Although Yao Huang and Prince Hui resided in the rear hall of the temporary palace, neither husband nor wife had the authority to invite officials or female dependents inside.
After her midday rest, Yao Huang went to Empress Zhou's quarters and asked the Empress to help her summon Li Fuwei: "Imperial Father granted my brother such a wonderful marriage, but my parents don't even know the news yet. I must be the first to express our fondness for Miss Li on their behalf, and conveniently put in a few good words for my brother in front of her."
Empress Zhou smiled and said, "The Li family is a lineage of military generals. Your brother has also learned excellent martial arts and has a handsome, striking appearance. Fuwei will surely like him."
The Eldest Princess chimed in, "Whether Fuwei will like Young Master Yao, I cannot say for sure, but Fuwei will definitely like Second Sister-in-Law."
Yao Huang had attended far too many banquets in her capacity as a Princess Consort, and she had heard quite a bit about Li Fuwei, this fierce daughter of a military family. Judging purely from wielding spears, playing with swords, riding horses, and hunting, she and Li Fuwei could certainly find common ground to chat about. However, Yao Huang had learned martial arts purely because she had an itch to join her brothers' sparring, and she only hunted for recreation. This could not be compared to Li Fuwei's ambition of one day marching onto the battlefield to defend the country.
Furthermore, Li Fuwei did not merely practice martial arts; she also studied military strategy and tactics diligently. It was said that her talents were not inferior to those of her two brothers at home.
As they drank tea and chatted, the palace servants Empress Zhou had sent out returned. Following beside them was Li Fuwei, dressed in a white upper garment with blue trim and a lake-blue, waist-high long skirt. Her features were tranquil without appearing aloof, possessing the delicate beauty of a lone orchid in an empty valley.
After paying their respects and exchanging a few simple pleasantries, Empress Zhou let the three young people go stroll through the gardens on their own.
The Eldest Princess helped Yao Huang and Li Fuwei get acquainted with each other, then found an excuse to gracefully withdraw.
Through this brief interaction, Yao Huang discovered that Li Fuwei was indeed a woman of few words, just as the Eldest Princess had revealed. If asked a question, she would answer; if not asked, Li Fuwei would not make an effort to force conversation just because her companions were a Princess and a Princess Consort.
This made it difficult for Yao Huang to dive into a deep conversation right away.
After walking for a while, Yao Huang suddenly raised a hand to support her forehead, her brows furrowing slightly.
Li Fuwei knew that the Princess Consort of Hui was pregnant. To be safe, she supported the Princess Consort's shoulder. "Is Your Highness feeling unwell somewhere?"
Yao Huang lowered her hand and saw that a trace of tension and worry had finally appeared in Li Fuwei's calm eyes.
She smiled gently. "I am fine. It is just that my head aches over how to broach a certain subject with you."
Li Fuwei: "..."
The Princess Consort was very beautiful, and when she smiled, she was even more radiantly stunning. Especially those round, bright, dark, and glossy eyes—their candid yet mischievous nature made it impossible for anyone to bear being angry with her.
Confirming that the Princess Consort was fine, Li Fuwei let go and said, "If Your Highness has something on your mind, please feel free to speak plainly."
Yao Huang sighed. "The marriage bestowed by His Majesty yesterday is a tremendous joy for my brother, but I fear that you might feel wronged in your heart. After all, you come from a Duke's estate, while my brother is merely..."
Li Fuwei: "Your Highness worries too much. I never envisioned marrying a husband of equal social standing. Yesterday at the hunting grounds, when His Majesty asked for my opinion, I only considered your brother's appearance, temperament, and capabilities. I did not care about anything else."
Yao Huang's heart stirred. She looked at her and asked, "Then did you agree to the bestowed marriage because you didn't want to go against His Majesty, or because you are reasonably satisfied with my brother's appearance, temperament, and capabilities?"
Li Fuwei lowered her eyes. "Both."
Yao Huang laughed. "My brother does look decent enough, and while his martial arts cannot be compared to children of military families like yours, he is still quite good among ordinary military officers. However, his temperament might not be so pleasing to a lady. Not to mention anything from the past, just take that red fox for example. Everyone else knew they shouldn't touch it, but he only had his eyes on the hundred-tael reward. He was so thoughtless that my mother almost scolded him for being stupid."
