Yao Huang closed her eyes and leaned back against Prince Hui's shoulder. There was nothing she could do; as soon as the Prince's hands touched her, she lost all her strength.
She did not dare to stop him. The silk garments she wore were indeed luxurious, but they were also very delicate. If they were wrinkled from pushing and shoving, and later seen by the eunuchs and maids, how could she maintain her dignity as the Princess Consort? The summer sunset was so bright, and it was still a long time before dark. In broad daylight, was she supposed to let the servants guess what the Prince and Princess Consort had been doing in the garden?
Yao Huang knew that she had brought this upon herself. If she hadn't tried to feed the Prince sour grapes, he wouldn't have retaliated against her like this.
Across an aisle, south of the grapevines, was a patch of corn. Planted late, the emerald green stalks were only waist-high, still far from producing ears of corn.
His Highness Prince Hui came to her place looking for grapes. Yao Huang clearly hadn't been plotting anything, yet she accidentally discovered something about the Prince...
Remembering that time on the large red sandalwood wheelchair, Yao Huang froze as if paralyzed, not daring to move a muscle, pretending she hadn't noticed anything.
When she was a child, Yao Huang and her playmates used to watch cats catch mice on the street. When the mouse played dead, the cat wouldn't move either; but the moment the mouse tried to run, the cat would pounce crazily.
Zhao Sui looked at the Princess Consort's flushed face, her tightly closed and occasionally fluttering eyelashes, and her moist lips that parted only to be lightly bitten immediately after.
Moving his gaze down, the skin exposed above the collar of the Princess Consort's short jacket was gradually dyed a faint peach color.
Zhao Sui pinched out the green grape, which had long since grown warm, and handed it to her. "Done."
Yao Huang opened her eyes and saw the disastrous fruit. Afraid that the Prince would continue to tease her with it, she tilted her head back, snatched the green grape directly with her mouth, chewed it haphazardly a couple of times, and swallowed it. It was incredibly sour. Yao Huang covered her face with her sleeve, not wanting the Prince to see her silly look of reaping what she had sown.
Zhao Sui: "...If it doesn't taste good, you don't have to eat it."
Yao Huang sucked in a breath from the sourness while putting on a brave face, "It's delicious. How could I possibly feed the Prince bad-tasting grapes?"
Prince Hui smiled, pressed down on the Princess Consort's hand, and helped her tighten the skirt band that had just been loosened.
Yao Huang's entire body tensed up at first. Only when she was certain the Prince was tightening it rather than completely untying it did she realize that he didn't plan to do anything right here. But, he clearly still...
Yao Huang turned her head, wanting to steal a glance, but Prince Hui was already waiting. A ripple seemed to rise in the depths of his stagnant-water-like eyes. "Go to Ming'an Hall tonight."
Yao Huang quickly turned back and nodded like a child who had done something wrong.
It was only right. The Prince's fire had been ignited, so naturally, she had to deal with the aftermath.
This was perfect anyway. She had come looking for the Prince precisely to find an opportunity to bring something up, and what better time than at night?
Deep into the dark night, the watchman's clapper on the street had already sounded the second watch before Prince Hui finally relaxed his grip on the Princess Consort.
Yao Huang was drenched in sweat, and the ivory sleeping mat her palms and fingertips touched was also damp, as if it had just been wiped with a wet towel.
The lights were bright. Prince Hui lay down beside her and left her be; listening to his breathing, he was also quite exhausted.
Yao Huang pressed the top of her head tightly against the headboard. As soon as she recovered slightly, she hurriedly pulled up the thin quilt to cover her body, which even she found dazzling to look at. Then, she slowly rubbed against His Highness Prince Hui, resting her head on his sturdy shoulder and wrapping one arm around his waist.
Zhao Sui still had his eyes closed and casually patted her hand.
Yao Huang calmed down along with him. Feeling that Prince Hui's chest was no longer heaving so intensely, she spoke in a soft voice, "Does Your Highness feel that although this ivory mat is good, it still gets hot after lying on it for a long time? We have to move to a new spot for it to be cool."
Zhao Sui: "It is summer, after all. If you are afraid of the heat, let's start using ice tomorrow." It was indeed almost the hottest period of summer.
