Marrying the Crown Prince

The first day of the Lunar New Year is the day when princes and princesses of the imperial family enter the palace to pay their respects.

Of course, the time was not in the morning, but in the afternoon.

So, Zhou Zhou and Li Ziyan returned to the East Palace, had an early lunch, and slept soundly before getting up.

Li Ziyan ran to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, while Zhou Zhou, dressed in her finest attire, went to Empress Chu's Phoenix Palace.

There weren't many royal princesses who could get close to Zhou Zhou and Empress Chu, except for Lady Cai, the wife of Prince Yongle, the head of the Imperial Clan Court.

According to the custom of Chen Kingdom, princes are granted the title of Prince of the County upon their wedding. Unless there are exceptions, they will not be granted the title of Prince of the Blood before the Crown Prince ascends the throne. Instead, after the Crown Prince ascends the throne, in order to show benevolence and treat his brothers and sisters well, he will grant his brothers the titles of Prince of the Blood or Princess.

Even though Li Zixi was married off for political reasons, she only received the rank of a first-rank princess. If she wanted to be promoted to the rank of eldest princess, she would have to wait until Li Ziyan ascended the throne.

In summary, princes or princesses were either the emperor's uncles or aunts, or the emperor's brothers or sisters.

As for the emperor's sons, if they are granted the title of prince, wouldn't their rank be almost the same as that of the crown prince?

Princess Yongle looked at Zhou Zhou with a smile, "Your Highness, the Crown Princess is becoming more and more efficient in handling matters. I think this must be thanks to Her Majesty the Empress."

Yes, many court officials and members of the imperial family have complained to their wives that Emperor Chenze has become senile, actually summoning a woman like the Crown Princess to the Imperial Study to listen to them discuss state affairs, and even asking for her opinion.

How did Princess Yongle respond?

She glanced at the Yongle Prince and asked, "If I remember correctly, my sister-in-law also ruled from behind the curtain."

The "sister-in-law" mentioned by the Yongle Emperor and his wife is actually the current Empress Dowager.

“How can she, a mere young girl, be compared to my sister-in-law?” Prince Yongle was displeased. “There are many women in the world, but it is already rare to find someone as considerate and sensible as my sister-in-law. How could there possibly be another like her?”

Princess Yongle scoffed, "Your Highness's words are utterly unreasonable. In your opinion, women are just people with long hair but short minds?"

At this point, Princess Yongle paused, glanced at his head, and then added, "I think Your Highness's hair isn't short either."

"You...you!" The Yongle Emperor blushed with anger at her words. "This is utterly unreasonable!"

"It's just someone else's business, and I'm talking about someone else, so why are you in such a hurry? Not a single word you said is pleasing to the ear."

"Do you think what the prince says is any better?"

Princess Yongle was not afraid of him. She was not of noble birth and was indeed cautious in her words and deeds when she was young. But now, her sons had grown up and the crown prince had been granted a title. As for her husband's favor, it didn't matter whether he had it or not.

Returning to Fengyi Palace, Princess Yongle doesn't visit the palace often, but now that she's heard of Zhou Zhou's great reputation from her own prince, she naturally wants to get to know her better.

Therefore, her words can be described as intimate.

"Of course! You don't know how much this child has helped me," Empress Chu chimed in, determined to introduce this good daughter-in-law to everyone.

But if you ask what Zhou Zhou did to help her, it was simply that he would sit still like an old Buddha during her morning and evening prayers.

When the concubines saw Zhou Zhou present, in order to avoid being tricked by the Crown Princess in the future, they were much more polite in their words during the morning meeting and did not try to trap Empress Chu.

Apart from this, Zhou Zhou couldn't get involved in anything else.

As for palace affairs, there's nothing I can do to help.

Empress Chu was in charge of the West Palace, where all the women of Emperor Chenze lived. Although her rank was lower than that of the Crown Princess, she was nominally an elder.

Throughout history, there has never been a case of a younger generation of stewards taking charge of their father-in-law's concubines.

Zhou Zhou also found this somewhat amazing—you could say that Empress Chu was not particularly capable, yet she managed the harem very well; you could also say that she was formidable, yet she was often so angered by people like the Imperial Concubine that she couldn't eat.

As soon as Empress Chu finished speaking, the surrounding women of the imperial clan began to praise her, saying how wonderful the Crown Princess was.

Even Zhou Zhou, whose skin was as thick as a city wall, couldn't resist such praise.

Inside the Phoenix Palace, the atmosphere was harmonious, and time flew by.

Seeing that it was almost time for the palace gates to be locked, the women of the clan rose to take their leave.

Seeing this, Zhou Zhou also suggested returning to the East Palace, saying, "It's been a while since I came out. I wonder if His Highness the Crown Prince has returned to the East Palace yet."

Empress Chu received the message and quickly replied, "Go quickly, don't keep Jin You waiting."

"Well then, I'll head back now. Mother Empress, you've had a busy day, please get some rest." Zhou Zhou nodded in agreement.

"Go, go," Empress Chu waved her hand to shoo them away.

After leaving Fengyi Palace, Zhou Zhou ran into the Princess Consort of Wuxing County.

Princess Consort of Wuxing County...

A dark glint flashed in Zhou Zhou's eyes, then disappeared.

When Princess Wuxing saw Zhou Zhou appear, she quickly bowed and said, "This humble woman greets Your Highness the Crown Princess."

Logically speaking, as Li Ziyan's aunt, although they are distant relatives, elders would usually politely say "no need for formalities" when greeting her.

Unfortunately, this old woman had once cursed Zhou Zhou, saying that he was a motherless creature.

Zhou Zhou considered herself no good, and she could never bring herself to say "no need for formalities."

"Why is the Princess Consort still here?" Zhou Zhou didn't want to talk to her and started to walk away. "Is she waiting for someone?"

Seeing Zhou Zhou's cold attitude, Princess Wuxing's face stiffened, and she quickly followed. "Your Majesty is right. I was waiting for Your Majesty here."

Zhou Zhou slightly raised her eyes, her red lips parted slightly, "Oh? It seems the Princess Consort has something she wishes to discuss with me?"

Things didn't seem to be going smoothly, but Zhou Zhou was so understanding. Princess Consort of Wuxing was delighted and about to speak when Zhou Zhou spoke first—

"Unfortunately, the affairs of the Crown Prince's Palace are complicated. If the Princess Consort has something to ask of you, it would be better to speak to the Empress Dowager in person."

After saying that, Zhou Zhou quickly stepped onto the sedan chair.

Princess Wuxing wore a bitter expression: If Empress Chu could resolve this, I wouldn't have to beg you for help.

She hurriedly followed, standing beside the sedan chair, and looked up to speak to Zhou Zhou, "Your Majesty, I know that Your Majesty has many affairs to attend to, but unless it is an extremely urgent matter, I would not dare to disturb Your Majesty."

Zhou Zhou looked at her with a smile, "Princess Consort, if it is truly an extremely urgent matter, you should seek help from someone else."

Does she seem like the kind of person who would repay evil with kindness?

The reason she didn't cause trouble for the Prince of Wuxing's mansion wasn't because she was magnanimous.

Simply put, every time Zhou Zhou looked at the people of the Wuxing Prince's Mansion, they were as humble as dust at his feet, and he felt that even if he retaliated, it would be meaningless.

Sometimes, certain things only have meaning if they are done at a specific time; otherwise, it's all in vain.