Marrying the Crown Prince

As luck would have it, Zhou Zhou had never learned archery, so when General Mingwei taught her the key points of drawing a bow, she listened very attentively and carefully observed his bow-drawing posture.

Thus, in actual combat, Zhou Zhou hit the bullseye with one arrow.

Li Zixi's eyes lit up, and she immediately challenged, "How about it? How about it? Who dares to challenge me?"

"Hmph, you must have learned this before," Li Zixiao retorted defiantly.

Li Zixiao became even more smug, "So what if you've studied it? We can still beat you, and you're just a defeated opponent."

Seeing that the two were about to fight again, General Mingwei quickly interrupted the spell and told the children to stand still.

The children stood properly, and he nodded in satisfaction. His gaze lingered for a moment when he saw Zhou Zhou, and he felt a pang of regret—why wasn't this his own child?

The lie that Zhou Zhou had previously drawn a bow was just something to fool these kids who hadn't practiced martial arts.

That's why he felt it was a pity. How many people in the world can hit the bullseye on their first draw? If it were his granddaughter, he would definitely teach her martial arts, take her to the largest grassland on the frontier to race horses, and let her inherit his mantle.

If we could produce a Mulan in the past, what harm is there in producing another female general now?

As it turns out, this kid is Yongjing old man's kid. He even sent him to this godforsaken place to be some kind of study companion. Study companion sounds nice, but in the end, he's still someone who serves others!

When it came time for the Go lesson, the teacher said that Go cannot be learned by just talking without practice. Otherwise, one would only be able to talk about it on paper and never learn anything. Therefore, the teacher asked them to pair up and play a game.

Zhou Zhou was sitting next to Wang Qingwu, and it was only natural that he would play chess with her.

Wang Qingwu asked casually, "I wonder how good Zhou Zhou's chess skills are?"

"I know a little," Zhou Zhou said casually. "And what about Sister Qingwu?"

"I've learned a little bit," Wang Qingwu replied.

Half an incense stick's time had passed when Zhou Zhou looked up and scrutinized Wang Qingwu, their eyes meeting again.

Zhou Zhou smiled sweetly and received a gentle nod from Wang Qingwu. They then turned their gaze back to the chessboard in a friendly manner.

Zhou Zhou gritted his teeth, thinking to himself, "Is this what you call having learned a little bit?"

Wang Qingwu's gaze deepened, and he thought to himself, "Is this just a superficial understanding?"

Another half incense stick's time passed, and Wang Qingwu won by a narrow margin. She quietly wiped the sweat from her palms, maintaining her gentle and approachable persona, "It's an unfair victory, and my sister will laugh at me."

Even after losing, Zhou Zhou remained calm and composed, saying, "It's because my chess skills are not good enough, and I made a fool of myself in front of my sister."

Li Zixi drifted past resentfully, "I lost too."

It's okay to lose, but the important thing is that I lost to that bastard Li Zixiao!

Zhou Zhou comforted her, "You're stronger than her."

Otherwise, you would have been able to pull out so much of her hair during that fight.

Li Zixi: "..."

There's no need to bring this up again.

After this game, Master Lü, who was giving the lesson, had a certain understanding of the level of Zhou Zhou and Wang Qingwu. In the next lesson, he asked Zhou Zhou to explain how to break the deadlock.

Zhou Zhou looked completely innocent. "Sir, I don't know how."

Master Lü paused for a moment, then pointed to Wang Qingwu.

Wang Qingwu looked dejected, her eyes lowered. "Please teach me, sir."

Master Lü: "..."

What to do if students are too pretentious?

Life at Jingyang Palace wasn't just exciting in class; extracurricular activities were also plentiful. Since girls had fewer classes, Zhou Zhou quite liked to take walks alone in the garden, and incidentally... count ants.

Once, she encountered a boy who was about fourteen or fifteen years old, wearing a plain satin jacket with bamboo-green ink and magnolia patterns.

The young man had a face as white as jade and eyes as bright as stars. Under the warm sunlight, his eyes were gentle and possessed an indescribable handsome and noble air.

Of course, the boy's exceptional appearance was one of the reasons why Zhou Zhou was so impressed. Another reason was that it was already past the Grain Rain season, yet the boy was still wearing thick winter clothes, which suggested that he might not be in good health.

It's a pity and a shame.

Zhou Zhou pondered to himself, then bowed deeply, "Young Master."

"Miss." The young man was admiring the scenery and was not annoyed when someone barged in. He greeted her very politely.

On a whim, Zhou Zhou dragged him along to count the ants.

Looking back, Zhou Zhou came to a conclusion—beauty led me astray!

Time flies, and six years have passed in the blink of an eye. The children in Jingyang Palace have all grown up.

It was winter again, and Zhou Zhou, bundled up tightly, came to Li Zixi's room, where she was sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) eating breakfast.

Over the years, Li Zixi has long since stopped being the little girl who needed to be coaxed to get out of bed.

"Have you eaten yet?" Li Zixi asked, gesturing for the palace maids to bring out new bowls and chopsticks.

Zhou Zhou sat opposite her and began to eat.

After a while, Wang Qingwu also appeared at the door wearing a cloak. She trembled as she reached her hand to Zhou Zhou's neck.

Zhou Zhou: "..."

I did the same thing yesterday, why am I holding such a grudge?

After the three girls finished their breakfast, they lined up to go to school together. On the way, they encountered Li Zixiao and her group. The two princesses still disliked each other, but the six of them still walked to school together.

However, as they approached the door, Li Zixiao and Li Zixi quickened their pace and walked briskly, seemingly determined to compete for first or second place.

The four companions exchanged a knowing smile, their eyes filled with helplessness.

Li Zixi won today, and she smiled all day long, which made Li Zixiao so angry that she grabbed a handful of snow and threw it onto a tree branch after class, and the snow fell down in a flurry.

Zhou Zhou stared blankly at the scene, saying nothing.

Wang Qingwu walked over and asked curiously, "What are you looking at on such a cold day?"

Zhou Zhou rubbed his hands together; they were quite cold. "I wasn't looking at anything; I was thinking about something."

"What is it that makes you so fascinated?" Wang Qingwu asked.

Both of them were outstanding individuals, yet they concealed their brilliance within the deep palace, making themselves appear no different from others.

But they both knew that the other was one of their own kind, and because of this, their relationship was much closer than that of others.

Zhou Zhou, shivering, pulled Wang Qingwu back into the house. Ju Fang immediately poured a cup of hot tea for the two of them. The two held the teacup to warm themselves, not in a hurry to drink it.

Wang Qingwu became even more curious. "What is it that's all so mysterious about?"

"It's nothing serious, just a bit of a感慨 (feeling of mixed emotions, including nostalgia and reflection)." Zhou Zhou lowered his eyes and said casually, "After the New Year, I shouldn't have to go to the palace to study anymore, right?"

Although the imperial decree has not yet been issued to all the palaces and residences, there are already rumors that the sixth and seventh princesses will no longer need to attend school next year, as they have reached the age to be engaged.

Wang Qingwu was stunned. He realized that so much time had passed in the blink of an eye.

"Won't we be able to see each other as often as we do now?" Zhou Zhou tapped the lid of her teacup, clearly not as calm as she appeared.

Wang Qingwu smiled calmly, his gentle gaze as clear as the sky, "Don't worry, the gates of the Grand Tutor's mansion will always be open to you."