Under the shade of the willow branches, a ten-foot square felt mat was laid out. In the center of the mat sat a low mahogany table, upon which fruits, tea, and pastries were placed.
Yao Huang took off her embroidered shoes and lay down facing the lake. Opening her eyes, she saw the blue sky and the emerald lake; closing her eyes, she could feel the fragmented sunlight filtering through the branches above her head. It was so comfortable and relaxing that whether she could catch any fish or not was no longer important.
"Princess Consort, His Highness is here!"
Hearing A'ji's hushed reminder, Yao Huang sat up with a start. Sure enough, she saw a wheelchair slowly making its way toward them from the opposite side.
Yao Huang hurriedly shuffled to the edge of the felt mat to put on her shoes.
A'ji put down her fishing pole and said nervously, "Princess Consort, shall I head back to Ming'an Hall first?"
His Highness did not like having maidservants waiting on him. Every time he came to Ming'an Hall, A'ji and the others would hide far away.
Yao Huang replied, "Go ahead."
Qingai pushed the wheelchair, making a detour toward them from the north, so A'ji took her leave from the south.
According to the various rules for serving princes taught by Nanny Fang in the palace, Yao Huang should have gone to welcome His Highness. However, the sun in the west was too glaring, and Yao Huang did not want to put on her veiled hat again. So, she simply stood under the shade of the tree, smiling as she watched the prince gradually approach.
In Qingai's eyes, the Princess Consort was dressed in a white short jacket and a light yellow chest-high long skirt. Although the sun was still high in the sky, a gentle breeze was blowing by the lake. The Princess Consort's long skirt was as light and airy as smoke, the hem swaying slightly with the wind, resembling the layers of tender and delicate petals of a peony flower.
Such a Princess Consort did not need to do anything else; just standing there was enough to flood one's heart with light. And when she smiled, one's heart would melt along with it.
Knowing that His Highness must be in a good mood at the moment, Qingai ventured to say, "Look, Your Highness, how happily the Princess Consort smiles upon seeing you arrive."
His Highness ignored him.
Qingai was all too used to this kind of silence and quickened his pace.
When the wheelchair drew near, Yao Huang's gaze seemed glued to the Prince of Hui's face, following his every movement. She said gleefully, "It is so sunny today, I thought Your Highness would not come."
Zhao Sui looked at the fishing pole placed beside the chair. "How long have you been fishing? Any catch?"
Accompanied by the sound of Qingai's retreating footsteps, Yao Huang sighed, "It has been about two quarters of an hour, and I haven't caught a single one. Your Highness, could it be that there are no big fish raised in this lake?"
The pond in the east of the garden had over a dozen koi fish, but this lake was much larger. At a glance, there did not seem to be any fish; only occasionally would a few wild ducks emerge from the clumps of water weeds.
Zhao Sui replied, "There are. When the manor was first established, some adult fish and fry were released into it. However, fishing requires patience."
Yao Huang asked, "Then shall I accompany Your Highness in fishing for a while?"
Zhao Sui nodded.
Yao Huang pushed his wheelchair next to her chair, making sure he was out of the sun before locking it in place. Then, she helped him attach the bait. The bait had been prepared by Eunuch Cao; it was a dough steamed with white sugar and honey. It looked appealing and smelled sweet, even stirring up a hint of appetite in Yao Huang herself.
After the bait was attached, Zhao Sui cast the line himself. Once the bobber steadied, he leaned back against the chair, looking very relaxed.
Yao Huang's fishing chair could also be leaned against, but it only supported her back, leaving her shoulders and head exposed above the backrest.
The yellow pear wood seat was rock hard. In any case, Yao Huang had not sat for long before her bottom started to ache. During the years she spent studying at home, she would always place a soft cushion on her chair. In the summer, she used a rush mat wrapped in coarse cloth, which was soft and breathable; in the winter, she used a cotton cushion that would stay warm even after sitting for a long time.
"Does Your Highness really not find the chair too hard?"
After enduring it for a while, Yao Huang whispered.
Zhao Sui replied, "...I am used to it."
In the palace schoolroom where the princes studied, identical hardwood desks and chairs were arranged. A single literature class would last half a day. At first, they did find it hard, but no prince would ever complain about it, nor would they bring their own soft cushions. In fact, all scholars in the world studied like this, and even after passing the imperial examinations and becoming officials, they would continue to sit on such hard chairs in their government offices.
