't intend to depose her; at most, she would just give her a lecture.

Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons, Zhou Zhou felt that it was best to just admit it directly and not try to argue, as arguing would only make the Empress Dowager feel disgusted.

Having figured this out, Zhou Zhou stood up and knelt on the ground, saying, "My daughter-in-law has made a mistake; please punish me, Empress Dowager."

The Empress Dowager looked at her with a smile, like a kind old lady, "Oh? What have you done wrong?"

“Since ancient times, the empress dowager has never interfered in politics.” Zhou Zhou lowered his eyes and leaned down, appearing even more sincere. “My granddaughter-in-law has disregarded ancestral etiquette and has presumptuously read through memorials, acting presumptuously as a subject. This is an act of disloyalty and unfilial piety, and everyone has the right to punish her.”

"I beg Your Majesty to forgive me this time."

After saying this, Zhou Zhou kowtowed deeply.

She spoke with such sincerity; hopefully, even the Empress Dowager could be fooled by her acting skills.

The Empress Dowager watched her performance quietly, and only after she finished did she ask suspiciously, "When did I say I was going to punish you?"

Zhou Zhou: "..."

"Then, then...?" she asked cautiously.

Seeing the light hidden in Zhou Zhou's eyes as she looked at her with a wet gaze, the Empress Dowager felt both angry and amused—what a hateful girl! Not a single word of truth came out of her mouth, yet she spoke so sincerely, and her act of feigning pitifulness was so convincing.

"Get up. You've been kneeling for so long. If others find out, they'll probably blame me," the Empress Dowager snorted.

Upon hearing her mention Li Ziyan, Zhou Zhou quickly found her bearings, "Who is the 'other person' that Grandmother is referring to?"

"No matter who it is, it could not be His Highness the Crown Prince."

"His Highness the Crown Prince often tells his granddaughter-in-law that you are the person he respects most in his life."

Hearing Zhou Zhou's words, the Empress Dowager's smile became more genuine. "Alright, get up now."

Seeing that her expression didn't seem fake, Zhou Zhou finally felt relieved. "Thank you, Grandmother, for not punishing me."

After she was seated, the Empress Dowager posed her first question, "Both the Emperor and Jinyou have praised you in front of me, saying that you are intelligent. Now, I will test you."

The most distinguished person in the world was going to test him, so Zhou Zhou immediately sat up straight—listening attentively.

"You've been here talking to me for a while now, so tell me, why did I summon you here today?" The Empress Dowager spoke slowly and deliberately, asking a question that wasn't particularly tricky, but it wasn't easy to answer.

Zhou Zhou blinked, pondered for a moment, and tentatively said, "My grandmother and granddaughter-in-law just said that you summoned me here today because His Highness the Crown Prince requested it."