In early August, the afternoon sun was still dazzling.
In the backyard of Ming'an Hall, a row of windows in the east inner room where the Princess Consort lived was neatly closed. The light was partially blocked by the white silk window paper, and it became much softer when it was cast onto the indoor floor. If you looked closely for a while, you could see specks of dust floating in the light.
Inside the double curtains, Yao Huang could not see anything. At first, she did not understand why Prince Hui used a skirt ribbon to blindfold her, wrapping it around two or three times. When Prince Hui reached out his slender fingers, Yao Huang realized the reason: Prince Hui liked to see her like this. However, Prince Hui was a refined man who strictly adhered to rules and etiquette. He could do it, but he couldn't let others see him doing it.
Therefore, before the meal, he closed his eyes like a man burying his head in the sand, but now he came to cover her eyes.
But Yao Huang felt that Prince Hui was completely overdoing it. She was also a bashful girl; when had she ever taken the initiative to look at him at such a moment?
Yao Huang was too embarrassed to look, and she didn't have many opportunities anyway. Either she was facing forward and couldn't see Prince Hui behind her, or her eyes were blurred with tears and she couldn't see clearly. On the few occasions she accidentally met Prince Hui's gaze, he would immediately turn her face away, refusing to let her see his unseemly state, which was so different from his dignified demeanor during the day.
Only in the pitch-black dead of night, when you couldn't see your fingers in front of your face, would Prince Hui completely let go.
With the final sway of the bed curtains, Prince Hui finally removed his fingers.
The skirt ribbon blindfolding Yao Huang had long been soaked with tears and sweat. It was uncomfortable to be bound, so she first tore off the ribbon, then turned her back to His Highness Prince Hui, closed her eyes, and panted.
As her breathing steadied, Yao Huang's mind gradually cleared. Listening to the rustling sound of Prince Hui adjusting his inner garments, Yao Huang scratched the ivory mat, which had already grown warm.
Refined or not, it was evident that Prince Hui still liked these earthly pleasures. That was why he often lightly scolded her for her lack of manners and etiquette, but never truly forced her to change.
Even the Emperor, imperial consorts, princes, and princesses in the palace—aside from their noble status and overwhelming power—the things they said and did, their hidden little thoughts and petty calculations, were not much different from those of ordinary families. At most, they spoke more tactfully, kept up appearances better, and the good things they desired were simply more valuable.
Hearing that Prince Hui had finished tidying up, Yao Huang turned around, bit the fabric of the inner garment on his shoulder, and said, Your Highness has gone bad.
Zhao Sui could not refute this, so he remained silent.
After complaining, Yao Huang smiled again. She hugged his broad shoulders and said, But I like Your Highness like this. You don't know, when I first went to find you, seeing you dressed so nobly and acting so aloof, I thought Your Highness had forgotten our intimacy in Lingshan Town and was going to continue putting on airs with me.
Zhao Sui: When have I ever put on airs with you?
It was she herself who was intimidated by his status as a prince, constantly worrying that he would get angry.
Yao Huang raised her head and looked into his eyes: Does Your Highness mean that you don't put on airs, and I can treat you like an ordinary husband?
Zhao Sui silently acquiesced.
Yao Huang rolled her eyes playfully, stretched out her clean left index finger, which had only touched the ivory mat, in front of him. While carefully observing Prince Hui's expression, she whispered, Just now, Your Highness bullied me for quite a while, making me quite uncomfortable. I want you to taste that feeling too, so you'll restrain yourself next time.
At the same time, she was curious as to why Prince Hui liked doing that.
Zhao Sui: ...
The Princess Consort had already closed her eyes: Don't worry, I won't look either.
Zhao Sui paused, grasped the Princess Consort's wrist with his right hand, and used his left hand to press her back into his shoulder hollow, maintaining a position where she couldn't see him. Only then did he grant her wish.
After only a couple of strokes, the Princess Consort struggled to pull her hand back, turned around, and rolled to the inner side of the bed. She pulled the blanket up to cover her entire body, looking extremely bashful.
Zhao Sui looked outside the bed curtains.
Exhausted from the journey, it was reasonable to take a longer afternoon nap.
.
After taking a full afternoon nap, Yao Huang woke up at dusk, only to learn that Prince Hui had left more than half an hour ago.
