Marrying the Crown Prince

Zhou Zhou raised her head, pursed her lips, and did not answer.

Li Ziyan flipped his fingers, and the brush handle spun rapidly at his fingertips.

Then, he handed the pen to Zhou Zhou, "Hmm? What's wrong?"

Zhou Zhou took the brush, hung it back on the brush holder, and answered irrelevantly, "Today, I went to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager."

"so?"

Li Ziyan raised an eyebrow at her.

Zhou Zhou snorted and pointed to the stack of memorials beside him, "So, when does Your Highness plan to handle official business?"

This……

"Handle it now."

Li Ziyan quickly raised his hand to admit defeat, no longer wanting to bother Zhou Zhou, who was in a bad mood.

Zhou Zhou had already categorized the memorials, and she also took full responsibility for handling the memorials concerning the peace and stability.

As for the remaining memorials, she revised those that didn't contain anything substantial; and added annotations to those that contained useful information.

Therefore, Li Ziyan handled matters very quickly, and finished reviewing the documents in just one hour.

But an hour, which is neither a long nor a short time, still made Li Ziyan's neck a little sore.

Li Ziyan struggled to lift her head, rubbed her aching shoulders and neck, and let out a long sigh. Seeing that the sound of the abacus on Zhou Zhou's side had not stopped, she walked over to her side and took a look for her.

"This doesn't seem to be... the Crown Prince's accounts?"

"Hmm." Zhou Zhou didn't even look up, quickly calculating on the abacus, and didn't forget to reply, "These are properties under my name."

Nowadays, most of the income comes from Yuyanfang, which is managed by Qingrong; as for the caravan, although it has made a name for itself after traveling all over the country for so many years, it still can't compare to Yuyanfang in terms of making money.

Perhaps it's just a matter of lacking a bit of luck?

Zhou Zhou felt a little regretful, but quickly let it go.

As for Qingrong, she is now a grown woman. The girls at Yuyanfang have all come of age and gotten married, and a new batch of girls has been brought in, but Qingrong has been working on the front lines all along.

Zhou Zhou once asked her, "Do you have someone you like?"

"Yes," Qingrong nodded without hesitation. "Silver is my ideal, and the more the better."

“I dream that the bedding on my bed isn’t filled with cotton, but with banknotes.”

At this point, Qingrong revealed her longing for a bright future.

Zhou Zhou frowned, thought about it carefully for a while, and finally became very certain that he had never mistreated her.

and so……

Her money-grubbing ways must have been there before she met him, and it has nothing to do with him.

The girl is all grown up, but she still doesn't want to get married.

Zhou Zhou didn't care. After all, she was a grown woman. How could she not know which path she should take?

Back to Mingde Hall, Li Ziyan glanced at the main water supply and her eyes lit up instantly. "I had no idea you were a rich woman."

After Zhou Zhou finished calculating the last number, he casually closed the ledger. "However, in terms of property, Your Highness's silver is no less than mine."

This is true.

There's nothing we can do; our family backgrounds are different, and the gap in our starting points is too big. Zhou Zhou has been chasing for so many years, but he still hasn't been able to catch up.

The two of them had finally finished dealing with their business, and they weren't in a hurry to go back. Instead, they went inside, where there was a bed and a soft couch for them to rest and take a nap.

The two took off their shoes and leaned against the soft couch, one on each side, and then ordered someone to bring fruit wine and snacks.

Although it's only early winter, the weather is already a bit cold. Drinking some hot wine is just the right way to warm up.

Chang Yi agreed, bowed, and withdrew.

Whether going to the Imperial Kitchen or returning to the Eastern Palace's Small Kitchen, the distance was not short, so Zhou Zhou opened the drawer and took out needles, thread, and a half-finished birthday greeting picture.

Li Ziyan watched as her delicate hands gently pinched the needle tip, moving it up and down through the fabric, and couldn't help but feel curious.

"Is this difficult to learn?" he asked.

"Why doesn't Your Highness give it a try?" Zhou Zhou suggested.

After all, a thousand words are not as good as one’s own experience.

Upon hearing this, Li Ziyan was eager to try. He took the tools from Zhou Zhou, who then provided guidance.

"Start the needle here."

Hearing her words, Li Ziyan hesitated, "What if I ruin this painting with this needle?"

“It’s alright,” Zhou Zhou waved his hand, indicating that it was nothing. “This is a birthday gift prepared for the Empress Dowager.”

If she herself made it into something grotesque, she might not dare to send it out; but if Li Ziyan was involved, even if it was unbelievably ugly, Empress Chu would be pleased.

However, a birthday gift should only be given once in a lifetime. If a defective gift with His Highness the Crown Prince's involvement is given every year, it will definitely draw some criticism.

“What’s going on? Why isn’t my son handling state affairs properly? Instead, he’s spending all his time embroidering flowers.”

To avoid this situation, Zhou Zhou does not plan to send embroidery as a birthday gift next year.

At this moment, Changyi returned carrying snacks and a small pot of fruit wine.

He glanced at the Crown Prince, who was sitting upright and embroidering with a needle, and then at Zhou Zhou, who was leaning lazily against a cushion with a relaxed expression.

Chang Yi blinked: How come you're dreaming before you've even gone to sleep?

The scene was so beautiful that I dared not look at it directly.

Chang Yi put the things down and left quietly.

Seeing Chang Yi running as fast as a rabbit, Zhou Zhou laughed unkindly and then rolled into Li Ziyan's arms.

Li Ziyan quickly put down his needlework, hugged her helplessly, and asked, "Are you feeling much better?"

"Humph."

Zhou Zhou gave a soft snort.

Thus, Zhou Zhou's somewhat agitated state of mind, which had been aroused by Empress Chu's words at Fengyi Palace, finally calmed down.

Strangely enough, in these three years, except for the first year after they got married, when they used contraception, they did not use contraception specifically for the next two years. Of course, they also did not take any special measures to prepare their bodies, saying that they must have a child immediately.

However, she hasn't gotten pregnant after two years, and I don't know if it's a coincidence or something else.

As Li Ziyan placed the wine pot on the charcoal stove, he asked her, "Are you worried?"

"worry about what?"

Are you worried that you, the Crown Prince, will be deposed?

When he was young, Li Ziyan was in poor health and had not yet been involved in court affairs, yet he was able to remain in the position of Crown Prince.

Now that the Crown Prince has gained considerable power, even if Emperor Chenze were to depose him, he would not be able to do so in a short time; moreover, Emperor Chenze has no such intention.

Therefore, Zhou Zhou never worried about this.

Li Ziyan knew what Zhou Zhou meant, so she pointed out the real problem, "For example, what if we can't get pregnant?"

Emperor Chenze is currently pondering this issue.