Marrying the Crown Prince

“Busy, huh? Not bad, not bad, young man,” Zhou Laowu said with his hands behind his back, “seriously” admonishing, “You should read more books and not be playful.”

So of course you're not going to Chengming Palace, right?

"Yes, we're going to the imperial palace tomorrow, but I can't let go of the imperial examination. I'm thinking of bringing a few books with me." Zhou Cheng'an looked like he had learned something.

Zhou Laowu was silent for a long time before finally saying, "It's good, it's good."

He left right after he finished speaking, leaving Zhou Cheng'an completely bewildered.

Chengming Palace is not far from the capital, but it still takes about ten days to get there. Since it takes that long, Emperor Chenze didn't want to make things difficult for himself and simply ordered them to set off at 3:45 AM.

So, Zhou Zhou put his trunk into the carriage and then went to the Du family's courtyard with his personal belongings.

When Du saw Zhou Zhou dressed in a dark-patterned silver brocade horse-face skirt, with her hair all tied up high, looking neat and tidy, she had some guesses in her mind. "Are you going to ride a horse later?"

The State of Chen values ​​agriculture and commerce, and it also values ​​both literature and martial arts. If we had to rank them, military officers would have a slight edge, because their post-retirement benefits would be better than those of civil officials.

The emperors of Chen Kingdom throughout history all knew that by maintaining a strong military, they could win battles on the borders. Only by winning battles could they stand tall among the nations, and their civil officials would not have to be obsequious when negotiating with other countries.

As the saying goes, "what the superiors do, the inferiors will follow." With such an emperor around, the people below will not be sickly and will not say that they like slender waists and three-inch feet, and will demand that women be as delicate as willows in the wind.

In their view, men should be upright and courageous, while women can also be heroic and skilled in riding and archery.

"We'll see." Zhou Zhou hadn't made up his mind yet, but it was better to be prepared. They were going to be traveling for so many days, and they couldn't stay in the carriage the whole time; they would get bored to death.

"Where's mother?"

Du was also wearing a horse-face skirt.

Mr. Du shrugged and said, "I didn't expect it either, but we should at least take our little eleventh son for a ride."

Zhou Chengxuan immediately got excited, crawling around on the ground and shouting excitedly, "Riding a big horse, riding a big horse, giddy up!"

Madam Du held back for a moment, but finally couldn't bear it any longer. She lifted the person up with one hand and said in an icy tone, "If you make any more noise, I won't take you out. You'll stay in the mansion with your father."

Zhou Chengxuan quickly covered his mouth with his hand, blinking his big eyes and looking pitifully at Madam Du.

This scene made Zhou Zhou giggle out loud.

With someone keeping them company and chatting, it was soon time to depart. Zhou Laoda, Zhou Laosan, and Zhou Laowu stood in front of the gate, watching the large family of more than a dozen people board the carriage and leave without a second thought.

Zhou Laowu turned around and looked at the empty Marquis's mansion. His already fragile heart finally shattered into pieces. "It's good that they're gone. They're all gone."

Such strange behavior startled Old Zhou, who quickly reached out and touched his forehead, asking, "Are you sick?"

Thankfully, my forehead isn't hot, so I don't need to call a doctor.

Faced with his elder brother's sudden concern, Zhou Laowu's broken heart quickly healed. "Brother, you're the best!"

Boss Zhou: "..."

Or... should we call a doctor to come and take a look?

The Yongjing Marquis's household consisted of seventeen people, and there simply weren't enough carriages available. Fortunately, they had rented carriages from the horse farm in advance.

In the end, the women squeezed into four carriages, while the men, except for the old Marquis and Zhou Chengxuan and Zhou Yan who were under ten years old, were all sent to ride horses.

The old Marquis is too old to cause trouble; Zhou Chengxuan and the others are too young to be allowed to cause trouble.

As for where the horses came from, most households are not like the imperial palace, which has a special place to raise hundreds of horses.

Therefore, groups of more than ten people would go to a horse farm to rent horses and carriages.

Inside the carriage, Zhou Zhou and Zhou Yue were playing Gomoku, while Madam Du was teaching Zhou Chengxuan arithmetic with an abacus. The family of four seemed to be enjoying themselves.

I thought time would pass by like this, but who knew that as soon as I left Beijing, someone knocked on my car window.

As soon as Zhou Zhou lifted the curtain, Li Zixi's head came close.

Sitting on her horse, she said with a grin, "I guessed you were sitting here."

“Seventh Princess,” Zhou Zhou looked at her ingratiating smile and felt that she was up to no good, “We just left the capital, why did you come here?”

Li Zixi pulled on the reins, keeping pace with Zhou Zhou's carriage. "We're already out of the capital, why are we still riding in a carriage? Come on, get off and ride around with me."

"I'd like to, but all the horses in my house have been ridden by those men." Zhou Zhou said with feigned regret, but inwardly he was thinking, "I'm not tired of riding in the carriage yet."

“What’s the big deal?” Li Zixi proudly puffed out her chest. “If you’re with me, would I ever need a horse?”

Zhou Zhou pursed her lips, then replied shyly, "Princess, what you said could easily be misunderstood."

Li Zixi: "..."

Damn it, if I didn't need her help, I would have ridden away on horseback right away!

"Get down here now," Li Zixi said through gritted teeth, her tone unfriendly.

Zhou Zhou leaned against the car window sill and replied with great interest, "My princess, you should at least tell me what it is?"

“I made a bet with Li Zixiao and the others about horse racing,” Li Zixi said, looking at Zhou Zhou with pleading eyes, “You know my skills, I can’t do it without you.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhou said he couldn't help, "I'm playing chess right now, and I can't finish anytime soon."

"Okay, Zhouzhou, come with me." Li Zixi continued to plead and even tried to bribe her. "Tell me what you want. As long as I have it, I'll give it to you if you like it."

At this point, Zhou Zhou finally showed some interest. "You said it yourself."

"I said it!" Li Zixi gritted her teeth and agreed.

It wasn't that Zhou Zhou was particularly envious of Li Zixi's things; it was mainly that she hadn't yet fulfilled a promise she had made to Lin Yaozhi.

Li Zixi certainly wouldn't collect medical books or imperial physicians' notes, but as a princess, she could go to the Imperial Hospital to look through the notes.

What Zhou Zhou wanted was to use her warrant to get into the Imperial Hospital for a few days.

Although Lin Yaozhi has already left the capital and returned to the Northern Region, books can still be sent there.

Having agreed, Zhou Zhou readily dismounted from the carriage. Li Zixi rode alongside her, initially trotting slowly. When they reached the front of the procession, she gripped the horse's back tightly with her legs and said to Zhou Zhou, "Hold on tight, we need to hurry to catch up with them."

Zhou Zhou was afraid of death and pain. Seeing Li Zixi's posture, he immediately hugged her waist and held her tightly with both hands.

"drive!"

A magnificent horse galloped swiftly across the grassland like the wind, kicking up a cloud of dust. Its hooves pounded the ground with a "clattering" sound, like a stirring war drum, stirring the heart with excitement.

After running for about half an incense stick's time, the horse finally stopped.

Zhou Zhou was the first to fall off his horse. When he looked up, he met a pair of deep, smiling eyes.

Li Ziyan smiled meaningfully, "The eighth daughter of the Zhou family has also come."