The place where the Emperor and Empress watched the competition was a two-story pavilion, and going up and down required passing through flights of wooden stairs.
With Emperor Yongchang's recently issued verbal decree, the palace servants had brought several long wooden planks in advance. When the Prince of Hui did not need them, they were placed upright against the handrails on both sides, and when he needed to use them, they would be lowered.
As the wheelchair arrived back at this side, the Prince of Kang once again pushed aside Qingai and Feiquan, pushing his second younger brother up all by himself.
Regardless of whether he was handsome or not, the Prince of Kang had a tall and sturdy physique. His arms were taut, and every step he took on the wooden planks was steady, pushing carefully and dependably.
The Prince of Qing trailed half a step behind the Prince of Kang, walking on the narrow remaining steps beside the wooden planks. Just in case the Prince of Kang's strength failed, he could lend a hand in time, truly embodying the ideal of brotherly love and respect.
If just a moment ago the Prince of Qing still felt disgraced for losing to his second brother, looking at his second brother's numb profile leaning against the wheelchair and the beads of sweat gradually appearing on his eldest brother's forehead, that bit of displeasure in the Prince of Qing vanished into thin air. His second brother had become half a cripple; what was the point of competing with him? As long as he was still the most outstanding among the other three princes, that was enough.
Yao Huang walked behind the Prince of Qing, clearly seeing the Prince of Kang's deliberate yet genuinely strenuous appearance, as well as the Prince of Qing's condescending, sympathetic gaze toward her Prince of Hui.
Yao Huang thought to herself that if she were the prince, just facing these two brothers would make her unwilling to enter the palace.
It was a pity that her strength was still lacking. If only she could steadily push the prince up to the second floor, she would have pushed the Prince of Kang aside, doing what Qingai and Feiquan dared not do, and what the Prince of Hui could not bring himself to do.
Yao Huang then thought of Emperor Yongchang. To say he doted on his second son—he had ordered wooden planks to be kept ready at all palace gates and had bestowed an ivory mat, which indeed showed favor. Yet, knowing full well his son was in a wheelchair, he still insisted on choosing such a high vantage point to watch the dragon boats and the willow-shooting. Clearly, in his heart, the dignity and prestige of the emperor were more important than his son's temporary inconvenience.
Finally arriving on the second floor, the Prince of Kang exhaled deeply. His second brother's wheelchair looked luxurious and exquisite, but it was truly heavy! Fortunately, he persisted in practicing martial arts for two quarters of an hour every morning, just to let his imperial father know that although he lacked talent in martial arts, he had never given up or slacked off. Otherwise, he would have made a fool of himself today over this.
Taking advantage of the time Emperor Yongchang spent speaking with his three sons, Yao Huang returned directly to her own seat. Noble Consort Du, having just suffered a setback, did not pick any more faults with her daughter-in-law's etiquette.
The Second Princess whispered, Second Sister-in-law has good luck today. First, you received an ivory mat from Imperial Father, and now Second Brother has won a prize of a hundred taels of gold.
A hundred taels of gold! Even as a princess, she hadn't saved up that much private money; she would have to wait until she married to receive a generous dowry.
Yao Huang, who had just picked up her teacup to moisten her throat, felt her hand tremble. There was a prize?
She looked toward Emperor Yongchang and finally saw the three eunuchs holding trays!
Her heart blooming with joy, Yao Huang smiled very modestly. It is all thanks to Imperial Father's blessing.
The Second Princess secretly ground her teeth.
Zheng Yuanzhen looked at the smile almost overflowing from Yao Huang's eyes and suddenly understood why this person did not feel sorrowful about marrying a disabled man. As the mere daughter of a sixth-rank Centurion, how much wealth and glory had she gained by relying on her current position as a Princess Consort? Any of it could make up for those superficial shortcomings. Unlike daughters of noble families like them, to whom gold and silver were the least worthy of regard.
In the willow-shooting competition, the Prince of Hui took first place, the Prince of Qing came in second, and a young Guard Commander surnamed Jiang from the Eastern Camp took third.
To her surprise, Yao Huang had actually met this Guard Commander named Jiang Qu. Both her father, Yao Zhenhu, and Li Tingwang's father, Battalion Commander Li, worked in Jiang Qu's guard post. The year before last, when the Li family patriarch celebrated his seventieth birthday, the Li family hosted a grand banquet. When Yao Huang went to attend the feast with her parents, she happened to see Battalion Commander Li run out with a face full of smiles to welcome a young man. Then, her father, Yao Zhenhu, also left his wife and daughter behind to cheerfully go over and greet him.
According to her old father's praises, Jiang Qu was only twenty-five this year. Born a commoner, he joined the army at sixteen. Later, the year the Prince of Hui made a name for himself at the borders at the age of eighteen, the twenty-year-old Jiang Qu was also exceptionally promoted to Guard Commander due to his military merits. He was transferred to the capital, becoming the direct superior of Yao Zhenhu and Battalion Commander Li.
