Marrying the Crown Prince

"Empress Dowager." Li Ziyan bowed with several people around him.

Empress Chu glanced at the person next to her son, paused, and asked, "Did you have fun?"

It wasn't that she was being nosy, but it was truly unbelievable that her son, who disliked crowds, would be surrounded by so many people. In her opinion, having even one person with him would be a blessing.

"Mm." Li Ziyan nodded in response.

Seeing that there was nothing for her to do, Zhou Zhou secretly moved aside, intending to exchange her chips for guessing the riddle correctly with the female official.

Unexpectedly, the Imperial Concubine spoke up, "Look at the Empress's question. With such a beautiful young lady by his side, the Crown Prince must be having a great time."

Among the young ladies attending the banquet, few came from prominent families. Apart from Wang Qingwu from the Grand Tutor's family, there was Xu Wei from the Duke of Zhenguo's family and Cao Hua from the General of the State's family.

As a member of the Third Prince's faction, the Imperial Concubine naturally hoped that the Crown Princess's family background would be as low as possible, and it would be best if she did not come from any of the three families mentioned above.

So she thought she could try to matchmake Li Zichen and Zhou Zhou. It didn't matter if the matchmaking failed, since she was just killing the child on a rainy day anyway.

Hearing the Consort's words, Zhou Zhou, who was secretly moving around nearby, immediately stood up straight and bowed gracefully towards Empress Chu, saying, "This humble woman is going to exchange for chips. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

The intention to avoid suspicion couldn't be clearer.

Consort Gui was displeased after being humiliated by Zhou Zhou. She felt that Zhou Zhou was ungrateful and didn't know what was good for her. Given her status, she was naturally not on the Emperor and Empress's list of candidates for Crown Princess. She was trying to help her, but Zhou Zhou acted like this. It was really too much of a favor to Zhou Zhou!

Zhou Zhou handed the red silk to the female official and answered the riddles one by one without hesitation.

Soon, the count was finished, and the female official wrote down a line on a piece of paper: "Eighth daughter of the Yongjing Marquis's mansion, twenty-nine dishes."

"Thank you, sir." Zhou Zhou nodded in thanks.

Female officials all had ranks and served nobles in the palace, so most people would treat them with courtesy, and Zhou Zhou was no exception.

After handing over the items, Zhou Zhou stormed over to Li Zixi and Li Zixiao, grabbed Li Zixi, and gritted his teeth in her ear, "It must have been your scheme."

The only person who could say he abandoned her is this bastard.

"Okay, Zhouzhou," Li Zixi hurriedly begged for forgiveness, "I was wrong, please forgive me this time."

Zhou Zhou gave a light snort, and the matter was considered over.

Then it was time for them to gossip.

"Quick, tell us!" Wang Qingwu was the first to stir things up, "Why are there three men with you?"

Zhou Zhou covered his face: "That question makes it sound like I'm a heartless man."

However, seeing their gossipy spirits burning brightly, Zhou Zhou immediately chose to pour cold water on them, saying, "Anyone we met on the way came back together."

"That's all?" Li Zixi's eyes widened.

What about the process? What about the result? Who did you have a pleasant conversation with?

“Yes,” Zhou Zhou smiled and added, word by word, “His Highness the Crown Prince asked me about your studies.”

Li Zixi shut up.

Then, Zhou Zhou looked at Wang Qingwu and smiled sweetly, "Young Master Wang described my older sister's childhood preferences to me."

Zhou Zhou emphasized the words "childhood" very much.

Wang Qingwu also shut his mouth.

Liu Jingyuan's eyes lit up, and she was about to ask Zhou Zhou if he knew about the embarrassing things Wang Qingwu did when he was a child, when she met Zhou Zhou's eyes.

"Why is Sister Jingyuan so quiet today?" Zhou Zhou asked.

“Hey, let me tell you…” Zhao Yuehua got excited and was about to speak when Liu Jingyuan covered her mouth.

So, the gossip spread to Liu Jingyuan, and Zhou Zhou pieced together the story of Liu Jingyuan and Chen Muchuan, the most handsome man in Beijing, from the chatter of her sisters.

Speaking of Chen Muchuan, besides his striking appearance, his family background is also worth mentioning—he was the third son of the Marquis of Zhaoqing, who was stationed on the southwestern border.

The southwestern border can be considered a relatively stable frontier, unlike the northern border where the Duke of Dingguo was stationed, which was plagued by bandits and enemy attacks day and night.

Of course, this is thanks to the existence of the vassal state of Qixi in the southwest.

It is said that in Qixi Kingdom, both men and women love silver ornaments, their hair adorned with jingling pendants, and they are also exceptionally handsome. I wonder if it is because the Third Young Master Chen was born there that he is so handsome.

Let's return to the matter between Liu Jingyuan and Chen Muchuan.

They saw a red ribbon hanging at the very top, and Liu Jingyuan immediately rolled up her sleeves to grab it. However, halfway there, she slipped and fell straight down from the tree.

Liu Jingyuan thought she was going to fall and her buttocks would be split in eight pieces, but instead a man wearing a black satin round-necked robe with a cloak of cranes and four-sided patterns flew over, grabbed her by the collar with one hand, and threw her to the ground.

Liu Jingyuan: "..."

This isn't how heroes rescue damsels in love stories!

The other girls all stared wide-eyed when they saw Chen Muchuan's face.

He had a delicate, feminine appearance, yet he was incredibly beautiful. His black clothes accentuated his aggressive beauty, making all the pink in the garden pale in comparison.

Liu Jingyuan stood up angrily, but when she saw that devastatingly handsome face, her voice instantly softened, "Thank you for saving me, young master. May I use your honorable name?"

Tell me your name, where you live, and everything else.

"It's good that you're alright, young lady." Chen Muchuan took a few steps back, his words somewhat indifferent.

She...forgot herself.

Seeing that the person was about to leave, Li Zixiao quickly asked, "Are you Chen San?"

Just as there was Pan An in ancient times, there is Chen San in modern times.

Seeing that some of them recognized him, Chen Muchuan clasped his hands in greeting and said, "Your subject greets the Sixth and Seventh Princesses."

“No need for formalities,” Li Zixiao said with a smile. “You just saved my good sister.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Muchuan looked at Liu Jingyuan, who was standing shyly beside him, and asked, "May I ask how this young lady is addressed?"

Staring directly at by such a stunning beauty, Liu Jingyuan's face truly flushed red. "Liu Jingyuan."

Hearing the expected answer, Chen Muchuan didn't bother to stay any longer and left with a random excuse.

As soon as the fairy left, the girls started clamoring, asking Liu Jingyuan what it felt like to be saved by such a handsome man.

After thinking it over carefully, Liu Jingyuan felt that it would be better if she could fly down while holding her.

Upon hearing her answer, everyone's eyes lit up, and their laughter became even more grotesque.

After listening to everyone's comments, Zhou Zhou felt only regret, "Such beauty, I've only ever seen it in paintings, it's such a loss, such a loss."

"Although Chen San is indeed handsome, I think the Crown Prince is not bad-looking either," Li Zixiao commented, stroking her chin.

Li Ziyan is indeed good-looking. If Chen San is breathtakingly beautiful with an aggressive brilliance, then Li Ziyan is like a painting, with flawless features and an otherworldly elegance.