Marrying the Crown Prince

Seeing Du Shi arrive with Zhou Laowu and the children, Du Laowu was overjoyed. He pulled Zhou Laowu along and walked side by side, saying, "Brother-in-law, you've come at the right time! I just got a jar of fine wine, it's been soaking in Five Poisons Wine for ten years! Let's drink until we drop today, hahahahahaha!"

"Don't laugh at me, Fifth Brother, but I can't hold my liquor." Du Laowu was too enthusiastic, and Zhou Laowu couldn't handle it.

"Brother-in-law, what are you saying? Are you looking down on me?" Du Laowu asked, sticking out his neck.

"No, no," Zhou Laowu waved his hands repeatedly.

Seeing him like this, Du Laowu reached out and slapped Zhou Laowu hard on the back, "That's right, a man can't say he can't do it!"

So, Zhou Laowu, who was not good with words, was dragged away by Du Laowu.

Upon seeing this scene, a smile bloomed on Zhou Zhou's lips.

"Where did you get this Five Poisons Wine?" Du asked her younger sister-in-law, Liu You, with a puzzled look.

“It was tiger penis wine that Father asked us to bring,” Liu replied quietly. “I didn’t say it directly because I thought my brother-in-law was a scholar, thin-skinned, and prone to overthinking. I was afraid he would misunderstand and think we thought he was no longer capable.”

Upon hearing Liu's reply, Du fell silent.

It's not that Zhou Laowu didn't think it through; it's that you really think he's not good enough, right?

Once inside, before the group could exchange more than a few words, they heard the laughter of children. Upon closer inspection, they realized it was the voices of a man and a woman.

"Brother, wait for me!" came the little girl's loud voice, which suggested a lively and cheerful personality.

Upon hearing his sister's voice, the boy stopped, crouched down, and waited for her to come over and rush into his arms.

Then the boy picked up the little girl, put her on his shoulder, and carried her on his back, saying, "Come on, let your brother take you for a ride on a big horse."

"Riding a big horse, giddy up!" the little girl chuckled.

Then the boy appeared in front of everyone carrying the little girl. The little girl saw her father and mother's stiff faces, her voice stuck in her throat, and she dared not speak.

The boy was a little embarrassed. He put the little girl down and greeted her with a long bow, "Uncle Du, Aunt Du."

The little girl, a bit thick-skinned, ran over to greet Liu Shi with her short legs, "Dad, Mom, why didn't you tell me and Brother Yaozhi that we had guests?"

After hearing his daughter's words, Du Laowu scratched his head and asked Liu Shi in confusion, "Didn't you say so?"

Of course she said it!

“I forgot,” Liu replied through gritted teeth. “There were too many things to do, and I forgot when I was busy.”

Upon hearing the little girl's words, Madam Du instantly grasped the relationships between the characters. "This must be the Yi Qiao mentioned in the letter?"

Du Yiqiao, the only child of Du Laowu and Liu Shi, is now three years old.

Then, Madam Du looked at Lin Yaozhi with gentle eyes, "Yaozhi has grown so much."

Lin Yaozhi also recognized that the gentle and elegant Du Shi in front of him was the Du Ruan who once made a fortune in the business world.

It wasn't that Ms. Du's appearance had changed drastically, but rather that her temperament had shifted.

Having spent so much time in the Yongjing Marquis's residence, Du gradually concealed her sharp edges, hiding them beneath a soft exterior.

"Aunt Du, I have been rude," Lin Yaozhi said, bowing to Madam Du with the respect due to a junior.

"How did you end up in the capital?" Madam Du asked curiously.

In Chen Kingdom, the New Year and other festivals emphasize family reunion. Unless there are special reasons, no matter how far away they are, people from other places will rush home to celebrate the New Year.

"He came here partly to study, and partly to travel and broaden his horizons, so he came with us," Old Du answered on his behalf.

"Studying?" Du asked, puzzled. "I remember you did quite well in medicine before, why are you..."

The Lin family has been practicing medicine for generations, operating in the Northern Region for many years. They are familiar with all kinds of knife and sword wounds, and Lin Yaozhi's ancestors have healed countless wounds of frontier soldiers.

Furthermore, a general petitioned for merit on behalf of the Lin family, and Emperor Chenze generously rewarded the Lin family.

However, the Lin family, born on the frontier, are free-spirited and unrestrained people. They are unwilling to be confined within the small palace walls, only to treat a few patients. Therefore, they politely declined Emperor Chenze's reward.

Seeing the Lin family's sense of righteousness, Emperor Chenze was even more moved and did not force them. He bestowed a plaque and a hundred taels of gold upon them. Now, the plaque inscribed with "Hanging a gourd to save the world" hangs high above the Lin family's gate.

Therefore, Du subconsciously assumed that Lin Yaozhi's pursuit of education meant he intended to abandon medicine and pursue literature.

“I’ve heard that there’s a medical clinic in the capital called Baishantang,” Lin Yaozhi replied truthfully. “It’s said that the doctors at Baishantang have the ability to restore youth, so I’d like to come and learn more about it.”

Seeing that he remained true to his original intention, Madam Du praised him greatly. When she was happy, she liked to throw money around. "He's a good child. Study hard. Here, it's New Year's. Take this lucky money and play with it."

Lin Yaozhi accepted the blessing from his elders, as he could not refuse it.

Then, Mrs. Du introduced several children to each other. Lin Yaozhi was younger than Zhou Chengan but a year older than Zhou Zhou. Every time Mrs. Du introduced someone, he would call out a name.

"Brother Cheng An".

"Sister Zhou Zhou."

"Sister Zhou Yue."

With each sentence he spoke, he performed a gesture of respect as a peer.

Zhou Zhou and the others returned the greeting.

Watching from the side, Liu found their back-and-forth banter quite amusing.

However, when she saw Zhou Zhou bowing, she paused for a moment, secretly sized up Zhou Zhou, and finally said—no wonder the eldest sister never complained about the hardships of being a stepmother, and even pampered the children as if they were her own. With children like these, it would be very prestigious to take them out.

While the children went out to play in the snow, and Du Laowu was talking to Zhou Laowu, Liu Shi and Du Shi started discussing something.

"What do you think of Yaozhi?" Liu asked softly.

The children in the yard were all building snowmen. Zhou Chengan was in charge of taking care of a few of the children, while Zhou Zhou and Lin Yaozhi were slacking off on the side. They didn't enthusiastically help build snowmen, nor did they just stand there motionless.

“I watched him grow up, so naturally he’s excellent in every way,” Du’s beautiful brows furrowed slightly. “It’s just that your question has caught my attention.”

Seeing that Du didn't understand, Liu leaned closer and asked, "What do you think of those two children?"

Du looked over and saw Lin Yaozhi turn around and talk to Zhou Zhou. Zhou Zhou answered generously, and the two of them had an unexpectedly harmonious aura.

"It's not up to me to decide what happens to Zhouzhou," Madam Du said, turning her gaze away and politely declining Madam Liu's suggestion.

To the north lies a bitterly cold land, with a harsh climate and frequent bandit raids on the army, who would break into the city and commit arson, murder, and looting.

Furthermore, after being married into the Yongjing Marquis's household for several years, Du Shi had come to realize that Zhou Zhou's marriage was not up to her as his stepmother, nor even up to Zhou Laowu's biological father.

Seeing that Madam Du refused without hesitation, Madam Liu was stunned and puzzled—didn't they say that even though they weren't related by blood, they were closer than blood relatives?