Emperor Yongchang left with his four visible imperial guards. As for the hidden guards he left behind to protect his son, Zhao Sui didn't bother looking for them, as they were his father's men.
Zhao Sui also had no time to care about those guards; his gaze remained fixed on Miss Yao, whose beautiful name he had only learned today.
As Emperor Yongchang walked away, Yao Lin was the first to approach his sister, asking curiously, "What did you ask Master Zhao?"
Yao Huang glanced at Prince Hui, who was two steps behind her brother, and casually made up a lie: "I asked him if he was close with the abbot, and if it would be convenient for him to get me a bracelet blessed by the abbot."
Xiangshan Temple was the second most famous temple in the suburbs of the capital. A batch of blessed prayer beads and bracelets could be sold every day. The more famous the monk who blessed them, the higher the price, and those blessed by the abbot were something ordinary pilgrims couldn't even get a glimpse of.
Yao Lin was shocked. "How could you? We're not even familiar with Master Zhao..."
Zhao Sui: "...It's no trouble. My father is very familiar with the abbot. As long as the abbot has them, he should be able to select a bracelet for you, Miss."
Yao Huang: "...It doesn't matter if there aren't any. I just asked casually, I don't particularly want one."
She picked a random direction and walked away.
Without the elders present, Yao Lin directly asked Lord Zhao beside him, "I wonder what official position your father holds? He looks truly majestic."
Zhao Sui: "Everyone entering the temple is a pilgrim; worldly titles are not worth mentioning."
Yao Lin: "Understood. Your father must be a high-ranking official. You are just being humble, my Lord, and don't want to show off in front of us."
In the martial arts academy, there were plenty of dandy youths who threw their weight around relying on their family backgrounds. Lord Zhao had such a divine steed and could throw away tens or hundreds of taels of silver like splashing water. At first glance, he was obviously a man of great wealth and nobility.
Zhao Sui tacitly agreed.
Yao Lin chatted with him from behind, while Yao Huang led the way in front. They first went to the Mahavira Hall to offer incense.
Two praying mats were placed side by side in front of the Buddha statue. The three of them waited in line for a while, and it just so happened that both mats became available at the same time.
Yao Huang took the lead and walked toward the left mat.
Yao Lin never believed in this and whispered to the handsome young master behind him, "My Lord, would you like to go?"
Zhao Sui glanced at Miss Yao, who was already kneeling on the mat, took a few steps forward, and knelt on the other mat.
Yao Huang tilted her head slightly and saw Prince Hui's hurriedly lowered eyelashes.
She smiled, pressed her palms together, and began to pray sincerely. First, she prayed for the peace and smooth sailing of her family and friends, and second, for a fulfilling marriage for herself.
After praying, since the temple was crowded with people coming and going and there was nothing much to admire, the three of them went to the back mountain to enjoy the scenery.
Just as they stepped out of the temple's back gate, Zhao Sui suddenly stopped and looked thoughtfully toward the temple.
Yao Lin: "What's wrong? Did you lose something, my Lord?"
Zhao Sui lowered his eyes and said, "I suddenly feel thirsty. I wonder if there is tea for sale in the temple."
Yao Lin had accompanied his mother and sister here several times, so he immediately replied, "Yes, a bamboo cup costs two copper coins, and the tea itself is free. You can refill it anytime after finishing. Ah, you must be unfamiliar with the way, my Lord. I'll go instead. Sister, do you want some?"
Yao Huang: "...Mhm."
Yao Lin was about to head back to buy water when Zhao Sui grabbed his wrist, reaching for the purse at his waist with his other hand.
Yao Lin shook him off and said angrily, "You have taken great care of my sister and me, my Lord. Although I am not as wealthy as you, I can still afford two copper coins for water!"
After saying that, he ran off.
Zhao Sui looked at Miss Yao, only to see her glare at him. As if displeased, she walked to a bodhi tree a few yards away and stood with her back facing him.