After bathing and changing clothes again, Yao Huang finally felt the relaxed comfort of truly ending the journey and returning home.
After finishing her makeup, Yao Huang took Jinbao to the back garden.
Little Jinbao had a coat of shiny golden fur. As a puppy from the countryside, it didn't understand those tedious royal rules. It only knew that its master was right behind it and there were no unfamiliar scents around, so Jinbao frolicked to its heart's content in the garden.
Passing by the bamboo path leading to the Bamboo Courtyard, Yao Huang pointed to the tightly closed courtyard gate deep inside and said, Look, that's His Highness's little home. Even I am not allowed to enter the house.
Jinbao trotted a short distance down the path, found that its master hadn't followed, and retreated back.
Yao Huang first took Jinbao to the vegetable garden.
The north side of the vegetable garden was completely planted with grain. The leaves of the sweet potato vines had turned yellow, and it would be a while before they were dug up. The wheat in the middle had been harvested by Eunuch Cao and his men. The milled white flour, along with several kinds of vegetables from the beds and the melons that ripened last month, had all been sent to the small town for the Prince and Princess Consort to taste. The corn at the innermost part had also grown, and each stalk bore sturdy ears of corn.
The small cabbages in the south vegetable bed had grown into lush green Chinese cabbages. On the cucumber vines, besides the old cucumbers kept for seeds, there were also some fresh small cucumbers hanging.
Yao Huang picked a cucumber as thick as two fingers, wiped away the surface dust and small prickles with a handkerchief, and walked over to the grapevines while taking bites of it.
After taking a careful stroll around, Yao Huang finally took Jinbao to the Bamboo Courtyard. After knocking on the door, she went to sit on the nearby stone bench to wait.
Feiquan poked his head out to confirm that the visitor was indeed the Princess Consort before going back in to report.
Jinbao recognized Feiquan, so it dashed after him. Before Feiquan entered the main hall, he tried to shoo it away, but Jinbao barked at him twice.
Feiquan: ...
This little fellow was as timid as a mouse when they first met, but after being spoiled by the Prince and Princess Consort for two months, it actually dared to be fierce to him!
A moment later, Qingai pushed Prince Hui out. Seeing Jinbao rush into the main hall, Prince Hui paid it no mind, and Qingai and Feiquan didn't try to catch it either.
Exiting the courtyard gate, Zhao Sui saw the Princess Consort sitting by the stone table, holding a nearly finished piece of cucumber in her hand. The cucumber was very crisp, and the Princess Consort was chewing it with relish. Only when she saw him did she soften her movements.
Qingai pushed the Prince to the stone table and then withdrew.
Looking at Prince Hui across from her, who seemed to have completely forgotten what he had done in the afternoon, Yao Huang asked, Does Your Highness intend to continue living in the Bamboo Courtyard long-term, only going to Ming'an Hall on the fifth and tenth days of the month, and then going over to accompany me for an afternoon nap every day after lunch, returning here once the nap is over?
It took a quarter of an hour to walk from the Bamboo Courtyard to Ming'an Hall, and a wheelchair was even slower. If he really went back and forth like this, Yao Huang felt it was too troublesome for Prince Hui.
Hearing the Princess Consort's disapproval, Zhao Sui asked, What do you propose?
Yao Huang: I want to live together with Your Highness. Why don't you move back to Ming'an Hall? Just like when we were in the town, even though we didn't sleep in the same bed every night, we could share three meals a day. When Your Highness gets tired of reading and wants to enjoy the scenery, I can accompany you to stroll in the garden.
In the past, Prince Hui locked himself in the Bamboo Courtyard because he didn't want to see anyone. Now that he could accompany her shopping, it was naturally more convenient to live in Ming'an Hall for going out of the estate. The Bamboo Courtyard was so cold and deserted, Yao Huang was very afraid that after staying there for a few days, Prince Hui would revert to his old, lifeless self who didn't want to go anywhere.
Zhao Sui averted his gaze from the Princess Consort.
For him, Ming'an Hall had two aspects that were inferior to the Bamboo Courtyard.
First, neither the main hall nor the side room of Ming'an Hall had handrails. When passing through these two areas, he needed someone to serve him. However, now that he had a rattan wheelchair he could push himself, this shortcoming disappeared.
