Marrying the Crown Prince

Since that's the case, Zhou Rong quickly changed her clothes and said to Le Lan, "You should go change your clothes too, there's no need for you to come over."

Zhou Zhou and Zhou Rong appeared safely in front of her. The old lady asked a few simple questions and then stopped interfering, telling them not to run around anymore because it was almost time for dinner.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhou moved closer to the old lady, massaged her shoulders, and smiled ingratiatingly, "I'm not leaving. I'll stay here and massage Grandma's shoulders."

The old lady was delighted and closed her eyes comfortably. "Hmph, you're quite thoughtful."

After seeing Zhou Zhou off, His Highness the Crown Prince returned to his room. He had only been sitting down for a short while when the window was pushed open, and a person dressed in black appeared in front of him.

"Your Highness." The man bowed.

Li Ziyan nodded, gesturing for him to sit down. "Did you get the things?"

It's no wonder Li Ziyan had this question, as this person appeared three hours later than agreed.

The man took out an account book from his person and presented it with both hands, saying, "I have not failed in my mission."

Li Ziyan smelled a faint scent of blood.

He calmly accepted what the other person handed him, without rushing to look at it. "Are you injured?"

Speaking of this, Ye Zejin, the Junior Magistrate of Jingzhao, subconsciously touched the wound on his left shoulder, and the image of a certain girl appeared in his mind.

Ye Zejin replied respectfully, "It has already been dealt with."

“In that case,” Li Ziyan noticed the other’s unease, but everyone has their own opportunities, so he didn’t press further. “You should rest well first. Once this matter is over, I will definitely report your merits to the Emperor.”

Don't push yourself too hard. I'll handle the rest, but I won't forget you when it comes to rewarding your contributions, so don't worry.

"In that case, thank you in advance, Your Highness." Ye Zejin stood up and bowed again.

With Li Ziyan's assurance, Ye Zejin didn't make things difficult for himself. After all, he did this kind of dangerous work in order to get promoted and make money.

He's only twenty-five, yet he already holds the rank of a fourth-grade official. If he doesn't find another way, he'll probably be stuck in that position for another ten years.

With a cup of tea, a bowl of rice, the rain had stopped and the air was fresh, Zhou Zhou slept until he naturally woke up.

"What time is it?" She sat up.

"It's just past dawn, is the young lady getting up?" Sizhu asked as she walked over.

“Mm,” Zhou Zhou replied.

She had to go have dinner with the old lady, and this was the perfect time.

After finishing her meal, the old lady did not want to stay any longer. She looked at the sky and decided to head back.

During this trip, Su Ye's marriage was still unresolved, which the Duchess of Qi found quite regrettable. She felt it would be a pity to give up, so she extended another invitation to Old Madam Zhou, saying, "Once the lotus flowers in my mansion are ready, I will send you an invitation. Please do not refuse me."

“Older sister, I won’t hide our friendship,” Old Mrs. Zhou sighed. “The young master is indeed talented, and a filial and sensible person, but…”

Seeing her pause, the Duchess of Qi quickly interjected, "Good sister, tell me quickly, what happened?"

"But what Master Minghui said really made me uneasy." Old Mrs. Zhou shook her head, looking very sad.

Lady Qi's expression changed slightly as she looked at Zhou Zhou, who politely returned a distant smile.

"It's my Ye'er who's unlucky," the Duchess of Qi murmured to herself, a sad expression on her face.

The carriage swayed and rocked, and soon returned to the Yongjing Marquis's residence. As soon as she got off the carriage, the old lady went straight to the old marquis's courtyard, presumably to discuss the matter.

Zhou Rong got off the carriage and asked Zhou Zhou, "Would you like to come to my place for tea?"

Speaking of tea, Zhou Zhou thought of the half-pound of tea in Si Zhu's hand and felt a headache coming on. She quickly shook her head and said, "No, Second Sister, you should go back first. I have something to do."

“Okay,” Zhou Rong said softly.

Actually, she's perfectly fine; she just doesn't want to see tea lately.

After returning home, Zhou Zhou took out the handkerchief that she hadn't finished embroidering last time. In principle, handkerchiefs don't need too many patterns; simplicity is more practical.

However, Zhou Zhou designed a lush flower garden on it to practice, emphasizing a complex and diverse design.

As Zhou Zhou embroidered, time slipped away with each stitch. Before she could finish, news arrived that Emperor Chenze was going to the Chengming Palace to escape the summer heat.

Zhou Zhou stopped sewing—it was only early May, not even the hottest months of June and July, and she was already going to escape the heat? Besides, she hadn't been to Chengming Palace for summer vacation in recent years, and no one would believe that this year's trip was just a simple escape from the heat.

It's funny, really. After the Peach Blossom Banquet, three of the four single princes and princesses were still unmarried.

Zhou Zhou looked at the flowers on the handkerchief and smiled faintly.

Similar to the previous Peach Blossom Banquet, this time, apart from the families of those accompanying the students, who could go as many as they wanted, other families had a limited number of people allowed to go to Chengming Palace.

Of course, the palaces in Chengming Palace were limited and could not accommodate all the officials and their families in the capital, so those who wanted to travel with their whole family had to consider their financial situation.

Fortunately, Old Madam Zhou had a dowry estate near Chengming Palace, so it didn't matter if the whole family went there.

However, since both Zhou Laoda and Zhou Laowu held official positions and were not specifically chosen by Emperor Chenze to accompany him, they had to stay in the capital.

"Mother, are you also going to stay at the estate for a while?" Zhou Laowu looked at the old lady as she directed the servants to pack their luggage, his face full of reluctance.

Grandma Zhou didn't even lift her eyelids. "What, who else is going besides me?"

“The Du family is going there too,” Zhou Laowu replied.

Zhou Zhou and Zhou Yue are both of marriageable age, but their marriages are still undecided. In addition, Zhou Zhou's birthday is at the end of June, and her coming-of-age ceremony will definitely be held there, so Madam Du will naturally take it to heart.

So the old lady nodded in satisfaction, "She is thoughtful."

Zhou Laowu was dumbfounded: She, she, she abandoned me and went off to have a good time on her own, and you still praise her, Mother?

Fortunately, Zhou Laowu reminded her that the old lady was going to rummage through her belongings to find a fine hairpin for Zhou Zhou to use in his hair.

As a result, he almost bumped into Zhou Laowu when he turned around.

"What are you still standing here for?" the old lady said rudely, shooing him away. "Get out of my way and don't block my way while I'm cleaning up."

Zhou Laowu left feeling wronged.

Overwhelmed with grief, Zhou Laowu realized he hadn't visited his son in a long time, so he turned and went to Zhou Chengan's room.

Unlike the old lady and Madam Du, Zhou Cheng'an was not tidying up the chests and trunks.

Zhou Laowu was overjoyed and pushed open the door to go in, only to find Zhou Chengan studying.

When Zhou Cheng'an saw his father approaching, he closed the book he was holding and bowed respectfully. "Father, what brings you here?"