After chatting with the Emperor and Empress in the Imperial Garden, the Crown Prince and his wife followed the royal decree and took Yun'er back to the Eastern Palace to rest.
Returning from a long journey, Yao Huang, as usual, first took a bath to wash off the dust of travel. Then, she sat on the warm couch in the side room, letting her hair dry in the sun while playing with Yun'er. Taking this opportunity, she called for the wet nurse, Chunyan, and Nanny Liu one by one to ask them a few questions. She wanted to understand how Yun'er had been doing and catch up on matters big and small within and outside the Eastern Palace during the time she and the Crown Prince were away from the capital. When Nanny Liu mentioned that Princess Consort Kang had not yet given birth, Yao Huang breathed a sigh of relief; she had promised Chen Ying that she would visit her once she delivered the baby.
Just as she finished her inquiries, the Crown Prince came over, and Nanny Liu took her leave.
Yao Huang picked up Yun'er, and the mother and son looked outside together. Once the Crown Prince sat down, Yao Huang placed Yun'er between the two of them.
Zhao Sui liked to wear jade ornaments, and Yun'er loved to grab his father's jade pendant and stuff it into his mouth, gnawing on it with great relish. He didn't even need his parents to go out of their way to coax him.
Smelling the familiar, refreshing scent of massage oil on the Crown Prince, Yao Huang asked with concern, "We were delayed on the road for two days. Did it affect your exercises?"
Zhao Sui replied, "It was fine."
There were ways to exercise in the carriage, it was just not convenient to explain them to the Crown Princess.
Yao Huang leaned against the Crown Prince's shoulder and touched his leg. "It is really strange. I never thought about wanting Your Highness to hold me every day before, but ever since you said it is not suitable to put pressure on your legs lately, it makes me want to sit on your lap the moment I see you."
Zhao Sui was speechless.
Thinking of the Crown Princess's past intimate habit of casually sitting on his lap, Zhao Sui could actually understand her impulse. It was just like how he had been free of desires before meeting her, but once she appeared in front of him every day...
Suppressing that untimely thought, Zhao Sui parted his legs slightly to let the Crown Princess sit in the middle.
Yao Huang carefully avoided Yun'er and sat over with a smile, leaning back right into the Crown Prince's chest.
Behind Zhao Sui was a silk cushion. Holding the Crown Princess like this, in front of him was her fluffy, soft hair, and beside him was their charming and adorable young child.
As the family of three was comfortably enjoying this tranquility, a eunuch was sent from the Qianyuan Hall, saying that the Crown Prince had handled his duties well and the Emperor had a reward for him.
Since the reward was for the Crown Prince, it was fine if Yao Huang did not show her face, which also saved her from having to hastily comb her hair.
Watching the Crown Prince wheel his tricycle wheelchair out the door, Yao Huang squeezed Yun'er's chubby little foot and muttered softly, "Your imperial grandfather is really something. If he wanted to give a reward, he could have just done it in the Imperial Garden. He had to make your father go through the trouble of moving between the bed and the wheelchair two more times."
Yun'er could not understand what his mother was saying. If he actually could, Yao Huang would not have dared to say it, for fear that the little imperial grandson might accidentally let it slip in front of his grandfather one day.
After waiting for a while, the Crown Prince returned. Yao Huang looked toward the door and first saw the Crown Prince's legs resting on the front of the wheelchair, followed by what was placed on his lap... an exceptionally exquisite and luxurious jewelry box inlaid with a circle of gemstones.
The Crown Princess, who had been lazily leaning against the couch, immediately sat up straight. Staring at the jewelry box, she asked, "Is... is this what Imperial Father rewarded Your Highness with?"
Zhao Sui replied, "Yes, that is what the oral decree said."
Yao Huang held back a laugh and glanced at the Crown Prince's head. "Since when did Your Highness like to dress up?"
Zhao Sui met the Crown Princess's eyes and said, "I do not. I will have Qingai send it to the storehouse."
Yao Huang shifted straight to the edge of the couch and reached out to grab the jewelry box. "Do not be in such a hurry. Let me see what kind of jewelry is inside for Your Highness first. Perhaps they are jade hairpins and crowns for men."
Zhao Sui pressed down the Crown Princess's fair and delicate hand, then helped place the rather heavy jewelry box onto the couch.
Yao Huang could not wait to open it. She found seven pieces of gold jewelry inlaid with gemstones laid out on the silk padding inside. Placed right in the center was a palm-sized, flower-shaped hairpin; from the inside out, it had three layers of petals, and each petal was inlaid with a gemstone.
