Yao Huang had a restless sleep in the first half of the night, but slept soundly in the second half. She thought she could sleep in, but was awakened early in the morning by a familiar dog bark.
There was movement of someone getting up next to her. Yao Huang turned over and saw Prince Hui sitting upright, his profile looking unhappy as he gazed outside the bed curtains.
Yao Huang secretly sweated for Jinbao. It had finally struck lucky to enjoy wealth and glory in Prince Hui's mansion. She hoped it wouldn't bring bad luck to Prince Hui with this barking and be thrown out!
Yao Huang actually liked Jinbao quite a bit. Firstly, Jinbao had golden hair and looked cute. Secondly, she and Jinbao more or less shared some fate related to the character "Huang" (yellow).
For Jinbao's sake, Yao Huang had to rub against Prince Hui and wrap her arms around his waist. Resting her head against his back, she said, "Dogs all have spirituality. I coaxed Jinbao for half the night last night. It must be clinging to me, so it ran to the East Courtyard early in the morning. Second Master, please don't hold it against it."
Zhao Sui looked at the arm resting across his front. The sleeves of the Princess's inner garment had been rubbed up to her elbows, revealing a section of soft, white, and jade-like forearm. The back of the Princess's hand was also plump and fleshy, and her five fingers were like bamboo shoots, thick at the base and tapering at the tips, resting lazily and weakly on the edge of his right leg.
Zhao Sui held that hand and explained, "I didn't hold it against it. If I were to hold it against anyone, it would be Qingai for not keeping an eye on Jinbao."
Yao Huang sympathized with Qingai again. Hearing Qingai's deliberately lowered voice in the courtyard, Yao Huang deduced, "Qingai must have come to deliver water, and only when he got here did he realize that Jinbao had followed him. He wanted to drive Jinbao back, and that's why Jinbao barked."
Zhao Sui looked back. "In that case, neither Jinbao nor Qingai is at fault. The fault lies in my narrow-mindedness, unable to tolerate even a few dog barks."
Last night, when Feiquan took Jinbao away, the Princess looked rather disapproving, as if blaming him for making a fuss in the middle of the night.
Hearing this, Yao Huang quickly hugged him tightly and said, "Second Master is not narrow-minded at all. Second Master can tolerate the gossip of so many women. Your heart is the broadest."
As she spoke, she raised her hand and rubbed Prince Hui's broad chest.
Zhao Sui held down that hand, pulled the Princess, who was hiding behind and talking, back to her original position to lie down, and then went to measure the Princess's chest.
Yao Huang panicked and said, "I'm still having my period!"
Prince Hui wasn't thinking about that. The dog's barking was annoying, and he wanted to hear something pleasant.
Outside the courtyard, Aji, Feiquan, and Qingai spent some effort to catch Jinbao. Looking at the east room, Qingai covered Jinbao's little snout and slipped back to the west courtyard. Feiquan helped carry the water into the main room and then retreated to the veranda to wait for the Prince. Aji quietly approached the door of the east room, wanting to hear if the Prince and Princess had been woken up by Jinbao. Just as she concentrated, a low moan that sounded so charming it could wring out water came from inside.
Aji's heart trembled, and she stepped back.
Prince Hui went to the front courtyard, leaving his Princess lying limply in the brocade quilt, taking a long time to regain her strength.
When Aji came in to serve, she saw that the Princess's face was still flushed and was a little worried. "Second Master is really something. Will messing around like this be bad for Madam's health?"
Yao Huang didn't explain to Aji, who was still a silly fourteen-year-old girl, that her Princess had not only not been hurt, but had also enjoyed herself very much.
Yao Huang could do the changing of clothes and washing of face herself. She told Aji to bring Jinbao over, and she didn't need Aji to serve her here anymore.
Jinbao really did cling to Yao Huang, circling around her skirt. When Yao Huang went to the front courtyard, Jinbao also trotted behind her on its short little legs.
In the front courtyard, Prince Hui, wearing a green shirt, sat in his wheelchair, still holding that scroll of Buddhist scriptures. Sensing the Princess entering, he only raised his eyes to take a look and continued to read the scriptures.
Yao Huang told Feiquan to go to the west courtyard to bring breakfast, and she sat on one side of the long table. Seeing this, Jinbao squatted and sat properly by her feet.
Yao Huang rubbed Jinbao's head and criticized, "You just arrived yesterday, and the Second Master and I won't pursue your fault of disturbing people in the middle of the night. But starting tonight, you can't bark anymore, otherwise the Second Master will really punish you, and I won't plead for you again."
