Marrying the Crown Prince

Chang Yi dared not respond to this, and instead lowered his head to count the sand on the floor.

"Let's go take a look." After Li Ziyan finished speaking, he led Chang Yi towards the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Upon arriving at the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Li Zichen was still kneeling there, but his face was pale. He had been pampered since birth and could not endure much hardship.

“Fifth Imperial Brother,” Li Ziyan stopped beside him, his face full of concern, “I came here as soon as I heard the news. You… sigh.”

A heavy sigh seemed to sink into Li Zichen's heart.

“Brother.” Li Zichen looked up at him, his eyes full of pleading.

Li Ziyan sighed again, lifted his foot, and stepped onto the stairs.

"Please inform Lord Weiyi," Li Ziyan said.

Wei Yi hesitated for a moment, but still went in to announce his arrival. He quickly came out and said, "Your Highness, the Emperor wants to see you."

Li Ziyan nodded, "Thank you for your trouble, Father-in-law."

Seeing him go in, Wei Yi touched her whisk with lingering fear, thinking to herself: This Crown Prince is really favored. The Emperor said he wouldn't see anyone, but the Crown Prince asked to see him, and the Emperor still saw him. What a close call! I'm so glad I went in to announce his arrival.

That day, no one in the Hall of Mental Cultivation knew what the Crown Prince and Emperor Chenze had said. All they knew was that half an hour after he went in, the Fifth Prince was released by Emperor Chenze.

The next day, two imperial edicts departed from the Hall of Mental Cultivation, one delivered to the Fifth Prince and the other to the Grand Tutor's residence.

The specific details are not important; all that is needed is that Wang Qingwu, the daughter of the Grand Tutor, has been betrothed to the Fifth Prince as his principal wife, though the wedding date is yet to be determined.

Of course, when the Fifth Prince's wedding date will be set depends mainly on when the Crown Prince Li Ziyan's wedding date will be set. After all, there is an order of seniority, and there is no reason for the younger brother to get married before the elder brother.

The imperial decree was delivered with lightning speed. Inside the Yongjing Marquis's residence, everyone who heard the imperial decree bestowing marriage upon him couldn't help but look at Zhou Zhou, the Fifth Prince's childhood sweetheart.

Zhou Zhou remained calm, tossed down his cards, and smiled faintly, "I won, I took all the cards."

Seeing the protagonist in the storm of public opinion forcing a smile, the old lady couldn't bear it and hugged Zhou Zhou, saying, "My poor baby."

Zhou Zhou was completely puzzled and had no idea what was going on.

However, before the old lady could finish crying, the old Marquis sent someone over to inquire about the well-being of the old lady and the madam. The old master asked me to invite the eighth young lady over.

Zhou Zhou looked at the old lady, who let go of his hand and straightened his clothes, half comforting and half saddened, "This is not your fault. Don't take all the responsibility on yourself."

Although he didn't know what the old lady was talking about, Zhou Zhou still obediently replied, "I understand."

How could such a good kid make such a fool of himself!

The old lady was furious and wished she could send a petition to the palace to question her daughter.

Zhou Zhou followed the servant out of the house. Just then, a breeze blew by, making her shiver and her mind become even clearer.

From a young age, she was adept at reading people's expressions. How could she miss the various expressions in the room? She was just too lazy to explain.

Zhou Zhou knew that her position in the manor stemmed from her irreplaceable strength, a strength that made the Marquis's manor reluctant to send her out for a marriage alliance.

The Fifth Prince was the person chosen for her by the Yongjing Marquis's family. In other words, the Yongjing Marquis's family was indeed seriously looking for a husband for her, rather than throwing her off like a commodity to some old prince as a second wife or concubine.

If Li Zichen and Wang Qingwu were not mutually in love, and if Wang Qingwu were not his good sister, Zhou Zhou might indeed take action for the sake of her family's interests.

But it just so happened to be such a coincidence.

So Zhou Zhou chose a different plan. He had thought of this game a long, long time ago, but he only started playing it a few days ago.

Zhou Zhou looked at the old Marquis with his deep eyes, his expression indifferent, "Grandfather, did you call me?"

Seeing that she was the same as always, the old marquis became even more certain of his suspicions and sneered, "You already knew about today's events?"

“Grandfather’s insight is truly remarkable; I was merely showing off my limited skills before an expert,” Zhou Zhou replied honestly.

Seeing that she wasn't trying to play any more tricks, the old marquis's anger subsided by half, but his tone was still unfriendly, "Then why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I only know the general outline of this matter," Zhou Zhou said, feeling extremely aggrieved and looking pitifully at the old Marquis. "Besides, before the matter is settled, who would dare to spread such slanderous rumors that damage someone's reputation?"

That... actually makes a lot of sense.

The reason why the claim that Zhou Zhou and the Fifth Prince were childhood sweethearts has caused such a stir is mostly because the two were actually cousins.

Therefore, most people choose to believe the rumors and do not feel that they damage the innocence of either party, after all, cousins ​​are family, and they are even closer than family.

Seeing that the old Marquis still had a stern face, Zhou Zhou also put away his previous demeanor and said seriously: "The prince's principal wife is indeed good, but it's not the only choice. We don't need to trap ourselves in this situation."

Seeing Zhou Zhou's rapid change in mood, the old Marquis snorted again, "Were you faking it just now?"

Seeing his words, Zhou Zhou knew that the ordeal was over. She quickly went to his side and poured him a cup of tea. "It was my fault. Grandfather, you are a magnanimous man. Please don't be angry with me."

The old marquis accepted the teacup, signifying his acceptance of her statement.

The tea was fragrant and rich. The old marquis took a sip and his mind calmed down. "So, your outstanding performance at the Peach Blossom Banquet was intentional?"

The scene of the Duchess of Qi striking up a conversation at the banquet flashed before his eyes again, and he roughly understood Zhou Zhou's intention.

"Speaking of which, we should thank Consort De." Zhou Zhou's eyes crinkled with a smile, which was tantamount to acknowledging it.

"Judging from what you're saying, if Consort De wasn't deliberately obstructing things," the old Marquis asked, "you have no other options?"

"That's not it."

How could she possibly gamble the success or failure of something on an outsider? It was just that Consort De had said something that made things easier for her.

Once the matter was explained, the old Marquis became more amiable and invited Zhou Zhou to play chess with him.

Zhou Zhou sat down beside him as instructed.

Two more days passed quickly, and Li Zixi finally arrived at the door.

As is customary, she first went to pay her respects to the old lady.

"Your Highness seems to have grown taller again. Have you gone to get some new clothes made?" After all, she was her only granddaughter, so even if the old lady had a temper, she wouldn't lash out at Li Zixi.

"Yes, I came here today to ask Zhouzhou to accompany me to the shop," Li Zixi replied, and took out the things that Consort Mei had asked her to bring. "This is what my mother asked me to bring to my maternal grandmother."

The item was taken out; it was an ebony hairpin, one of her dowry items.

The old lady's gaze darkened, but her expression remained unchanged. "Thank you for your generous gift, Your Majesty."

Seeing that the task was completed, Li Zixi hurriedly gave Zhou Zhou a meaningful look.