Second, Zhao Sui needed to lean on the railing to "stand" for a period of time every day. Although the inner room of Ming'an Hall had handrails, the space was too small, and his field of vision only contained the indoor furnishings and the buildings outside the window. The backyard of the Bamboo Courtyard had a larger range of movement, bamboo scenery to admire, and even the air was fresher than at Ming'an Hall.
But this was a comparison from before his marriage. Now, Ming'an Hall had an additional advantage over the Bamboo Courtyard: by living in Ming'an Hall, he would have more time to accompany the Princess Consort every day.
The Princess Consort also hoped he could spend more time with her. Therefore, Zhao Sui could go to the Bamboo Courtyard separately after breakfast and after his afternoon nap, completing his morning and afternoon massages and "standing" exercises there.
"I can do that," he agreed.
Yao Huang smiled, walked around to the back, and pushed Prince Hui to stroll through the garden.
Passing by the vegetable patch, Yao Huang said, "Your Highness, since I've been away for so long this time, my parents must miss me, and I miss them too. Since the Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, I should also go and deliver festival gifts to them, as well as to my maternal grandparents and uncles. Which two days do you think would be appropriate for me to go?"
Zhao Sui: "Prepare the festival gifts tomorrow, visit your parents on the tenth, and leave the city the following day?"
Yao Zhenhu had official duties, but the tenth was his rest day, so he would be at home. The elders of the Luo family should be free every day.
Yao Huang bent down and blew on the top of his head. "Am I going by myself? During festivals, other husbands accompany their wives to their maiden homes to deliver gifts. At the very least, husbands who care for their wives do so."
Zhao Sui: "..."
After the Princess Consort had taken a few more steps, Prince Hui finally said, "I will accompany you."
Yao Huang smiled and kissed the top of his head.
After walking about half a lap, Yao Huang suddenly said, "I almost forgot. Your Highness has also been away from the capital for two months. Do you also miss Imperial Father very much?"
Zhao Sui: "..."
He didn't miss him, but he couldn't say that. Even if there were no outsiders, the Princess Consort always praised him for being a gentleman, and how could a gentleman be unfilial?
Thinking of Emperor Yongchang, Yao Huang became even more talkative: "No, considering Imperial Father's status and my family's status, we must first go to the palace to fulfill our filial duties before Imperial Father and Imperial Mother. Otherwise, if we leave Imperial Father aside and go straight to my maiden home, when the news reaches his ears, he will feel sad, thinking that his son has forgotten his own father after marrying a wife. Don't you agree, Your Highness?"
Emperor Yongchang might be reluctant to complain about his own son with crippled legs, but he would vent his anger on her, his daughter-in-law, accusing her of stealing the filial piety that Prince Hui should have given him.
Even if Emperor Yongchang was too busy with state affairs to think of her, there was still Imperial Consort Du, her adoptive mother-in-law who disliked her.
Therefore, Yao Huang had to leave the impression of a good daughter-in-law with Emperor Yongchang, so that even if Imperial Consort Du wanted to whisper poison in his ear to harm her, it would be a waste of breath.
Zhao Sui fell silent once again.
On his own, he might not care whether his Imperial Father was happy or not. But with a Princess Consort, if he lacked courtesy, his Imperial Father and outsiders would blame it on her.
"Tomorrow morning I will submit a memorial to Imperial Father to pay our respects, and see if he is available."
The next day after the morning court session, after a gap of almost exactly two months, Emperor Yongchang received another memorial from his second son. It read: "Respectfully wishing Imperial Father peace. The scorching heat has ended, and your son has returned to the capital with the Princess Consort. Has Imperial Father's dragon body been in good health over the past two months? I pray that Imperial Father will graciously permit your son and the Princess Consort to enter the palace to pay our respects and fulfill a small part of our filial duty."
Emperor Yongchang subconsciously turned over the cover of the memorial, only to see that it was absolutely genuinely written: "Submitted by Prince Hui, Zhao Sui"!
With moist eyes, Emperor Yongchang commanded in great delight, "Quick, pass on my verbal decree: summon Prince Hui and the Princess Consort to enter the palace and share lunch with me!"
