On the fifth of August, after eating breakfast, Yao Huang pushed the Prince of Hui out the door, leaving the luggage of the two courtyards to Qingai, Aji, and others to pack.
The royal guards, disguised as caravan escorts, were already waiting on the street. There were still four carriages, attracting the neighbors on both sides of the river to either come close to watch the fun or stand far away at their own doors to look over.
Yao Huang accompanied the Prince of Hui for the last time along the riverbank, just like when they first arrived in the town and went out. When they met neighbors greeting them, Yao Huang was responsible for exchanging pleasantries, and the Prince of Hui just sat quietly. But there were differences. Now the Prince of Hui's complexion was as handsome as fine jade, no longer pale as before, and his expression was indifferent and peaceful, no longer lifeless.
Everyone was busy. Yao Huang also brought Jinbao out. The little guy ran ahead for a while, then went to the bank to sniff around, and when he looked up and found that his masters had gone far, he chased after them.
Ahead was the stone bridge at the easternmost end. Yao Huang planned to cross the bridge, slowly walk around and come back, and then it would be almost time to get into the carriage.
Who would have thought that Jinbao would run under the tree by the bridge again, and just as Yao Huang and the Prince of Hui both looked over, he lifted a hind leg and peed.
Zhao Sui: "..."
Yao Huang looked down and saw the familiar speechless expression on the Prince of Hui's face, and immediately laughed out loud: "Has Second Master never seen such an indecent scene?"
Zhao Sui glanced at the Princess's teasing eyes and looked away.
Yao Huang said in his ear: "What's this? I've even seen seven or eight-year-old boys taking off their pants in the street."
In such an intimate posture, when the Princess was halfway through speaking, Zhao Sui thought she was going to say she had seen his, and a fire silently burned in his chest. After hearing the Princess's complete sentence, the fire quickly extinguished and failed to spread to his face and ears.
"Do not speak of what is improper." After a long time, Zhao Sui reminded her in a low voice.
Yao Huang: "It's just you and me. Why are you so serious, Second Master?"
Zhao Sui was silent.
Yao Huang probed: "Second Master really doesn't like to hear me say these things? Then I'll definitely keep my mouth shut from now on and never talk nonsense in front of Second Master again."
Zhao Sui didn't respond, but he knew that a leopard cannot change its spots. The Princess was a straightforward and easygoing person. She would still say it next time, and he would probably get used to it gradually.
Passing by the house that gave Jinbao to them, the little brother and sister were outside. Yao Huang looked at Jinbao and said to the siblings: "We're moving away. Take Jinbao in to see its mother again."
Ordinary folks cherish food. At most, they keep a dog to guard the house, or an old dog and a puppy. If Jinbao stayed, he would only be given to someone else. So Yao Huang discussed with the Prince of Hui and decided to take Jinbao back to the Prince's mansion together.
Jinbao still remembered his old master's house and followed the siblings in. He played with the big dog inside for a while and then ran out by himself, as if worried that his new masters would leave if he stayed too long.
Two or three quarters of an hour later, Yao Huang took a last look at the locked gate of the East Courtyard, brought Jinbao, and got into a carriage with Aji.
.
God was kind. The return journey was as smooth as the journey here. Although there were still various unavoidable inconveniences, when Yao Huang thought that the Prince of Hui could calmly sit in his wheelchair and appear in the bustling streets and alleys, she felt that these troubles were nothing at all.
On the seventh of August, near noon, the four carriages of the Prince of Hui's mansion finally entered the south gate of the capital. After traveling a long way, the four carriages entered the threshold-less Prince of Hui's mansion.
Yao Huang jumped off the carriage, picked up Jinbao who was looking around, and put him on the ground, laughing: "Look, this is your real home. Go take a good look."
Jinbao ran around the spirit screen, went to the door leading to the second courtyard, and looked inside curiously and cautiously.
Yao Huang walked towards the Prince of Hui's wheelchair.
Zhao Sui said to Feiquan: "Qingai will follow me to Ming'an Hall, and you go tidy up the Bamboo Courtyard."