Li Fuwei: "...He hunted the red fox just for the reward?"
Yao Huang: "Yes, what else did you think it was for?"
Li Fuwei looked to the side.
Yao Huang thought of Emperor Yongchang's words of praise for her brother, then looked at Li Fuwei's expression. She did not regret exposing her brother's shortcomings, because such foolishness could be hidden for a day, but not for a month. She merely felt sympathetic toward Li Fuwei. "What to do? Now that you've discovered my brother isn't as commendably courageous as you thought, do you regret agreeing to it?"
Li Fuwei paused for a moment and asked, "Is he usually greedy for money too?"
Yao Huang: "If liking silver is called being greedy, then both of us siblings are quite greedy. After all, my father only earns a salary of five taels a month, and my mother always has to budget carefully when managing the household. Given a sudden opportunity to earn a reward from a hunt and make the whole family happy, I might still consider the social nuances of officialdom, but my brother simply lacks that string in his brain. However, my brother is very upright; he definitely wouldn't covet silver that he shouldn't take."
Hearing the Princess Consort state her father's salary herself, Li Fuwei finally truly realized the difference in family circumstances between her own household and the Yao family.
In that case, although Yao Lin hunting the red fox had nothing to do with commendable courage, it was absolutely not driven by a lust for profit either.
"Since that is the case, I will not regret it."
Yao Huang continued to list her brother's character flaws, such as being careless, speaking bluntly without thinking, not knowing how to read the room, and being clumsy with words and unable to coax people.
She first criticized her brother to the extreme. This way, when Li Fuwei married over, it would actually be easier for her to discover some of his good points, since she would already be prepared for all his flaws.
Li Fuwei listened silently. Because the Princess Consort was putting so much effort into disparaging her own brother, Li Fuwei's heart stirred. She looked at the Princess Consort and asked, "Are the Prince, Your Highness, or your brother harboring misgivings about this marriage, and trying to make me back out?"
Yesterday, when her father and brother returned from their audience with the Emperor, they called her over and gave her some pointers. They said His Majesty had no intention of punishing their family; he simply did not like their family getting tangled up in the battle for the crown prince position.
As for which Prince Emperor Yongchang would ultimately choose, her father instructed them not to make unauthorized speculations. From now on, they just needed to do their own duties well.
The Li family had accepted it, but perhaps Prince Hui did not want to get involved, or perhaps Yao Lin did not want to marry a woman like her?
Hearing that her thoughts had gone astray, Yao Huang hurriedly clarified: "No, no, I just don't want you to hold too high an expectation of my brother's temperament, lest the greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment. My brother also said he will try his best to treat you well; he is just afraid you will disdain him for his low family background, poor scholarship, and lack of cleverness."
Li Fuwei: "Then he need not worry. I do not value those things."
.
After meeting Li Fuwei, Yao Huang went to Empress Zhou to express her thanks before returning to Yunshan Hall.
Prince Hui was in the study. Hearing footsteps, he looked up and met the radiant, smiling face of his Princess Consort as she lifted the curtain.
Zhao Sui put down his book and rolled his wheelchair back a little, making it convenient for the Princess Consort to walk around the desk and sit on his lap.
"Relieved now?" Zhao Sui asked as he embraced the Princess Consort.
Yao Huang: "Yes, one look and you can tell Miss Li is someone who doesn't care about family status or empty titles. Without the concerns of identity and background, it just depends on whether my brother himself can win her favor. Oh, by the way, when you see my brother later, tell him exactly this..."
The Princess Consort's coaching consisted of a very long paragraph.
Zhao Sui: "...I am setting up a banquet by the lake, with no outsiders. You may come along."
The things the Princess Consort said sounded very nice, but Zhao Sui could not imagine the scene of himself relaying those exact words to Yao Lin.
Yao Huang: "That works too. A banquet by the lake, what are we eating?"
Female relatives could enter the rear hall, but it was inappropriate for an outside male like her brother to do so. It wasn't worth disturbing Emperor Yongchang for their own family's happy event.
Prince Hui couldn't possibly go to the barracks where her brother was staying, so the lakeside was indeed a good choice.
Zhao Sui said, "Barbecue. It's convenient."