Yao Huang: "Using ice? Like in the storybooks, where a large cauldron is placed in the room, and ice is put in the cauldron, so the whole room is filled with cool air?"
Zhao Sui: "Yes."
Yao Huang: "How much ice would we need for one day? Is it expensive?"
Zhao Sui: "The Prince's estate has an annual quota for ice and charcoal. It is sent directly from the palace, so the estate does not need to spend money to buy it."
Yao Huang: "That's wonderful. Since marrying Your Highness, I get to enjoy all kinds of blessings. I used to hear people say that the high officials and nobles in the capital would build summer villas in the mountains near the capital. It must be because those families don't have ice to use, right? Otherwise, they would be just like Your Highness, staying cool while living right in the capital."
Zhao Sui: "It's different. The mountains are cool everywhere, while using ice only ensures the indoors are cool. Furthermore, noble families and civil and military officials of the fifth rank and above all receive ice stipends. The quotas just vary in amount; it is not exclusive to the royal family."
Yao Huang: "So that's how it is. Say, Your Highness, does our family have a summer villa built anywhere?"
Reaching the exciting part of her thought, Yao Huang propped up her upper body with her elbows and looked at her Prince with a face full of anticipation.
The thin silk quilt slipped from her shoulders. Noticing that the Prince's gaze was following the quilt, Yao Huang quickly wrapped it tightly around herself and shot him a reproachful glare. "Look, look, look, haven't you seen enough?"
Prince Hui, having just enjoyed two meals, continued the previous topic: "Imperial Father gifted a summer villa near the Northern Park."
The commoners in the capital had all heard of the Northern Park; it was the emperors' summer palace. Guo Shu had explained it in more detail, saying that for the emperor's safety, no commoners lived within dozens of miles around the Northern Park. Successive emperors would only order villas to be built in the mountains near the Northern Park to reward royal descendants or noble families who had made great contributions.
The Northern Park did not fit Yao Huang's travel plans.
She asked, knowing the answer perfectly well, "The Northern Park is too far. Do we have one closer?"
Zhao Sui: "No."
He had only established his own estate five years ago. Two of those years were spent fighting wars outside, and one year was spent recovering from injuries. Plus, being alone, he had no need to build a summer villa outside.
"Do you want one?"
Seeing through the Princess Consort's thoughts, Zhao Sui pondered for a moment and said, "If you want one, we can build it. However, if we start construction this year, it won't be ready to use until next year."
Yao Huang: "No, absolutely not. Your Highness never had this idea before. If we start construction right after I marry you, outsiders will immediately guess that I asked for it. Then they will definitely gossip that I am relying on Your Highness's favor to squander money, and that despite having no family background of my own, I am still so greedy for luxury."
Zhao Sui: "If you like it, we will build it. There is no need to worry about outsiders."
Yao Huang: "Let's talk about it in a few years. This year... Say, has Your Highness ever heard of Mount Ling?"
Zhao Sui: "Mhm."
Yao Huang: "I've never been there, but I've heard others mention it. They say Mount Ling is to the southwest of the capital, and it takes two or three days by carriage. I heard there is a Ling Mountain Town at the foot of the mountain, and the people there live very comfortably in the summer. They even need thick quilts at night, and the hottest time of the day is only like our early summer here."
Zhao Sui: "You want to build a villa on Mount Ling?"
The high officials, nobles, and wealthy families of the capital wouldn't choose Mount Ling. It was too far away, making it inconvenient to travel back and forth to the capital. Moreover, being a remote place deep in the mountains and old forests, it was not as safe as the villas in the suburbs of the capital.
Yao Huang: "We don't need to build a villa. We can just buy a house in the town. Um, we can say that our family has fallen on hard times, so we sold our house in the county town and chose a place with beautiful scenery to live. This way, the neighbors won't be terrified of offending us every day, and we'll be much freer and more comfortable coming and going. When summer is about to end, we can just find an excuse to move away."
Although it was a speech she had prepared in her mind long ago, Yao Huang still grew more and more excited as she spoke. Your Highness knows that I am a girl from a humble family. After becoming the Princess Consort, I have to put on a good act. Even if we build a villa in the nearby mountains, I would still have to worry about bumping into some noble lady when I go out to play. But if we truly disguise ourselves as commoners and go to Lingshan Town, no one there will recognize us. It will be nice and cool, and I can do whatever I want and play however I please. Besides Your Highness, no one will be able to control me!