Zhao Sui understood what the Princess Consort meant; she was feeling uncomfortable.
Zhao Sui could understand her discomfort. Aside from her bones, there was not a single part of her body that was not soft. How could such softness bear the prolonged pressure of hard wood?
"Move the felt mat to the shore. You can sit on the mat to fish."
Yao Huang immediately went to tidy up. After moving the felt mat, she looked at the prince, who was sitting in the wheelchair and was much taller than her. She invited, "Your Highness should come over here too. When you get tired, you can even lie down for a bit."
Zhao Sui did not respond.
Realizing the situation, Yao Huang quickly added, "I will carry you on my back."
Zhao Sui remained silent for a moment before agreeing. At the very least, when she was carrying him on her back, she would not be able to see his helplessness.
Yao Huang first set his fishing pole aside, and then, just like last time, she carried the prince out of the wheelchair on her back. Kicking off her embroidered shoes and stepping onto the felt mat, Yao Huang suddenly realized the difficult part. Previously, Jing Wu was there, and Qingai and Feiquan were also around to help. But now, she had to lower the prince onto the low mat all by herself, making the process much more difficult.
Imagining a few postures in her mind, Yao Huang faced the lake water and said, "Your Highness, I am going to slowly squat down. Just hold firmly onto my shoulders."
Zhao Sui gave a hum of acknowledgment and tried to move his feet. However, his legs still had no sensation, as if they were not a part of his body at all.
Yao Huang reached back with both hands to hold his waist. With her head lowered, she could see that the prince's feet had long touched the mat, but they could not plant themselves firmly at all, and thus could not alleviate the weight she was bearing. Her knees bent further and her waist dipped lower, until Yao Huang truly could not hold on any longer. Her left calf suddenly dropped into a kneel on the mat. At the same time, Zhao Sui supported himself on the mat with his left hand, helping her maintain her balance.
By the time Yao Huang turned around, Zhao Sui was already using both hands to prop up his upper body.
Yao Huang instinctively reached out to help him move his legs, but Zhao Sui waved his hand dismissively. Supporting himself with one hand, he used the other to shift his legs to the front, finally adjusting himself into a cross-legged sitting posture.
Before Zhao Sui could rely solely on the strength of his arms to support himself against a railing and move upright, what he had practiced painstakingly first was how to sit steadily.
Yao Huang did not know any of this. She only saw the proficiency in the prince's various movements, giving off a sense of peaceful composure.
Only after settling into his seat did Zhao Sui look over. Seeing her face flushed red and fine beads of sweat dotting her forehead, he asked, "Are you tired out?"
At this moment, Qingai and Feiquan were probably guarding the entrance to the back garden, preventing the servants from wandering over, whether intentionally or not.
Yao Huang smiled and said, "A little bit, but this way it is easier for us to talk. That brief moment of exhaustion was worth it."
Zhao Sui really wanted to remind her that it was best not to chat while fishing.
Yao Huang went to fetch the bait, the fish bucket, and both of their fishing poles. When setting the poles, she angled hers toward the south and Zhao Sui's toward the north, so they would not interfere with each other.
Yao Huang was not one to stay quiet for long. Before much time had passed, she asked softly, "Did Your Highness fish often in the past?"
Zhao Sui replied, "When I lived in the princely manor, probably two or three times a month."
Before the age of eighteen, he had lived in the imperial palace. Though it could be considered his home, it was fraught with rigid rules—the more one did, the more mistakes one made; the less one did, the fewer the mistakes. Whenever he did not need to study or practice martial arts, Zhao Sui would stay in his own courtyard, reading and practicing calligraphy. After being granted the title of Prince and establishing his own estate, Zhao Sui spent his days attending to his official duties. On his days off, he neither associated with officials nor visited friends, simply finding things to do in his own manor to pass the time.
Those years had been plagued by war. All in all, he had lived in the prince's manor for less than three years, including this past year after his legs were injured.
Yao Huang felt that such frequency could already be considered a hobby: "Since Your Highness enjoys it, how about I accompany you to fish more often in the future?"
