Married for over three years, Yao Huang had been made to cry many times by her disabled husband, but she had never cried because of his legs.
She had never seen the pitiful little Second Prince raised in Noble Consort Du's palace, nor had she seen the Prince of Hui in his prime, fighting battles in the north and south. From the moment their eyes first met on the day of the imperial selection, the Prince of Hui Yao Huang saw was the one sitting in a wheelchair, the Prince of Hui who was surrounded by an aura of death, as if it didn't matter whether he took a wife or even lived at all.
Yao Huang naturally knew that it was pitiful and sympathetic for a perfectly healthy prince to suddenly break his legs. But her marriage to the Prince of Hui was essentially a blind arrangement. At most, Yao Huang would sigh inwardly over her royal husband's tragic fate; she wasn't so heartbroken as to shed tears for him right after they married.
By the time the couple slowly grew deeply in love, Yao Huang was already used to the Prince of Hui in his wheelchair. The Prince of Hui always maintained an indifferent attitude, as if he didn't care about his crippled legs himself, so Yao Huang didn't feel so sorrowful as to cry over his broken legs either.
In the massive prince's estate, Yao Huang had never entered the three rooms of the Bamboo Courtyard, nor had she entered the inner chamber, bathing room, and study in the front yard of Ming'an Hall where her husband lived alone. Yao Huang guessed that these places must be equipped with items to help a disabled person handle daily chores, but she never expected that out of a desire for self-reliance, he would set up such a long circle of handrails and use such an arduous method to train a pair of strong, powerful arms.
If you don't know about certain scenes, you don't think about them. Now that she was standing in front of these two rows of handrails and had even tried them herself, Yao Huang couldn't help but imagine how the Prince of Hui, having just recovered from his injuries, had supported himself to move. She wondered if he had ever fallen off the handrails due to unfamiliarity, which was why he had reminded her to be careful not to fall.
Three years ago, the Prince of Hui didn't invite his princess into the rooms of the Bamboo Courtyard because he didn't want her to see these handrails, nor did he want her to imagine his pathetic figure struggling to move.
Three years later, the Crown Prince personally brought the Crown Princess in, simply because of a careless teasing remark she made a while ago.
Yao Huang tilted her head high, but it was useless. Her tears poured out in streams like rain.
When the sound of heavy metal wheels rolling over the stone floor gradually approached from behind, Yao Huang wanted to find another place to hide so the Crown Prince wouldn't catch her crying. However, thinking that the Crown Prince had already pushed his four-wheeled red sandalwood wheelchair all the way here from the north door of the main hall, if she hid again, would she make him painstakingly push his wheelchair to keep chasing her?
Unable to hide and reluctant to do so, Yao Huang turned around, lowered her head, and threw herself onto the wheelchair, pressing her forehead against the Crown Prince's shoulder.
Zhao Sui hugged the Crown Princess with one hand and placed a prepared handkerchief into her hand with the other.
Yao Huang wiped her eyes, then covered her face with the half-wet handkerchief, sobbing as she asked him, "Will Your Highness be unhappy with me like this?"
The Prince of Hui didn't need others' pity, and the Crown Prince certainly needed it even less.
Zhao Sui looked at the Crown Princess in his arms and said, "No."
He indeed didn't need others' pity, but she was not just anyone. Having someone ache for the hardships he had endured only made Zhao Sui feel warm.
Yao Huang pulled the handkerchief down a bit, revealing her eyes, and met the gentle eyes of the Crown Prince looking down at her.
The Crown Prince lowered his head, his lips landing lightly on her closed eyes.
Yao Huang heard the rustling sound of dense bamboo leaves swaying in the wind, and her mind once again conjured up the lonely figure of the Prince of Hui three years ago, sitting here alone, staring blankly with dead eyes at the equally silent bamboo forest around him.
Yao Huang raised her hands and tightly hugged the Crown Prince's shoulders. For the first time, when the Crown Prince was about to pull away, Yao Huang greedily chased after him, wanting to keep kissing him on and on.
The Crown Princess's heartache was very pure; because she ached for him, she wanted to treat him even better.
The warmth in the Crown Prince's heart, however, rapidly turned into a ball of fire. Just as he could no longer conceal his fire, the Crown Princess, who had been holding his face and kissing him so tenderly, suddenly stopped.
Zhao Sui tilted his head back and pressed the Crown Princess's head against his shoulder, not wanting her to see his awkwardness.
Yao Huang glanced at the circle of handrails in the backyard, her cheeks instantly turning redder than the evening clouds on the horizon, and she stammered, "Do... do we have to do it here?"
The handrails were much higher than the dressing table, but the Crown Prince had persevered through even more difficult movements, so what did it matter if she had to stand with her knees bent for a while?
Zhao Sui: "..."
He really wasn't as lustful as the Crown Princess thought, nor was he as unobservant of etiquette as she believed. That time at the secluded pool was only because the Crown Princess had dressed too boldly.
"The kitchen has dough prepared and filling mixed by Master Kong. You'll have to work a bit tonight, let's just eat here."
The Crown Prince said in a calm voice.
Yao Huang: "...Yes, I was asking if we were going to eat here."
After saying that, she broke free from the Crown Prince's hand and ran away, blushing.
Running all the way to the south door of the main hall in one breath, Yao Huang looked back and saw the Crown Prince still motionless in the same spot, his head tilted slightly upwards as if he were intently admiring the bamboo.
Yao Huang knew it; the Crown Prince still needed more time to clear his mind.
When the Crown Prince finally pushed himself unhurriedly to the door of the front yard's kitchen, the Crown Princess inside had already wrapped three white steamed buns. The flour used by the royal family was finer than the most expensive flour available to commoners; even the raw dough smelled richly of wheat. The bun filling was made of the freshest pork and the tenderest cabbage hearts from the estate's vegetable garden.
