With Chen Ying's voluntary withdrawal, Emperor Yongchang issued an undeniable verbal decree, placing Yao Huang and the Second Princess in a team with him, while Prince Kang and Prince Hui took the First Princess in their team.
Yao Huang exchanged a glance with the Second Princess. Yao Huang did not dare to pout at Emperor Yongchang, but the Second Princess puckered her little mouth. "Father is biased, giving the chance to win your prize to older sister."
If the two older brothers won, they would definitely yield their father's prize to the First Princess.
Emperor Yongchang first ordered an accompanying eunuch to fetch nine five-tael gold ingots, then addressed the circle of daughters and daughters-in-law, "You don't need to take out your little prizes. I will play three rounds with you. Each round I will put up three gold ingots. If the eldest's three siblings win, you each get one gold ingot. If my side wins, Se'er and her second sister-in-law can split the three gold ingots however they please."
Yao Huang looked at the Second Princess.
The Second Princess rolled her eyes in thought and smiled, "Second Sister-in-law, play well. If we win, you take two and I'll take one."
Her skills and the First Princess's were about the same; whether they could win depended entirely on her father and her second sister-in-law.
The First Princess said, "...With this division, will Second Brother lose on purpose?"
Zhao Sui: "..."
Emperor Yongchang laughed loudly, "Whoever dares to cheat and is caught by me, I will make him pay three gold ingots too."
The civil and military officials who also came out to enjoy the scenery during their rest days, the accompanying female family members, as well as Empress Zhou, Consort Xian, Consort Rou, and Princess Fucheng who were touring the temporary palace gardens, got the news and gradually gathered over here.
While waiting for the young eunuch to fetch the gold ingots, Emperor Yongchang first played a few balls to get the feel of it. When he made a shot, Yao Huang and the Second Princess cheered from the sidelines.
What Emperor Yongchang wanted was exactly this lively energy from his second daughter-in-law and his two daughters. It was just that the Second Princess did not know how to take care of people, so he grouped the First Princess with her two brothers, so she could occasionally help push her second brother's wheelchair.
After the match started, the two teams were evenly matched, the score biting tight. Prince Kang, teaming up with his second brother and sister, gradually lost his nervousness and played at a level on par with Yao Huang.
Princess Fucheng watched Prince Hui, who could hit every ball into the hole even while sitting in a wheelchair, and suddenly smiled, praising to Empress Zhou, "Prince Hui is truly excellent, to be able to play so well even like this."
This was a fact, and Empress Zhou smiled and nodded.
On the other side, Consort Xian heard the underlying sarcasm in Princess Fucheng's words—mocking that her eldest son could not even beat his crippled second brother.
Consort Xian did not take the bait. Prince Hui had long been forced to withdraw from the pool of candidates for the crown prince, which he himself knew clearly. That was why he would play around with his princess and no longer cautiously avoid suspicion like in earlier years.
At this moment, Prince Kang also scored a ball.
Empress Zhou immediately started praising Prince Kang, flattering both sides equally.
After three rounds, Emperor Yongchang's side won two rounds, while Prince Hui, Prince Kang, and the First Princess won one round.
Yao Huang got four gold ingots and gave one each to the First Princess, Second Princess, and Chen Ying: "If you didn't play with me, Father wouldn't have come over, and if Father didn't come, I wouldn't have earned these four ingots."
Second Princess: "Then we all have more than Second Sister-in-law."
The First Princess looked at her two brothers and smiled, "Eldest Brother, Second Brother, hand over what you have. Eldest Sister-in-law and Second Sister-in-law both have two, and little sister is the youngest, so Second Sister-in-law yielded to you once."
The Fourth Prince, who had come over at some unknown point, said: "If Second Sister thinks it's too much, I can help you take one."
The Second Princess completely ignored him.
Emperor Yongchang, who had already walked a distance away after distributing the wealth, heard these words and became even more satisfied with his second daughter-in-law. She loved money, but she was not greedy.