Fishing while letting the prince bask in the sun was killing two birds with one stone.
Zhao Sui: "It depends on whether you like it or not. You don't have to force yourself."
Suddenly, Yao Huang's fishing float sank. Having just found fishing to be rather dull, she instantly perked up. She gave the rod a forceful yank, and a fish about the length of a palm was flung out of the water.
It wasn't until Yao Huang tossed it onto the bank that she realized it was a small fish, at best good for stewing into a fresh-tasting soup.
"Never mind, I'll put it in the bucket for now. If I catch a bigger one later, I'll put it back."
Regardless, with her first catch secured, Yao Huang grew even more motivated.
"Why did you slip a letter in this morning?" Zhao Sui asked, looking at the float in the water.
Yao Huang glanced at him and explained: "I was afraid of disturbing Your Highness's reading or resting. Besides, it wasn't anything important, so leaving a written message was more convenient."
If he weren't the prince, she could have even skipped the morning greeting and gone straight out.
Zhao Sui: "You can write a letter to leave a message, but if you bring back gifts, you can give them to me in person. I also want to know where you have been."
Yao Huang: "All right, I'll remember that."
It was good to report to him anyway. Just in case there were places or things the prince was unhappy about her doing, she could correct her behavior in time.
By dusk, the two of them had caught a total of eight fish. Finally, Yao Huang even hooked a large black carp that weighed an estimated ten pounds or more. She had to walk a long distance along the riverbank, her face flushed red with exertion, before she managed to drag the fish out of the water. While taking the fish off the hook, she was splashed with water all over her body and face, turning her head away and spitting several times.
While she was spitting out water, the black carp flicked its tail and gave a fierce leap to the edge of the lake. Yao Huang lunged over to grab it, but the black carp leaped again and plopped into the water, making Yao Huang scream in anger!
Zhao Sui watched her the whole time.
At the entrance of the back garden, Qingai and Feiquan were startled by the princess consort's sudden scream. Qingai had even dashed forward a short distance when the princess consort's exasperated voice rang out from the lakeside again: "I'll remember it! I'm coming back to fish tomorrow. If I can't catch it, I'll keep coming back. Sooner or later, I'll stew it and eat it!"
Qingai: "..."
Since neither the prince nor the princess consort was in danger, the two eunuchs resumed guarding the gate.
By the lake, Yao Huang returned to the felt mat, puffing with anger. Looking at the prince sitting steadily with his fishing rod, and then at her own soaked lapels and skirt, she hated that fish even more.
Zhao Sui: "Hold out your hand."
Yao Huang held out her left hand, not understanding why.
Zhao Sui: "Both hands."
Yao Huang had no choice but to hold out her right hand as well.
The backs of her hands were wet, and there were red marks on her wrists where the fish's tail had slapped her. Zhao Sui turned her palms over; they were stained with grass and wet mud, but fortunately, they hadn't been scratched by the fish scales.
Zhao Sui took out a handkerchief, a clean, snow-white silk one.
Seeing it, Yao Huang hurriedly pulled her hands back: "I'll just go wash them by the lake. Don't ruin such a beautiful handkerchief."
With that, she squatted by the lake, splashing water to wash her hands and wrists.
The lake water was cool and refreshing. Yao Huang's heart, which had been boiling with frustration and disappointment, regained its calm. Looking at the golden ripples in the center of the lake, she turned back and smiled at Prince Hui: "Such a wonderful place, no wonder the fish in here grow so fat."
Zhao Sui returned a faint smile.
Shaking the water off her hands, Yao Huang returned to the bucket and tossed two small fish out, making her arrangements: "Six fish. Your Highness will eat one, Feiquan and Qingai will be rewarded with one, I'll have one, the four senior maids will be rewarded with one, and the remaining two will be used to entertain my father and the others at noon the day after tomorrow. What does Your Highness say?"
Zhao Sui: "I can't finish a whole fish by myself. We might as well dine together."
Yao Huang: "That works too. My father and the others are big eaters anyway; two fish might not be enough for them."
Zhao Sui: "Leave the things here. Feiquan and the others will come to clean up."
Yao Huang then came over to push his wheelchair.
Zhao Sui: "Let's go to Ming'an Hall. You should change your clothes soon so you don't catch a cold."
