Queen Zhou glanced at Zhou Sisi and said sarcastically, “The cinnabar ink is usually kept carefully, but you just could knock it over and spill it right on the tiger doll. Sisi, you’re really smart!”
Mrs. Zhou said with tearful eyes. “Your Majesty, I already knew that I was wrong, but Sisi is just like a child and doesn’t understand anything! If she can have normal intelligence, I would be willing to be a vegetarian for the rest of my life.”
Queen Zhou said, “Not all children are as pure as blank sheets. You know what I mean. You can leave now!”
The three of them could only salute and leave.
Seeing Zhou Sisi’s dull eyes, Qiao Jinniang asked Queen Zhou, “Mother, is she pretending to be stupid?”
“I don’t know.” Queen Zhou said.
“But why did you mention cinnabar ink just now?”
Queen Zhou explained, “It doesn’t matter if she is pretending to be stupid or not. As long as I think she is pretending to be stupid, Mrs. Zhou won’t indulge her anymore. Unlike Tong Yingying, your aunt is not a bad person.
“But parents always want their children to live happily. Your aunt just wants to give her daughter a better future. Now that I dislike Zhou Sisi, she will definitely not allow her to marry into the East Palace.”
Qiao Jinniang smiled and said, “Mother, you’re really amazing.”
Queen Zhou said, “Well, I’ve eaten your delicious wontons. How can I let you be wronged?
“Chen’er should have done something about it. Since he knew that you disliked Zhou Sisi, he should have solved this problem earlier.”
Her son was really lucky to be able to have a wife.
Qiao Jinniang felt that what her mother-in-law said made sense. “Mother, you’re right. Do you still want to eat wontons? There are still some in the East Palace. Let me bring them to you.”
Queen Zhou smiled. “Okay.”
After finishing his business, Lu Chen waited for Qiao Jinniang’s wontons all morning.
It was not until lunch that he knew that Qiao Jinniang went to the Queen’s palace for dinner and brought all the wontons there, even including his portion.
In the Queen’s palace, Queen Zhou hadn’t eaten so much for a long time.
Emperor Huilin was very glad and rewarded Qiao Jinniang with many good things.
When Lu Chen came in, he saw the three of them dine in without regard for the royal etiquette. He stepped forward and said, “Father, Mother, why didn’t you call me over to have dinner together?”
Queen Zhou said, “I thought you would have lunch with the courtiers of the East Palace. You came too late, and the wontons Jinniang made have been all eaten up.”
Lu Chen: “…”
He knew that his father loved delicious food, but why did his dignified mother become so childish too?
Seeing that there were a few with chopped green onions in Qiao Jinniang’s bowl, Lu Chen said, “It’s fine. I’ll just eat what’s left in Jinniang’s bowl. She doesn’t like green onions.”
Emperor Huilin snorted. “Hmph, did you forget you are the Crown Prince? How can you eat others’ leftovers!
“But don’t think that just making some wontons can please me and your mother.
“Block the secret tunnel as early as possible. If it’s found out by others, I can’t save your lives!”
Qiao Jinniang: “…”
Lu Chen knew that nothing could be kept from his father’s eyes. After all, he had scouts in the Duke Rong Mansion, so he simply said, “Okay, Father.”
…
In the Zhou family’s carriage.
Duke Wu didn’t blame Mrs. Zhou but said, “Find a good husband for Sisi. It;s best to have a clean family background. He doesn’t have to be very talented as long as he treats Sisi well.”
Mrs. Zhou pursed her lips and said, “Okay.”
But Zhou Sisi clamored, “No, Mother. I want to be Imperial Cousin’s crown princess. I don’t want to marry anyone but Imperial Cousin!”
“Sisi, your cousin already has a crown princess!”
“She’s not worthy!” Zhou Sisi cried. “I don’t care. I just want to be the crown princess!”
Mrs. Zhou hugged Zhou Sisi in her arms and tried to pacify her. “Be good, Zhou Sisi, be good. There is nothing good about being the crown princess. I will definitely find you a husband much better than His Royal Highness.”
Zhou Sisi closed her eyes. The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she became.
Her mother was really useless!
Zhou Sisi had always felt that there were two people living in her body.
One was the retarded Little Sisi, and the other was the sober Miss Zhou who could even be called calculating.
Most of the time, it was the retarded little Sisi, and the sober, calculating Miss Zhou could only watch on the sidelines.
Although she was the only daughter of Duke Wu, everyone would bully her secretly, and even the maids would bully her secretly.
Whenever she was seriously humiliated, the sober Zhou Sisi would be able to control the body.
Zhou Sisi remembered that when she was twelve years old, the first time she had her period, there was blood on her skirt, and everyone laughed at her, but her imperial cousin protected her and reprimanded those who bullied her.
After that, both the retarded Sisi and the sober Zhou Sisi fell in love with Lu Chen.
After Lu Chen disappeared, she had been missing him.
After Lu Chen came back, the retarded Sisi and the sober Zhou Sisi were both determined to marry him.
After that, Zhou Sisi finally returned to normal by chance, and the retarded Sisi never came out again.
However, when Imperial Concubine Zhou died, she left the last words that the daughters of the Zhou family shall never marry into the imperial palace.
Zhou Sisi couldn’t marry into the East Palace even if she had regained consciousness, so she decided to continue to act as a fool. She believed that her imperial cousin who had been missing for many years would pity her and would not care about her retardness.
Just like in the past, he would protect her and play with her forever.
After Lu Chen came back, this was indeed the case in the beginning. When he met her in the Queen’s palace, he would still dote on her and play with her, praising her for becoming more beautiful…
But then, Qiao Jinniang appeared.
Zhou Sisi watched helplessly as her imperial cousin gave all his love to Qiao Jinniang, but she didn’t want to just give up her obsession.
But her stupid mother used the same method as Tong Yingying and almost ruined the Zhou family, and now, she would have to be engaged within three days!
No, she couldn’t just sit still and await her doom. She couldn’t marry someone else.
“Mother, I only want Imperial Cousin, not anyone else. I only want Imperial Cousin!” Zhou Sisi cried. “Imperial Cousin is the best.”
Mrs. Zhou was helpless, but how could she not obey the Queen’s order? “Sisi, be good.”
Zhou Sisi snorted and suddenly jumped out of the carriage. Mrs. Zhou hurriedly shouted, “Sisi!”
But Zhou Sisi ran so fast that even Duke Wu, who had been practicing martial arts, couldn’t catch up with her…
All the guards of the Duke Wu Mansion scattered to look for Zhou Sisi, and the people also searched for Zhou Sisi for the Zhou family.
Mrs. Zhou cried and said, “It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have been so harsh with her! She is a demented girl. Now that she ran away from home, I can’t imagine what will happen to her!”
…
In the East Palace, Qiao Jinniang and Lu Chen had not yet had their lunch nap when they heard the news of Zhou Sisi’s disappearance.
She couldn’t help feeling surprised. How could the guards of the Duke Wu Mansion let such a living human run away from their eyes on the main street of Chang’an?
Everyone could tell at the first glance that Zhou Sisi was from a rich family, and many people in Chang’an knew her. How could she disappear so easily?
At this time, an eunuch reported outside that Duke Wu and Zhou Siming asked to see them.
Lu Chen said to Qiao Jinniang, “You can take a nap first.”
Qiao Jinniang nodded. “Okay.”