Before Yao Huang could finish counting the outer circle, she heard the Crown Prince say beside her, "I was told it is a twenty-one-piece set of gemstone head ornaments."
Twenty-one pieces?
Yao Huang was shocked, then suddenly realized that this jewelry box was actually tiered. She held the first layer with both hands and gave it a try; sure enough, it could be propped up, revealing a second layer that also displayed seven different pieces of jewelry. Propping up this layer revealed yet another layer inside!
With no outsiders present, Yao Huang laid all twenty-one pieces of gemstone jewelry out on the couch in one breath, then counted the gemstones one by one. When she counted to over a hundred, the Crown Prince suddenly handed her a handkerchief.
Yao Huang touched the corner of her mouth in disbelief. She was not drooling.
Zhao Sui said, "Your words are slurring, you probably will soon."
Yao Huang swatted him in annoyance. She was just about to continue counting, but she had forgotten what number she was on!
The Crown Prince was still laughing at her from the side, angering Yao Huang so much that she swatted him again. She did not care for his help anyway; at worst, she would just start counting all over again from the beginning.
Not counting the ones on the box itself, there were a total of two hundred and eighteen gemstones. Among them were some as large as pigeon eggs and others the size of peanuts. If she counted the ones around the box, there were eighteen more!
Yao Huang hugged the box and asked the Crown Prince, "Aren't gemstones very precious? How come it seems like Imperial Father has an endless supply of gemstone jewelry to give away?"
The last gemstone peony hairpin had made Yao Huang faintly worry whether she alone was going to drain Emperor Yongchang of all his gemstones. In the end, Emperor Yongchang directly used a whole box of gemstone jewelry to open her eyes once again today!
Zhao Sui explained, "They are precious because gemstone mines are rare. However, once a gemstone mine is discovered, it belongs to the imperial court, and private mining by commoners is strictly prohibited. Therefore, every year, a batch of gemstones is sent from the mines to the capital. Imperial Father will allocate a portion to the Wensi Institute to be made into gemstone-inlaid jewelry or artifacts, and the finished products are then awarded by Imperial Father to the royal family or officials."
Yao Huang understood. "So Imperial Father still has a pile of gemstones over there, and I do not need to worry about eating him out of house and home?"
Zhao Sui chuckled.
The Crown Princess suddenly leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "It must be because Your Highness credited the recovery of your legs to me that Imperial Father rewarded me."
Zhao Sui was just about to lower his eyes when he saw that Yun'er had propped up his head and was lying on his stomach at some point, his clear, distinct phoenix eyes staring unblinkingly in their direction.
Zhao Sui said, "...Put them away. Do not let Yun'er play with the gemstones."
Yun'er could not bite through a jade pendant, but he might just gnaw off these small gemstones inlaid in the jewelry and swallow them.
Yao Huang then pulled Yun'er over, holding him with one hand while putting the gemstone jewelry back into the box with the other. She first taught Yun'er to count from one to twenty-one, then closed the lid of the jewelry box, patted it, and said, "See that? Your imperial grandfather called your father away just now to reward him with these treasures. So, your imperial grandfather is the best grandfather in the world. When Yun'er grows up, you must be properly filial to him."
Yun'er imitated his mother and patted the lid.
At night, the Crown Prince gave the Crown Princess a long-overdue lecture on the rules. "In the future, you must not do anything inappropriate in front of Yun'er."
Yao Huang replied, "Alright, in the future, I will admire those gemstones behind his back."
She was a girl raised in a humble household, so her horizons were limited. It was only human nature for her to be mesmerized by these rare gold, silver, and jewels. Yun'er, however, was a little young master born into the royal golden nest. He ought to learn the noble and aloof posture of the Crown Prince and the Eldest Princess, who would disdain to pick up a golden cake even if it fell from the sky. Of course, learning the posture was enough; he could not actually be so foolish as to throw his own golden cakes away as if they were nothing.
Zhao Sui: "...It is not just that."
Yao Huang looked bewildered: "Did I do something else inappropriate?"
Zhao Sui looked at the Crown Princess's lips, which were as moist and red as rubies under the lamplight.
Yao Huang: "...He is only six months old, how could he understand these things? Rest assured, Your Highness, when he is old enough to understand, I promise I will not take liberties with you ever again, whether in public or in private, completely eliminating any future troubles of making Your Highness act inappropriately."