Yao Huang loved barbecue, but eating only meat could easily become too heavy. She had Eunuch Cao go to the imperial kitchen to order three cold dishes and some refreshing fruits to balance the meal.
Just as dusk was falling, the couple set out. Unexpectedly, as they were leaving the temporary palace, they ran into Emperor Yongchang returning on horseback, accompanied by several nobles, including the Duke of Zhenguo, Li Qian.
Emperor Yongchang glanced at the food box in Aji's hands and the wine jug Feiquan was carrying, asking in surprise, "Are you going out to eat?"
Was his second son in such a good mood that he actually wanted to drink?
Zhao Sui explained, "This morning, I just informed Yao Lin of the Princess Consort's good news. Yao Lin was overjoyed and wished to drink a few cups with me to celebrate."
Emperor Yongchang smiled and looked at the Duke of Zhenguo.
He knew that his second daughter-in-law had summoned Yao Lin this morning, and he had heard that Yao Lin ran like a wild horse in his joy when he left. Emperor Yongchang had assumed it was because of the bestowed marriage, but it turned out it was the happy news of becoming an uncle.
Li Qian smiled in agreement, gaining a bit more understanding of his future son-in-law's shrewdness in his heart.
Emperor Yongchang did not delay the young couple any longer and went straight inside.
By the lake, Yao Lin was already waiting. Seeing that his royal brother-in-law had indeed prepared wine, he became even more delighted.
The imperial kitchen had sent a master chef to roast half of a freshly slaughtered yellow sheep for Prince Hui and the Princess Consort, with the accompanying guard Zhang Yue helping on the side.
The bonfire for roasting the sheep was some distance from their seating area, so Yao Huang took the opportunity to tell her brother what Li Fuwei had said.
Yao Lin replied, "Good, as long as she doesn't despise me, it's fine. I will definitely yield to her as much as possible and won't actively do anything to make her dislike me."
Saying this, Yao Lin glanced at his royal brother-in-law, who was sitting beside his sister, silently sipping tea.
His sister had married a royal prince, and he was marrying a noble lady from a duke's estate; their situations were quite similar.
His sister had won Prince Hui's favor through gentleness and consideration, and he would also try hard to use his gentleness and consideration to coax Miss Li into not despising him.
Zhao Sui remained silent.
.
After finishing this simple banquet, the setting sun was at its peak, sprinkling a glittering glow over the lake's surface.
The master chef from the imperial kitchen packed up his things and took his leave, and Yao Lin, having eaten and drunk his fill, also departed.
Yao Huang pushed Prince Hui in his wheelchair along the lakeshore toward the temporary palace.
The setting sun shone from behind, lengthening the shadows of the couple and the wheelchair beneath Prince Hui.
Zhao Sui recalled the words the Princess Consort had said to Yao Lin that morning, and recalled the look Yao Lin had just given him. He asked the Princess Consort, "At the beginning of our marriage, did I often treat you coldly?"
Yao Huang replied, "No, why does Your Highness suddenly ask this?"
Prince Hui did not answer.
Yao Huang paused, "...Is it because my brother is marrying a lady from a high-born family, and Your Highness thought of our situation back then?"
Prince Hui tacitly agreed.
Yao Huang said as she walked, "With a status like Your Highness's, you didn't even need to actively give me the cold shoulder. Just by you keeping a straight face, I would have to guess whether Your Highness was unhappy, and guess why Your Highness was unhappy. It had nothing to do with Your Highness; it was just me making sure I wouldn't offend you. But it was only like that in the beginning. Later, when I got familiar with Your Highness and knew you were the person with the absolute best temper, I long stopped being so afraid of you."
Zhao Sui thought of the Princess Consort who could only wait outside the bamboo courtyard for him to open the door, and thought of the Princess Consort who hid in her room crying alone because he refused to go out with her.
"You suffered a lot of grievances during that time," he said, looking at the Princess Consort's shadow.
The wheelchair suddenly stopped, and the Princess Consort walked around to face him.
Zhao Sui looked up.
The Princess Consort bent down and smiled at him, saying, "If Your Highness treated me badly, or wasn't lovable at all, I would definitely feel wronged. But marrying a prince who is exceptionally good and exceptionally handsome, I don't feel wronged at all."
The exceptionally handsome Prince Hui immediately turned his head away under the Princess Consort's gaze.