Zhao Sui hesitated for a moment but still followed her. Maintaining a distance of two or three steps, he explained in a low voice, "I didn't mean to frighten you on purpose, Miss. It's truly because a father's command is hard to disobey."
He could reject the princess consort candidates arranged by his imperial father, but his marriage had to be decided by his father. So, when his father wanted to see for himself whether the girl he chose was suitable to be a royal daughter-in-law, Zhao Sui could no longer refuse.
Yao Huang: "Didn't we agree that we would get to know each other better before you reported to the Emperor?"
Zhao Sui: "Yes, but I've reached the age, and my father suddenly proposed holding a draft for me. I had no choice but to inform him in advance."
Yao Huang's heart tightened. Turning her face away, she said, "A draft is great. So many noble young ladies in the capital for you to choose from..."
Zhao Sui: "I already have a princess consort candidate in my heart. Another draft would just be a formality, and wasting the people's money and resources is not my desire."
Yao Huang only felt her cheeks burning. She took a few steps to the side, still keeping her back to him.
From time to time, pilgrims came down from the back mountain or were just heading up. Their conversation couldn't be overheard by others, so Zhao Sui had to continue following the girl in front of him. "I wonder what you asked my father, Miss?"
Yao Huang glanced at his shadow falling on the grass and smiled. "I asked him if he would punish my family if, after today's interaction, I still didn't want to marry you. The Emperor is tolerant and magnanimous, and he told me to rest assured."
Zhao Sui: "..."
There was no sound behind her for a long time. Yao Huang turned around and saw Prince Hui standing there like a jade tree, his brows lowered and eyes cast down. She asked doubtfully, "Why aren't you speaking?"
Only then did Zhao Sui raise his eyes, met her gaze for a moment, and lowered them again. He said, "I don't know what to say, nor do I know what to do next to win your favor, Miss."
Yao Huang: "Then aren't you cheating? I want to understand your temperament. If you don't speak, how can I understand?"
Zhao Sui: "...I usually don't talk much."
Yao Huang: "Fine, then let's just stand here separately. Neither of us needs to pay attention to the other."
Zhao Sui watched helplessly as the young girl walked a few steps away again.
Not speaking would only make her angry, but speaking...
After thinking for a moment, Zhao Sui caught up and brought up his father who had followed them. "I have already made clear to my father my resolve to only marry you as my wife and not take any concubines. My father was somewhat dissatisfied at the time, but just now he allowed me to continue touring with you. It shows that he likes you very much after seeing you, and he will no longer oppose our marriage."
Yao Huang: "...I haven't even decided to marry you yet. It doesn't matter whether he likes me or not."
Zhao Sui: "I know. What I mean is that you only need to consider whether I myself am worthy of your affection; you don't need to worry about anything else."
Yao Huang was just about to nod when her foot suddenly slipped.
Zhao Sui immediately stepped forward to support her shoulders, letting go the moment Yao Huang regained her balance.
Yao Huang looked down with lingering fear and found that she had accidentally stepped into a small puddle hidden by the green grass. There wasn't much water in the puddle, only enough to wet the upper of her shoe, but now the side of her brand-new embroidered shoe was covered in mud...
The awkwardness made Yao Huang's face blush completely red. She wanted to use the grass blades to rub off the mud, but that action wasn't very decent either.
If it were anyone else standing in front of her, Yao Huang wouldn't care what they thought. But unfortunately, the one who witnessed this scene was the elegant and noble Prince Hui, the handsome young man she had thought of countless times while looking at his portrait.
"I... I'll go back first." Yao Huang wanted to escape, to run somewhere he couldn't see her.
Zhao Sui didn't want her to leave. Knowing she was embarrassed about her embroidered shoe, he took out a handkerchief from his sleeve and knelt on one knee. "Pardon my offense."
As he spoke, he gently pushed aside Miss Yao's light green skirt with one hand, and with the other, he held the bamboo-green handkerchief and wiped the mud off her white shoe upper.
Yao Huang subconsciously tried to pull her foot back.
