The lights were not put out. The Bamboo Demon was once again leaning over the Crown Princess's back, propping himself up. At this moment, if Yao Huang just tilted her head and looked back, she would be able to see the crippled legs that her husband of three years had never let her see.
However, her reserved husband felt that his thin and frail legs were unpresentable, so he always kept them hidden. Yao Huang certainly would not disdain them, but she was willing to accommodate his modesty. Thus, she did not tilt her head even slightly, burying her face in her disheveled, cascading black hair and whimpering softly.
What Yao Huang had said to Emperor Yongchang before the evening banquet wasn't entirely flattery. The Prince's estate was her and the Crown Prince's territory, where the couple reigned supreme and could be as unrestrained as they pleased. The Eastern Palace, however, was part of the imperial palace, which was Emperor Yongchang's domain. Even though the Eastern Palace was far enough from the Qianyuan Pavilion, imperial guards were stationed along the palace walls between the two palaces at night. In the dead of night, what if some sharp-eared guard actually heard them?
Yao Huang remembered when she lived in Changshou Alley, especially in the spring, the wild meowing of stray cats would often drift through the window into the middle of the night.
Now, she and the Crown Prince had also become two cats.
"Why are you so quiet tonight?"
The Crown Prince, having turned from a Bamboo Demon back into a man, lay down beside her, pulled up the quilt, and pulled the immobile Crown Princess into his arms, kissing her shoulder from behind.
Yao Huang weakly scratched the back of the Crown Prince's hand that was clasping her. "Isn't it good to be quiet? Your Highness used to always remind me to keep my voice down."
Zhao Sui did not answer. Crying out had its merits, and being quiet had its merits too.
Taking advantage of the fact that the Crown Princess still needed a moment to recover, Zhao Sui went to the washroom to clean up first. When he returned, he had changed into a set of inner garments. Except for his slightly flushed face, as if he had just bathed, his handsome features no longer showed any trace of having acted as a Bamboo Demon for nearly half an hour.
The Crown Princess still maintained the side-lying position from when he had left. Sitting in his wheelchair, Zhao Sui reached out and turned her over. He saw that the Crown Princess had her eyes closed and was almost asleep. A strand of hair stuck to her pink cheek, and a faint layer of sweat still lingered from her forehead down to her body.
A bucket filled with warm water was placed nearby. Zhao Sui wet a cloth and helped wipe the Crown Princess down.
As he wiped, the Crown Princess's face turned even redder. Her eyes opened slightly, glaring at him faintly.
Zhao Sui wondered how there could be such a woman in this world, as radiant and vibrant as a spring day during the morning, yet as soft and yielding as water at night.
The Crown Prince's family moved into the Eastern Palace on the twenty-eighth, and early the next morning, they experienced the first benefit of their relocation.
Previously, when there was a morning court assembly, the Crown Prince had to wake up around four in the morning, eat a little something to pad his stomach, and hurry toward the palace. Now that he lived in the palace, the Crown Prince could sleep for an extra quarter to half an hour and then depart directly in his wheelchair.
Because the Crown Prince had only indulged once the previous night, Yao Huang also woke up very early. After breakfast, she took her wet nurse and Jun'er to the Central Palace to pay her respects to Empress Zhou.
Empress Zhou said gently, "Just like when we were at the temporary palace last year, you only need to come pay respects on the first and fifth days of each month. There is no need to run over here every single day."
Although there were many rules in the palace, they were not entirely inflexible. The Empress could decide the frequency with which concubines, princes, and princesses came to pay their respects. Since Empress Zhou was not someone who cared much for ostentation, she could reduce the number of times everyone had to pay respects. Before Empress Zhou, there had been Empresses who required everyone to come pay respects every single day.
Yao Huang felt more and more that she was blessed by fate. The prince she married had a good temper, her emperor father-in-law above was amiable and approachable, and her legitimate mother-in-law treated her kindly. Her only difficult adoptive mother-in-law, Noble Consort Du, was not very skilled in her scheming.
On the first day of the eighth month, her fourth day in the palace, Yao Huang unexpectedly saw Nanny Fang again, the woman who had taught them rules and etiquette when she was a show girl in the Chuxiu Pavilion.
