Marrying the Crown Prince

February was approaching, and Zhou Zhou arrived at the palace three days early. The accommodations for the companions were all arranged in the west courtyard of Jingyang Palace, while the east courtyard was naturally used for classes.

Because they were both Li Zixi's study companions, Zhou Zhou's room was next to Wang Qingwu's, and beyond that was Li Zixi's residence.

According to the custom of our dynasty, after the start of the school year, regardless of whether they are princes or princesses, once they reach the age to attend school, they are not allowed to leave Jingyang Palace except for holidays, and they must eat and live here.

As for the concubines who miss their children, they can only send gifts, but they are not allowed to enter Jingyang Palace to see them, so as not to delay the princes' and princesses' studies.

People like Zhou Zhou and Wang Qingwu, who live far away, moved in three days in advance, while Li Zixi, who lives the closest, didn't move in until the 30th of the first lunar month.

After Li Zixi came in, Zhou Zhou and Wang Qingwu went over to visit her.

Li Zixi was very happy to be moving out of Yaohua Palace for the first time. When she saw Zhou Zhou coming over, she called her cousin "cousin" and introduced the various furnishings in her room to the two of them.

Seeing how happy the child was, Zhou Zhou and Wang Qingwu were also quite excited. The three of them played until late at night, until the governess came to urge them to go back to their respective beds and sleep quietly.

The next day, Li Zixi was late, and Zhou Zhou and Wang Qingwu, who were her study companions, were reprimanded together.

Zhou Zhou: "..."

This blame is... well, it's not unfair.

Zhou Zhou and Wang Qingwu exchanged a glance, both seeing a sly glint in each other's eyes.

The next day, Li Zixi was dragged out of bed by Zhou Zhou and Wang Qingwu while yawning.

Li Zixi gave up and kicked over the basin of water that the palace maid brought for her to wash up. "Don't bother me! What time is it? What time is it? Why are you disturbing my peaceful sleep!"

The palace maid was so frightened that she trembled and knelt on the ground, kowtowing with her head on the ground, not daring to make a sound. After all, when the Kings of Hell fight, the little devils suffer.

Zhou Zhou calmly instructed the palace maid to clean up and bring over a new basin of water.

Wang Qingwu's eyes were smiling, and her tone was gentle, "Princess, don't act like a child. Do you want to be laughed at by the Sixth Princess again today?"

Li Zixi looked at the two people standing in front of her. One was expressionless, and the other was smiling. But they made her feel a chill down her spine. A cold light shone into the top of her head, making her shiver.

She obediently took the wrung-out towel Zhou Zhou handed her and quietly wiped her face.

When the nanny saw this, she breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to herself that today was truly miraculous; the Seventh Princess was so well-behaved.

The number of students in the introductory class was not large. Apart from the two princesses, Li Zixiao and Li Zixi, there was also the eighth prince, Li Ziqi.

As for why boys and girls are in the same class, firstly, the children are still young and it's their early education, so they learn the same things and there's no need to teach them separately; secondly, the separation of men and women in our country is not very strict. Although women do not take the imperial examinations or become officials, countless women make a living by doing business, working in mulberry fields, or relying on their own skills.

However, the princes learned more, so the girls had three lessons a day, while the boys had five lessons a day.

As for the content of the class, it was nothing more than simple rules for students and the Thousand Character Classic. For Zhou Zhou and Wang Qingwu, it was better not to listen to the class.

As a result, Zhou Zhou was always daydreaming during class, until one day her eyes met Wang Qingwu's.

The two understood each other's words once again and calmly looked away.

It's strange how relationships can be. Even though they didn't interact much and had only known each other for a few days, Zhou Zhou had an inexplicable fondness for Wang Qingwu, and Wang Qingwu felt the same way.

The saying in the book, "If you know that all men are brothers, then where can you meet someone who is not an old friend?" is probably something like this.

A gentleman is taught the Six Arts: rites, music, archery, horsemanship, calligraphy, and mathematics. Therefore, Jingyang Palace not only taught books but also horsemanship.

Zhou Zhou looked at the little pony in front of her; its eyes were wet and it was incredibly cute.

Zhou Zhou, who was powerless against soft and cute things, was instantly captivated and gently stroked its face. The little guy seemed to understand human nature, lowering its head to rub against her palm.

Zhou Zhou blushed, unsure whether she was happy or excited, and chuckled foolishly while holding her hands.

As for Wang Qingwu, who was hiding far away on the other side, he saw this scene and wanted to try it too, but in the end he withdrew his hand in fear and dared not make a sound.

The young men and women eventually sat on horseback, with eunuchs leading the way at a leisurely pace.

Li Zixiao ordered a eunuch to block Zhou Zhou's horse. Zhou Zhou stopped, puzzled.

She still looked down on him, "Zhou Zhou, do you dare to race me?"

"I wouldn't dare," Zhou Zhou ignored her.

"Are the people of Yongjing Marquis really this cowardly?" Li Zixiao continued to provoke her, which successfully angered Li Zixi.

Li Zixi jumped off her horse and picked up small stones from the ground, throwing them at Li Zixiao.

"Ouch."

A scream rang out, followed by the two princesses pulling each other's hair and spitting at each other.

Zhou Zhou: "..."

The palace maids and eunuchs rushed over to help, but dared not exert any force, and advised in unison, "Your Highness, please let go! This is not good."

"Why should I loosen my grip first? If anyone should loosen their grip, it should be hers first."

"I won't let go unless she does."

General Mingwei, who was in charge of teaching them how to ride, was so annoyed by the noise that his ears hurt. He gathered his strength and roared, "Shut up!"

A deafening roar, like a thunderclap, sent the birds in the trees flying; it was truly spectacular.

Everyone fell silent and automatically made way for General Mingwei. The general walked up to the two princesses, his eyes sharp as an eagle's, his solemn demeanor radiating a chilling aura.

“Your Highnesses’ behavior shows that it is my fault,” General Mingwei said sharply, looking at the two girls. “I am willing to go to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to plead guilty and be punished.”

General Mingwei was different from those young masters who inherited titles. His achievements came from climbing up the battlefield step by step over one corpse after another. His murderous aura not only intimidated ordinary adults, but also immediately stunned the two children.

The two princesses were mischievous, but neither of them were dim-witted. They could still tell what was good and what was bad, so they obediently let go of her hand, stood properly, and admitted their mistake, saying, "It was the student's fault, please don't be angry, teacher."

Seeing that the matter was resolved, General Mingwei breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, he was extremely annoyed. Who did he offend? He was just at home recovering from his injuries, and then he was given this incredibly troublesome assignment.

There was nothing they could do. He was the only general in Kyoto who had taken sick leave and failed to report to the yamen. It was a job that even dogs wouldn't bother with. Who else could those bastards push it onto if not him?

Speaking of interesting classes, there are certainly more than just the class on horse riding. To be precise, apart from literacy and arithmetic classes, all the other classes are quite interesting, especially General Mingwei's class.

General Mingwei: "..."

Thank you!

The Six Arts of a Gentleman: Horsemanship and Archery.

Putting riding aside for now, you need to be taught how to stand still and shoot at the target before you can ride and shoot.