Marrying the Crown Prince

Zhou Zhou sighed, unsure of what to say.

This was their first meeting after they had confessed their feelings for each other. They should have been happy and shy, but Zhou Zhou felt none of these emotions. Only a faint sadness lingered in his heart.

To be honest, everything that's happening now, this sudden arranged marriage, has left her completely bewildered, as if her planned life has been disrupted.

Seeing this, Li Ziyan guessed why she had come today, and immediately lowered his outstretched hand. "Spend some time with her."

"Okay." Zhou Zhou nodded in agreement.

Li Ziyan's handsome face showed some irritation. He wanted to say something more, but Eunuch Changyi reminded him in a low voice, "Your Highness, His Majesty must be getting impatient."

Since that was the case, Li Ziyan was unwilling to suppress her emotions any longer and strode forward to get closer to Zhou Zhou.

His tall figure gave off a sense of pressure, and Zhou Zhou's breathing quieted down. Then Li Ziyan spoke.

"Take good care of yourself."

After saying that, he brushed past Zhou Zhou and left.

Watching Li Ziyan leave, Zhou Zhou exhaled a breath of stale air and said to the palace maid who was leading the way, "Let's go too."

Upon arriving at Qifang Pavilion, where Li Zixi resided, the palace servants were all performing their duties in an orderly manner. Although it was Zhou Zhou's first time here, the palace servants around Li Zixi all knew that Zhou Zhou was a good friend of the princess, so they would not stop her.

So, she arrived at Li Zixi's room without any hindrance. Li Zixi was reading a storybook when she saw her. She was quite happy to see her and skipped over. "I just heard from the palace servants that you were here. And here you are. My tea isn't even ready yet."

Her spirits were so high, completely different from Li Zixiao who had been betrothed to her, which surprised Zhou Zhou.

"What's wrong?" Li Zixi tilted her head and pulled Zhou Zhou to sit down. "Are you this unhappy because there's no tea?"

Zhou Zhou: "..."

With a cup of tea and two snacks, the two girls sat back to back, their hearts naturally opening up to each other.

"The Empress Dowager asked me to come and keep you company," Zhou Zhou said.

She didn't say anything more; those who could understand would understand, and there was no need for further explanation.

Li Zixi's attention wasn't on that. She suddenly jumped up, almost causing Zhou Zhou, who was leaning on her, to fall flat on his face. "Yes, you've been betrothed too."

Zhou Zhou sat up straight, looking helpless. "It really was quite sudden."

This caused her to be completely dazed when she first met Li Ziyan.

"Hmm?" Li Zixi raised an eyebrow. "I was just about to ask you when you started hooking up with the Crown Prince. Turns out you didn't know."

Although the word "flirting" doesn't sound very nice, Zhou Zhou keenly noticed a problem—

"I don't know where my arranged marriage came from, but after hearing what you just said, could it be... that you knew about your arranged marriage decree in advance?"

Li Zixi blinked innocently, preparing to play dumb, but Zhou Zhou disagreed.

"Tell me quickly," Zhou Zhou pounced on him, pinning him down on the couch. "Tell me in detail, and I'll naturally cherish you. If you don't tell me, hmph hmph hmph!"

Li Zixi was so upset that she begged for forgiveness and briefly recounted what had happened that day.

Su and Cao both represented the Qixi Kingdom. Although they were young, they still had to discuss various matters with Emperor Chenze, so they often moved around the imperial palace.

Some things are beyond the control of fate. Li Zixi stayed quietly in the palace and did not cause any trouble, but when she went out to admire the flowers, she ran into Su and Cao Du.

Compared to their unruly demeanor that day, Su and Cao were much quieter this time, their faces more dignified, and they spoke fluent Mandarin with accents as they talked to her.

Imperial relatives may not necessarily be knowledgeable in poetry and literature, but they must be politically astute enough. It's fine if they enjoy leisurely activities like fishing and bird-watching in their spare time, but they must not be ambiguous in their performance on important matters.

Li Zixi received this kind of education from a young age, so when she talked with Su and Cao, she displayed the demeanor of a great power like Chen.

On the same day, Su and Cao became even more interested in Li Zixi, so they asked Emperor Chenze for the hand of the princess.

Emperor Chenze has only two daughters. One is Li Zixiao, who is already engaged, so the other can only be Li Zixi.

However, before bestowing the marriage, he summoned Li Zixi and sought her opinion.

Li Zixi was stunned for a long time after hearing Emperor Chenze speak, as if she had fallen into an ice cave, her whole body was cold and stiff, and she could not move for a long time.

This terrified Emperor Chenze. Just as he was about to pick up the hot tea on the table and splash it on her to bring his daughter back to her senses, Li Zixi recovered.

“I am willing to marry into a foreign land,” she said.

Emperor Chenze quickly slammed on the brakes, secretly patting his chest: "That was close! I almost spilled it!"

Then it dawned on me—

"What did you say?" He opened his eyes wide.

"Your subject is willing." Li Zixi raised her eyes, her gaze firm.

Emperor Chenze opened his mouth but made no sound, and then Li Zixi continued speaking.

"I am born a princess, revered by all people, and enjoy the privileges of a princess. I am taught by my father and loved by my mother. Now, it is my duty to use my body to bring peace to my father and all people."

"Your subject knows that Father Emperor would not have asked me for this unless he had no other choice. If my marriage can bring decades of peaceful coexistence between the two countries and allow the people to live and work in peace, your subject is willing."

After a long while, Emperor Chenze finally found his voice. He gently stroked Li Zixi's hair with his warm hand, his voice heavy and hoarse, full of weariness and relief, "My son has grown up."

"But I wish you had never grown up." Zhou Zhou's voice overlapped with Chen Zedi's, pulling Li Zixi back to reality from her memories.

Just one simple sentence brought tears to Li Zixi's eyes.

She finally let go of everything, buried her face in Zhou Zhou's arms, and burst into tears.

"Zhouzhou, I'm so scared."

“I went there alone, to that unfamiliar place, without any relatives or friends. I was really scared.”

"But, but, but so many people have been waiting for this marriage alliance for so many years. I cannot let my father down, nor dare I let my people down."

"I dare not cry, for fear of worrying my mother, but I feel so uncomfortable holding it in."

"Zhouzhou, what should I do, Zhouzhou..."

Zhou Zhou reached out and hugged her tightly, gently patting her back to comfort her silently.

After crying her eyes out, Li Zixi's eyes swelled up like walnuts. Then, she struggled to open them and burst into laughter when she saw Zhou Zhou's toad-like eyes.

Zhou Zhou: "..."

I wanted to give her a good whack!

After venting their emotions, it was time for lunch. Since crying is tiring, both girls ate quite a bit.

Feeling sleepy after eating, they lay crookedly on the bed. Consort Mei quietly entered and watched the two people on the bed.