At that time, Nanny Fang was like a door guardian in the eyes of most show girls, fierce and strict. If the door guardian favored a show girl and let her off lightly, that girl could pass the assessment, have the chance to show her face before the Emperor and Empress, be titled a princess, and enjoy wealth and glory. If the door guardian found a show girl an eyesore and deliberately found fault with her, she could eliminate that girl and completely ruin her prospects of marrying into the royal family.
Yao Huang had also been somewhat afraid of Nanny Fang. Seeing her again today, before Yao Huang had the chance to properly look at the Nanny she had not seen for over three years, Nanny Fang knelt down first and respectfully kowtowed. "This servant pays her respects to Her Highness the Crown Princess."
Yao Huang quickly signaled Aji and Bailing to help her up, smiling. "It is all thanks to Nanny's careful teaching back then that I had the opportunity to be chosen as a consort by the Crown Prince. Today, Nanny has come under Her Majesty's verbal decree to guide me on the etiquette for the investiture ceremony. In my eyes, Nanny is like half a teacher to me. There is no need for you to be so constrained."
Fate is truly wondrous. Back then, Yao Huang had desperately wished for Nanny Fang to pick out a minor fault and let her leave the palace to reunite with her family. She tried three times, but Nanny Fang simply refused to let her go, which ultimately led to Yao Huang's destiny of marrying the Crown Prince. If Yao Huang were living a miserable life now, she would definitely resent Nanny Fang, but since she was living well, she naturally remembered Nanny Fang's kindness.
And Nanny Fang was indeed the first person in the imperial palace to thoroughly understand Yao Huang's temperament. Knowing that this Crown Princess, who looked naturally blessed with good fortune, was speaking from the heart, Nanny Fang smiled and relaxed her posture slightly. "Your Highness praises me too much; this servant absolutely does not deserve it. It is truly because Your Highness has the natural appearance of a noble person. Three years ago, no matter how this servant looked at Your Highness, I thought you were excellent."
Such a beauty, with looks and a figure rarely seen in a century—even if the imperial concubines did not select her to be the primary or secondary consort of a prince, the Emperor would probably have taken her for himself. This was the reason Nanny Fang had been exceptionally lenient with Yao Huang. But even Nanny Fang herself had not calculated that Yao Huang would actually marry the Prince of Hui as his primary consort and rise all the way to the esteemed position of Crown Princess today.
After the acquaintances caught up, Nanny Fang began to explain the entire process of the investiture ceremony to the Crown Princess. Every step had its specific etiquette, which was extremely tedious.
Yao Huang learned with great interest. Only exhausting work with little reward makes people lose motivation. Working hard for a few days to earn a massive family estate and grand glory—Yao Huang believed that even her crippled Crown Prince would take pleasure in such toil.
Busy until the fifth day of the eighth month, the investiture ceremony officially began.
Zhao Sui, wearing the Crown Prince's ceremonial attire, sat in the golden-thread nanmu wheelchair, pushed by Qingai. Yao Huang, wearing the Crown Princess's ceremonial attire, walked beside him.
As they passed through the middle of the assembled officials, walking along, Yao Huang caught a glimpse of the Prince of Qing Commandery standing behind the Prince of Kang.
Because the investiture of a Crown Prince was a grand national ceremony second only to an emperor's ascension to the throne, Emperor Yongchang had temporarily let the Prince of Qing Commandery out to kneel and bow to his second brother?
It was just a fleeting thought that quickly passed through Yao Huang's mind. The Crown Princess's coronet on her head was very heavy, and she had to focus entirely on her steps.
After bowing to Emperor Yongchang, they in turn received the kowtows of the royal descendants, nobles, and civil and military officials. Then they went to the Central Palace to bow to Empress Zhou, and in turn received the kneeling respects of the titled ladies from both inside and outside the palace. Because she had already seen the Prince of Qing Commandery earlier, Yao Huang was not surprised to see Zheng Yuanzhen standing behind Chen Ying at this moment. She only felt heartache that Chen Ying, so far along in her pregnancy, had to endure this exertion. Fortunately, Empress Zhou had arranged things well in advance; Chen Ying only needed to kneel and did not have to kowtow.
Yao Huang's heart remained in her throat until Chen Ying stood up safely. Seeing that Chen Ying was still smiling at her, Yao Huang smiled as well.
After the respects in the palace were finished, Yao Huang still had to follow the Crown Prince to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to pay respects to the royal ancestors.