Zhao Sui grabbed her ankle along with the hem of her skirt, waiting until she stopped moving before letting go.
Yao Huang's voice trembled slightly. "It's so dirty, let me do it myself."
Zhao Sui: "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have walked this way. It's my fault your embroidered shoes got dirty, so it is only right that I make amends."
Yao Huang: "...If only it hadn't rained yesterday."
Zhao Sui: "...Did you think so yesterday as well?"
Yao Huang: "Of course not!"
Prince Hui, kneeling with his head bowed: "Yesterday, I kept hoping for the rain to stop. When it actually stopped in the middle of the night, I thought, perhaps this is the will of Heaven."
Yao Huang: "...How did you know the rain stopped in the middle of the night?"
Zhao Sui's movements paused. Before he could answer, Yao Lin returned carrying a bamboo tube of water in one hand. Seeing Lord Zhao crouching in front of his sister, whose face was flushed red, Yao Lin exclaimed in shock, "You two..."
Zhao Sui turned sideways, revealing the mud-stained handkerchief in his hand and Yao Huang's embroidered shoe, which was only half-wiped clean.
Yao Lin thought to himself that this was bad. He quickly handed the bamboo tube to Lord Zhao and crouched down to wipe his sister's shoe himself. However, after just one wipe, Yao Huang became irritated: "You've made the top of my shoe dirty too!"
Yao Lin: "..."
Because her brother was too clumsy, Lord Zhao had to take over taking care of her again. In the end, they even had to use Yao Huang's own handkerchief. The shoe was finally wiped clean. Although it was still a bit dirty, it wasn't noticeable unless one looked closely.
Zhao Sui looked at the two dirty handkerchiefs in his hands and said to the siblings, "Wait here for a moment. I will go to the temple to wash the handkerchiefs."
Yao Lin: "Do you know where to go? Otherwise, I should go instead."
Zhao Sui wasn't very confident in Yao Lin's handkerchief-washing skills, and besides, he had other arrangements.
Watching Prince Hui leave, Yao Huang walked over to a sunny spot to dry her shoes.
Yao Lin circled his sister and said admiringly, "Lord Zhao looks quiet, but he does things very meticulously. He wiped it really well."
Yao Huang looked at the only spot on her shoe that her brother had made dirty, and glared at him again.
After waiting for about fifteen minutes, Zhao Sui returned. He had left the two washed handkerchiefs to dry in a guest courtyard, planning to retrieve them when leaving the temple.
Yao Lin: "I didn't expect you to be so frugal, my Lord. You even took the trouble to wash handkerchiefs used to wipe shoes."
If it were him, he would have just thrown them away.
Yao Huang pinched her brother.
Zhao Sui said, "The grass, wood, and soil there are tainted with the temple's Buddhist incense and are therefore spiritual objects. They may look dirty, but they are actually as pure as can be."
Yao Huang, Yao Lin: "..."
There were stone steps on the back mountain. The three of them walked and enjoyed the scenery, climbing up and coming back down, which took a little over an hour.
Zhao Sui asked the siblings to wait for him at the temple's main gate while he went to fetch the two drying handkerchiefs.
Yao Lin asked his sister, "Are you really going to keep using that handkerchief?"
Yao Huang: "...Lord Zhao didn't even mind my handkerchief being dirty. Since when did you become such a clean freak?"
Yao Lin: "Isn't it because you are usually so particular? Once I used your towel to wipe my back, and you just threw it at me and went to get a new one. What, is my back dirtier than that mud?"
Yao Huang: "It is dirty! Just thinking about it makes me sick!"
Yao Lin sneered, "Fine. When you get married, I'd like to see if my brother-in-law sweats, and if you'll despise him for it."
While the siblings were bickering, Zhao Sui also learned that his imperial father had already left. So, he went to the abbot's quarters and explained his intentions.
The abbot placed all the consecrated hand strings, prayer beads, wooden bracelets, gold bracelets, and jade bracelets from last time in front of Prince Hui. Originally, there were twelve boxes of each, but because some had been given away over time, the boxes laid out before Prince Hui were no longer a complete set.
