It was fine to act a little shamelessly with words, but Yao Huang was too embarrassed to actually stay lounging in Prince Hui's wheelchair and have Qingai and Feiquan push the couple out of the carriage and back to Ming'an Hall all in one wheelchair. She simply wanted to see Prince Hui's expression when he inevitably refused but could not bring himself to scold her for messing around, since he was the one at fault.
After being pressed into the side seat, Yao Huang took the initiative to sit up straight and gave Prince Hui a bright, energetic smile, looking like a completely different person from her soft and languid self just a moment ago.
Zhao Sui still avoided the Princess Consort's gaze. After all, he had been the one violating the rules of propriety all along the way.
Getting off the carriage, Yao Huang pushed Prince Hui inside. As they neared Ming'an Hall, Yao Huang leaned down and whispered in his ear, "Should I go straight to sleep later, or leave a light on for Your Highness?"
Today was neither the fifth nor the tenth of the month, so Prince Hui was supposed to sleep in the front courtyard. However, the prince had been holding back for the entire journey; if he did not resolve it, he would probably have a hard time falling asleep.
Zhao Sui remained silent, then lowered his eyes under the Princess Consort's inquiring gaze.
If the reserved Prince Hui did not want to do something, he would say so directly. Not speaking was basically tacit consent.
Yao Huang smiled. Before handing the wheelchair over to Qingai, she took advantage of the darkness to stroke Prince Hui's jade-like cheek.
Zhao Sui was speechless.
If he were standing, how would the Princess Consort dare to make such a bold little move?
For a brief moment, Zhao Sui entertained the thought of going to the back courtyard right after his bath. But usually, he would use the excuse of his habit of reading at night to have Doctor Liao give him a massage for half an hour before heading over. If he went early tonight, the Princess Consort would guess his urgency.
He had already lost his composure once in the carriage, and Zhao Sui did not want the Princess Consort to look down on him.
Therefore, after the massage and bath, Zhao Sui actually read a book for a quarter of an hour before going to the back courtyard.
The lights were still on in the back courtyard, but the Princess Consort, who usually came out to greet him, did not appear. Aji said nervously, "Your Highness, the Princess Consort was waiting for you, but she fell asleep while waiting. Just now, this servant went to call her, but the Princess Consort was sleeping too deeply, so..."
In reality, the Princess Consort was awake, but she was too lazy to move. Aji was just doing her best to cover up the Princess Consort's laziness.
Zhao Sui waved his hand, signaling Qingai to push him inside. The autumn nights were growing cold, and the Princess Consort had already switched to silk inner garments; moreover, having just gone to bed, she wouldn't have kicked off the blankets yet.
Qingai was very well-behaved. After pushing the prince to the bedside, he retreated outside the double layers of the canopy bed's curtains without even glancing at the bed, asking in a low voice, "Your Highness, should I put out the lights?"
Zhao Sui looked at the Princess Consort's quietly sleeping figure with her back to him and agreed. She usually had the habit of taking a midday nap, but today at Prince Qing's Manor, she had probably been socializing the whole time. Staying up until now, she was indeed bound to be tired.
Following Qingai's almost inaudible footsteps, the lights in the inner room were extinguished one by one, leaving only a dim little lamp for lighting the way during the night.
Zhao Sui supported himself to sit on the bed. Just as he was about to move his legs, the Princess Consort slithered over like a water snake from behind, wrapping a pair of slender, jade-smooth arms around his waist.
Zhao Sui straightened his back. "You aren't asleep?"
Yao Huang muttered with her eyes closed, "I was asleep. When you came, Aji woke me up, but I was too lazy to move, so I didn't go out."
Zhao Sui smiled. Holding one of her hands, he asked, "Then why didn't you go back to sleep?"
Yao Huang bit his inner garment from behind, her teeth first pressing the silk against Prince Hui's lean waist, and then applying pressure onto the prince's body.
Zhao Sui gripped the edge of the bed tightly. He did not want to move his crippled legs at a moment like this, so he threw off the blanket, grabbed the Princess Consort, pulled half of her body off the bed, and lifted her into his arms by her armpits.
If he was being naughty, Yao Huang would follow suit. While supporting herself on Prince Hui's shoulders, she deliberately used her toes to step on the joint between the canopy bed's wooden floorboard and the bed frame. This way, unless Prince Hui used more strength in his arms or moved outward himself, the couple would not be able to press close together no matter what.
As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, the Princess Consort's face was blurry, but Zhao Sui could clearly see the mischievousness in her eyes as she deliberately provoked him.
Suddenly, he grabbed the Princess Consort's waist and flipped her around, making her face outward as she bumped solidly into his embrace.
Yao Huang was speechless.
