Marrying the Crown Prince

“Your brother and my brother are fellow disciples,” Zhao Yuehua explained.

Zhou Zhou recalled that Zhao Yuehua's elder brother was also studying at Hengshan Academy.

Zhao Yuehua didn't need to say anything more; Zhou Zhou already understood.

It must have been Zhou Cheng'an who came to the Zhao residence looking for Zhao Yuehua's brother, and ended up running into Zhao Yuehua. The two of them hit it off after a few encounters.

Zhou Zhou rubbed his temples, feeling that the world was both very big and very small.

After that, things became extremely simple. Of course, most importantly, this had nothing to do with the children anymore; it was all handled by the adults.

Under the guidance of Lady Boyuan, the adults from the Zhao and Zhou families met formally to discuss their children's marriage.

The Zhao family hopes that the marriage will be arranged first, and the wedding date can be discussed later.

After thinking about it, Grandma Zhou agreed.

The old lady wasn't unaware of Consort Mei's words, but she had broken her promise once before regarding Zhou Zhou's marriage to the Fifth Prince; this time, she wanted to matchmake the Seventh Princess with Zhou Cheng'an, and so many days had passed since the two children met, yet Consort Mei hadn't sent a single word about whether the matter would succeed or not.

Old Mrs. Zhou felt once again that she was being strung along by her good daughter, and she was displeased, so she didn't bother to think about what Consort Mei had said.

Moreover, it is only natural for the two children to fall in love and become a couple.

Engaging in a marriage was not easy. First, the Yongjing Marquis's mansion sent a matchmaker to propose marriage. The first proposal was rejected to show the daughter's modesty. The second proposal was rejected again to show the family's reluctance to part with their daughter. It was not until the third proposal that the marriage was settled.

As the saying goes, good things come in pairs. Just as Zhou Cheng'an's matter was settled, someone from Zhou Heng's side also came to inquire.

Looking at their blushing faces, Zhou Zhou shook his head, feeling that all the beauty in the world was intertwined with you, while he was all alone, shivering in the cold wind.

Zhou Heng couldn't stand Zhou Zhou's teasing and reached out to tickle her.

Zhou Zhou laughed and dodged away. The two girls ran around in circles in the yard, laughing and joking.

Zhou Heng was referring to Chen Yanhua, the son of the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. This might not be very clear, but to put it more broadly, he was a member of a branch of the Yingchuan Chen clan, one of the four great families.

Their family and the host family were quite close; they had the kind of relationship where they would visit each other during holidays.

Madam Chen was a very strict and disciplined person. Because of her strict rules, Chen Yanhua, as the youngest son, was still very learned and never went to those frivolous places.

Most importantly, his family had a rule that a man over forty years old who had no children could take a concubine.

Of course, because Madam Chen was very strict, Zhang was somewhat worried that Zhou Heng's personality would be subject to strict rules after she married into the family.

Old Mrs. Zhou saw things more clearly than Mrs. Zhang: "Her strict adherence to rules shows that she disdains those dirty tricks."

You have to understand, in this day and age, there are plenty of dirty tricks that wicked mothers-in-law use to get back at their daughters-in-law.

Seeing that Zhang's heart was wavering, the old lady continued to point out the advantages, "The Chen family has a kind and gentle family tradition, and the sisters-in-law are simple and honest."

In her opinion, this was already the best possible marriage; such an opportunity would be rare.

“Fine,” Zhang said through gritted teeth, “I’ll discuss this with the Marquis tonight.”

Upon hearing Zhang's words, Old Madam Zhou knew that the matter was settled.

Faced with Zhou Cheng'an and Zhou Heng's engagement, Zhou Zhou felt a pang of melancholy for no apparent reason. It felt like so little time had passed, yet everyone around her had grown up and gotten engaged...

Zhou Zhou was feeling a little down when Li Zixi wrote to her, saying she wanted to go to the hot spring resort with her for a short stay.

She found the letter somewhat amusing; it was like someone handing her a pillow just when she was about to doze off.

Zhou Zhou rolled up the letter and instructed Ju Fang to pack her things.

The next morning, Zhou Zhou got into Li Zixi's carriage. With a command from Li Zixi, the driver cracked his whip, and the carriage started moving. The wheels rolled on the ground, making a rumbling sound.

Zhou Zhou lifted the carriage curtain and looked at the busy people on the road, somewhat curiously asking, "Is it far?"

“If it’s too far, I’m too lazy to go,” Li Zixi replied with utmost sincerity.

Whether she's lazy or not is another matter, but if it's really far, Consort Mei wouldn't agree to let her go alone.

The journey wasn't far, about an hour's walk, so Li Zixi took the leaf cards out of the cabinet. "Want to play?"

She's already brought it all out, so how could Zhou Zhou possibly refuse to fight back?

However, after playing for only a short while, Li Zixi became furious and angrily put the sign away.

Zhou Zhou laughed heartily beside her. After Li Zixi put away the leaf cards, she rushed over, and the two girls hugged each other.

Zhou Zhou removed her hand from her neck and replied casually, "It's hot."

In mid-June, the sun grew increasingly hot, and the air became increasingly dry and hot.

Li Zixi chuckled and leaned closer, trying to ingratiate herself, "Is there anything you want?"

In twelve days, it will be Zhou Zhou's birthday.

She just turned fifteen this year, so it is also called the age of coming of age, and today is also the day of coming of age.

The coming-of-age ceremony for a young woman is extremely important, which is why Li Zixi asked this question.

"What do you want?" Zhou Zhou tilted his head and thought for a moment before finally making a decision. "All I want is you."

Li Zixi's face contorted as she quickly released her grip on Zhou Zhou's waist.

Zhou Zhou: "..."

With someone to talk to, an hour passed quickly.

The carriage had already left Chengming City and stopped at a mountain villa.

This is a royal villa, Emperor Chenze's private property. He chose Chengming Palace to escape the summer heat specifically to soak in the hot springs here.

Unfortunately, man proposes, God disposes. After arriving at Chengming Palace, the number of memorials kept increasing day by day, leaving him with no time at all.

However, since the father couldn't enjoy it, he didn't let his daughter, Li Zixi, miss out on it as well.

Li Zixi and Zhou Zhou got off the carriage together, followed by palace maids and Jufang carrying luggage.

Li Zixi put her arm around Zhou Zhou's waist and said to her, "We finally got to come out, so why don't you sleep with me?"

"I get up at 3:45 AM every day," Zhou Zhou kindly reminded him.

Li Zixi awkwardly released her arms from Zhou Zhou's waist, looked up at the sky, and chuckled foolishly, "The weather is really nice today."

Zhou Zhou pulled her hand, his eyes gleaming with mischief. "Alright, alright, let's sleep together. It's okay to sleep in sometimes."

"Really?" Li Zixi was not very trusting of her.

The last time they slept together, Zhou Zhou got up very early. Not only did he get up, but he also woke her up. His gentle, watery eyes stared straight at her, which scared her so much that all her sleepiness vanished.

Then Zhou Zhou smiled kindly, "It's still early, you can continue sleeping."

Li Zixi: "..."

You woke me up just to let me go back to sleep?!

Zhou Zhou coughed lightly. Last time, she really didn't mean to. She only realized that Li Zixi wasn't getting up so early after waking her up.