After completing all the worship ceremonies and attending two palace banquets, it was not until night fell that Yao Huang finally returned to the Eastern Palace. Taking off the cumbersome ceremonial dress and having a quick bath, Yao Huang collapsed onto the couch in the eastern side room.
The Crown Prince was still sorting things out in the front courtyard. The wet nurse placed Jun'er beside the Crown Princess, letting her dote on the little young master she hadn't seen all day before she went to rest.
The exhaustion belonged to his father and mother; the little young master of the Eastern Palace had spent the day eating and sleeping, living quite comfortably.
Yao Huang gently squeezed Jun'er's chubby little hand and whispered, Everyone says I am blessed, but I think you are the one with the greatest fortune.
His life was even better than his Crown Prince father's.
At just over five months old, Jun'er could not understand what his mother was saying. He rolled over, lifted his little head, and babbled at his mother.
When Zhao Sui came over, before he even entered the side room, he heard the Crown Princess's laughing voice teasing from inside, Come crawl over here if you can.
Zhao Sui wheeled his wheelchair in and saw the Crown Princess lying on the far west side of the heated couch, while Jun'er was lying on his stomach in the middle, staring anxiously at his mother but unable to crawl a single step.
Zhao Sui stopped his wheelchair in front of the couch.
From his position, he was closer to Jun'er than the Crown Princess was. Jun'er began babbling at his father, wanting him to pick him up.
Yao Huang cooperatively closed her eyes, waiting for the Crown Prince to shift onto the couch.
Zhao Sui did not move, because Jun'er was staring fixedly at him.
In another two or three months, Jun'er would slowly learn to crawl. Zhao Sui did not want Jun'er to be confused by seeing his father using his hands to lift his legs and shift his body, lest the boy develop differently from normal children.
I will not come up. Hand Jun'er to me, Zhao Sui said in a calm voice.
Yao Huang assumed the Crown Prince was also exhausted from the day's various ordeals. Smiling, she picked Jun'er up and placed him into his hands.
Zhao Sui supported Jun'er by the armpits. Spending every day lying on his back or stomach, Jun'er loved this; his two little feet stomped and bounced wildly against his father's legs.
Zhao Sui let the little boy bounce away.
His own legs were crippled, but he loved Jun'er's strong little legs.
Yao Huang watched the Crown Prince play with Jun'er like this until it was time for the baby to sleep, at which point the Crown Prince called the wet nurse to take Jun'er away.
Yao Huang was still lying on her pillow and teased the Crown Prince, Your Highness is truly a god. After such a tiring day, you can still hold a child up for so long.
Even as a relatively strong woman, she could not manage to hold up the ten-plus-pound Jun'er for that long.
Zhao Sui met the Crown Princess's eyes, placed his hand on the edge of the couch in front of him, and said, Come here.
Yao Huang glanced out the window; it really was time to rest.
Scooting to the edge of the couch, Yao Huang deliberately sat facing the Crown Prince. She then placed her bare feet on his legs, imitating Jun'er by alternately stomping a few times.
Zhao Sui lowered his eyes. Waiting until the Crown Princess's fair feet had stomped enough, he wrapped one arm around her back and placed the other under the crook of her knees. Exerting force with both arms, he lifted the Crown Princess from the couch and into his embrace in one smooth motion.
The unanchored wheelchair rolled backward slightly, but because the Crown Prince moved fast enough, the couple remained perfectly safe.
Even so, Yao Huang's heart raced, and she hastily hooked her arms around the Crown Prince's shoulders, hugging him tightly.
Zhao Sui let the Crown Princess hold on tight, then released his hands and grasped the thin wooden handrims on both sides of the wheelchair.
Bearing the weight of two people, the three-wheeled wheelchair moved slowly toward the inner chamber.
Yao Huang had long known that the Crown Prince had a pair of strong arms, but at this very moment, she was still amazed by the strength he displayed.
Taking advantage of the fact that the Crown Prince's hands were occupied by the wheels, Yao Huang stealthily yet brazenly slipped her right hand into his collar, pressing her palm against his broad, firm chest.
Every time the Crown Prince pushed the wheelchair forward, his shoulders, chest, and abdomen would flex with the effort.
The Crown Princess, who had clearly intended to go straight to sleep the moment she hit the bed, was unexpectedly and effortlessly stirred into heat by the Crown Prince.
