Not counting the day of Yao Huang's wedding, when he had watched the bride's veil-covered back from afar among the guests, Li Tingwang had not seen Yao Huang for a whole year.
Today, his mother brought him out to purchase New Year's goods. Although Li Tingwang knew perfectly well that Yao Huang, now a noble princess consort, probably wouldn't enjoy joining such bustling crowds like she used to, he still couldn't help but scan the people near and far. After countless disappointments, he actually managed to catch sight of Yao Huang's figure.
At first glance, Li Tingwang only saw Yao Huang dressed in a coral-colored brocade jacket. The winter sunlight was pale, yet her smile was as bright and beautiful as the spring. Just as Li Tingwang couldn't resist the urge to rush over, he finally noticed the wheelchair she was pushing, which had nearly been obscured by the nearby crowd, and saw Prince Hui sitting in it, bearing an aloof expression and an extraordinary aura.
Prince Hui, the second son of the current Emperor—a prince of the first rank whom he would still have to kneel and respectfully welcome even if he became the top martial arts scholar and rose to the position of a high-ranking provincial official.
Out of rationality, Li Tingwang controlled his feet, but he couldn't control his eyes. He continued to look at Yao Huang almost greedily, watching her smile as carefreely and lightheartedly as before, noting her rosy cheeks and her high spirits as she strolled. Then he watched as she finally noticed him, and after a momentary stunned glance, quickly averted her eyes, pretending not to know him at all.
Li Tingwang's heartbeat actually grew faster.
Because Yao Huang had never shown him the shyness of a young woman looking at her beloved, Li Tingwang had never dared to confess his feelings to her, afraid of being mocked or rejected. Yao Huang had always treated him like half a brother; whenever they met, she was either laughing or still angry about their last argument. But just now, Yao Huang actually didn't dare to look at him. Could it be that she finally understood his affection? Could it be that she also...
His mother found him, interrupting Li Tingwang's thoughts. He could only try his best to conceal his deep yearning for Yao Huang before Prince Hui approached, bowing respectfully.
Watching the hem of Yao Huang's skirt disappear from his line of sight, and as the two servants carrying New Year's goods passed them by, Li Tingwang impatiently raised his head, hoping to catch a few more glimpses of her.
Madam Wang suddenly shoved her son into the alley ahead and scolded in a low voice, "Do you have a death wish? Or do you no longer want to pass the martial arts imperial examination?"
Li Tingwang pursed his lips.
Madam Wang held her son's hands—the hands of her only child—and pleaded, "Silly boy, forget her. It's for the best for both of you. If you keep longing for her and he finds out, what will he think of Yao Huang, and how will he deal with you? Even if no one dares to mess with your father in our alley, what does he amount to in front of him? For your father's sake and for your own future, listen to your mother and marry the daughter of Commander Cui as soon as possible!"
Li Tingwang laughed. The Cui family, the Cui family... If his mother hadn't firmly opposed him marrying Yao Huang, he would have gone to the Yao family to propose the year Yao Huang had her hairpin ceremony. If he had proposed early on, Yao Huang would never have entered the palace for the selection!
"I won't forget, and I won't marry anyone else. You should give up on that idea right now."
Pulling away from his mother's hands, Li Tingwang strode out of the alley. Taking one last look in the direction Yao Huang had left, he clenched his fists and ultimately walked away in the opposite direction.
His mother was right about one thing: he couldn't cause trouble for Yao Huang or implicate her, causing her to be mistreated by a prince who was crippled and already known for his unpredictable temper.
.
Pushing Prince Hui down the bustling South Street, Yao Huang's good mood was completely gone. Her mind was filled with the image of Li Tingwang standing out from the crowd, gazing at her with deep affection. Naturally, Yao Huang didn't care about Li Tingwang's feelings, but she did care whether Prince Hui had seen that scene, and whether he would misunderstand her relationship with Li Tingwang because of it.
Yao Huang believed herself to be completely innocent regarding Li Tingwang and had a clear conscience. However, the royal family's requirements for a princess consort's conduct were extremely strict. She was terrified that Prince Hui might investigate her past. Li Tingwang had always run over to her house since he was twelve or thirteen, always tagging along when she went out to play with her brothers and cousins. And she didn't argue with Li Tingwang every single day; there had been many times when they talked, laughed, and played well together. In the eyes of outsiders, perhaps she and Li Tingwang could be considered childhood sweethearts?
