Marrying the Crown Prince

Like Empress Chu, Consort Gui was also very interested in Zhou Zhou, whose marriage had been stolen by someone else. The important thing was that Consort Mei's face turned green, which made her feel very happy.

"Is the eighth daughter of the Zhou family here?" the Imperial Concubine asked, knowing the answer already.

Zhou Zhou stood up and took two steps forward to the Imperial Concubine. "This humble woman greets Your Highness."

"Raise your head." The imperial concubine's beautiful eyes were narrow and long, and she looked her over with great interest.

Zhou Zhou raised her head steadily, without showing the slightest fear.

Today she wore a pale yellow floral dress with auspicious cloud patterns, which made her skin look delicate. Her hair was styled in a cloud-like bun, adorned with a long red gold hairpin with tassels and a red gold floral comb, making her look noble and elegant.

She wasn't as haggard as I'd expected; instead, her face was even more rosy, showing that she'd been having a comfortable time lately.

The Imperial Concubine snorted coldly, "I suppose you've come today to pay your respects to the Virtuous Consort. In that case, I won't keep you any longer."

After saying that, she left with her men.

Zhou Heng walked alongside Zhou Zhou again, but this time her face looked much worse than before. She muttered under her breath, "This is too scary."

"Don't worry," Zhou Zhou reassured her, "The Imperial Concubine is always proud and won't make things difficult for us."

Not difficult? If it's not difficult, why did you make us bow for so long? If it is difficult, then it must be difficult...

Zhou Heng shuddered, not daring to think any further.

Fortunately, the road ahead was clear, and the group finally arrived at Consort Mei's bedchamber.

As always, the adults talked, and the children were coaxed out to play.

In Consort Mei's territory, Zhou Zhou was very relaxed, swinging on the swing in the courtyard. Zhou Heng, on the other hand, was still extremely nervous, with a bitter face, not knowing what to do.

Soon, Li Zixi, who was still fast asleep, ran over while yawning when she learned that Zhou Zhou was coming.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" she said, sounding dissatisfied.

"I only found out yesterday." Zhou Zhou shrugged, indicating that he was also innocent, and then introduced Li Zixi to Zhou Heng.

"You're Zhou Heng?" Li Zixi asked, as if to say, "I've heard of you before."

Zhou Heng was stunned, realizing that her name wasn't that famous, not to the point that even the princess knew about it.

“Zhouzhou told me,” Li Zixi raised her chin, looking incredibly proud, “She said you are her best friend outside the palace.”

Why are you so vengeful?

Zhou Zhou was both amused and exasperated. She jumped off the swing and pulled Li Zixi away, saying, "Don't scare her, she's very timid."

"Hmph~" Li Zixi snorted lightly, the matter was finally over.

Inside the main hall, after hearing Consort Mei's words, Old Madam Zhou frowned slightly and asked suspiciously, "Is it true?"

Consort Mei immediately pulled her hand away from the old lady and said angrily, "I only broke my promise once, and now I have no credibility left with Mother?"

“That’s not what I meant,” the old lady said, rubbing her forehead. “I was afraid that Consort Shu was joking, but you took it seriously.”

Consort Mei shook her head and said seriously, "Mother, you watched Zhouzhou grow up. How could I not care about her?"

The implication is that I have definitely confirmed with Consort Shu multiple times.

"Alright then," the old lady agreed, "but whether Zhouzhou is happy or not is another matter."

After what happened at the Duke of Qi's mansion, the old lady has come to terms with it. Although she can't have complete control over Zhou Zhou's marriage, as long as she shakes her head, the Marquis's mansion won't force her.

"I know," Consort Mei nodded in agreement.

"However..." the old lady changed the subject, laying it all out, "An'er, you've only met her a few times, are you sure you want to marry the Seventh Princess into the Marquis's mansion?"

Consort Mei sighed heavily, "She's impatient and naive, always acting silly. I'm worried about her no matter where she marries. I can only feel at ease when she's with her own family."

"As for whether An'er is good or not, I think Zhouzhou is so good. Her own brother can't be too bad, right?"

"Besides, how bad could someone be who passed the imperial examination before reaching adulthood?"

The upper limit is unknown, but the lower limit is already fixed.

Hearing her say that, the old lady stopped worrying. "Alright, I'll find another reason to bring the two siblings into the palace then."

"Then thank you very much, Mother," Consort Mei said with a beaming smile, leaning on the old lady's shoulder. "I knew Mother loved me the most."

The old lady scoffed, unconvinced. "Only now do you realize how good I am? Who was giving me attitude just now?"

"Oh dear, Mother!" Consort Mei was quite embarrassed by what she was being said.

The old lady smiled, clearly her anger just now was feigned.

On the other hand, after returning from the imperial palace, Zhou Heng's expression remained rather unwell, which frightened Zhang Shi, as it was the first time she had gone to pay her respects to the imperial concubines without Zhang Shi's accompaniment.

So... could it be that he offended a noble person in the palace?

Zhou Heng looked depressed. "Mother, how come Zhouzhou is so amazing?"

She is adept at everything she does and learns everything quickly.

Zhang quickly understood the little girl's inner thoughts. She gently embraced Zhou Heng and softly stroked her hair.

"My little girl has grown up." Zhang said with a happy smile.

Zhou Heng lifted her face. "Mother, what nonsense are you talking about?"

Zhang smiled gently and tapped her nose. "Then would you like to switch places with Zhouzhou?"

Zhou Heng thought for a moment, and the thought of having to frequently enter the palace to accompany those noble ladies gave her a headache. She hurriedly shook her head and said, "No need, things are fine as they are now."

Are you still sad?

"I'm not sad anymore."

"Do you harbor resentment towards Zhouzhou?"

“Of course not,” Zhou Heng’s tone suddenly rose, clearly angered by her mother’s words. “In your heart, do you think I’m that petty?”

Zhang rolled her eyes at her loud voice, "Remember what you said today."

With Zhou Zhou standing in front of her, Zhang's demands on her daughter were not high—that she just needed to maintain her pure heart.

Zhou Heng looks quite good now, and Zhang is very satisfied.

After returning from Chengming Palace, Zhou Zhou was no longer as free as before. The first thing she had to do was go to the Gao family's villa to pay her respects to Old Madam Gao.

Of course, she wasn't going alone; she was also taking Du Shi, Zhou Cheng'an, and a few others with her.

Mrs. An warmly welcomed them, personally greeting them at the gate, saying, "We've been waiting for you for so long, and you've finally arrived!"

"It was my fault for being so inconsiderate. I always thought I should get everything sorted out before taking the children to pay their respects to the old lady." Du was quite adept at making polite remarks.

“Oh,” Mrs. An replied with a smile, “I just finished packing yesterday.”

The villa was a three-courtyard complex, not very large, and it was just a short walk to where Old Madam Gao lived.

She looked at the people who came to pay their respects, showing little emotion, and simply asked them to sit down, "Have you been settling in well these past few days?"

"Although this place is not like Kyoto, everything here is from home, so we are not too uncomfortable," Madam Du replied. "It's just that we missed you so much, so we came to pay our respects as soon as we finished packing."