Zhao Sui lowered his head and paused by the Princess Consort's ear, but ultimately said nothing, only proceeding to undress her.
Prince Qing's Manor.
Wedding candles burned in the bridal chamber. Prince Qing held down Zheng Yuanzhen's hands, which were trying to cover herself, and carefully examined the cousin he had desired for several years by the candlelight.
Zheng Yuanzhen's face was as red as a sunset. No matter how dignified and reserved she usually was, at a moment like this, she was merely a bride being examined by her husband for the first time.
Seven parts shy and three parts annoyed, Zheng Yuanzhen closed her eyes and said, "Cousin, don't bully me."
Do not treat her like those bed-warming maids by his side.
Prince Qing smiled, his eyes filled with gentleness. "Didn't Aunt arrange for a nanny to teach you? This is how the wedding night is supposed to be. How is this bullying?"
Zheng Yuanzhen could not break free from his hands and could only turn her head away.
Prince Qing kissed her ear and said, "Rest assured, I have dismissed all those bed-warming maids, leaving only one to serve when you are indisposed."
Zheng Yuanzhen's heart softened. Her mother kept male lovers, and her father had bed-warming maids and concubines by his side. She was well aware that although men were lustful, they did not take those concubines and maids seriously, unless they truly encountered someone they extremely favored. The fact that Prince Qing could dismiss so many maids showed that he valued her highly, and it also showed that those women were merely a pastime in his eyes.
But immediately after, Zheng Yuanzhen thought of Prince Hui again. When her mother wanted to matchmake her with Prince Hui, aside from Prince Hui's obvious advantages, her mother had specifically mentioned that Prince Hui had been aloof since childhood, only allowing Qingai and Feiquan to serve him closely. Noble Consort Du had arranged beautiful and alluring bed-warming maids for him several times, but Prince Hui had rejected them all.
Prince Hui was a person who did not fight or compete, but he did not have a weak temperament. If there was something he didn't want or didn't want to do, even Noble Consort Du could not force him.
However, rather than marrying a devoted but crippled prince, Zheng Yuanzhen would rather marry a normal prince who, despite being a philanderer, valued her as his primary wife the most. Consort Rou and Prince Qing both wanted that position, and she did too. As long as Prince Qing handled every task the Emperor assigned him well, and with her, Consort Rou, and her mother assisting from the inside and outside, the couple would surely achieve their desires.
Therefore, after Prince Qing finally let go of her hands, Zheng Yuanzhen took the initiative to embrace him.
Setting those aside, Prince Qing himself was also a handsome prince. He possessed a passionate affection that was absent in Prince Hui's eyes, and more importantly, a pair of sturdy, powerful long legs.
On the day after the wedding, the newlywed couple had to serve tea to their parents and simultaneously exchange greetings with the other close relatives of the husband's family.
As the second elder brother and sister-in-law to Prince Qing's couple, Prince Hui and his wife also had to enter the palace today. Furthermore, they had to arrive earlier than the newlyweds; otherwise, it would be considered impolite.
Zhao Sui kept this matter in mind. Although he had tasted something new last night, he had not fussed about for too long. When he woke up in the early morning, he woke the Princess Consort in passing and asked her, "Have you prepared a meeting gift for Princess Qing?"
Yao Huang rubbed her eyes, hid under the covers to yawn, and then popped back out, saying, "Nanny Liu already prepared it for me early on. It is a jade bracelet made at the jewelry shop, and it cost over a hundred taels."
Yao Huang finally understood. Although being a prince and princess consort brought in a lot of wealth and rank, the money and gifts required for everyday social interactions had to match their noble status; otherwise, they would be mocked for being stingy and shabby. Therefore, no matter how reluctant she was, Yao Huang had to follow the princely estate's customs and give Prince Qing and his wife a wedding gift of six hundred taels, as well as prepare a decent meeting gift for her new sister-in-law.
Zhao Sui: "Mm, you still need to freshen up and dress, so get up early."
Yao Huang obediently crawled up. As she lifted her leg to get out, she felt the section above her knee was sore and stiff. She immediately regretted feeling sorry for Prince Hui last night and foolishly cooperating with him.
Feeling uncomfortable, Yao Huang pinched Prince Hui from behind.
Caught off guard, Zhao Sui turned his head and met his princess consort's flushed cheeks. Her dark eyes glared at him, a mixture of shyness, charm, and fierceness.
Zhao Sui vaguely guessed the reason for her anger. He turned back and said, "I'll call Qingai in."
After washing up separately and eating breakfast, the couple entered the palace.
Over at the central palace, besides the Emperor, Empress, and several consorts, Prince Kang was also present. He hadn't brought his secondary consort, but he had brought all three of his children. The five-year-old little heir was currently answering Emperor Yongchang's questions by his side.
