Chen Siqing smiled and said, "My cousin, the Emperor, told me that if my brother Erfu dares to bully me in the future, I should tell her and she will teach him a lesson for me."
Madam Chen and Master Chen exchanged a glance, both seeing a smile in each other's eyes. It was a good thing that the Emperor was so close to his daughter, but why did this address sound so inappropriate, "Your Majesty's cousin"?
"With your cousin protecting you, your father and I can rest assured. Although Zhou Erfu didn't study much this year, he has a good personality. I hope he can continue to love you wholeheartedly and not change his mind." Mrs. Chen couldn't be completely at ease thinking about her daughter's simple and honest nature, and she always had some worries.
Chen Siqing was indeed carefree. After hearing Xingxing say that he would support her for life, she had no worries at all. She even reminded her parents, "Let's have someone pull out the thorns on our wall. The other day, Erfu accidentally pricked his foot on a thorn while trying to save me."
Mr. Chen was somewhat surprised, "But he looked perfectly fine that day, he didn't seem injured at all?"
"Brother Erfu is not afraid of pain. He thought it wasn't serious, but when he got back, he found that his foot was almost pierced through. There were two bloody holes in the sole of his foot. Didn't you see that he was limping when he walked today?" Chen Siqing pouted, clearly feeling sorry for him.
"A daughter is like a bird that cannot stay at home forever," said Master Chen, feeling a pang of resentment as he looked at his daughter's protective expression. The marriage hadn't even been officially arranged yet, and this girl was already siding with outsiders. He had raised her for nothing all these years.
"The barbs on the wall can't be pulled out. Those barbs are useless against skilled thieves, but ordinary thieves can defend against them. Look how terrifying that 'Strange Second Brother' is. We should guard against as many as possible."
As for Zhou Erfu, what was he doing coming here so late at night before the marriage was officially settled? Once the marriage is settled, he can come to visit through the main gate. He's not allowed to climb over the wall into the Chen residence in the middle of the night to see you anymore; what kind of behavior is that?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Siqing didn't say anything more, keeping her head down as if lost in thought.
A month later, the marriage between Zhou Erfu and Chen Siqing was officially arranged. The two families exchanged betrothal gifts, and the Zhou family sent a considerable amount of betrothal gifts.
It's impossible for them to get married this year. The Emperor and Empress have not been dead for a full year yet, and it's not good for them to hold a wedding at this critical juncture, otherwise it would easily give them something to hold against them.
Emperor Taikang was a kind and benevolent man who treated his people well. The period of national mourning was changed after he ascended the throne. In fact, since the founding of the dynasty, the rule of the Great Jin Dynasty was that when the emperor died, the people had to observe national mourning for three years and could not have any entertainment or celebrations.
Later, during the Taikang era, the mourning period was changed to three months for the common people. After three months, things could return to normal. As for why they had to wait a year before holding a wedding, it was naturally because Xingxing, being a direct descendant, needed to observe a full year of mourning for her father. Therefore, the Zhou family planned to wait a year before making any plans.
Emperor Taikang has only been gone for five months. If they want to hold a wedding, they have to wait another eight months. Zhou Erfu and Chen Siqing's wedding is scheduled for October of next year. By then, half a year will have passed since the national mourning period, and no one will criticize the marriage.
Today, Zhao Guihua and Zhou Laoda entered the palace together. The two of them came specifically to talk to Xingxing about the marriages of their brothers.
Zhao Guihua showed Xingxing an old almanac, saying, "The weddings of Sifu and Wufu are scheduled for the eleventh year of next year. The two couples will get married on the same day. Originally, we wanted Erfu to be included as well, but considering the Chen family's noble status, we were afraid that doing so would displease them, so we postponed it by a month."
Zhou Laoda added, "Erfu will get married in October. At that time, we will ask my eldest sister and cousin's families to come to the capital in July. We will also bring their daughters and their relatives with us. They will first attend the wedding banquet of Sifu and Wufu. After that, the two daughters will get married in the capital. We will prepare in advance so that it won't be too rushed."
Xingxing and Zhulin listened quietly to the two old people's rambling, and only spoke after they finished.
"Father and Mother, just do as you see fit. If you need anything, just tell me, and I'll have the head steward arrange everything." When no one else is around, Xingxing never refers to herself as "I" in front of the two elders; she always says "I am."
"There's no need for the head of the Imperial Household Department to get involved. We have a house, money, and plenty of servants. When your aunt and cousin's families come together, with so many people helping out, are we worried about not having any help?" Zhao Guihua waved her hand, indicating that there was no need to trouble the palace.
"The chief steward of the Imperial Household Department is none other than the eldest brother. He only has to talk. The palace servants do all the work, and he just records it." After Xingxing became emperor, several of his senior brothers and sisters wished Zhu Lin would be conscripted into the army.
The new emperor always needs his own people to help him with his work, but Zhu Lin had no one else to rely on, so he could only rely on a few of his senior brothers and sisters to help him in the palace.
Senior brothers and sisters shouldn't interfere in matters of the court. Zhu Chumo is skilled in divination and medicine, so Xingxing insisted on appointing him as the Imperial Preceptor. However, he is used to being carefree, so even though he was appointed Imperial Preceptor, he wouldn't attend the morning court sessions, and all matters of the court were irrelevant to him.
Therefore, only the staff of the Imperial Observatory would occasionally seek him out; other officials had no contact with him.
The eldest brother was captured and made the chief steward of the palace, with his two senior sisters assisting him. Zhu Xichen and Zhu Yueran were appointed as captains of the guards, responsible only for the safety of the harem and the emperor.
It was indeed a disservice for Zhu Xichen and Zhu Yueran to condescend to serve as captains of the guards, but they didn't take it to heart. After all, the title of captain of the guards was just that—a title. The two of them were rarely seen on ordinary days.
No one knows where the two went; perhaps they are hiding in some corner of the palace, or perhaps they have secretly left the palace to play.
Back to the present moment, Zhu Qiuyu heard someone mention him and immediately strode in. “This head steward is too much trouble. He can’t always be the one squeezing me out. He should take turns. Next time, let Third Junior Brother and Fifth Junior Brother take over.”
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