Marrying the Crown Prince

“Grandmother, shall I go out with the Seventh Princess?” Zhou Zhou received the signal and got up to take his leave.

With both main characters gone, the old lady lost interest in sitting any longer and told the others to leave as well.

After everyone had left, the old lady took out the ebony hairpin again, her cloudy eyes staring intently at it. She carefully stroked the hairpin's tip with her hand, and finally pressed it to a certain spot, causing the tip of the hairpin to fall off—it turned out to be a hollow wooden hairpin.

She took out the letter inside, a small, crumpled ball, and slowly unfolded it.

The letter contained no extra words, only recounting recent events in the palace.

When she saw that the Fifth Prince, Li Zichen, was willing to offend the Emperor to marry a daughter of the Wang family, the old lady sighed – what a mess this is!

Even though Consort Mei explained, it was impossible for the old lady not to feel any resentment, but what could she do?

Fortunately, Zhou Zhou lived up to expectations, and her brilliance at the Peach Blossom Banquet made no one dare to underestimate her, unless they were mentally unstable.

Unfortunately, the woman standing in front of Zhou Zhou was the one with mental problems.

"Oh, isn't this the future Fifth Imperial Consort?" Lady Jingwen's words were like farts, none of them pleasant. "Look at my memory, according to the imperial decree, the Fifth Imperial Consort is a daughter of the Wang family, not a daughter of the Zhou family."

"Oh dear, some people are just too shameless. They don't even know to look at themselves in the mirror before shamelessly throwing themselves at others." Lady Jingwen waved her fan, her voice sarcastic. "Now look what happened, they tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice instead."

Li Zixi clenched her fists, about to rush over and slap the arrogant woman twice, but Zhou Zhou grabbed her hand.

"Dogs are strange creatures," Zhou Zhou comforted her. "Those that bite don't like to bark, while those that aren't very strong love to jump around and bark so much that it gives you a headache. Isn't that annoying?"

Hearing Zhou Zhou's sly words, Li Zixi burst out laughing, "Hahahaha, that's pretty annoying!"

Li Zixi emphasized each of the last four words, as if she wanted to whisper them into Lady Jingwen's ear.

Lady Jingwen's expression changed, her eyes widened in anger, and she pointed at Zhou Zhou, her voice shrill, "How dare you insult me?"

"Oh!" Zhou Zhou seemed startled by the sudden sound, and patted his chest dramatically. "Auntie, you're here too? When did you arrive? How could I dare to curse you, Auntie? I clearly said dog, how could you be a dog!"

Zhou Zhou's voice was sweet, but the words "is a dog" were emphasized very heavily.

Lady Jingwen, her eyes bloodshot and panting heavily, said, "Ignorant brat, don't be so arrogant! If I were from a family like yours, with no reputation left, I would have hanged myself long ago. How dare you wander around like this? What bad luck!"

Upon hearing her words, Zhou Zhou's originally gentle face turned cold, her eyes filled with ruthlessness, and her voice carried a sinister and terrifying tone, as if a storm was brewing. "Madam, you have quite the air of authority, constantly claiming that my reputation is ruined. What proof do you have?"

"If there is no evidence, Madam's words are not only ruining my reputation and disgracing my parents, but also implicating me in a position of infidelity?"

"If my brothers and sisters are disgraced and ruined because of this, will you put me in an unjust position?"

"With just a few words, you, Madam, are trying to implicate me in a situation of disloyalty and injustice. Isn't that the epitome of a venomous heart?"

With each word he spoke, Zhou Zhou took a step forward, his aura chilling, as if a demon had descended to earth.

Lady Jingwen was so frightened that she took a few steps back, but she didn't notice the steps and ended up falling flat on her back.

Faced with this kind of drama, Zhou Zhou scoffed coldly, his words clear and distinct: "Idiot."

"You..." Madam Jingwen got up in a disheveled state, still wanting to argue with Zhou Zhou, but her eldest daughter-in-law, Madam Xu, covered her mouth.

Madam Xu lowered her head and apologized to Zhou Zhou, "Eighth Miss, please don't be angry. My mother-in-law is still not fully recovered and misspoke in a moment of confusion. I apologize to you on her behalf."

It wasn't that Madam Xu really wanted to apologize, but if she didn't stand up in front of everyone, the reputation of the Jingwen Marquis's Mansion would be ruined. What would happen to the other unmarried children of the Jingwen Marquis's Mansion?

Before Zhou Zhou could say anything, Lady Jingwen had already broken free from Xu's hand and slapped Xu hard across the face.

Lady Jingwen's voice was hoarse, her eyes bloodshot. "Who do you think you are? How dare you lay a hand on me like that! I'm your mother-in-law!"

Ms. Xu's head was knocked to the side by the slap, and a large, red handprint appeared on her face.

Zhou Zhou keenly noticed the fleeting hatred in Xu's eyes and found today's events extremely interesting.

She took two steps back and beckoned to the old woman next to her, who had already rolled up her sleeves, to come forward.

The old women that Zhou Zhou brought out were all given to him by Madam Du. They had some martial arts skills, but with a few light moves, they tied up Madam Jingwen tightly and gagged her.

“Mrs. Xu, I heard before the New Year that your aunt had developed hysteria and needed to rest,” Zhou Zhou said, her eyes brimming with tears, as if she had been frightened. “When I saw her out shopping with you, I thought your aunt had recovered, but who knew…”

After saying that, she gently wiped away her tears with a handkerchief and threw herself into Li Zixi's arms.

Li Zixi held Zhou Zhou, at a loss—how am I supposed to cooperate with you when I don't know the plot?

Upon hearing Zhou Zhou's words, Madam Xu paused only slightly before getting into the swing of things, "Yes, my mother-in-law took a break before the New Year, and we thought she was all better, but now we know that her condition has actually worsened..."

At this point, Xu Shi looked so worried that she covered her face and cried, tears streaming down her face. Anyone who saw her would praise Xu Shi for her sincerity, loyalty, and filial piety.

“In that case, I will temporarily lend these two old women to Madam Xu so that she can escort your aunt back to the mansion safely for treatment.” Zhou Zhou also wiped away her tears.

As he spoke, Zhou Zhou secretly nudged Li Zixi's waist.

Li Zixi finally received the signal and stepped forward, saying, "If I hadn't seen this matter today, I wouldn't have cared. But now that I have, I can't ignore it."

"How about this, my maidservant will also accompany and escort Lady Bo back to the manor."

Upon hearing the Seventh Princess's words, Madam Xu could hardly contain her joy. She quickly lowered her head, pretending to wipe away her tears to hide her smile. "Thank you, Your Highness. I am deeply grateful. I will definitely kowtow to Your Highness in the future."

"Illness waits for no one, go quickly." Li Zixi stood upright, her authority undiminished.

After Madam Xu and Lady Jingwen left, Li Zixi immediately leaned against Zhou Zhou, "Tell me quickly, did I behave exceptionally well just now?"

Zhou Zhou smiled and patted her head, "Yes, you did a great job."

Li Zixi beamed and pulled Zhou Zhou toward the counter, saying, "Then you have to give me something nice today."