Emperor Huilin said in a loud voice, “Chen’er, Sisi is just a child. What’s the big deal of her getting your doll dirty? Just let the Crown Princess make another one for you. Why did you scare her like that? How can you explain this to your grandma and uncle? She is the apple of the eye of the Zhou family!”
Lu Chen frowned and said, “Father, that doll was made by the Crown Princess with her own hands. It is unique.”
Emperor Huilin said, “Your child is already in school and you are still playing with a doll? Besides, it’s just a little doll. It won’t take much effort for the Crown Princess to make another one.”
Queen Zhou said to Jinniang, “Sisi is just a child, and she didn’t deliberately get your doll dirty. Sisi, apologize.”
Zhou Sisi cried pitifully and said, “I’m sorry, Cousin, Cousin-in-law. Don’t hate Sisi. Sisi will compensate you with a doll.”
Queen Zhou smiled and said, “Okay, that’s it. Sisi, you should go back now. Come to play next time.”
Zhou Sisi reluctantly was led away by a mammy of the Queen.
Queen Zhou said to Qiao Jinniang, “Sisi is just a child. Chen’er and you are adults. If people hear that you got mad at a child for a doll, they will laugh at you, right?”
Qiao Jinniang said, “Yes, I won’t bother to be mad at a child.”
Perhaps Queen Zhou felt that Qiao Jinniang was aggrieved this time. After returning to her palace, she had someone send over a lot of rewards, which were all very precious.
Some were even priceless treasures.
Qiao Jinniang knew what Queen Zhou meant. She didn’t want her to feel wronged, but for the sake of the relationship with the Duke Wu Mansion and the face of the royal family, she could only scold her.
…
Zhou Sisi returned to the Duke Wu Mansion and sat by the lake gloomily.
Hearing the shouts from Zhou Shihui’s room, Zhou Sisi went to Zhou Shihui’s courtyard.
For the past few days, Zhou Shihui had exhausted all means to escape. She tried to hang herself and went on a hunger strike, but these methods were all useless to Old Madam Zhou.
When she tried to hang herself, the maids got her down at the last moment, and when she was on a hunger strike, Old Madam Zhou had the maids roast mutton everywhere, and the fragrance assailed Zhou Shihui’s nostrils. How could Zhou Shihui resist her nature?
Locked in the yard, she could only keep calling out to her grandmother.
Zhou Sisi sneaked into Zhou Shihui’s courtyard.
Zhou Shihui looked at the bright and clear eyes of her cousin who was said to be a moron, but she didn’t think Zhou Sisi looked stupid at all. “Cousin.”
Zhou Sisi tilted her head and asked, “Do you want to go out?”
“Yes, I’m going out to save my senior brother. My senior brother must have been forced to marry Fulu by the Crown Princess. How could he fall in love with that notorious woman?”
Zhou Sisi pointed to Zhou Shihui’s clothes and said, “Let’s exchange clothes. I’ll help you out so that the bad woman won’t get her way.”
Zhou Shihui’s eyes lit up. Why didn’t she think of this method. “Thank you, Cousin. Let’s exchange clothes quickly!”
Although Zhou Sisi was retarded, the Zhou family didn’t confine her. She only needed to be accompanied by a maid wherever she wanted to go.
Zhou Sisi called over her maid and said, “Bad people want to snatch my sister’s senior brother. You, treat her as me!”
The maid hurriedly knelt on the ground and said, “Miss, you can’t do this! If I’m not by your side, what if something happens to you?!”
Zhou Sisi pretended to be fierce and said, “If you don’t do what I say, I’ll tell my mother that you bullied me.”
Her maid, Xiao Ju, kowtowed in fright. “Miss, please don’t make things difficult for me.”
Zhou Shihui said in a cold voice, “Hmph, you’re just a maid. Do you look down upon your master and I because your master is like a child and I grew up in folk? How dare you disobey your master and I?”
Xiao Ju hurriedly said, “Miss, I don’t mean that, but my master needs someone in her company. If something happens to her…”
Zhou Shihui said, “She will pretend to be me and stay in my room. She won’t go out at all. What would happen to her?”
Zhou Sisi also said, “Xiao Ju, I’m going to tell my mother that you don’t take my orders and bully me!”
Faced with this predicament, Xiao Ju could only take Zhou Sisi’s order. As her maid, what choice was she left with?
Zhou Shihui changed into Zhou Sisi’s clothes and put on a veil. With Xiao Ju walking on her side, she pretended to be Zhou Shihui and walked out of the courtyard.
The guards thought that this was Zhou Sisi and didn’t stop her.
Zhou Shihui left the Zhou Mansion and went straight towards the Anyuan Duke Mansion. On the way, she heard that Princess Fulu and Third Miss Qin, Qin Miaomiao, was having a competition in Myriad Taste today, and many people went to watch the fun.
Zhou Shihui followed these people.
Qin Miaomiao really didn’t want to fight with Fulu anymore. She was a grown-up and had finally been engaged to Lin Mo. And Mrs. Lin hoped that her future daughter-in-law was a gentle and obedient woman.
But Fulu was too much, kept belittling Lin Mo and extolling Qiao Lu in front of her.
It just so happened that Lin Mo and Qiao Lu were both dining in Myriad Taste today.
As soon as Qin Miaomiao and Fulu met in Myriad Taste, they began to quarrel, and in the end, they decided to have their future husbands have a competition in talent in Myriad Taste.
Lin Mo looked at Qiao Lu who was younger than him and really didn’t want to compete.
After all, if he beat Qiao Lu, he couldn’t explain to His Royal Highness.
His Royal Highness pampered his Crown Princess so much. If he made His Royal Highness’s brother-in-law lose face, he would never be able to eat the delicious scones made by the Crown Princess.
But if he lost the competition, it would be a disgrace. After all, Qiao Lu was only a seventeen-year-old boy.
Qiao Lu cupped his hands at Lin Mo and said, “Young Master Lin, please enlighten me.”
Lin Mo: “Young Master Qiao, you’re too modest.”
Zhou Siming, Junior Duke Rong and Princess Xiliang were all watching on the side. The competition was to write poems about flowers, and it could be their poems or someone else’s.
Within an hour, whoever wrote the most poems would win!
Samo’er watched them writing rapidly and glanced at Junior Duke Rong next to her. “Can you write poems like them?”
Junior Duke Rong touched his nose and quickly changed the subject. “Who do you think will win? Come on, everyone, let’s bet on who will win! Maybe we can earn some silver taels!”
Zhou Siming’s gaze swept over the two people in front of him. Qiao Lu was worthy of being the new Flower Picking Childe. Both his calligraphy and poetry were excellent.
After two quarters of an hour, the speed of the two slowed down, and all the poems they knew were exhausted, and for some simple poems, Qiao Lu and Lin Mo were disdainful to use them.
Both Lin Mo and Qiao Lu began to write their own poems.
Qin Miaomiao walked up to Lin Mo and whispered a few words to him.
Seeing this, Fulu frowned and said, “Qin Miaomiao, you are cheating. How can you help him write poems?”
Qin Miaomiao snorted. “Did you say I wasn’t allowed to help him? You can help Qiao Lu too, but unfortunately, you’re illiterate, haha!”
“Who said that? I still know some characters, okay?” Fulu said proudly.
The onlookers: “…”
Junior Duke Rong tugged at Fulu’s sleeve. “You better shut up. Don’t ruin our royal family’s reputation.”