When the Princess spoke to scold the dog, Prince Hui's gaze crossed the Buddhist scriptures and cast over. Looking at the Princess's serious, white-and-red-tinged cheeks, after the Princess finished scolding, Prince Hui looked at Jinbao below. Jinbao just raised its head, its watery black eyes staring curiously at its mistress, not looking innocent and aware of its mistake at all.
Before the Princess looked over, Prince Hui's gaze returned to the scriptures. From the corner of his eye, he saw the Princess stretch out a finger and poke Jinbao's head. "Stop pretending with me. Don't you know what good deeds you did this morning?"
Prince Hui: "..."
Feiquan brought breakfast.
Yao Huang picked up a slice of cold-tossed meat and threw it on the ground. Jinbao immediately came over to eat.
Yao Huang understood. "So you haven't eaten yet. No wonder you're so greedy."
Prince Hui, who had just scooped a spoonful of porridge, almost choked.
Hearing the sound, Yao Huang looked over and saw that Prince Hui had been avoiding her gaze. Realizing it, her face turned red, and she lowered her head and said angrily, "What are you thinking? I wasn't making insinuations. Besides, the Second Master has already eaten many times, so it doesn't match at all."
Prince Hui acted as if he didn't understand, silently ate his own meal, and went to the study after eating.
Yao Huang took Jinbao to play in the backyard. When Madam Gao and Aji went to the river to wash clothes, Yao Huang followed and found that the two only took the fabric clothes to wash outside, and those valuable silk fabrics that couldn't be shown to people were washed in the inner house.
In the morning, the riverside was full of women coming out to wash clothes. Three daughters-in-law holding large basins of clothes walked out one after another from Squire Qi's house, the western neighbor of the new house. The eastern neighbor, Scholar He's house, was Madam Zhu and her daughter.
Yao Huang took out her outer cloth clothes from Aji's basin, preparing to wash and listen to the women around chatting at the same time.
Aji snatched it back. "Sister-in-law has never done such work. Even if the family is down and out now, you don't need to do it."
Madam Gao: "Exactly. The Heavens sent a fairy-like figure like you to be my niece-in-law. As long as I have strength, I won't let you do these things. Just sit honestly to the side and don't cause trouble for us."
Once these words spread, the young daughters-in-law nearby immediately envied the Second Madam of the Liao family for having such a good aunt and sister-in-law.
During the day, women had their own family chores to do. At noon, when the sun was shining, everyone stayed indoors or took a nap. Only after dinner at dusk was a good time for women to gather and chat.
Yao Huang separated four catties of mixed melon seeds and went to invite Prince Hui before setting off. "I'm going to Aunt Qiao's house across the river, the one we stayed at yesterday. Is the Second Master going?"
Zhao Sui looked at the Princess with smiling eyes and knew that the Princess already knew the answer.
Sure enough, the next moment the Princess left, accompanied by Aji.
Once the Princess left, Prince Hui's surroundings quieted down again. Only Jinbao, who was also left at home, strolled around, and finally, not knowing what was going on in its dog head, it actually came to the side of the male master's wheelchair and lay down, its snout resting on the ground, its black eyes rolling up to appraise the male master.
Prince Hui just silently stared at a little dog pup for a long time.
While the princess was away, Doctor Liao came over to give Prince Hui a massage. Feiquan stayed outside to guard and kept anyone from approaching, but today there was a new addition to the house, Jinbao, and Jinbao actually wanted to follow him in.
Feiquan looked at the prince questioningly.
Zhao Sui glanced at Jinbao, who had already entered the west room one step ahead, and tacitly agreed.
Arriving in the west room, Zhao Sui changed his clothes and lay flat on the narrow couch on the south side. Doctor Liao closed the door, first took out the medicinal oil from his medicine chest and set it out, then went to wash his hands.
Jinbao squatted in front of the couch, his black eyes following Doctor Liao's movements.
Zhao Sui turned his head, watching Jinbao's eyes darting around, until Doctor Liao began the massage, and both he and Doctor Liao appeared simultaneously in Jinbao's eyes.
Doctor Liao, as always, only looked at Prince Hui's legs.
Ever since Prince Hui lost the use of his legs, the closer people were to him, the greater the pressure they bore. Even though Doctor Liao knew that Prince Hui's temper was already quite lenient, Doctor Liao would still feel nervous during every massage, fearing that an accidental meeting of eyes would incur the displeasure of His Highness Prince Hui.
