"Where would you like to be painted, miss?"
Holding things in both hands, Zhao Sui lowered his eyes and asked.
Yao Huang looked at the peony bushes behind her. Standing would make her too tall, and passing tourists would be able to see her. It would be more appropriate to sit among the flowers.
Choosing a relatively open spot at the edge, Yao Huang was about to sit on the ground.
"Wait a moment, miss."
Zhao Sui spoke up just in time. He set down the easel and other items, took three sheets from a stack of drawing paper, and lowered his gaze as he walked over to Miss Yao. Handing them to her with both hands, he said, "You can sit on the paper, miss."
The painters here worked for the wealthy young masters and ladies who paid to enter the garden. Although the drawing paper they prepared was not as precious as fine rice paper, it still had a delicate texture and a soft color. Lord Zhao might not cherish the paper, but Yao Huang could not bear to waste it. Taking a fine cloth handkerchief from her sleeve, she said, "I'll just use this. When it gets dirty, I can wash it and use it again."
After saying that, she walked into the flower bed, spread the handkerchief on the ground, and crouched down to sit. Her figure was immediately concealed by the large peony leaves behind her.
Zhao Sui once again felt the distance behind Miss Yao's smile. Had he been too overly attentive?
Miss Yao was already prepared, so Zhao Sui temporarily suppressed his distracting thoughts. He set up the easel in a suitable spot in the middle of the grass, skillfully secured the drawing paper, and then lowered his head to mix several pigments prepared by the painter.
Not all the pigments would be used. Zhao Sui quickly glanced at Miss Yao sitting among the flowers. Today she wore a bamboo-green short jacket and a light yellow chest-high long skirt, with bamboo-green ribbons hanging down. She looked fresh and bright, much like the large Yao Huang peonies behind her, and very much like her smile.
Yao Huang pondered what pose to strike while asking, "About how long will it take to paint?"
Zhao Sui looked at the lead-yellow powder he was gradually mixing evenly: "It depends on whether you are in a hurry, miss. At the shortest, it can be done in half an hour; if slower, it could take a couple of hours."
Yao Huang knew that the slower it was painted, the better it would be. But her brother and Li Tingwang were still waiting outside, and she hadn't really followed this man here just for a painting. So she said, "Half an hour will be fine. I wouldn't dare delay you for too long, My Lord."
Zhao Sui did not feel this was a delay at all.
But he respected Miss Yao's choice.
Having mixed the necessary pigments, Zhao Sui picked up his brush and finally looked forward.
Yao Huang had long since settled into her seat, even carefully spreading the hem of her skirt that covered her legs to look nice. Seeing him take up the brush, Yao Huang leaned slightly to the right, her face almost touching a Yao Huang peony extending towards her. Since it was a painting of admiring flowers, the corners of her lips curled up slightly, and her eyelashes drooped, as if she were intoxicated by the peony.
Zhao Sui first sketched the outline of her head, face, and figure.
Facing the peony before her, Yao Huang asked, "If I talk to you, My Lord, will it affect your painting?"
Zhao Sui's brush paused slightly, then he replied, "No, please feel free to speak, miss."
Yao Huang: "Then can I look at you now, My Lord?"
Zhao Sui: "...You may."
Yao Huang raised her eyes and saw the handsome young master kneeling opposite her, moving his brush rapidly, while his gaze mostly fell on the hem of her skirt.
Such opportunities were rare, so Yao Huang did not hold back and asked, "Do you remember, My Lord, that we met once on Plum Ridge?"
Zhao Sui nodded, his brush not stopping.
Yao Huang: "That day, Brother Li invited me to the martial arts academy to watch them play polo. Did you overhear us discussing this, My Lord?"
Zhao Sui stopped his brush. His gaze crossed the easel and met Miss Yao's perceptive, smiling eyes.
He lowered his eyes, silently admitting it.
Yao Huang: "So, your inspection of the martial arts academy, My Lord, was also to find a reason to see me again?"
The handsome young master opposite her remained silent, tacitly agreeing.
Yao Huang thought to herself, this man was actually quite reserved. He dared to do it but was too embarrassed to say it, not even daring to look at her.
"And today, is your presence here also a coincidence, My Lord?"
Prince Hui shook his head. Because he deliberately devoted half of his attention to the painting, he appeared quite calm and composed.
Yao Huang grew suspicious: "Since it's not a coincidence, how did you know we would come to the Splendid Garden today, My Lord?"
Zhao Sui: "...I saw that you and your brother are inseparable from Li Tingwang, so yesterday I sent someone to the martial arts academy to track Li Tingwang's movements."
Yao Huang could no longer smile, because since this man had the ability to send someone to track Li Tingwang, he could also track her and her brother.