Among the top three in the willow-shooting, the Prince of Hui was sitting in a wheelchair and could not show off his physique. As for the remaining two, the Prince of Qing was originally quite handsome and heroic, but standing next to Jiang Qu, who exuded an aura of stern deadliness, he was immediately made to look like a domestic dog compared to a wild wolf.
Yao Huang even suspected that Jiang Qu had hidden his true skills just now, deliberately yielding to the royal princes. Otherwise, with his excellent marksmanship capable of piercing a willow leaf from a hundred paces, even if he couldn't beat the Prince of Hui, beating the Prince of Qing—whose arms were a full circle thinner than his—should have been more than easy.
Emperor Yongchang gave them his personal commendation. The prizes for the Prince of Hui and the Prince of Qing were held by their respective eunuchs, while Jiang Qu carried his own tray with two gold ingots down himself.
After watching the dragon boats and the willow-shooting, the Emperor and Empress led the crowd to the main hall for a banquet.
Yao Huang walked side by side with Chen Ying, speaking in hushed voices about harmless things that wouldn't matter even if others overheard.
Chen Ying said, His Highness the Prince of Hui truly possesses divine strength. I saw that none of the dozen or so gourds nearby were shattered as thoroughly as the Prince of Hui's.
Yao Huang replied, His Highness the Prince of Kang's strength is not small either. He pushed the prince's wheelchair up to the second floor all by himself without even panting.
Chen Ying wasn't even married yet, and she immediately blushed.
Yao Huang could tell that Chen Ying was quite satisfied with the Prince of Kang and didn't mind that he wasn't handsome enough. Presumably, she shared Yao Huang's mindset: coming from a lesser family background yet managing to snag the position of a prince's official consort meant having wealth and glory waiting for her without having to be a concubine enduring the primary wife's moods. Therefore, the prince husband having some leg ailment or not being handsome enough were not major issues.
The Dragon Boat Festival palace banquet was even more sumptuous than the flower-viewing banquet previously arranged by Empress Zhou, and there were female musicians playing music and presenting dances.
Yao Huang still sat on the women's side. The lower seat to her left was Zheng Yuanzhen, and the upper seat to her right was Chen Ying. Coincidentally, the husbands of the three women were sitting directly opposite them.
Chen Ying never dared to look toward the Prince of Kang. Yao Huang smiled twice at her own prince, and seeing that he didn't respond, she ignored him. Instead, she noticed that both the Prince of Kang and the Prince of Qing looked toward their prospective consorts several times. The Prince of Kang truly rarely saw Chen Ying, while the Prince of Qing and Zheng Yuanzhen were cousins and should be quite familiar with each other, so the few glances he sent over carried a naturally intimate smile.
Of course, most of the time, Yao Huang was appreciating the graceful dance moves of the singing girls.
Seeing this, Chen Ying used the excuse of offering a toast with fruit wine to quietly remind Yao Huang, I heard people say that the Prince of Hui's birth mother was a dancing girl who died in childbirth, and she was only posthumously titled a Beauty.
When they were palace candidates, the maids of Chuxiu Pavilion only served water, delivered meals, and washed clothes for the candidates; they had no chance to get close and did not dare to gossip about the princes. Once Chen Ying was appointed as a prospective princess consort and received the trusted maid rewarded to her by Worthy Consort Liu, a clever servant told Chen Ying some things about the princes. For example, the Prince of Hui's birth mother was little known among the common people, but it was no secret in the palace.
Chen Ying did not mean to look down on the Prince of Hui. She was just afraid that Yao Huang would become too engrossed in the song and dance, and if she later praised today's dancers in front of the Prince of Hui, she might accidentally touch a sore spot.
Yao Huang exchanged a glance with Chen Ying and, maintaining her smile, said, Thank you.
She truly had no idea about this. In her earlier years, the gossip she and her mother heard about Prince Hui in teahouses or on the streets all claimed that his biological mother was a beauty who suffered a tragic and early death, which was why Prince Hui was taken in as an adopted son by Noble Consort Du.
After she became the princess consort, Bailing, Chunyan, and Qiuchan were all honest and proper servants who dutifully went about their chores; they wouldn't dare gossip with her about the background of the prince's biological mother unless they had completely lost their minds.
A dancing girl. From high-ranking officials and nobles down to the common people, most considered dancing girls to be lowly.
Yao Huang sipped the clear, sweet fruit wine and continued to admire the graceful dancing before her.
She felt that these dancing girls danced exceptionally well. Just like Prince Hui's painting skills or Master Deng's carpentry, it was an art that required bitter practice from a young age to master.
Dancing girls were considered lowly because they exposed their bodies for the amusement of others. But the question was, did they willingly choose to be dancing girls? Weren't they sold by their parents due to poverty, or relegated to the lowest social class because their families had committed crimes?
