Marrying the Crown Prince

Zhou Zhou exhaled a faint breath, "It is I who have lost."

Her white pieces were three pieces behind Emperor Chenze's black pieces.

Emperor Chenze frowned slightly, but he was too old to play another game, so he said, "Your Highness, you play another game with her."

Zhou Zhou continued to fight, and this time it also took him about an hour. Again, he was three pieces behind, and Zhou Zhou lost.

Emperor Chenze snorted lightly, "You're quite good at playing tricks on me."

There are no coincidences in this world; why am I always three moves behind?

It's likely that Zhou Zhou guided and calculated the result step by step.

At the beginning, Emperor Chenze said that Zhou Zhou was not allowed to pretend that he didn't know how and deliberately lose to him.

Zhou Zhou's answer was to give it her all and deliver three sons to him.

It should be noted that Emperor Chenze and Li Ziyan were not bad at chess, so for Zhou Zhou to calculate to this extent, he had to be completely focused on the entire chessboard, without relaxing for even a moment, and without making a single wrong move.

How can such actions not be considered giving it your all?

She did not deny it, a smile curving her lips. "These little tricks of mine could not escape His Majesty's discerning eyes. I was just showing off."

Zhou Zhou's flattery was subtle and pervasive, which pleased Emperor Chenze greatly. He then praised Zhou Zhou, saying, "It is excellent that you have such filial piety."

But then he changed the subject, his tone becoming as authoritative as ever, "I heard from the guards that day that your archery skills are excellent, hitting the bullseye every time?"

"When I was studying at Jingyang Palace, I was taught by General Mingwei and learned riding and archery for a few days." Zhou Zhou told the truth. This matter could not be hidden anyway. Several days had passed since the assassination attempt, and Emperor Chenze probably already knew everything about Zhou Zhou.

"Hmm," Emperor Chenze responded calmly, "Mingwei's archery and horsemanship are indeed quite good."

Li Ziyan nodded in agreement, "Your subject remembers that General Mingwei was quite old and retired two years ago, and is now living a leisurely life at home."

“Not bad,” Emperor Chenze still had some impression of this minister who had taught his children. “You are weak. If he weren’t so old, you could train with him. You don’t need to be a martial arts master, but it would be good to improve your health.”

He tried to help Zhou Zhou change the subject, but ended up getting himself into trouble.

Li Ziyan said helplessly, "Father, please stop joking with your son."

Emperor Chenze said it casually and didn't really take it to heart. He turned to Zhou Zhou and continued to talk, "That day, thanks to you by the Crown Prince's side, we were able to turn danger into safety."

The matter from that day is being brought up only now, and it's the second time today. If you say that Emperor Chenze was unintentional, who would believe it?

Zhou Zhou lowered her eyes, looking fearful and uneasy. "Your Highness is of divine appearance and is naturally blessed by the gods. It is I who have dragged Your Highness down and dare not accept the Emperor's praise."

Her unease was not noticed by the two men. Emperor Chenze remained expressionless, but Li Ziyan became anxious first. He looked at his father but did not say anything, only his eyes held a hint of reproach.

"Hmph," Emperor Chenze noticed that someone was feeling sorry for him, and he snorted softly, taking off the jade pendant from his waist. "You have done a good job saving the emperor and deserve a reward."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhou bowed and accepted the jade pendant with both hands, saying, "Thank you for the Emperor's gift."

"It's getting late, you may leave now." Emperor Chenze waved his hand, signaling Zhou Zhou to leave.

The carriage stopped, and Zhou Zhou jumped down, took his horse from the guard, and slowly walked towards the carriage of the Marquis of Yongjing's residence.

Inside the carriage, Li Ziyan lifted the curtain and watched Zhou Zhou leave until her figure disappeared from sight, then reluctantly lowered the curtain.

Emperor Chenze was picking up the Go stones, saying as he did so, "What? You're so reluctant to part with them?"

He had only scared the girl twice when he couldn't hold back anymore.

"When you have a beloved in your heart, longing arises; when you find a beloved, you can stay with them forever." Li Ziyan raised his head, wishing he could show off like a peacock spreading its tail feathers that he had a sweetheart and could grow old with her. "This feeling is something Father Emperor would never understand."

Emperor Chenze: "..."

Am I spoiling him too much?

Finally, after a journey of more than ten days, they returned to Kyoto.

Zhou Zhou lay on the soft, comfortable bed he hadn't been in for three months and let out a rare sigh of comfort, "No wonder the ancients said that a golden nest or a silver nest is not as good as your own doghouse."

Sizhu, who was trimming the wicks of the candles nearby, heard her words and her lips twitched slightly. She still reminded her, "Miss, the bed you are lying on is made from a decades-old tree. After it was cut down, it was dried in the shade for four years. Then, Madam Gao hired more than a dozen craftsmen to carve and sculpt it for a whole year before it was made."

In other words, the reason this bed is comfortable is not because it is actually a doghouse, but because it is a luxurious bed.

This……

It makes sense.

Zhou Zhou rolled over twice and sat up. "It's been a few months, and our Sizhu sister's tongue has gotten sharper and sharper."

The candle wick had been trimmed, and Sizhu put down the scissors and wiped away her tears with a handkerchief.

If you think she's faking crying, then at least make it look convincing. Even if it doesn't, don't try to sound fake.

Sizhu sobbed, “Miss has been gone for months. If I hadn’t been strict, the servants would have gone berserk and devoured me alive.”

"Now look what's happened, you're complaining about how good I am with my words. Why didn't you come earlier?"

Zhou Zhou: "..."

Has she started reading some new storybook again?

Just then, Jufang came in with her people, and as soon as she entered, she knelt down.

Zhou Zhou raised an eyebrow and looked at Sizhu and Jufang. The two had been by her side for many years, and they could read seven or eight tenths of the information from a single glance.

The two of them pulled Ding Dong down and pressed him onto a small stool next to them.

“We’re not outside, Miss Ding Dong, you don’t need to be so polite,” Ju Fang said with a smile.

Ding Dong was a little nervous and cautiously looked at Zhou Zhou. Seeing that Zhou Zhou's expression was still gentle and she was smiling at him, he breathed a sigh of relief.

“I was out all the time, with lots of people around, so I didn’t have a chance to talk to you. It was my fault.” Zhou Zhou said, playing with her hair as she looked at the person in front of her.

That day, Zhou Zhou heard that Ding Dong's purpose was to go to the Zhong family. He talked to her once, and then, according to Ding Dong's original plan, sent the person back to Zhong Xu's side.

Zhong Xu was brought back by the Crown Prince's guards. Jingwenbo was naturally angry and punched and kicked him again. He was lying on the bed groaning incessantly.

Ding Dong was naturally gentle and considerate to an extreme.

After this incident, Zhong Xu already regarded her as his precious darling. However, after returning to the capital, he still dared not take her back to the Marquis's mansion, but instead arranged for her to stay in a house in the capital.

Fortunately, Ding Dong was assigned to the outer residence, which allowed him to secretly come to find Zhou Zhou.

"I can help you, but I have one condition." Zhou Zhou smiled, her expression the same as before, but now more alluring, like a fox.

"I'm willing to do anything to avenge you, Miss, and do whatever you command." Ding Dong immediately pledged his loyalty.

“No, I don’t need you to do anything for me,” Zhou Zhou said, her beautiful fingers resting on the edge of the bed.