When she remained silent, Zhao Sui raised his eyes and saw Miss Yao looking grave with her eyes cast down. He explained, "I had something I wanted to ask you, miss, and I had to see you, so I had no choice but to resort to this poor plan. Regardless of how you answer, miss, from now on, without your permission, I will never send anyone or personally track you or any of your relatives and friends."
Facing the peony flower, Yao Huang said faintly, "Ask away."
Zhao Sui put down his brush and asked without much hope: "If I send a matchmaker to your family to propose marriage, miss, would you be willing to accept me?"
Yao Huang had guessed as much, so she was not surprised. She asked in return, "A proposal could be to marry as a wife, or to take as a concubine. Lord Zhao..."
"To marry as a wife, naturally."
An urgent, slightly impolite, and forceful interruption finally made Yao Huang look back at him.
Meeting her astonished gaze, Zhao Sui said solemnly, "Going to the martial arts academy to see you was me using my power for personal gain; sending someone to tail Li Tingwang was me abusing my authority; even presumptuously proposing to paint for you today was a breach of etiquette. However, a fair and graceful lady is a good match for a gentleman. From the very beginning, my intention was to ask for your hand in marriage as my wife, without any intention of slighting or disrespecting you."
Yao Huang's heartbeat was actually thrown into chaos by the earnestness in his eyes, and she turned her head to look at the peonies again.
What did this mean? Was it a refusal, or did she need time to consider?
Zhao Sui's mind was in turmoil. Not wanting to press her, he had to continue holding his brush to paint.
Yao Huang poked at a fragile wild grass barely the length of a finger beneath the peony bushes. After calming down for a moment, she asked, "You speak of marriage, but I don't even know your name, where you live, or who is in your family."
Zhao Sui: "...I thought you had guessed."
Yao Huang: "...What I guess might not be accurate."
Zhao Sui then spoke to the drawing paper: "My surname is Zhao, my given name is Sui. I am the second son in my family, and I have been granted the title of Prince Hui."
Even though she had already guessed it, hearing him admit it with his own lips still gave Yao Huang a dizzy feeling, as if she were drunk. Her body involuntarily softened backward, and she had to prop herself up with her hand. Her heart was pounding like a drum, her breathing rapid. While she was in such a panic, Prince Hui behind the easel painted more and more steadily, still observing her dress.
Panic aside, Yao Huang quickly scoured her mind for the deeds she had previously heard about Prince Hui. She knew his birth mother had died early and he was raised under Noble Consort Du; she knew he had made military contributions in the southern campaigns at eighteen and was granted a title and established his own residence two years early; she knew he had not yet married a princess consort. The rest was completely beyond what a minor official's daughter like her could inquire about.
So, Prince Hui wanted to marry her as his princess consort?
He was so handsome that Yao Huang would have been willing to marry him even if he were just an ordinary martial arts official, let alone becoming his supremely noble princess consort.
The problem was...
"Can you make the decision regarding your marriage?"
It wasn't that Yao Huang underestimated Prince Hui; it was just that his father's official position was too high, and he might not be pleased with his son marrying a girl from a humble family.
Hearing a glimmer of hope, Zhao Sui stopped his brush again and promised, "If I did not have the certainty of obtaining my father's consent, I would not have come to disturb you, miss. If you do not believe me, as soon as I finish this painting, I will enter the palace to request a decree granting our marriage..."
"It's too fast," Yao Huang waved her hands at him nervously. "There's no rush, I... I need to think about it."
Guessing the concerns she might have, Zhao Sui quickly sketched the hem of her skirt while speaking in a low voice: "I am twenty this year. Since childhood, I have been obsessed with reading, martial arts, and painting. I usually have two eunuchs serving me. As far as I can remember, other than the wet nurse who took care of my daily life, I have never let any other palace maids get close to me."
"I know that the sons of nobles often have many concubines, but I am not a man who lusts after beauty. If I am fortunate enough to be granted your hand in marriage, I will treat you with my whole heart and never let you down."
Yao Huang was not so easily fooled. "That sounds nice, but if I really marry you, and you, a dignified prince, insist on taking concubines, could I even stop you?"
Zhao Sui looked at the brush in his hand and said, "Words alone are no proof. I can write a written pledge for you."
Yao Huang still shook her head. "There's no rush. You... you want to marry me merely because you like my face. But I must make it clear to you: I am only somewhat pretty. I know nothing about poetry, literature, the zither, or painting. I am not a dignified lady. Aside from having a father who is a sixth-rank centurion, I am no different from an ordinary commoner girl. I'm not even as hardworking as they are. I am playful, gluttonous, and lazy..."