When he had only massaged halfway down the left leg, Zhao Sui looked at Doctor Liao and asked, "Seeing patients at the clinic during the day, and rushing over morning, noon, and night to massage me, won't you be very tired?"
Doctor Liao relied on the steadiness cultivated from years of acupuncture to maintain his composure when Prince Hui first spoke. Even so, while the movement and pressure of his hands remained unchanged, a fine layer of sweat was still forced out on his forehead.
"Rest assured, Second Master. The town is small, the population is sparse, and there aren't that many sick people. I'm not tired."
Zhao Sui understood.
After massaging the left leg, Doctor Liao was about to massage the right leg when Prince Hui spoke again: "What are the customs of the people in this town?"
Doctor Liao: "We have inquired carefully. The common people in the town are generally honest and well-behaved. However, just like the common people everywhere, there are some grudges and disputes. Occasionally, when men get drunk, they might use their fists and feet, and women might curse loudly when they quarrel. Limited by human emotions, it's unavoidable."
Zhao Sui: "There is a blacksmith shop on the main street. I passed by it yesterday, and the blacksmith inside seemed to be forging arrowheads."
The imperial court restricted the private manufacture of weapons by civilians. Doctor Liao understood Prince Hui's meaning and explained, "This town is right at the foot of Mount Ling. The town and some nearby villages have quite a few hunters who make a living by hunting. They often go to that blacksmith shop to forge and repair machetes and arrowheads. The blacksmith will report the number of items forged to the village head, so the local government permits it."
Zhao Sui: "How many assistants are in the shop?"
Doctor Liao recalled for a moment and said, "That family's surname is Lu. Only Blacksmith Lu and his two sons work there, and there are no other apprentices or assistants."
Zhao Sui: "What are his two sons like?"
Doctor Liao didn't know why Prince Hui was so interested in the blacksmith family, so he could only tell him everything he knew: "The eldest son is over thirty, steady and shrewd. He will probably take over the blacksmith shop's business in the future. The second son is said to be somewhat foolish, possessing only brute strength and good blacksmithing skills. He can't take charge on his own and can only follow the family's arrangements."
The figure of that young blacksmith surfaced in Zhao Sui's mind again. If the other party were not foolish, whether in blacksmithing or enlisting in the army, he would be a capable hand.
A crippled leg bent by Doctor Liao appeared in his field of vision, and Zhao Sui closed his eyes.
The young blacksmith at least had a sturdy physique, so there was no need for him to pity him.
Yao Huang and Aji lingered outside until the sky grew dark before returning.
The front yard was quiet. Prince Hui was not outside, and the east room was not lit.
Yao Huang asked Feiquan, who came to open the door, "Is the Second Master asleep?"
Feiquan: "He rested two quarters of an hour ago."
Yao Huang stood in place for a moment, walked straight over to push open the ajar door of the main hall, and fumbled in the dark to the bedside in the east room.
Today was the fourteenth day of the sixth lunar month. The moonlight outside was like water, and there was some light in the room.
Yao Huang sat on the bed, leaned over, her face almost touching Prince Hui's handsome face. This person still had his eyes closed.
Yao Huang kissed him on the cheek: "Pretending again. Are you angry that I came back so late and deliberately ignoring me?"
Zhao Sui had to open his eyes, looked at the princess close at hand, and said, "No, I thought you would take a look and leave."
Yao Huang: "How is that possible? I also wanted to ask the prince out for a walk. It's quiet by the river now, just right for a romantic rendezvous under the moon for you and me."
Zhao Sui: "...After a busy day, aren't you tired?"
Yao Huang: "...I'm only seventeen, not seventy. The prince is also only twenty-three, not thirty-two. Besides, people in their thirties are in the prime of life. My dad is forty-three now, and whenever there's a lantern festival in the capital, my dad can still accompany my mom to stroll outside for half the night."
Zhao Sui thought of the various inconveniences of changing clothes at this time and said, "I'm already lying down tonight. Let's do it tomorrow night. Tomorrow night, I'll stroll with you as late as you want."
Yao Huang: "That works too. Then let me tell you a few fresh things I just heard?"
Zhao Sui moved inward a bit.
Yao Huang didn't dare to lie down and smiled: "Let's just talk like this. After talking, I have to go back and bathe. I squeezed out a sweat in the crowd, and I don't want to smoke the Second Master."
Two quarters of an hour later, the princess walked away with light steps. Prince Hui lay alone on the bed, and the scent of melon seeds from the princess still lingered in the tent.
