Marrying the Crown Prince

He called her "sister" today, but who knows what he'll have to offer to make amends tomorrow?

Li Ziyan helped the woman up, then let go of her hand. "Sister Zhou Zhou, what are you doing here?"

Zhou Zhou unconsciously brushed the sleeve that Li Ziyan had just touched, her expression natural. "The red silk in my hand is hanging on the tree."

Li Ziyan looked at the top of Zhou Zhou's head and indeed saw a piece of red silk.

So he took a few steps forward, his tall figure looming over her, making Zhou Zhou instinctively want to back away. However, she felt that it wouldn't be good to back away like that, so she suppressed the urge.

Li Ziyan exuded a cool, refreshing fragrance, subtly sweet yet powerfully lingering around Zhou Zhou's nose, causing her to tilt her head uncomfortably.

At this moment, Li Ziyan reached out, took off the red ribbon, and handed it to Zhou Zhou, saying, "Little sister Zhou Zhou, don't lose it again."

Zhou Zhou carefully took the strip of cloth, but her fingertips accidentally touched his fingers again. The warm and soft touch burned Zhou Zhou's hand once more.

Fortunately, she was used to hiding her emotions, and her face remained expressionless. "Thank you, Your Highness."

She then added, "Your Highness is of noble status; I am unworthy to be called 'sister' by you."

“Sister Zhou Zhou is the niece of Consort Xian, how can she not be my sister?” Li Ziyan’s tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction. “Could it be that Sister Zhou Zhou is qualified to be the Fifth Prince’s sister, but not mine?”

Zhou Zhou: "..."

No, is he sick?

"Your Highness..." Zhou Zhou's lips twitched slightly, "You're joking."

Go ahead and bark all you want, you'll never get tired of it!

Just then, Wang Yutong, who had been quiet all along, spoke up, "Is Miss Zhou alone?"

"Why don't you come with us and look out for each other?" he suggested before Zhou Zhou could answer.

"Thank you, Young Master Wang, but I have a companion." Zhou Zhou politely declined the invitation to travel together; she had no intention of going with Li Ziyan.

Zhou Zhou considers herself a cunning person, so she doesn't want to be with Li Ziyan, who is just as cunning. Otherwise, the two of them would always have hidden meanings in their words, which would not only exhaust them but also give others a headache.

Li Ziyan was not surprised by Zhou Zhou's answer. He knew that Zhou Zhou had been avoiding all the male members of the palace when she was in Jingyang Palace, so there was no reason for her to come over now.

"Where are they?" Li Ziyan's voice was clear and cool, yet very pleasant.

Zhou Zhou looked in the direction he had come from, only to find that the group of bastards had already gone far away.

“Since Miss Zhou has gotten separated from her companions, why don’t you come with us?” Wang Yutong invited again. “Otherwise, if anything happens to you, my elder sister will not let me off the hook.”

Upon hearing that he mentioned Wang Qingwu, Zhou Zhou stopped insisting and looked up into Li Ziyan's eyes, "Then thank you very much, Your Highness and Young Master Wang."

“Miss Zhou, you don’t need to be so polite. You and my sister have been classmates for many years and are the same age as me, so it’s only natural that you should look after each other.” Wang Yutong had just gone through puberty, so her voice was low and hoarse. However, her face hadn’t fully developed yet, so she looked like a child.

Zhou Zhou couldn't help but laugh, and his expression lightened considerably. "Then I'll gladly accept your offer."

The trip went from two people to three, and I thought the atmosphere would be a bit awkward, but to my surprise, all three of them were talkative and didn't say a word the whole way.

As for the red silk they encountered on the road, neither of them kept any of it; they gave it all to Zhou Zhou.

Zhou Zhou looked at the more than twenty strips of cloth in his hand and couldn't help but laugh—he hadn't picked up a single one, yet he had gotten so many!

“I’d occasionally heard my older sister say that Miss Zhou was a master of chess, but I thought it was an exaggeration,” Wang Yutong said, referring to Zhou Zhou’s game against Fu Jingchuan today. “Seeing it today, I realize how narrow-minded I was.”

Speaking of this, Zhou Zhou couldn't help but defend Fu Jingchuan, saying, "Young Master Fu's defeat today is not due to my efforts."

"Why?"

“Young Master Fu became famous at a young age, and his chess style is well known. On the contrary,” Zhou Zhou explained carefully, “I have never played chess in front of the public, so he does not know my background. In this way, I have the advantage of timing.”

"Secondly, Young Master Fu..." Zhou Zhou considered for a moment, trying to find a more palatable word, "He considers himself extraordinary and looks down on me, a young lady from a humble family. In this way, I gained the support of the people."

"I have the advantage of timing, location, and popular support. He's naturally at a disadvantage in this game." As he said this, Zhou Zhou looked into the distance, his face full of bright confidence and sunshine.

A gentle breeze blew by, and delicate pink petals fell from the branches, swirling and dancing around Zhou Zhou, creating a mysterious and exquisite scene under the sunlight.

The woman in the picture smiles radiantly, as if the world is in her hands.

Fu Jingchuan was completely mesmerized.

"Brother Fu, Brother Fu?"

After someone called out twice, Fu Jingchuan snapped out of his daze, "Huh? What's wrong?"

"What do you mean, 'what's wrong'? It's 'what's wrong with you' that's the person next to me who's doing this." The person next to me muttered in reply.

Fu Jingchuan ignored him and said, "I have things to do, you can play by yourself."

After saying that, he strode towards Zhou Zhou's direction.

Returning to Zhou Zhou's side, Wang Yutong shook his head after hearing her explanation, saying, "Miss Zhou doesn't need to be so modest."

Fu Jingchuan may have underestimated his opponent, but Zhou Zhou definitely had a backup plan.

"That's true, I'm just not as skilled as others." Fu Jingchuan rushed over. "You don't need to belittle yourself."

Zhou Zhou thought for a moment and then corrected him, "Young Master Fu is overthinking it. I am not belittling myself."

Fu Jingchuan was speechless; he opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word.

Hearing Zhou Zhou's words, Li Ziyan pursed his lips and smiled slightly, seemingly in a good mood. "We've been out for a while now, are you all going back?"

His Highness the Crown Prince said he was tired, and everyone else, even if they weren't tired, would feel tired too, so they all followed him back.

The four of them were walking together when Zhou Zhou tried to take a few steps back to distance herself from them. However, Li Ziyan stopped and looked at her. "Little sister Zhou Zhou, are you feeling unwell?"

Zhou Zhou gave a resigned, fake smile. "No, Your Highness is overthinking it."

"Then why aren't you following me?" Li Ziyan walked to her side, his tone calm.

As the prince drew near, the fragrance once again wafted to her nose, causing ripples to stir in Zhou Zhou's heart, which had been as calm as a still lake.

It wasn't the perfume that was alluring; it was Li Ziyan's stunning good looks. He was fresh, handsome, and as beautiful as jade. Anyone who got close to such an extraordinary face would have their heart race.

Zhou Zhou sighed silently, putting her thoughts aside, and followed Li Ziyan to her side.

In less than half an hour, they left the peach grove and returned to the banquet.

As soon as they appeared, they heard the concubine's affected voice, "Oh, we were just talking about His Highness the Crown Prince, and here he is."