With Emperor Yongchang's departure, the spectating officials and female family members also dispersed.
Consort Rou and Princess Fucheng walked aside alone. When the people nearby were far away, Consort Rou sighed, "I haven't seen the Emperor in such high spirits for a long time. Such lively family joy, it's a pity the Third Prince and Yuanzhen aren't here."
The Third Prince was the best at playing. If he were here, how could Prince Kang get a smile from the Emperor?
Princess Fucheng: "If Yuanzhen wasn't pregnant, I definitely would have called her along when we came out just now."
Consort Rou: "There's no need for that. I wouldn't feel at ease letting Yuanzhen play ball and fool around while pregnant. Prince Hui's side doesn't have his mother consort watching over them, which is why he lets his princess run outside all day long. It's fine if nothing happens, but if there's an accident, it'll be too late for regrets."
Princess Fucheng thought of the way Prince Hui looked at Yao Huang and said faintly, "Prince Hui has always had a good temper. Now, he's even more willing to let his princess do whatever she wants."
Yao Huang was blessed to have married a clay-figurine prince molded by Noble Consort Du. If it were any other prince, even if his legs were crippled, he would not let his princess push him around.
They played chuiwan for a long time. By the time it ended, the sun was already high. Yao Huang got into the carriage with Prince Hui and headed to the temporary palace.
With a gold ingot in each hand, Yao Huang whispered to Prince Hui, "In that last round, Your Highness still went easy on us, didn't you?"
The wooden ball, which should have determined the victory by Prince Hui, rolled right to the edge of the hole. Perhaps a gust of wind could have blown it in, making it hard to tell if Prince Hui lacked just a bit of force or if his control of force was overly precise.
Zhao Sui looked at his princess and said, "You think too highly of me. I didn't notice that the terrain on this side of the hole was slightly higher."
Yao Huang: "Alright then, it means Father is indeed amazing. Both Your Highnesses combined are no match for him."
Returning to Yunshan Hall, the couple freshened up separately in the front and back courtyards before gathering together for lunch.
During their afternoon rest, Yao Huang massaged Prince Hui's arms up and down, as if rewarding these arms for helping her earn a gold ingot today.
Prince Hui closed his eyes: "Go to sleep."
Yao Huang laughed at him: "Ever since I was diagnosed with a pregnancy pulse, Your Highness has been saying these words more and more. In the past, you used to let me hug and squeeze you however I wanted."
Prince Hui did not answer.
Yao Huang let go of Prince Hui's arm and secretly slipped under the hem of his clothes. Just as she touched his waist, Prince Hui covered her hand from the outside: "Stop fooling around."
Yao Huang insisted on fooling around.
Zhao Sui was helpless. After his princess had fooled around enough, he turned her around and hugged her from behind.
In the past, when the princess had her monthly cycle, the couple occasionally did this too, but back then Prince Hui's hands did not need to behave. Now, afraid the princess would get too excited, Prince Hui's hands could only properly hold her, keeping her calm. Inside the bed curtains, only Prince Hui's breathing grew heavier and heavier, unable to restrain himself no matter how he tried.
Prince Hui unprecedentedly initiated a topic, asking with a steady voice: "Why did you give away an extra ingot?"
Yao Huang: "...At a time like this, Your Highness is still thinking about ingots?"
Zhao Sui: "..."
Yao Huang held the hand resting on her shoulder, idly tracing lines on the back of Prince Hui's hand.
Prince Hui immediately hugged her even tighter.
On the twenty-fifth of July, Yao Huang and the others who came to pay respects to Empress Zhou finally learned of Zheng Yuanzhen's good news.
Yao Huang also offered her congratulations, and then stayed a little longer. When everyone else had left, Yao Huang said to Empress Zhou: "Has Mother also exempted the Third Sister-in-law from morning greetings?"
Empress Zhou: "Yes, I was afraid she would copy you and insist on coming."