The Crown Princess said this with a smile. After speaking, she pushed the Crown Prince away, turned over, and lay down.
Zhao Sui pulled her back into his arms and kissed the side of her neck.
Yao Huang hummed: "Yun'er does not like to see inappropriate things, and I do not like doing inappropriate things either. Please conduct yourself with dignity, Your Highness."
The Crown Prince ignored her words and directly pulled down half of the Crown Princess's inner garment.
.
Soon, the craftsmen from the Crown Prince's former residence brought the hardwood handrails dismantled from the bamboo courtyard of Prince Hui's Manor into the Eastern Palace.
It was not that the Crown Prince was being frugal and reluctant to use new ones, but rather that the surfaces of these old hardwood handrails had already been polished smooth and round by the Crown Prince's constant gripping over the years. Using new ones would actually be more likely to injure the Crown Prince's palms.
These craftsmen were all veterans, and it only took them half a day to install the handrails solidly.
To ensure the Crown Prince had ample time to exercise his legs even while on duty, Emperor Yongchang specially permitted the Crown Prince to rest for an extra half hour every noon. After all, he was currently in charge of the gunpowder workshop's development of gunpowder weapons, and he could control the progress of his daily official duties himself.
Thus, after finishing his official duties in the morning, Zhao Sui would directly return to the Eastern Palace to dine with the Crown Princess, and then use the extra half hour for leg exercises and massages.
On the sixth day of the ninth lunar month, Prince Kang's Manor sent good news: the Princess Consort had given birth, and both mother and daughter were safe.
After greeting Empress Zhou, Yao Huang left the palace, accompanied by the eunuch arranged by Consort Xian to deliver rewards.
Chen Ying, who had already taken a short nap, showed a weak and gentle smile to the Crown Princess by her bed: "It would have been the same if you came on the day of the washing ceremony. Why the rush?"
Yao Huang whispered: "I am only too eager to have another excuse to get out of the palace for a walk. I did not come specifically just to see you."
Chen Ying's smile deepened.
Yao Huang asked if she was afraid during the delivery.
Chen Ying shook her head: "I was too busy dealing with the pain. I did have some wild thoughts before giving birth, but when I thought of the Crown Princess in the palace thinking of me, I was not afraid anymore."
Even Consort Xian had praised Yao Huang as a blessed person, and Yao Huang's journey so far had indeed been full of deep blessings. Chen Ying thought that the close friends of a blessed person should also be blessed; otherwise, if something happened to her, would not Yao Huang, a blessed person, be heartbroken?
Yao Huang laughed continuously upon hearing this: "Regardless of whether it makes sense, as long as it gives you peace of mind, it is accurate!"
After visiting Chen Ying, it was time for Yao Huang to return to the palace. Prince Kang led the young heir to see off his sister-in-law, the Crown Princess.
Yao Huang did not have much to chat about with Prince Kang. In the evening, she asked the Crown Prince: "Has Your Highness told the First Prince about your legs?"
If he did not say anything, and in the future the Crown Prince suddenly appeared standing in front of Prince Kang, Prince Kang would be pleasantly surprised, but on second thought, would he not feel that his second brother had hidden it for so long and did not treat him as a good brother?
Zhao Sui: "If he enters the palace tomorrow, I will invite him to the Eastern Palace for lunch."
These past few days, Prince Kang's mind had been entirely on Princess Consort Kang, so he had not bothered his elder brother with his own affairs.
The next day, Prince Kang indeed entered the palace for duty. After all, it was not his first time becoming a father, and both Chen Ying and her daughter were in good health, so he did not need to worry too much.
After a busy morning, being brought to the Eastern Palace by his second brother at noon, Prince Kang even complained that his second brother was being too polite: "That is already my fourth child. Why do you need to specially treat me to a meal for this? When Yun'er was born, even as the eldest brother, I did not think to invite you for a drink."
Zhao Sui smiled. Supporting himself on the table with both hands, he slowly stood up. Then, freeing his right hand, he lifted the wine pot and poured wine for his elder brother with a slight tremble.
Prince Kang's narrow eyes widened in shock.
Zhao Sui sat back down in his wheelchair, only saying that he accidentally discovered his legs could move while hunting in the Northern Park, and incidentally hoped Prince Kang would keep it a secret for him for the time being.
Prince Kang, with red eyes, said: "Alright, you treat me today. Whenever you are fully recovered, second brother, your eldest brother will host a banquet specifically to celebrate for you!"