Each box contained a single item. Zhao Sui quickly looked through them and finally selected a box with a pure gold bracelet carved with lotus flowers, a box with a mutton-fat jade bracelet, and a box with a bright red red sandalwood hand string, each bead the size of a cherry.
Zhao Sui: "I will send someone this afternoon to make a donation."
The abbot stated that the Emperor had already made a donation, and these three boxes of Buddhist items naturally had an affinity with His Highness Prince Hui, so there was no need for further donations.
Although Prince Hui was young, he wouldn't truly leave without donating.
Bidding farewell to the abbot, Zhao Sui went to meet up with the Yao siblings.
The main gate of the temple was crowded with too many prying eyes, so the three of them went down the mountain first. After riding their horses back to the city, Zhao Sui invited the siblings to dine at the Wangxian Restaurant. Once inside the private room, he finally took out the palm-sized round wooden box hidden in his sleeve and presented it to Yao Huang: "This is a hand string my father is giving you, a gift from the abbot."
Yao Huang: "...That must have cost your father dearly."
Zhao Sui: "It is also because my father feels a natural affinity with you."
Yao Huang opened the box. Inside was a hand string resembling red cherries, glowing with a lustrous sheen as if made of jade.
Yao Lin asked the question his sister was equally curious about: "What kind of wood is this?"
Zhao Sui: "...Forgive my poor eyesight, I do not know either."
Yao Huang didn't believe him for a second. Taking advantage of her brother going to the restaurant's washroom, she asked again.
Zhao Sui lowered his eyes and said, "Red sandalwood."
Even though Yao Huang hadn't seen it before, she knew this wood was precious and immediately tried to return the hand string to Prince Hui.
Zhao Sui: "I just felt that you are very suited to wear this color."
With that, he took out a neatly folded bamboo-green silk handkerchief from his breast pocket, unfolded it, and placed it in front of Yao Huang: "These two styles suit you very well too."
Resting on the silk handkerchief were two bracelets: one was glittering gold, and the other was a creamy white.
Yao Huang: "...Are you bribing me?"
Zhao Sui: "...It is an apology for getting your embroidered shoes dirty."
Yao Huang closed the handkerchief with difficulty and said, "If it's an apology, the hand string is more than enough."
Zhao Sui raised his eyes, looked at the girl across from him, and asked, "Do you truly not like them?"
Yao Huang panicked under his gaze, lowered her head, and said aggrievedly, "I am just an ordinary, vulgar person. How could I not like them? But without a proper title or status, I cannot accept such expensive gifts from you."
Zhao Sui: "Then shall I hold onto them for you first, and give them to you after my imperial father grants our marriage?"
Yao Huang's eyelashes fluttered as she caught the bait hidden in his words.
But she had already agreed before Emperor Yongchang; as soon as he returned to the palace and asked, he would know she was already willing.
Therefore, Yao Huang nodded, her face flushed completely red.
Catching a glimpse of Prince Hui curling his long, slender fingers several times from the corner of her eye, Yao Huang turned her face away and said, "I didn't agree because of your two bracelets. Don't look down on me."
Zhao Sui: "I won't. I know you are not a vain person."
Yao Huang: "...You're wrong. I am very greedy, but mere vanity isn't worth my greed. I have to actually like you as a person too."
Zhao Sui then placed the two bracelets, along with the handkerchief, into the wooden box containing the red sandalwood hand string and closed the lid.
Yao Huang saw this clearly and asked, "That is your handkerchief. Where is mine?"
Prince Hui lowered his eyes.
Yao Huang held out her hand to him: "Give it back."
At this moment, Yao Lin returned. The instant he pushed the door open, Yao Huang quickly lowered her hand.
Afterward, there was no longer any opportunity to ask for the handkerchief, and the seemingly gentlemanly and proper Prince Hui actually never took the initiative to return it to her either.
