Chapter 122 Agreeing to Let Him Stay
Aunt Zhou took a deep breath and said bluntly, "Your Highness, no matter what happened in the past, we are no longer the same as we were back then. You should go back to the capital and pretend you never met us!"
The Third Prince said solemnly, "Zhou'er, I don't ask for anything. I just hope you won't send me away. Let me stay here, even if it's just to help you carry manure and chop firewood."
After he finished speaking, he actually turned around and went to the backyard to get a carrying pole.
At this moment, Du Wanchun and Zhou Ruiyuan quickly came out and stopped him, saying, "Your Highness, how can we let you do this?"
Upon seeing Zhou Ruiyuan, the Third Prince immediately put down the carrying pole he was carrying and bowed to him, saying, "Your Highness."
Zhou Ruiyuan quickly said, "Third Uncle, you don't need to be so polite with us."
The Third Prince repeatedly assured him, "Ruiyuan, please persuade your mother to let me stay."
Zhou Ruiyuan looked at Aunt Zhou and then said, "Your Highness, you should go back. Staying here will only put you in danger just like us."
The Third Prince said solemnly, "I am not afraid of danger, you can rest assured. Everyone in Cheng'an County is under my control. Even Prefect Deng of Qingzhou Prefecture is a protégé of your maternal grandfather. With them around, no one will expose our information!"
These words caught Aunt Zhou's attention. "You mean Prefect Zheng of Qingzhou Prefecture?"
The Third Prince nodded. "That's right. You should have seen him once when he was in the capital."
Aunt Zhou thought about it carefully, "That's right, it seems like I have indeed seen it before."
The Third Prince continued, "He was demoted to the position of prefect of Qingzhou because he pleaded for Grand Tutor Lu. However, he will be transferred back to the capital in a few months and appointed as a second-rank official."
"A second-rank official?! Such a high promotion?!" Aunt Zhou was somewhat surprised.
The Third Prince nodded and said, "Now the officials in the court are undergoing a major reshuffle, and the Wu family will no longer be the only powerful family."
He has endured humiliation and hardship for so many years, all for this moment.
Aunt Zhou was immediately overjoyed, as it seemed they were one step closer to returning to the capital.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Third Prince said, "Let me stay here! I will take you all back together in the future."
Aunt Zhou hesitated.
At this moment, Du Wanchun said with a smile, "Mother, since the prince wants to stay, let him stay. Just now, Aunt Zhao went back from here, and it won't be long before the whole village knows that our Zhou family's head is still alive."
"If Your Highness were to return like this, it would only arouse suspicion from others."
Aunt Zhou thought it made sense, and after thinking about it, she said, "Alright, Your Highness, you can stay here for a while."
As he spoke, he pointed to a guest room on the side, "There happens to be a guest room here."
The Third Prince was overjoyed and quickly said with a smile, "Now that I've settled in, you don't need to call me 'Prince' anymore."
Aunt Zhou looked up at him, but before she could ask anything, the Third Prince smiled and said, "Isn't your surname Zhou? My name is Old Qian Zhou."
"Old Zhou Qian?!" Both Aunt Zhou and Du Wanchun were taken aback.
This name really suits the village.
Just then, Aunt Wang arrived, "Sister Zhou!"
She jogged along, laughing, "I heard your man is back, is that true?"
Aunt Zhou stood there stunned, unsure whether to say yes or no.
But the Third Prince was deeply immersed in his role, saying, "That's right, I'm back."
When Aunt Wang saw the strange man in front of her, she immediately guessed that it was him and quickly said with a smile, "Great news! This is wonderful news! Before, the villagers looked down on you because you were a widow. Now that your husband is back, let's see if they still dare to bully you!"
Du Wanchun quickly poured them a cup of tea, saying, "Aunt Wang, come and have some tea."
Then, with a smile, she called out to the Third Prince, "Father, have some tea."
The Third Prince was overjoyed to hear the word "Father."
Du Wanchun quickly tugged at Zhou Ruiyuan as well.
Zhou Ruiyuan also called out, "Dad, you must be tired from your journey."
Upon hearing the word "father," the Third Prince almost knelt down if Aunt Wang hadn't been there. He choked on the tea he was drinking and coughed loudly.
Seeing this, Aunt Wang quickly asked, "Brother Zhou, what's wrong?"
The Third Prince quickly regained his composure, wiping the water from his mouth as he laughed, "I'm fine, I was just too excited!"
Aunt Wang smiled with her eyes narrowed, "That's right, it's probably been three years since your family has been together, so it's certainly exciting."
She smiled and looked at Aunt Zhou with a face full of relief, "Sister Zhou, you've finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel."
After saying that, he patted her hand and said, "I'm going back now, so as not to disturb your family reunion."
After saying this, Aunt Wang left the Zhou family with a big smile on her face.
After Aunt Wang left, Zhou Ruiyuan brought the Third Prince to the guest room and told him about the family's incense shop.
The Third Prince felt a pang of sadness upon hearing this. "Your mother has never done any heavy work at home since she was a child. Now she still has to fetch water, cook, wash her hands, and make soup here!"
As he spoke, his eyes reddened.
Just then, Aunt Zhou was preparing to start a fire and cook outside.
Upon hearing this, the Third Prince practically jumped up and rushed to Aunt Zhou's side like the wind, snatching the guess from her hand.
"I'll do it."
Aunt Zhou was preparing to chop radishes to make soup when she was stunned to see the knife that the Third Prince had snatched away.
"Your Highness... what is this?" she asked, puzzled.
The Third Prince frowned and said seriously, "How can you cut vegetables with those hands? Let me do it!"
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