Feiquan took the order and left.
The guards had come back early to pass on the message. The water room in Ming'an Hall had already boiled hot water, and Master Kong, who had been idle for almost two months, was already busy in the kitchen of Ming'an Hall early on, just waiting for the Prince and Princess to rest before serving delicious food.
Compared to the simple courtyard in Lingshan Town, Ming'an Hall was too comfortable. The three senior maids, Bailing, Chunyan, and Qiuchan, enthusiastically surrounded the Princess and entered the bathroom in the west room. Some served tea, some fanned, and some helped change clothes. How could Aji, who was also exhausted from the journey, need to pack things and pour water to serve?
Not long after, Yao Huang comfortably soaked in her large bathtub.
Bailing and the other two had just helped the Princess wipe her body and wash her hair, sweating from the busyness. At this time, they stood in a row in front of the bathtub, staring intently at their Princess whom they hadn't seen for a long time.
Yao Huang: "...We'll see each other every day from now on. Why are you looking at me like this?"
Chunyan smiled: "When the Princess is away, we servants are idle all day with nothing to do. We're almost bored to death."
The mansion had many rules. When the masters were away, the servants couldn't walk around casually. Except for being able to stroll on the street at the end of every month, they could only wander back and forth between the maids' room and the backyard of Ming'an Hall on weekdays, which was far less comfortable than when the Princess was present.
Yao Huang: "Then Aji must envy you. She cooks and washes clothes outside, and also takes care of the dog I newly raised."
The three maids looked at each other, and no one dared to say the witty words "Next time leave Aji in the mansion to rest and take us out to suffer."
Yao Huang asked them to sit on the stools and asked: "In these two months, has anyone come to the mansion?"
Chunyan and Qiuchan both looked at Bailing.
Bailing said: "On the fifteenth of June, Noble Consort sent someone to invite the Princess to the palace. Upon learning that the Prince and Princess had gone out to escape the heat, she summoned this servant to the palace to ask questions."
Hearing this, Yao Huang asked Chunyan and Qiuchan to step back for now.
As soon as the two left, Bailing fell to her knees nervously and said: "Princess, please see clearly. Her Highness asked this servant about the specific situation of your relationship with the Prince, and also asked about Huamei's punishment. Huamei brought the punishment upon herself. This servant did not hide it, but this servant never disclosed any matters contrary to the mansion's rules to Her Highness. Please believe this servant, Princess."
Yao Huang: "Get up and speak. You are not allowed to kneel when you are not told to."
Bailing got up in fear and trepidation.
Yao Huang looked at her for a while and said: "I believe you, but Her Highness got nothing out of you. How could she let it go?"
Bailing's eyes turned red.
Yao Huang frowned: "Tell me, how did she punish you?"
Bailing looked at her arm and said with tears: "Her Highness had people pinch this servant a few times."
Slapping the face would leave marks, but pinching the arms, waist, and legs, even if it caused bruises, could be covered by clothes and would not lose the Noble Consort's dignity.
Yao Huang was somewhat familiar with Noble Consort Du's temper and said pityingly: "I'm afraid it wasn't a few times, but dozens of times, right?"
The maid she sent out refused to listen to her. How could Noble Consort Du easily calm down.
Bailing wiped her eyes, showing a relaxed expression as if relieved of a burden: "The Princess doesn't need to feel sorry for this servant. After this, this servant has become a disloyal person in the eyes of Noble Consort, and has received all the punishments she deserves. The Noble Consort will never make trouble for this servant again."
This was the end of the past master-servant relationship between her and Noble Consort Du. Yao Huang had not been present at the time and was unable to protect Bailing. It wasn't worth making a fuss about it afterward; after all, the evidence was gone, and Noble Consort Du held the status of an elder.
She said to Bailing, "Rest assured, as long as you are loyal to me, even if she tries to cause trouble for you in the future, she will have to get past me first."
Bailing smiled through her tears. As early as when the Princess Consort dealt with Huamei, she knew that the Princess Consort was no pushover, so she believed that her mistress could protect her.
