Marrying the Crown Prince

Zhou Zhou silently rolled his eyes, then asked her, "Who sent you to the palace to inquire? Don't tell me it was just a whim of yours to come and see me."

“Naturally, those ministers in the court.” Wang Qingwu didn’t intend to hide anything and directly betrayed them, “A few cabinet ministers, and a few guys from the Censorate.”

“They noticed your belly was getting bigger and began to suspect something, but they didn’t dare ask you, so they went to the Prince’s mansion to find the Prince and asked me to come and talk to you.”

After going through all this trouble, Zhou Zhou was a little speechless. "Why didn't you go to the Yongjing Marquis's residence to ask for help, but instead went to your place?"

"Who knows?" Wang Qingwu shrugged, looking completely innocent.

After saying that, Wang Qingwu glanced at Zhou Zhou's belly and asked solicitously, "How big is it?"

Zhou Zhou felt a little uncomfortable under her intense gaze and reached up to adjust his clothes. "It's been more than two months."

Wang Qingwu calculated the days, then hesitated before speaking.

"what happened?"

"During the first few months of your pregnancy with the First Prince, the Emperor was not by your side. Now that you are pregnant again, the Emperor is still not here..."

Wang Qingwu's words stunned Zhou Zhou as well.

She hadn't thought much of it before, but now that Wang Qingwu had said it, she realized it was quite a coincidence.

The two chatted for a while longer, and then breakfast was ready.

After the meal, Donghe served some desserts for Zhou Zhou and Wang Qingwu as a treat.

Of course, Zhou Zhou hadn't even taken a few bites of these things when Li Changyuan came over to pay his respects.

Wang Qingwu was very pleased with what she saw and said, "The eldest prince is growing stronger and stronger. I wish my Awan could marry you."

Li Liwan is the eldest daughter of Wang Qingwu and Li Zichen.

Li Changyuan, with his sweet tongue, readily agreed when he heard Wang Qingwu say this, "Don't worry, Auntie, I will definitely marry Sister Ali in the future."

"You bastard, do you even know what marriage means?" Zhou Zhou picked him up and put him on a chair.

“Mother, don’t look down on me,” Li Changyuan replied, tilting his head back. “Marriage means being together forever, living in the same house. That’s how it is between you and Father.”

Zhou Zhou reached out and pinched his chubby little face. "Oh? Do you know that people from the same clan cannot marry?"

Li Changyuan was stunned.

Wang Qingwu also wiped away her tears at the opportune moment, saying, "Yes, it's because Awan can't marry you that I feel so sorry."

Upon hearing this, Li Changyuan also lowered his head sadly.

Zhou Zhou: "..."

The day after Wang Qingwu entered the palace, the Yongjing Marquis's residence also sent a letter.

Zhou Zhou was delighted when he saw them—he had just mentioned them yesterday, and they had arrived today.

The people who came from the Yongjing Marquis's residence were Madam Du, Zhao Yuehua, and Zhou Chengxuan.

Zhao Yuehua has been married to Zhou Cheng'an for so many years and is already a mother of two. Of course, if it weren't for observing mourning for Zhou Laowu, she probably would have three children by now.

Her figure is no longer as slender as before, but her voluptuous appearance is just as beautiful.

The children were still young, so Zhao Yuehua did not bring them into the palace.

The three of them went to pay their respects together. Before the ceremony was finished, Zhou Zhou helped Du Shi up, and the palace servants who were serving nearby also helped Zhao Yuehua and Zhou Chengxuan up.

“We’re all family, why stand on ceremony?” Zhou Zhou said, waving his hand to signal the palace servants to bring tea. “Please sit down quickly.”

Knowing Zhou Zhou's temperament, Du Shi did not refuse and sat down to the seat below Zhou Zhou.

After they were seated, Zhou Zhou asked, "I wonder if everything is alright at home?"

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. Everything is fine at home. Father and Mother are in good health and have a good appetite," Madam Du replied.