Zhao Sui: "I know what official position your father holds, and I know you are playful. I never wanted to marry a dignified lady. If you love to eat, I can have the kitchen do its best to satisfy your tastes. If you love to play, I will accompany you on outings when I have time; when I am busy, I will arrange for guards to escort you to enjoy the mountains and waters. Furthermore, there are no strenuous chores in the Prince's estate that you must do. None of these are problems."
Yao Huang: "...You are in a rush to marry me now, so of course you think this way. But if we really get married and you see my true nature, it might not even take three or five days before you find me an eyesore. And as for you, I only know that you are handsome, good at martial arts, and of high status. I know absolutely nothing about your temperament."
Li Tingwang was also very handsome, but with his mouth and temper, Yao Huang could only treat him as a playmate; considering him as a husband was absolutely out of the question.
Zhao Sui: "...I have a solitary nature and speak very little."
Yao Huang: "...I like liveliness and can talk a lot every day. You see, this point alone makes us incompatible."
Zhao Sui lowered his eyes. "I can listen to you."
Looking at His Highness Prince Hui's handsome face, which was tinged with a faint blush, Yao Huang actually could not help but swallow hard. To be honest, if his status were even slightly lower, she would dare to marry him. It was precisely because he was a noble prince that Yao Huang had to consider the hidden dangers of whether the two of them could live in long-term harmony after marriage, because there was probably no such thing as an amicable divorce in the imperial family.
"Let's... let's just paint first." Yao Huang did not dare to agree rashly, nor could she bear to reject him outright. She could only avoid the issue.
Zhao Sui cooperatively continued to paint.
His mind was unsettled, and the paper and pigments were not of the premium quality he felt she deserved. Coupled with the time limit of two quarters of an hour—which he could delay by at most one more quarter—Zhao Sui did not spend too much time detailing her clothing and hair ornaments. Instead, he spent most of his time depicting Miss Yao's facial features.
Outside the flower garden, Li Tingwang urged Yao Lin several times to ask if the painting inside was almost done.
Yao Lin: "What's the rush? The painter over there charges one tael of silver. It's rare that Lord Zhao can also paint, so let him paint Yao Yao properly."
Li Tingwang: "..."
After a long wait of three quarters of an hour, Li Tingwang finally saw Yao Huang stand up from beneath the bushes.
Yao Huang didn't look outside. She curiously walked behind Prince Hui's easel. She saw that there was not a single peony on the paper; even the silk peony flower in her hair was gone. There was only her, sitting alone on the ground, with her eyes lowered, seemingly preoccupied with something, yet carrying a hint of shyness.
Even so, Yao Huang still felt that she looked very beautiful in the painting. It was beautiful and captured her likeness perfectly, a thousand times better than the work of the two painters outside.
"Time was rushed, please excuse this poor display of skill." Zhao Sui took down the painting, stood up, and handed it to her.
Yao Huang suddenly understood him a little more: he was humble!
The painting needed to air dry. Zhao Sui packed up the easel and suggested that Miss Yao wait here for a moment while he went out to meet the two young men first.
He said he was leaving, yet his narrow, phoenix-like eyes stared fixedly at the girl in front of him, as if it would be hard to see her again after today.
Yao Huang's heart instantly softened. When her heart softened, her head easily became muddled. As if possessed, she said, "How about we interact a few more times and see? If you still want to marry me after we get to know each other, and I am willing to marry you, then you can..."
Zhao Sui: "Alright."
He agreed so quickly that Yao Huang's regret also surfaced. Afraid he might mistake her for being frivolous, she blushed and added, "I will bring my brother along. You come to see us alone, and we'll just pretend it's a chance encounter."
Zhao Sui: "Alright. When and where?"
Yao Huang thought for a moment and said, "Let's do it on the next rest day. My brother and I will go to Xiangshan Temple. We'll leave right after breakfast, so you can wait for us at the temple."
Zhao Sui nodded.
Yao Huang immediately took the painting and walked away.
Zhao Sui took the easel with him. Since he wouldn't use it again, he prepared to return it to the painter.
The painter: "...Should I refund your silver notes?"
Zhao Sui: "...No need."
He spent money like water, which made Yao Lin extremely uncomfortable just watching. He almost wanted to ask for the silver notes back on Lord Zhao's behalf, at most compensating the painter a little for the paper and pigments.
After a short while, Yao Huang came out. She had rolled up the painting and tied it with the red string she wore around her wrist.
Li Tingwang: "Let us have a look?"
Yao Huang: "No. If you like it so much, you can ask Lord Zhao to paint one for you too."
By painting only the person and not the peonies, Prince Hui's intentions were simply glaringly obvious.