After her bath, with her hair still damp, Yao Huang went to the front courtyard with her long hair cascading down her back.
In the main hall, Prince Hui had changed into a jade-green satin summer robe and wore a white jade hairpin. He was now seated in his everyday red sandalwood wheelchair, exuding an overwhelming aura of royal nobility.
Noticing that his gaze first fell on her loose, wet hair, Yao Huang suddenly felt a bit nervous. Was this man going to criticize her for being improper in her bearing?
As she grew nervous, her eyes showed a hint of timidity, and her footsteps slowed down, even though she had been as carefree as she was in the town just a moment ago when she turned the corner.
Zhao Sui lowered his eyes and picked up a green grape the size of a longan from the fruit plate in front of him. His original intention was to dispel the Princess Consort's worries with this casual, domestic action. However, the moment he pinched the green grape, he suddenly remembered the daytime absurdity he had engaged in with the Princess Consort under the grape trellis.
Pausing slightly, Zhao Sui nonchalantly popped the grape into his mouth.
Yao Huang's attention was indeed diverted. Looking at the two plates of grapes on the table, one green and one purple, she asked in pleasant surprise, "Are these grapes grown in our own garden?"
Zhao Sui replied, "They are just starting to ripen these past few days. Master Kong picked out two bunches."
Yao Huang had already sat down at his lower right side. She picked up a purple grape and put it in her mouth. It was sweet and sour, tasting better than any she had eaten before. Then Yao Huang remembered that when the royal estate's chief steward, Guo Shu, brought people into the manor to transplant the grapevines, he had mentioned that these two vines were transplanted from a royal estate in the suburbs of the capital that exclusively supplied fruits and vegetables to the palace.
The sons and daughters of the royal family might not have the best looks or talents in the world, but the food, clothing, and daily goods they used were basically the best in the world.
Such delicious grapes would be even better if she didn't have to spit out the seeds.
When only two small, round seeds were left in her mouth, Yao Huang cast a glance at Prince Hui. Adopting the posture of a noble lady she had learned in the palace, she first unfolded her silk handkerchief to cover half of her face, and then gently spat the grape seeds into an empty plate set aside specifically for that purpose.
Zhao Sui: "..."
If the Princess Consort hadn't been sneaking peeks at him while spitting the seeds, this posture would have looked much more elegant.
Taking advantage of the moment the Princess Consort lowered her gaze, Prince Hui raised his hand to catch the grape seeds from his own mouth and placed them on another empty plate.
Yao Huang put down her handkerchief and, noticing the seeds on Prince Hui's side, asked in surprise, "When did Your Highness spit those out?"
The key point was how he spat them out! She had wanted to see what kind of posture the noble and dignified Prince Hui would adopt!
Zhao Sui did not answer. He picked up a purple grape and, using the same hands that had wielded both pen and spear, clumsily yet carefully peeled the skin and removed the seeds, before placing the flesh into the fruit plate in front of the Princess Consort.
Just as Yao Huang was about to reach for it, she looked at the grape juice flowing from the flesh onto the plate and smiled. To Prince Hui, who was about to peel a second grape, she said, "Your Highness, look, your hands are already stained with juice. Why don't you just feed it directly into my mouth? It'll save me from having to wipe my own hands."
Zhao Sui: "..."
A moment later, he picked up the grape flesh, which had been split in half by the seed removal but remained connected on one side, and placed it into the Princess Consort's parted red lips.
Yao Huang ate seven or eight in a row, her stomach feeling hungry. So, when Prince Hui offered another piece of grape flesh, Yao Huang accepted the grape while simultaneously pressing down on Prince Hui's wrist.
Zhao Sui met the Princess Consort's gaze. Immediately after, the Princess Consort leaned her face forward and, out of good intentions but lacking in decorum, helped him clean the grape juice from his fingertips.
Prince Hui closed his eyes, listening to the Princess Consort speak with perfect assurance, "I couldn't possibly let Your Highness serve me for nothing."
