Marrying the Crown Prince

The guards at the gate were dressed in black, with a knife hanging at their waists, and their faces were stern.

There's nothing wrong with how it looks, except...

The gates of the Hall of Mental Cultivation were not closed. Zhou Zhou looked inside and saw a line of guards. There were no palace servants in the corridors or courtyards.

It's so quiet, so incredibly quiet!

A strong smell of blood filled the air, making Zhou Zhou's scalp tingle.

"Hurry up and go, Your Majesty," Wei Yi urged again.

Zhou Zhou glanced at the guards at the door, their presence exuding a murderous aura, and her heart sank lower and lower.

Today, either I am about to die, or something has happened to Emperor Chenze.

Either way, it's a bad outcome for Zhou Zhou, and more accurately, for everyone in the Eastern Palace.

So, when she saw Emperor Chenze lying on the bed, his life hanging in the balance, her heart finally died.

Zhang Ling, the head of the Imperial Medical Academy, wiped the sweat from his forehead and put away the silver needles.

"Doctor Zhang, how is it?" Zhou Zhou asked first.

Zhang Ling is quite old. He just ran around like crazy and then spent a lot of time and energy getting acupuncture. Of course, most importantly, next year, he could go back to his hometown to retire, but then this happened!

His hands and feet trembled, and he reached up again to wipe the sweat from his brow. "Your Majesty, this old minister... this old minister..."

At this point, tears streamed down Zhang Ling's face—not because he loved Emperor Chenze so much, but because he shed these tears for himself.

For someone as old as Dean Zhang to cry like that was truly a heart-wrenching sight.

Zhou Zhou held back for a moment, but couldn't hold back any longer. His face turned ashen, and he shouted, "Lord Zhang, what is it?!"

Her voice carried an air of authority, commanding respect and preventing anyone from taking her lightly.

Chief Physician Zhang quickly wiped away his tears and explained the situation, "This poison is far too dangerous. If His Majesty hadn't only taken a tiny amount, I'm afraid that he would be in dire straits now..."

He dared not and could not utter those last few words.

After a pause, he continued, "Even if this old minister administers medicine and acupuncture to Your Majesty, it's hard to say whether the poison can be completely eliminated."

"We'll see how things go tonight."

After listening to his words, Zhou Zhou pondered for a moment, his eyes sharp, "In that case, I'll trouble you gentlemen to stay here."

"Eunuch Weiyi, please prepare a room in the side hall for the gentlemen to rest in."

"This, this..." Dean Zhang wanted to struggle a little longer.

“Lord Zhang,” Zhou Zhou looked over, his expression softening slightly, “you’ve had a hard time these past few days.”

“It’s not hard work, it’s not hard work,” Chief Zhang shook his head. “It’s all the duty of an old minister.”

Soon, Wei Yi went out and came back.

As soon as he walked in, he saw Zhou Zhou find a small stool, move it to the front of Emperor Chenze's bed, and sit there with a serious expression, seemingly lost in thought.

“Your Majesty,” Wei Yi bowed and said in a low voice, “the matter has been taken care of.”

Upon hearing the sound, all sorts of guesses vanished from Zhou Zhou's mind, and his eyes immediately regained their clarity.

"Did Father Emperor say why he summoned me here?" she asked.

Wei Yi shook her head, then recounted all the arrangements Emperor Chenze had made when the incident occurred, adding at the end, "His Majesty only had time to send this servant to the East Palace to invite you over before he fainted."

After hearing all this, Zhou Zhou roughly understood Emperor Chenze's arrangements.

She turned to look at the person on the bed who suddenly looked more than ten years older, and her chaotic heart gradually calmed down.

"Who served that cup of tea?" Zhou Zhou asked.

“Yes… he is one of my apprentices, and he has been with me for six or seven years,” Wei Yi replied.

Zhou Zhou looked up and gazed at him quietly. "Father-in-law, you wouldn't be suggesting that he's a trustworthy person, would you?"

"No, no, no, that's not what I meant." Wei Yi hurriedly knelt down.

“Father-in-law, you are a servant of the Emperor, there is no need for such a grand ceremony.” Zhou Zhou gestured for him to rise.

Once Wei Yi was standing properly, Zhou Zhou's eyes instantly turned fierce. "Your Excellency is deeply favored by the Emperor, and I also believe you are a smart man. However, some people are only known by their appearance, not their hearts. Without investigating, who can guarantee his innocence? Don't you think so?"

"Your Highness is right."

Soon, painful roars echoed from the Hall of Mental Cultivation, continuing until sunset.

Of course, Zhou Zhou did do something during this time.

She first ordered the gates of the Hall of Mental Cultivation to be closed, since she had already noticed the strangeness of the hall when she arrived.

Then, she had someone bring over a small table and brought out the memorials, and approved the rest.

Of course, most importantly, Zhou Zhou did not forget to explain that Emperor Chenze had caught a cold and needed to rest at home. Therefore, he should not attend court for the next few days. If there was any urgent matter, he could just write a memorial and submit it. As for attending to his illness, the concubines in the harem did not need to be troubled. He was fine, so they should take good care of themselves.

Zhou Zhou tidied up the folded document, got up and walked around to loosen his stiff muscles from sitting for so long.

Wei Yi walked in, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, I have confessed."

"Oh?" Zhou Zhou raised an eyebrow with interest. "Who ordered this?"

You should know that at the very beginning, he could have insisted that he was innocent.

He spoke so earnestly, tears and snot streaming down his face. If it weren't for the physical evidence found in his room, he might have gotten away with it.

“It is said to be…” Wei Yi hesitated for a moment, but still said it, “It is the Prince of Chong’an.”

Prince Chong'an, the third prince, Li Ziqiong.

"Is there any physical evidence?"

"This……"

"Ok?"

He said that the Prince of Chong'an was cautious and never left behind anything that could prove his identity.

After saying that, Wei Yi cautiously looked up at Zhou Zhou.

Seeing that her expression remained calm and unreadable, Wei Yi quickly lowered her eyelids.

"Take care of it." She rubbed her neck, her tone gentle.

"Yes." Wei Yi bowed and withdrew.

Inside the hall, only Zhou Zhou, Emperor Chenze, and... Chief Zhang, who had been forced to witness countless gossip, remained.

Zhou Zhou sat down on the stool next to Emperor Chenze's bed and quietly watched him.

Zhang Yuanshou was terrified: judging from this, the Crown Princess was probably going to tell the Emperor some secrets that no one else could hear.

Thinking this, he quietly stood up and tiptoed to the side.

There was no way around it; the more you know, the faster you'll die. He really didn't want to hear a thing!

"Lord Zhang," Zhou Zhou called out to him.

He stood stiffly, bowed, and asked, "What are your orders, Your Majesty?"

"No, I just thought something was wrong when I saw you get up."

Dean Zhang: "..."

There's no need to pay so much attention to the old ministers.