Zhao Sui looked at the Princess Consort's joyful posture, like a bird about to escape its cage, but what came to his mind were the various inconveniences of him traveling.
A journey of two or three days—how would he relieve himself on the road, and where would they stay at night?
Buying a house in Lingshan Town? Could a house in a town compare to the convenience of the Prince's estate?
Disguising as commoners, he and she would still be husband and wife, but how would they arrange for Feiquan, Qingai, the maids, Doctor Liao, and the accompanying guards?
Yao Huang could see the changes in Prince Hui's expression. Although he remained silent all the same, when he was in a good mood, the look in his eyes when he looked at her was gentle. When his mood was average, his gaze was lifeless, and when he was in a bad mood, he simply wouldn't look at her at all.
Take right now, for example. Yao Huang had just sensed the lifelessness in His Highness's eyes, and in the next instant, he looked away.
Yao Huang said nervously, Does Your Highness not like my idea? Then let us forget it. I was just chatting casually, I do not really want to go that badly. I will probably forget about it after a night of sleep. Besides, I have lived in the capital since I was little and have survived so many summers. It makes no sense that I would suddenly become so delicate after becoming the Princess Consort that I must find a place to escape the summer heat.
She leaned back against the man's chest, hugging him as she said, It is all because Your Highness treats me too well, spoiling me until I become increasingly unruly, daring to say anything to you. I was only thinking about running wild myself and forgot that Your Highness simply is not used to living in such a rural place.
Zhao Sui was not actually angry to begin with. With the Princess Consort pressing against him so softly, and having just shared an intimate moment, how could Zhao Sui bear to make her worried and afraid?
He held the Princess Consort's hand and said, I am indeed not used to living in the countryside. If you want to go, take the maids and guards...
No, I just married Your Highness. Even if Your Highness can bear to be apart from me, I cannot. If we go, we go together. If not, neither of us goes.
Zhao Sui twitched the corners of his mouth.
If they really went to Lingshan Town, would she not still be separated from him when she was playing to her heart's content?
It was nothing more than the fact that if he went, the Prince and Princess Consort traveling together would save her from the worries of being blamed by his imperial father and gossiped about by the people in the capital. Otherwise, if a dignified Princess Consort left her disabled husband behind to go off and enjoy the summer heat alone, the imperial censors would definitely impeach her.
Call for water, I am sleepy.
His Highness Prince Hui spent the night at Ming'an Hall, but he did not stay to have breakfast here, even though the Princess Consort had gotten up with him.
As Yao Huang ate breakfast alone, her mind was filled with the lifeless look on His Highness's face when he left.
Yao Huang regretted it very, very much. Back on South Street, she had been thinking that she could not risk offending His Highness. How did she get so impulsive just seeing the elm wood wheelchair made by Master Deng?
That stinky man was also petty. If he did not want to go, he did not have to go. It was not like she had begged or coaxed him into going. What was he throwing a tantrum for?
She could curse His Highness in her heart all she wanted, but since she already knew he was unhappy, Yao Huang had to find a way to coax him back. Who asked him to be the Prince!
When it was about time, Yao Huang took a basket and went to the vegetable patch. She picked a spot where the baby bok choy grew especially thick and pulled up half a basket of tender greens.
Leaving the vegetable patch, Yao Huang glanced at the grape trellis, snorted, and went to pluck a single green grape before heading familiarly to the Bamboo Courtyard.
After Feiquan opened the door, Yao Huang shoved the green grape in her hand over to him and instructed, Give this to His Highness first, and then tell him that I have already picked my baby bok choy. Ask him if he still wants to eat buns.
Yao Huang was worried that the sulking Prince Hui would refuse to eat her baby bok choy buns. If she came all this way to ask only to be rejected, it would be a huge loss of face.
Therefore, Yao Huang deliberately brought this green grape to remind His Highness of the good deed he had done yesterday. If he could still refuse after that, Yao Huang would not bother coaxing him anymore. Let him sulk!