Troubled as she was, Yao Huang pushed the wheelchair very steadily, promptly dodging every commoner who was looking up and nearly bumped into Prince Hui.
As they were about to exit the street, there was a new stall selling candied hawthorn sticks nearby. The vendors in the city were quite particular, wrapping each stick in a layer of oiled paper to keep the dust off.
Yao Huang smiled and asked Prince Hui below her, "Second Master, have you ever eaten candied hawthorns?"
Prince Hui shook his head.
Yao Huang asked, "Then shall I go buy two sticks?"
Zhao Sui replied, "One is enough. I won't eat it."
Since Yao Huang was standing behind the wheelchair, it wasn't very convenient for her to observe his expression, but she still pushed Prince Hui over and had Feiquan take out ten copper coins to buy a stick.
The carriage was waiting right outside. Under the curious gazes of passing commoners, Yao Huang and Qingai worked together to push Prince Hui's wheelchair into the carriage.
Once the wheelchair was fully inside, Feiquan closed the carriage door from the side.
Yao Huang asked Prince Hui to help hold the candied hawthorns while she crouched down as usual to secure the wheelchair. Once it was secured, Yao Huang sat in the side seat. As she reached out to take back the candied hawthorns, she smilingly observed Prince Hui's seemingly unchanged handsome face. "We've been strolling for over two hours. Are you tired, Your Highness?"
Zhao Sui was also finally able to see his princess consort's face directly.
However, at least half a quarter of an hour had passed since they encountered the Li mother and son. This long stretch of road was enough time for the princess consort to adjust her emotions before facing him.
Even so, Zhao Sui could still detect the probing nature of her smile.
Therefore, that Li Tingwang was indeed different to her. And if Zhao Sui remembered correctly, Yao Lin had once casually mentioned that his spearmanship was inferior to Li Tingwang's. The princess consort had even stated that she watched Yao Lin and the others play several polo matches every year. Given that the elders of the two families had a superior-subordinate relationship, Zhao Sui could easily deduce that Li Tingwang had been present at all those polo matches she watched featuring Yao Lin, and that he played even better than her brother.
The exceptionally beautiful daughter of a Centurion, and the handsome, tall, and martially gifted son of a Battalion Commander.
"I'm not tired," Zhao Sui said, looking toward the low cabinet holding the tea set. "But I am a bit thirsty."
Yao Huang let him continue holding the candied hawthorns and crouched down to pour him some water.
At this moment, the princess consort was finally lower in stature than Prince Hui. Looking at her side profile as she focused on pouring the water, Zhao Sui's mind was flooded with successive images of Li Tingwang accompanying her to stroll through the markets, ride horses, float river lanterns, have snowball fights, build snowmen, and do all the things any pair of childhood sweethearts would have had the chance to do together.
A talented young man and a beautiful young woman, well-matched in social status. If it weren't for the sudden palace selection...
Yao Huang set the teapot down, slowly straightened up, and bent over to hand the teacup to Prince Hui.
Gripping the bamboo stick of the candied hawthorns the princess consort had given him in his left hand, Zhao Sui took the teacup with his right and slowly drank it all.
After he drank the water, Yao Huang sat back down in the side seat, took back the candied hawthorns, and removed the outer layer of oiled paper to reveal the bright red hawthorn berries coated in a thin layer of sugar ice—seven of them in total.
Yao Huang held the largest berry at the top of the stick up to Prince Hui and said with a smile, "Try it, Your Highness. It's quite sweet."
Zhao Sui looked at the candied hawthorn in front of him, thinking that Li Tingwang had probably bought them for her before, too. With Li Tingwang's height, he could easily pull down a stick from the very highest ring of the vendor's rack for her.
"Eat it yourself," Zhao Sui turned his head away. He truly didn't want to eat these street snacks that might drop crumbs and soil his robes.
Yao Huang knew he was very particular. Anyway, she had already offered; if Prince Hui wouldn't eat it, she would eat it herself. She tore open the ring of oiled paper and spread it out, placing it under the candied hawthorn stick to catch any falling shards of sugar icing.
