Marrying the Crown Prince

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhou stood up tactfully. "Your Majesty, Your Highness, I have other matters to attend to, so I will take my leave now."

She thought she could leave now, but Emperor Chenze stopped her, "I remember you are a young lady from the Yongjing Marquis's residence?"

"She is my daughter."

"In that case, then stay and listen," Emperor Chenze said calmly, brooking no argument.

what?

Zhou Zhou blinked, sat back down in the chair next to Li Ziyan, and thought to herself: Did I hear that right?

She hadn't misheard. In Emperor Chenze's view, the future Empress should be knowledgeable about politics and the political situation, so that she could be a good and capable assistant to the monarch. As for his Empress...

It's better not to say anything, it's better not to say anything.

In short, only incompetent emperors fear the regency of the harem. How could a virtuous person like him, and his eldest son Li Ziyan, be afraid of such a thing?

Fortunately, no one could read minds and knew what Emperor Chenze was thinking, otherwise the emperor's unfathomable image would have been shattered.

Su and Cao entered, performing a foreign greeting, "Your Majesty, what brings you here?"

Emperor Chenze clapped his hands, and soon Commander Wei came in carrying a corpse in one hand.

The body had been cleaned; there was no blood or mud on it.

Su and Cao's expressions changed, and they said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, what do you mean by this?"

“Prince Suhe, don’t rush to question me,” Emperor Chenze sneered, his sharp gaze sweeping over Suhe and Cao Du before finally settling on the corpse. “These are the assassins who killed my son today. They claimed to be from Qixi Kingdom.”

Emperor Chenze had barely finished speaking when Su and Cao Du exclaimed at the same time, "Impossible!"

Li Ziyan finally spoke, looking meaningfully at Su and Cao Du, "I also think it's impossible, but I just happened to see some kind of totem on the assassin's body, which looked somewhat familiar."

Upon hearing Li Ziyan's words, Su and Cao's expressions darkened even further.

He respectfully requested, "Your Majesty the Emperor, Your Highness the Crown Prince, may I examine the assassin's body?"

"Alright." Emperor Chenze nodded.

Su and Cao quickly walked over to the assassin. Without using a dagger, they tore open his shirt with their hands, revealing a distorted pattern tattooed on the assassin's right shoulder.

His expression shifted unpredictably before he finally knelt before Emperor Chenze, saying, "This is indeed the totem of my Qixi Kingdom, but he may not be a person of my Qixi Kingdom."

"Firstly, the totem of the Qixi Kingdom can be identified by anyone with a keen eye, and imitating it would be a piece of cake."

"Secondly, I am right in front of you now, and you would never give me such an order unless you don't want to live."

"Third, why not assassinate me later, but wait until after the news of my marriage to the princess arrives? Who would be most at a disadvantage if I were to marry the princess?"

The three people present understood every point that Su and Cao made; otherwise, he wouldn't be here now defending himself.

After listening to Su and Cao Du's words, Emperor Chenze narrowed his eyes, a chilling aura mixed with admiration flowing in them. "I know that, otherwise why would you be standing here?"

Su and Cao gritted their teeth and continued, "Now that this has gone wrong, I wish to return to Qixi Kingdom to investigate. I hope Your Majesty will grant my request."

Qixi has always been a vassal state of Chen, but Su and Cao have never bowed their heads in submission. Now, however, they have lowered their proud heads.

"You are the ruler of a nation, there is no need for such a grand ceremony," Emperor Chenze replied, but he was not referring to the matter that Su and Cao had brought up. Instead, he seemed to have just noticed that Su was kneeling before him.

Su and Cao lowered their eyes, hiding the darkness in their hearts, and continued to kneel obediently. "Your Majesty the Emperor has misunderstood. You are the true Son of Heaven, and I am but a person from a small vassal state. My kowtow is in accordance with the proper order of rank and respect. There is nothing wrong with it, and I have no objection."

Li Ziyan said gently, "Prince Suhe, please get up. Your father has no other intentions."

After saying that, he walked over to Su and Cao and helped them up.

"Why are you so suspicious?" Emperor Chenze finally smiled, looking quite pleased. "It seems you've been here with me for a while now; it's time to go back and visit."

Su and Cao had just stood up when they had to kneel down again, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty Chen, for granting our request."

"Hey," Emperor Chenze said with displeasure, "Didn't we just say not to perform such grand gestures? Why are you doing it again..."

“The proper etiquette must not be abandoned,” Su and Cao replied respectfully.

"Sigh, you!" Emperor Chenze looked helpless, as if he couldn't go against Su and Cao Du's wishes.

The next day, Su and Cao left with the envoys of Qixi Kingdom; three days later, the large army set off again—back to the capital.

Just like when she arrived, Zhou Zhou didn't often stay in the carriage; the difference was that she didn't have much of a chance to ride a horse, but was summoned by Emperor Chenze.

The emperor and empress did not ride in the same carriage, so the spacious and bright carriage contained only Emperor Chenze and... Li Ziyan?

When Li Ziyan saw Zhou Zhou coming over, his eyes crinkled into a smile. "Zhou Zhou, Father has heard that you are good at chess and would like to play a game with you."

I heard—where did this hearsay come from? I clearly witnessed it myself at the peach blossom banquet that day.

However, Zhou Zhou also gleaned another important piece of information: Li Ziyan stated the reason why Emperor Chenze had summoned her directly, without asking her to guess.

It turns out that having someone by the emperor's side makes things much easier.

Zhou Zhou thought to himself: No wonder the chief eunuch who serves the emperor is respected by everyone.

“If Your Majesty is in the mood, then this humble woman will humbly comply.” Zhou Zhou readily agreed.

Emperor Chenze nodded, then said, "You must show your full strength, or I will punish you."

Zhou Zhou remained calm and composed. "Your subject obeys the decree."

Li Ziyan watched the ceremony, while Zhou Zhou and Emperor Chenze played a game of chess. Neither of them made their moves quickly, and it took a full hour before a winner was decided.