Marrying the Crown Prince

The leisurely days passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, Zhou Zhou and Li Ziyan had been at the estate for five days.

The summer heat was intense, and neither of them wanted to go out, so they closed the door and stayed inside to fight crickets.

Just as things were getting critical, Chang Yi knocked on the door. "Young Master, Madam."

Li Ziyan put away the straw in his hand and said, "Go in."

Changyi entered, bowed, and said, "A letter has arrived from the palace, asking when you will return."

As he spoke, he took the letter out of his sleeve, presented it with both hands, and handed it to Li Ziyan.

It turned out that after the Prefect of Jingzhao returned to the capital that day, he immediately devoted himself to investigating the person behind that county magistrate.

That guy was a coward; a few scare tactics and he confessed everything.

It would have been better if they hadn't confessed, because what they did was shocking – they turned out to be relatives of the Imperial Concubine, several generations removed from her.

No matter how distant the relationship, in the eyes of outsiders, it was only because of the imperial concubine's power that he acted so recklessly and wantonly.

Therefore, it was inevitable that his mistake would implicate the Imperial Concubine and the Third Prince.

So... His Highness's vacation was a pretense, and his real purpose was to investigate the case?

Otherwise, how could they find such a person as soon as they left the palace, and even hurriedly summon the Prefect of the Capital to sow discord among the Third Prince's faction?

The Prefect of Jingzhao, who was assigned to the Crown Prince's camp: "..."

What a coincidence, Your Highness! What they said is exactly what I wanted to ask.

You insisted that I investigate this case, using both threats and bribes, and it turned out to be someone from the Imperial Concubine's faction. You say you know nothing about it? Who would believe that?

Far away, Li Ziyan sneezed, "Achoo!"

Zhou Zhou immediately sat up straight and reached out to touch his forehead. "Did you catch a cold?"

Although it's summer, the mountain breeze is cool, so it's quite possible to catch a cold.

"It's nothing, my nose just suddenly got a little itchy." Li Ziyan waved his hand, indicating that he was fine.

Hearing him say that, Zhou Zhou stopped dwelling on the matter and leaned back in his chair, looking languid.

After reading the letter, Li Ziyan raised his hand to her, silently asking if she wanted to see it.

Zhou Zhou shook his head, "Your Highness can speak."

It's not something particularly important, do I really have to look at this thing?

"Father said that we've been out for long enough and it's time to go back."

Of course, Emperor Chenze's original words were—"Is there any progress on the tax collection matter?"

"Our mother misses us very much too."

When Empress Chu heard that Li Ziyan had gone to the Consort's territory to cause trouble as soon as he left the palace, and had even taken down a minor official position, she was so happy that she ate half a bowl more rice.

"Grandmother said that she hasn't checked your homework in a long time and doesn't know if you've fallen behind."

The Empress Dowager said that if you don't return to the capital soon, the ministers in the court will talk about you two, so you'd better come back quickly!

In conclusion, the power of language is undeniable.

Zhou Zhou calculated the days and said, "Never mind, let's go back."

I've been out having fun for several days now, it's time to go back to the ring.

Both of them are action-oriented, but looking at the bright sun high in the sky, neither of them really wanted to go out, so—

"Let's go back tomorrow?" Li Ziyan suggested.

“I think it’s a good idea,” Zhou Zhou agreed.

And so, the decision to set off tomorrow morning was made amicably.

To avoid the sun, they returned in the same way they came: they got up very early, rode a fast horse for more than an hour, found an inn to stay overnight, and set off again early the next day.

After traveling for two days, they finally returned to Kyoto.

The first thing they did upon returning to the palace was to bathe and change clothes. Only after everything was in order did the two of them go to pay their respects.

Our first stop was the Imperial Study.

Inside the Imperial Study, Li Ziyan and Zhou Zhou bowed side by side, saying, "Your subject greets Your Majesty and wishes Your Majesty good health."

Emperor Chenze wrote a note on the memorial, then put down his brush and looked at the couple. "Rise and sit down."

"Thank you, Father Emperor." The two exchanged glances but said nothing more, and sat down below Emperor Chenze.

Emperor Chenze seemed to be in a good mood. He happily closed the memorial and turned to instruct Weiyi, "Go and brew a pot of my newly acquired tea for the Crown Prince and Crown Princess to try."

"Yes."

Wei Yi left.

This was Zhou Zhou's first time here, but Emperor Chenze had no objections, since he had long planned to have Zhou Zhou involved in court affairs.

"How's the investigation going?" Emperor Chenze asked directly, without any pleasantries.

After all, he, as the old father, had been working himself to the bone here while his wife and he had been away for ten days. It was already good enough that he hadn't complained, let alone asked him to show concern or ask about her.

What a dream!

Before coming, Li Ziyan had anticipated that Emperor Chenze would ask such a question, so he was well prepared. He took out a written memorial from his bosom and said, "This is the list of officials involved in the case and the evidence of their crimes that I have found. Of course, some of the evidence is still being verified, and it will probably take some time before we have any results."

The first few pages contained a list of officials involved in the case. The first few ministers were all key figures in the court, which was within Emperor Chenze's expectations, so there was little reaction.

However, when he turned the page again, the first line that caught his eye was the name of the Marquis of Yongjing's mansion.

Emperor Chenze looked up at Li Ziyan and saw that he looked normal. He then looked at Zhou Zhou and saw that his daughter-in-law was sitting quietly next to his son, almost without any presence.

Could it be... that I'm overthinking things?

Writing it in such a conspicuous place must have been intentional; otherwise, Li Ziyan must be a bit dim-witted.

Emperor Chenze did not hesitate for a moment—his son had inherited his good virtues, how could he be stupid?

So the answer was something the couple had discussed and deliberately wrote that way.

So what is the purpose?

"Has the Crown Princess seen the list?" Emperor Chenze asked Zhou Zhou with a kind smile.

Zhou Zhou looked terrified and said, "Father, the empress dowager must not interfere in politics."

She acted so convincingly that even Emperor Chenze was momentarily stunned—if he hadn't known your ambition, he might have actually been fooled!

"Why doesn't the Crown Princess take a look?"

Having said that, Emperor Chenze threw the memorial over.

The document traced a perfect arc in the air before landing on the ground with a "thud".

Seeing that Emperor Chenze was angry, Zhou Zhou seemed to tremble, stood up timidly, knelt down in front of the memorial, opened it with trembling hands, and read it quickly.

Upon seeing the name of the Yongjing Marquis's residence, Zhou Zhou's expression changed drastically, and her face turned deathly pale.

"Father, I am guilty."

As she spoke, she kowtowed to the ground, tears streaming down her face.