Glancing at the Crown Prince stopped at the door, Yao Huang waved the fourth bun she had just wrapped and said casually, "I can eat three. How many will Your Highness eat?"
Zhao Sui: "...Roughly how many can be made?"
Yao Huang estimated, "About ten."
Knowing that both masters disliked extravagance and waste, Master Kong hadn't prepared too much dough or filling.
Zhao Sui turned his wheelchair, and only when he was facing the Crown Princess sideways did he say, "Make them all."
During the day, the Crown Prince's duties mainly consumed his mental energy, but at night, when accompanying the Princess, he had to expend at least a round of great physical strength.
The Crown Prince and Crown Princess finished all ten buns. The Crown Princess, who also had to expend physical strength, ended up eating four.
After the meal, Yao Huang first pushed the Crown Prince for a stroll around the garden. After the stroll, they returned to the Bamboo Courtyard. The water cooling in the two wooden buckets on the north side of the main hall and the water in the bathing barrel in the bedroom were just the right temperature.
The north and south doors of the main hall were shut tight. Yao Huang glanced at the Crown Prince sitting next to the two wooden buckets, bit her lip, and said, "Once Your Highness is done washing, wait outside. Until I say I'm ready, Your Highness is not allowed to come over and peek."
It wasn't that she was thin-skinned; it was the Crown Prince who insisted on bathing separately. Come to think of it, Yao Huang had never actually seen the Crown Prince with his trousers completely off.
Zhao Sui: "..."
He lowered his eyes and heard the Crown Princess close the door, though there was no sound of the latch sliding into place.
Even so, Zhao Sui would not do something like peeking at the Crown Princess bathing. That time at the secluded pool, he had only been worried about whether the Crown Princess was a skilled swimmer.
Yao Huang was quick and nimble. After wiping herself down and sitting in the bathing barrel to relax, she could still hear the splashing sound outside as the Crown Prince scooped up a towel from the bucket.
After the sound of water from the Crown Prince's side stopped, Yao Huang did not hear the sound of his wheelchair moving. Knowing the Crown Prince was a gentleman, Yao Huang didn't delay for long. She quickly left the bathtub, dried herself, and changed into the inner garments Nanny Liu had placed in the Bamboo Courtyard's wardrobe beforehand—white silk with bamboo-green trims on the collar and sleeves.
After briefly tidying up the room, Yao Huang went to wheel in the Crown Prince, who had also changed into a set of bamboo-green silk garments.
Once the lamps were extinguished, the Bamboo Courtyard was pitch black. Even the moonlight seeping through the windows was less than what they got over at Ming'an Hall.
Yao Huang shared a blanket with the Crown Prince. Lifting her head to look around, she shrank into his embrace and asked, When Your Highness slept here alone before, did you really not feel scared at all?
Listening closely, one could hear the rustling of bamboo branches outside. It was only late summer; wouldn't the surrounding bamboo be even noisier when the autumn winds picked up?
Zhao Sui stroked the Crown Princess's shoulder. Scared of what?
Yao Huang replied, Demons and ghosts. They say places with heavy yin energy are prone to hauntings.
Zhao Sui asked, Are you very afraid?
Yao Huang said, It's fine with Your Highness accompanying me, but I wouldn't want to sleep here all by myself.
Not wanting the Crown Princess to let her imagination run wild, Zhao Sui pulled her further up into his arms. After being diligently serviced by the Crown Prince, the Crown Princess fell into a deep, satisfying sleep.
In the dead of night, a pair of slightly cool legs pressed against her.
Yao Huang wasn't woken by the chill of those legs, but rather disturbed from her slumber by a pair of rough, hot palms. Dodging them, she mumbled a complaint, Why does Your Highness always like to toss about in the middle of the night?
The hands stopped moving, and a voice asked by her ear, Who is His Highness?
Yao Huang nudged him with her elbow. You.
The clearly familiar voice denied it, saying, I am not him.
Yao Huang woke up completely. She first squeezed the thickly callused palm in front of her, then touched the familiar, slightly cool leg behind her. Gritting her teeth, she said, If you say you aren't, then you aren't? How can you prove you're not?
After a long silence, the voice called out, Huanghuang.
Yao Huang was speechless.
The gentle and polite Prince Hui or Crown Prince indeed wouldn't intentionally call her that.
Since he wasn't the Crown Prince, Yao Huang struggled even more. However, her two slender arms were no match for his thick, powerful ones. Before long, Yao Huang was pressed tightly against the inner wall.
At this point, any words were fair game. Between soft cries and scoldings, Yao Huang said, You're already a bamboo demon, so why are you copying my Crown Prince's old tricks?
The man then shifted outward, scooped her away from the wall, and pressed her beneath him.
Propping himself up on his arms to adjust his position, he issued brief instructions to the Crown Princess.
The bamboo demon, who only possessed two strong arms but no magic at all, was lucky enough to catch a soft-hearted, willing-to-cooperate Crown Princess. Stumbling through, they actually managed to make it work.
When the room returned to calm, leaving only the swaying bamboo forest outside the window, Yao Huang clung to the man's shoulders and shyly praised in his ear, What a formidable bamboo demon.
Zhao Sui asked, ...What bamboo demon?
Yao Huang was speechless. She bit him and turned away.
The Crown Prince chased after her, searching for more unusual clues on the Crown Princess's body while interrogating her, Why is it like this?
Yao Huang tried to cover his mouth, and amidst their playful scuffling, she found herself pressed against the wall by the Crown Prince once again.
The words the Crown Princess had used to disdain the bamboo demon earlier could no longer be applied to the Crown Prince. Since she couldn't show disdain, she had no choice but to cooperate with the Crown Prince one more time.