After saying that, she looked down at Zhou Zhou's lower abdomen and carefully chose her words, "We just heard that Your Majesty is pregnant and were worried about it, so we were asked to come and take a look."

When Wang Qingwu asked before, she did not choose to hide it, and now Zhou Zhou would not change her mind. "Yes, the imperial physician has been invited to examine the fetus and said that the fetus is more than two months old and very healthy. He told Grandfather and Grandmother not to worry and that everything is fine in the palace."

Could it be bad?

The Empress Dowager and the Grand Empress Dowager didn't like to get involved in affairs, and the imperial concubines were even less likely to cause trouble. There wasn't a single concubine in the entire harem, and no one dared to provoke them.

Zhou Zhou felt that this second pregnancy was even more comfortable than the first.

"Thank God, Amitabha Buddha, thank you Guanyin Bodhisattva for your protection." Du hurriedly recited a Buddhist prayer.

Zhou Zhou: "..."

If I remember correctly, didn't she only worship the God of Wealth?

Soon, Li Changyuan was brought over by the wet nurse.

There was no way around it; Zhou Zhou's maternal relatives, his maternal grandparents' family, had come to visit, and as their grandson or nephew, he couldn't refuse to come and see them.

Fortunately, Li Changyuan had met with Du Shi and the others during the Chinese New Year.

Li Changyuan bowed in the direction of Zhou Zhou and said, "Greetings to the Empress Dowager."

Du and the others stood up one after another and said, "Greetings, Your Highness."

Li Changyuan looked at Madam Du and said in a sweet voice, "Grandmother, eldest maternal aunt, and youngest maternal uncle, there's no need for such formalities."

Children are generally lovable as long as they are not overly naughty, especially since Li Changyuan knows how to act well-behaved, so Madam Du likes him more and more the more she looks at him.

Zhou Chengxuan, the uncle, is still quite young. To be precise, he is just over ten years old, an age when he is disliked by everyone.

The two children had met before, and they immediately hid to the side, whispering among themselves.

Then the two children hit it off immediately and ran up to Zhou Zhou, saying they wanted to go play in the Imperial Garden.

"Okay, don't go too wild," Zhou Zhou nodded, casually instructing.

Li Changyuan and Zhou Chengxuan ran out quickly, followed closely by the palace servants to ensure that their two masters would not encounter any problems.

After the child left, Zhao Yuehua instructed the maids to bring up everything she had brought from the manor.

She said, "Some of them are gifts from court officials, and some were brought from my family."

In other words, Wang Qingwu came to gather information, while the Yongjing Marquis's residence came to offer their concern.

Ok……

how to say……

The court officials made quite good arrangements.

Zhou Zhou accepted all the items, and later the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager also sent over things through their nannies.

As a result, Zhou Zhou's storeroom was suddenly filled with items for pregnant women, clothes for children, and a considerable amount of tonics such as ginseng and bird's nest.

Overall, her first pregnancy, like her last one, attracted a lot of attention.

Thus, Zhou Zhou attended court while simultaneously resting and preparing for childbirth.

After the birth of this child, the court officials spoke in much gentler tones.

The biggest impression Zhou Zhou had was that they stopped fighting in the Golden Palace.

Even more outrageous, the court officials actually proposed to promote Marquis Yongjing, Zhou Bai, who was Zhou Zhou's cousin, to the third rank.

Only those of the third rank are qualified to stand beneath the Golden Palace.

Zhou Bai has worked his way up for so many years and is currently at the fourth rank.

Of course, Zhou Zhou understood that their suggestion was made by those court officials to please him.

No, it's one thing for the Minister of Revenue to enjoy himself, but why is the Grand Secretary joining in?

Zhou Zhou said: There's absolutely no need for that.

Even if Zhou Bai were to actually be promoted, he would only be in a nominal position, and he would never have any real power in his lifetime.

However, if Zhou Bai cannot be promoted, Zhou Cheng'an is still a good option.