Jin didn't know what her daughter was thinking, but she knew she had never interacted with her half-brothers. But the fact that the two children came to visit Yue'er as soon as she woke up showed that they had some good intentions.
She took the initiative to order: "Let Wen'er and Qi'er come in!"
Seeing her mother's indifferent look, Zhou Qiongyue knew that she was a typical imperial concubine of this era, not caring about these things. Since her mother didn't care, she could just meet him!
Zhou Wencan thought his daughter was vying for favor, after all, she had been doing this since she was little. He quickly reassured her, "Don't worry, Yue'er, I only love you, really."
Zhou Qiongyue... thought that was not necessary.
But Zhou Qiongyue still pulled Zhou Wencan's sleeve and acted coquettishly, "Daddy is the best."
As for her being so old and still acting young and coquettish, Zhou Qiongyue thinks it's nothing at all. Isn't it said that we are always children in our parents' eyes? Being able to always be a child in the eyes of her parents, Zhou Qiongyue thinks this is also a blessing.
When Zhou Zhiwen and Zhou Zhiqi came in, they saw their kind father, gentle mother, and their three children. They actually felt like outsiders.
"My son greets my father and my mother!" Zhou Zhiwen and Zhou Zhiqi saluted politely.
Zhou Wencan just looked up at his two sons, nodded, and then lowered his head to talk to his daughter again.
Jin could only rant about the prince's unreliability in her heart, but she still smiled gently, "Wen'er and Qi'er are here! Come and sit next to us."
Zhou Zhiwen and Zhou Zhiqi obediently sat down at the bottom of the Jin family, and then the brothers greeted each other.
Zhou Qiongyue looked at the way her eldest brother and fifth brother were smiling and knew that they were faking it. This also meant that these two half-brothers were not considered their own family.
If Zhou Zhiyi knew what his sister was thinking, he would definitely explain it to her. It wasn't that they weren't that unfamiliar with each other, it was just that they weren't close friends. This was determined by their respective camps, there was nothing he could do about it.
"Sister, you've suffered a lot this time. Are you feeling better now?" Zhou Zhiwen got straight to the point as soon as he sat down.
In front of outsiders, Zhou Qiongyue was much more restrained and did not act lively. Instead, she said in a weak voice, "Thank you, Fourth Brother and Seventh Brother, for coming to see me. I'm much better now."
After Zhou Qiongyue finished speaking, she pretended to cough a few times.
Then Zhou Wencan and others stared at Zhou Qiongyue nervously, fearing that something might happen to her.
Zhou Qiongyue couldn't say that she was pretending, so she could only explain that her throat just felt a little itchy.
Zhou Zhiwen and Zhou Zhiqi, looking at the nervous expressions of their father and the others, felt in their hearts that their younger sister/elder sister had really suffered this time.
They had only come to show their faces, so after sitting for a while, they quickly excused themselves. They were afraid of disturbing their younger sister's rest and upsetting their parents.
This is the real situation of illegitimate children in aristocratic families. They have to be cautious in everything they do.
After that, Zhou Wencan took another two days off to stay at home with his daughter before going back to court. Mainly because there were so many things to do at court, he was very busy and it was not easy to get these two days off.
As the Crown Prince's Consort of the Cheng'en Marquisate, Jin was in charge of the household expenses and had a lot to do, so she couldn't always be with Zhou Qiongyue. Her eldest brother was the Second Prince's study companion, and even though he was fine now, he would definitely report to the palace every day.
So in the end, it was Zhou Zhiquan who accompanied Zhou Qiongyue, as he could take leave at any time in the academy.
But Zhou Qiongyue was not really a teenage girl, so after her fifth brother accompanied her for a few days, he sent Zhou Zhiquan to the academy to study.
She recuperated in the yard and adapted to her new identity.
During the days she was recuperating in the yard, she thought a lot. In the novel, the original owner entered the second prince's harem, lived an unhappy life, and was eventually killed, not to mention that she became a concubine, and of her cousin.
Zhou Qiongyue felt that she really couldn't go down this path of collapse. She should let her parents find a good family for her to marry into.
As for the idea of being together for life, she couldn't force it in this era and could only go with the flow, let alone not getting married. Zhou Qiongyue felt that she was not a big figure who could change the world, nor did she have such great ambitions. She was just an ordinary person.
Since she was an ordinary person, she had to follow the rules of this world. Those unconventional ideas would only harm others and herself. She just had to make sure she and her family lived well.
Zhou Qiongyue thought about her future and instantly felt much more relaxed. As long as she didn't marry into the royal family, with her status, no one would dare to neglect her if she married an ordinary noble.
If she could establish a good relationship with her cousin, the future emperor, she would have no worries in the future. As for the fact that the inner court restricted women's abilities, for Zhou Qiongyue, that didn't exist at all. She wasn't cut out for being an official, but as for doing business, women were capable of that.
This is the retirement life after achieving financial freedom! Zhou Qiongyue felt that she could accept it.
That day, Zhou Qiongyue was lying on a recliner in her own yard, thinking about life, actually just daydreaming.
Her body was covered with the fur of an unknown animal. Gulan, Guyu, Gumei and Guju were all surrounding Zhou Qiongyue. Some were making tea, some were reading storybooks, and some were peeling fruit. In short, everyone had something to do.
When the second prince Li Jingchen brought his men in, this was the scene he saw.
"My cousin, you're living a good life! I'm so envious of you."
When Zhou Qiongyue heard the voice, she knew who it was. She immediately stood up and saluted respectfully, "Your servant greets the Second Prince!"
"Cousin, are you estranged from me?" The Second Prince wanted to help Zhou Qiongyue up himself, but Zhou Qiongyue stood up on her own in a flash. He could only withdraw his hand in frustration.
The second prince Li Jingchen stood next to Zhou Qiongyue, and someone immediately moved a recliner identical to the one Zhou Qiongyue had just been lying on.
"Hmph, your servant fell into the lake, and the Second Prince didn't even offer a hand." Zhou Qiongyue felt that this kind of thing should be spoken out. Only by talking it out could both sides resolve the issue. Of course, she could also use this as an excuse to be willful.
The Second Prince had not expected his cousin to speak so directly. He could only awkwardly touch the jade pendant at his waist and shamelessly said, "Cousin, let me explain this matter."
The Second Prince stopped talking now, his tone was all flattering. After all, he had really grown up with this cousin, and he felt that he truly treated her as his own sister. Of course, he was unwilling to see the brother-sister relationship between them broken off like this.
"Then tell me." Regardless of what Zhou Qiongyue was thinking, she didn't show any intention of becoming an enemy of her cousin. After all, he might very well be the future emperor!
For the sake of her future in retirement, she must not offend this golden thigh.
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