Marrying the Crown Prince

Zhou Zhou stopped in his tracks, wondering... if Li Ziyan was out of his mind?

He didn't find a secluded, secluded place to discuss such an important and confidential matter, nor did he find anyone to guard it; he simply stood on the veranda and started talking.

Thinking of this, she cursed Chang Yi in her heart—wasn't he supposed to have come out with His Highness the Crown Prince? Where is he?

She rubbed her temples and stood there silently, keeping watch.

If you ask Zhou Zhou why she didn't get jealous or experience any other emotional fluctuations...

At first, I was indeed stunned.

But in just a moment, she understood, not because of anything else, but because the female voice was Consort De's voice.

It's not that Zhou Zhou blindly trusts Li Ziyan; she simply thinks he's a smart person.

A smart person wouldn't have any sordid affair with their father's woman. If they were to seek that kind of thrill, a smart person wouldn't meet in such a place.

So what Zhou Zhou can't figure out now is, under what circumstances did they connect and become allies?

Her sixth sense told her that there was a detail she hadn't noticed.

Her intuition is always very accurate, so what could it be?

Zhou Zhou, who was standing there like a doorman, was frowning in thought when he ran into Chang Yi, who was returning.

Clearly, Chang Yi hadn't expected Zhou Zhou to be there either. After a moment of surprise, he bowed and greeted her, "This servant greets Your Highness."

His voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for the two people who were discussing things to hear.

A figure in black and a figure in silver appeared before Zhou Zhou.

Sure enough, it was the two of them!

Consort De was born with striking beauty, so she also liked to dress in bright colors and wear heavy makeup. Her beauty was so striking that it was almost aggressive, and it would usually make those standing next to her pale in comparison.

Li Ziyan and Consort De walked over, both of them looking normal, showing no signs of guilt at being caught in the act.

Zhou Zhou raised an eyebrow, somewhat incredulous, "Why does Your Highness seem so calm?"

I know he's not stupid and wouldn't do something even a pig wouldn't do, but that doesn't mean he knows I won't misunderstand.

Li Ziyan walked over, reached out to tighten Zhou Zhou's cloak, and asked, "Why did you come out?"

His fingers were long and slender with distinct knuckles. Perhaps he had been out for too long, for his fingertips were a little cold. When he touched Zhou Zhou's neck, she shivered from the cold.

Zhou Zhou turned her head away unhappily, "Your Highness came out by yourself, but won't let me out?"

Li Ziyan was speechless after being rebuked—"Madam isn't in a good mood."

However, since there are outsiders present, let's deal with the immediate issue first before considering anything else.

Having figured this out, Li Ziyan took the hand warmer from Chang Yi and also grasped Zhou Zhou's hand, afraid that the other person would run away while he was talking.

"Changyi, go wait over there," Li Ziyan instructed.

"Yes."

Chang Yi walked to the side.

Consort De's eyes swept over the two men's hands, then moved to their faces, her eyes gleaming with anticipation, as if she were watching a good show.

"Your Highness, do you think the Crown Princess might misunderstand us?" Her voice was charming, and her eyes were alluring, like a bewitching enchantress.

Li Ziyan: "..."

Perhaps not before, but that may not be the case now.

Seeing Li Ziyan's discomfiture, Zhou Zhou chuckled, then glared at him fiercely, "You two kept this kind of relationship a secret from me?"

Li Ziyan touched his nose, feeling guilty, since very few people knew about this matter. The Marquis of Beiping was one of them, and Chang Yi only found out about it today.

Seeing that Zhou Zhou wasn't jealous, Consort De stopped changing the subject and seriously discussed important matters.

"I never expected to be pregnant." Consort De gently placed her hand on her lower abdomen, which was still very flat. No one would have guessed that a new life was growing there.

She was a child, and she couldn't remember exactly how old she was, but it must have been shortly after she started menstruating. She fell into an ice cave to escape enemy troops, which made it difficult for her to conceive.

Therefore, despite being favored by the emperor all these years, Consort De has never been able to conceive an heir.

However, she had long accepted that she would never be pregnant again in her life, so she took the matter of having children lightly. As a result, she became pregnant at the age of twenty-nine.

She raised her eyes, the alluring look on her face vanished, replaced by an icy coldness. "Your Highness has recently been harassed by court officials and concubines over the matter of having an heir, and they frequently compare him to Prince Chong'an."

"Now that this child has arrived at the perfect time, should I pin this on the Consort and her son?"

Hearing her words, Li Ziyan was somewhat surprised. He glanced at Consort De from head to toe and asked in confusion, "Does the Noble Consort have any deep-seated grudge against you?"

Consort De frowned, not understanding why Li Ziyan would ask such a question. "Of course not."

"So you're going to resort to such underhanded tactics?"

Consort De: "..."

Who am I doing this for? Who am I doing this for? You're the one who got the benefit and is now acting innocent!

She took a deep breath and suppressed the urge to curse.

“It’s a good thing that you’re pregnant. Just give birth to the baby,” Li Ziyan said. “That way, you’ll have something to live for in the second half of your life.”

Such a beautiful young woman, along with her mother and son, was arranged by the Marquis of Beiping to enter the palace.

To repay her debt of gratitude, she resolutely entered the palace, becoming Li Ziyan's confidante and spies to Emperor Chenze.

Li Ziyan could never treat such a grateful and strong-willed woman as a servant like Changyi or Donghe.

Therefore, he was happy to see Consort De pregnant.

Consort De listened to Li Ziyan's words and did not insist. "Since Your Highness feels that it is unnecessary, I will not bring this up again."

After finishing her business, she made an excuse to return to Yan Nian Palace, because she knew she needed to leave some space for the young couple.

Zhou Zhou watched Consort De's departing figure with a deep gaze, "I always knew you had someone planted in the West Palace, but I never imagined it would be one of the four consorts."

Li Ziyan explained, "Strictly speaking, this wasn't planted by me."

"Ok?"

Do you know Consort De's name?

Zhou Zhou pondered for a while. To be honest, she had read the information on the concubines in Emperor Chenze's harem, but... she had only glanced at it and hadn't paid any attention to their names.

"His surname is Lin."

The Lin surname is one of the most common surnames in the southwest; and the Marquis of Beiping was the one who guarded the southwestern frontier.

"I see!" Zhou Zhou suddenly realized that she had missed a detail.

Seeing that she had guessed most of the matter from just a few words, Li Ziyan's eyes shone brightly, deep and gentle. "Alright, we've been out for so long, it's time to go back."