Zhao Sui lifted a corner of the window curtain, but his ears were filled with the sound of the princess eating the candied hawthorn. He glanced over from the corner of his eye, just in time to see the princess part her red lips and bite into the equally red hawthorn berry.
Yao Huang noticed Prince Hui's peeking. She swept a glance at Prince Hui's Adam's apple, which seemed to bob slightly, and she understood. Holding the candied hawthorn in one hand and supporting the oiled paper with the other, she used her eyes to signal Prince Hui to move the arm resting on his knee, and then unceremoniously sat on his lap.
"Come on, have a taste." Yao Huang held up the fourth hawthorn berry, which she was about to eat, to Prince Hui's lips.
Zhao Sui leaned back, still refusing.
Yao Huang closed her eyes and smiled, "I won't watch Your Highness eat, is that okay?"
Zhao Sui: "..."
The princess, with her eyes closed, urged him, "Hurry up. I want the first candied hawthorn Your Highness eats in this life to be fed by me."
Zhao Sui pursed his lips and lowered his head toward the princess's hand.
The hawthorn berries were round and plump. Zhao Sui didn't want to copy the princess, who would bite a berry, slide it to the top of the bamboo skewer, and swallow the whole thing, making her cheek bulge. After a moment of hesitation, he watched the princess's closed eyes while biting into the side of the hawthorn berry, trying to bite off just a small piece.
Yao Huang heard the sound of the outer sugar coating cracking. Opening her eyes, she saw Prince Hui swiftly take the bitten piece into his mouth like a thief, then immediately sit up straight, his eyes lowered and motionless, as if there was nothing in his mouth.
Yao Huang whispered, "Your Highness acting like this makes me look so vulgar."
Zhao Sui: "..."
The next moment, the princess smiled. Looking at him on purpose, she opened her mouth, bit into the remaining more than half of the hawthorn berry he had left, boldly took it completely into her mouth, and began to eat it without thinking it vulgar at all.
Zhao Sui turned his head away.
Yao Huang exclaimed in surprise, "Your Highness is blushing!"
Zhao Sui maintained his head-turned posture. Only after swallowing the small amount of hawthorn flesh in his mouth did he glance at the princess and remind her, "The one you just ate was the one I didn't finish."
Yao Huang blinked, "So what if it is?"
Zhao Sui looked at her and asked, "Could it be that you've eaten someone else's leftover half before?"
Yao Huang didn't like hearing that. She glared at him and said, "Although my father is only a Centurion, he isn't so poor that he couldn't bear to buy me a whole stick of candied hawthorns. Don't look down on people too much, Your Highness."
Zhao Sui: "...I didn't mean that."
Yao Huang: "Then what did you mean?"
Prince Hui lowered his eyes and stopped talking.
Yao Huang recalled his blushing just now and his emphasis on half a berry or a whole one. She understood and laughed, "Did Your Highness want to ask if I've ever shared a candied hawthorn with another man?"
Zhao Sui: "No, I know you wouldn't."
He had misspoken just now; he shouldn't have had such suspicions about the princess.
Yao Huang snorted, "I haven't. I wouldn't even eat something my mother ate half of. However, if it were a lover I liked, I wouldn't mind sharing a single hawthorn berry with him at all."
Prince Hui's lowered eyelashes fluttered.
Yao Huang stared at those two rows of eyelashes and said, "It's a pity. My lover finds me distasteful. He even minds if I give him a kiss, let alone eat my saliva."
Prince Hui suddenly raised his eyes.
Yao Huang inexplicably blushed. She waved the stick, which now only had three berries left, "I mean the little bit of saliva left on the berry." She definitely wasn't begging Prince Hui for a kiss.
Zhao Sui: "I didn't mind."
Yao Huang didn't believe him. She lowered her head, bit off half a berry, and held the remaining half in front of Prince Hui.
Prince Hui did something that took Yao Huang by surprise.
He grasped her hand holding the bamboo skewer with one hand, pressed the sides of the half hawthorn berry with the other, pulled the berry off the skewer, and then put it into his mouth.
Yao Huang: "..."