As things stood, Yao Huang didn't have the power to tell Emperor Yongchang to stop watching and immediately send these pitiful women home. Nor did she have the ability to make everyone sympathize with them, or to persuade Prince Hui not to be ashamed of his birth mother's origins. All she knew was that she enjoyed watching, and since she had already been watching with great relish for a while, suddenly losing interest would surely make others guess what Chen Ying had just told her.
Amidst the eating and drinking, the palace banquet came to an end. Emperor Yongchang was about to lead everyone to watch the main event of the afternoon: polo.
Yao Huang was just preparing to leave her seat when she suddenly heard her prince say, "Imperial Father, your son is tired. I ask for Imperial Father's permission to leave the palace early."
Prince Hui's voice was not loud, but because everyone strictly observed palace etiquette, it carried clearly through the quiet hall.
Emperor Yongchang understood. His son could still participate in willow-shooting, but polo tested horsemanship. Forcing his crippled son to sit on the sidelines and watch the vigorous figures of others galloping across the field was indeed too hurtful.
"You may go."
Prince Hui expressed his thanks, and Qingai pushed him toward the exit.
Seeing this, Yao Huang bowed to the Emperor and Empress from afar, quickly hurried out from the women's seating area, and soon caught up to stand beside his wheelchair.
Zhao Sui glanced at her but said nothing.
After exiting the palace gates and boarding the carriage, as Yao Huang crouched beside the wheelchair to secure it, she heard Prince Hui ask from above, "Are you disappointed that you won't get to watch the polo match?"
He knew she loved lively events, and the palace polo matches gathered the best players, making them absolutely spectacular.
But Zhao Sui needed to relieve himself, and the palace washrooms were inconvenient. He didn't want to be pushed there by Prince Kang again, didn't want anyone who saw him heading to the washroom to wonder how he managed to relieve himself, and certainly didn't want to suffer and hold it in for a polo match that held absolutely no meaning for him.
Zhao Sui did not actually need his princess consort to leave the palace with him. However, if she hadn't come out, others would think she only cared about her own amusement and neglected her husband. Therefore, Zhao Sui hadn't tried to persuade her to stay.
Yao Huang replied without a second thought, "What's there to be disappointed about? In the past, I got to watch my brother and his friends play a few matches every year. The two military academies in the capital also have competitions, and I go to watch them every year."
In order to participate, her brother practiced his riding skills bitterly, which only ended up exhausting their family's two mules. Fortunately, when it was actually time to compete, the military academy provided fine horses.
Zhao Sui asked, "Has your brother ever won?"
Yao Huang replied, "He's not qualified for the matches between the two military academies, mainly because his status isn't high enough. The spots for showing off like that are snatched up by the sons of nobles early on. But in private matches, the team he formed with his good friends has won a few times."
Having secured the wheelchair, Yao Huang sat on the side seat. Because she had just walked down the long palace paths under the blazing sun, her face was flushed with two patches of red from the heat.
Thinking of something else, Zhao Sui asked, "Did you drink at the banquet?"
The way her eyes had chased the figures of the dancing girls looked very much like she had gotten drunk and forgotten herself.
Yao Huang said, "It was fruit wine. It only has a bit more alcohol taste than fruit juice. If you don't believe me, smell it. I don't smell like alcohol at all."
Saying this, she held onto the wheelchair with one hand, leaned over, and moved close for him to smell.
Even though she had aligned the corner of her lips and her cheek directly under Prince Hui's nose, the first thing Prince Hui saw was the expanse of snow-white skin above the waistband of her dress.
After a moment, Zhao Sui closed his eyes and said, "Indeed, you don't."
Yao Huang smiled and sat back down.
Zhao Sui looked toward the cabinet on the other side. "Water."
Yao Huang skillfully crouched in front of the cabinet and opened the two small doors at the bottom. At a glance, she saw the mahogany tray that had been stored there at some unknown point, along with the twenty golden ingots arranged neatly inside.
Yao Huang simply couldn't contain her smile. She smiled as she poured the water, smiled as she handed it to the prince, and smiled as she watched him drink.
Zhao Sui asked, "Why are you smiling like that?"
Yao Huang took out the tray to show him.
Zhao Sui: "..."
Yao Huang simply sat cross-legged on the floor, touching the golden ingots one by one, her touch even gentler than when her mother used to stroke her head as a child. "Your Highness, does the palace always give this prize to the first-place winner in willow-shooting?"
Zhao Sui: "Yes."
Yao Huang said, "The Second Princess mentioned that Your Highness had already won five times before. Doesn't that mean Your Highness has earned six hundred taels of gold just from the prize money?"
Six hundred taels of gold was equivalent to six thousand taels of silver, which was almost as much as the pure betrothal silver the royal family had provided for him to marry his princess consort.
Zhao Sui nodded.
Instantly, the way Yao Huang looked at him was the same as how she looked at gold.
Zhao Sui said, "If you like them, I can give them all to you."