Yao Huang smiled: "Then I won't come over on days ending in five from now on. But I just don't want Third Sister-in-law to get tired because of me. It's not that I don't want to come see Mother. Next time Mother hears that I went out to play again, please don't find fault with me."
Empress Zhou gave her a reproachful yet fond glance. You are always so glib. Even the Eldest Princess has been led astray by you.
Yao Huang replied, Seeing how happily Imperial Mother is smiling, you must surely enjoy listening to our glib talk.
Empress Zhou naturally liked it. The palace was filled with rules everywhere. Suddenly having such a sweet little fruit who knew how to have fun without ever truly breaking any rules, and who had no conflicts of interest with her and her daughter, why would she not like her?
Empress Zhou even specifically praised Yao Huang's sensibility to Emperor Yongchang: Yao Yao might look simple-minded and carefree, but she is actually very meticulous and knows how to take good care of others.
Emperor Yongchang agreed. Indeed. If she only knew how to play, the Second Prince might not necessarily be willing to pay attention to her.
There was an art to taking care of people. With the exact same good intentions, some methods of care made people feel like they were bathed in a gentle spring breeze, while others only caused irritation and annoyance.
In the blink of an eye, it was August, and the weather had noticeably cooled down compared to the previous days.
Over in the Northern Park, a mountain had been specially fenced off to serve as a hunting ground. Since Emperor Yongchang was here, he wanted to arrange a hunt to stretch his own limbs and to give the young military officers in his entourage a chance to show off their skills.
However, Emperor Yongchang was troubled by one thing: he wanted his second son to participate, but he did not know if the Second Prince could draw a bow while riding a horse.
When his son was previously lifeless and depressed, Emperor Yongchang would never have thought of this, nor would he have dared to ask. But now...
Emperor Yongchang asked Empress Zhou to talk to the Second Prince's wife, having her find a way to subtly test the waters. If the Second Prince could still ride and shoot, the Emperor would invite him along. If he could not, Emperor Yongchang would simply cancel the hunting competition altogether, so as not to make his son feel bad upon hearing the news.
Afraid of putting pressure on the young couple, Empress Zhou did not mention the hunting competition to Yao Huang. She only said that seeing Prince Hui riding a horse reminded her of his heroic bearing when he used to ride and shoot in the past, and she was curious if Prince Hui's equestrian archery skills were still intact.
Yao Huang pondered over this for an entire day, feeling that there must be an underlying reason for Empress Zhou's sudden curiosity about this matter.
But no matter the reason, Yao Huang would never use Prince Hui's trust to coax him into trying something just because someone else wanted to know if the disabled prince could still do it.
When Prince Hui rode a horse, he had to rely on both hands to hold the reins or the saddle to maintain his balance. If he tried to let go with both hands to draw a bow and shoot an arrow, what if he fell off the horse? Face and pride aside, what if he got hurt?
When Prince Hui returned at dusk, Yao Huang directly conveyed Empress Zhou's thoughts to him. Whether he could do it or not, the prince himself would certainly know best.
Zhao Sui remained silent for a moment before saying, I can ride, and I can stop to shoot arrows. Shooting while riding is too risky; unless it is absolutely necessary, I will not attempt it.
If he did not try, he had nothing to lose. If he did try, he risked falling and getting injured, and he was also destined to be stared at by onlookers.
Yao Huang asked, Then should I reply to Imperial Mother just like that?
Zhao Sui said, In the past, whenever Imperial Father came to the Northern Park, he would hold a hunting competition. It should be Imperial Father who wants to know if I can participate.
Yao Huang froze for a moment, then said with admiration, Your Highness is truly amazing. Last year, when Imperial Mother called me into the palace to admire the flowers, you instantly guessed it was related to the Dragon Boat Festival banquet. Now you have guessed the hunting competition again. Nothing can be hidden from you.
Zhao Sui replied, It is your first time at the Northern Park, so you could not guess because you do not know the old customs. As for Imperial Mother, just tell her that I can hunt, but I will only be joining in for the fun and will not compete for prey.
He could not compete, nor did he want to.