After Yao Huang pushed Prince Hui in, the three children, prompted by Prince Kang, obediently called out to their second uncle and second aunt.
Yao Huang smiled and acknowledged them, her mind suddenly thinking of the three red envelopes she would have to give on New Year's Day. She still didn't know the going rate for red envelopes among royal descendants.
Noble Consort Du looked at Yao Huang's rosy cheeks and asked in an expectant tone, "Huanghuang has been married for a full four months now, is there any good news? I've been looking forward to it, so I don't have to keep envying the liveliness over at Consort Xian's place."
Yao Huang lowered her head shyly. "Knowing that Imperial Mother looks forward to this, I have the estate's doctor come to check my pulse several times a month. The doctor even advised me a few days ago to treat it with a normal mindset, saying that the more pressure there is, the harder it is to conceive. Although I understand this reasoning, whenever I think of Imperial Mother's expectant and caring gaze, I can't bear to let you down time and time again."
Noble Consort Du: "..."
She subconsciously looked at Emperor Yongchang, only to see that Emperor Yongchang was indeed looking at her, his eyes quite displeased.
Noble Consort Du anxiously tried to clarify for herself, saying to Yao Huang, "Look at you, child, why take it so heavily to heart? I've only just asked today."
Yao Huang's expression changed slightly. Hiding behind Prince Hui's wheelchair, she lowered her head even further. "Yes, your daughter-in-law has overthought things."
How could Emperor Yongchang not understand Noble Consort Du?
In her teens, Noble Consort Du loved to compete for first place in everything and use her power to bully others. However, she was his cousin and breathtakingly beautiful, so occasionally throwing a small temper tantrum made her seem charmingly willful. But now, in her fifties, he found it hard to appreciate this "willfulness" that had persisted to this day, especially when she targeted his second son and his wife.
Pressuring his second son's wife to have a child after only four months of marriage—it took the Noble Consort over ten years after entering the palace to give birth to the Second Princess. Had he ever pressured her?
Empress Zhou thoughtfully changed the subject.
A moment later, Prince Qing and his wife arrived. Prince Qing was handsome and tall, like an elegant jade tree, while Zheng Yuanzhen was beautiful and dignified. What a visually pleasing pair.
Emperor Yongchang subtly glanced at his second son.
As soon as his niece was born, the Eldest Princess had told him that she must find a husband for her among the princes, because only a prince in this world was worthy of the Eldest Princess's commandery princess daughter. Emperor Yongchang understood the Eldest Princess's pride and was willing to deepen their familial ties.
When the eldest son's marriage was being discussed, the niece was still too young, so it was only natural that the Eldest Princess set her sights on the second son, who was both scholarly and martial, and close in age. After the second son's accident, the Eldest Princess came crying about her dilemma, heartbroken for both the second son and her beloved daughter. This gave Emperor Yongchang a headache as well, since Yuanzhen was also the niece he had doted on as if she were a princess.
He had the gentle and loving Empress Zhou ask the second son for his wishes. If the second son insisted on the match, he would stand by his son.
When Empress Zhou returned, she said the second son had no intention of delaying his cousin's marriage.
Later on, his third son personally asked to marry their cousin, saying he had long admired her for years. Coupled with the Eldest Princess's relentless persuasion, Emperor Yongchang agreed to let his niece participate in the selection for a princess consort. That was also Emperor Yongchang's last chance for his second son; he had told the second son he could choose anyone he wanted, even his niece, but unexpectedly...
When making these considerations, the second son was still shutting himself indoors. Emperor Yongchang had tried his best to be fair. Today, seeing his second son bring his princess consort, who came from a humble military family, to watch his younger brother and his former fiancee standing side by side, Emperor Yongchang felt somewhat awkward. It was as if his previous favor towards his second son had all been a pretense.
Whether it was his adoptive mother showing concern for his offspring, or others secretly peeking at him, Zhao Sui kept his eyes lowered at all times, unless he was required to reply.
Since things had already reached this point, Emperor Yongchang could only smile and accept the tea offered by his third son and his wife.
After the tea ceremony ended, Prince Qing brought Zheng Yuanzhen over to greet his older brothers.
When they moved over to Prince Hui and his wife, everyone looked their way.
In front of Emperor Yongchang, Prince Qing revealed a guilty expression, finding it somewhat hard to speak as he prompted Zheng Yuanzhen to address them.
Zheng Yuanzhen showed a similar sense of shame.
Zhao Sui was just about to respond when the princess consort sitting beside him beat him to it. Holding a jade bracelet in her hand, she spoke with an awkward tone, "When Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law greeted Eldest Brother, they were beaming with joy, but when they came to us, their faces fell. Could it be that you find the meeting gift I prepared too shabby?"
Zhao Sui: "..."
