Today at the early morning court session, after Emperor Yongchang sat on the dragon throne, he first announced that Prince Hui had finally fully recovered from his leg injuries and could resume his official duties. Therefore, he assigned Prince Hui the position of Assisting Administrator in the Ministry of Works. Like Prince Kang and Prince Qing, although this coordinating rank was low, Emperor Yongchang specially granted Prince Hui the right to attend all future court assemblies.
The underlying meaning was clear: although Prince Hui's legs were crippled, Emperor Yongchang had never intended for him to retire at home. It was only delayed until now because Prince Hui had not fully recovered previously.
The ministers cooperatively congratulated His Highness Prince Hui on his good health.
Zhao Sui nodded and said that since they would all be serving the imperial court together from now on, there was no need for excessive formalities when they met in the palace.
With this matter concluded, the court assembly officially began.
Since it was His Highness Prince Hui's first time attending court after his injury, the officials more or less paid attention to his back or profile in the wheelchair. They soon discovered that the current Prince Hui was not much different from the former Prince Hui, except that his standing posture had changed to a sitting one. He was still as reticent as ever; he would only speak a couple of sentences when a minister or the Emperor specifically addressed him.
Emperor Yongchang liked to ask the princes for their opinions on certain political matters during court assemblies. This morning, he still asked the three princes one by one.
Prince Kang's answer was conventional and safe, preferring not to be praised rather than answering incorrectly and being scolded.
Prince Hui hit the nail on the head with a single comment, but because his expression was too indifferent, it left Emperor Yongchang with no way to praise him much, making it seem as if the Emperor had never seen a capable official before.
Prince Qing had a silver tongue. His analysis seemed exquisite and appeared to consider every aspect, but upon careful reflection, one would realize that it made little difference whether he said it or not.
An hour later, with no more officials stepping forward to report matters, Eunuch Wang announced the dismissal of the court.
Emperor Yongchang left first. Before leaving, he glanced at Prince Kang, who was standing on the outside of his second brother's wheelchair. It went without saying that the eldest brother had pushed the second brother in, so he should not forget to help push him out.
Prince Kang had not forgotten, but his posture when respectfully sending off his imperial father was too devout. As a result, by the time he remembered to push his second brother, the third brother had unexpectedly taken a stride forward and grasped the handles at the back of the wheelchair ahead of time.
Prince Kang's gaze changed.
Prince Qing smiled and said, Eldest Brother, take a rest. It is time for me, as the younger brother, to take care of Second Brother for once.
Prince Kang said displeased, You have never known how to take care of people since you were young. Better give it to me. I am afraid you will not hold it securely when going down the steps later.
Saying this, he was about to snatch the wheelchair.
Prince Qing dodged his hand and pushed the wheelchair straight out. Seeing that the two prime ministers, the six ministers, and several dukes and marquises on the military officials' side were all looking over, Prince Kang considered the dignity of the eldest imperial son and did not fight his third brother for it anymore.
Zhao Sui merely maintained an indifferent appearance.
Qingai was waiting just outside the main hall. Seeing Prince Qing pushing his master out, Qingai immediately stepped forward to take over the wheelchair.
Prince Qing casually said, Step aside.
Zhao Sui: Let Qingai do it.
Prince Qing looked at the two sloped ramps extending downwards directly in front of the main hall. While holding onto the wheelchair as before, he said in a hurt tone, Second Brother trusts Eldest Brother, but worries that I will be clumsy and drop you?
Zhao Sui: I appreciate the great kindness of Eldest Brother and Third Brother. To prevent you two from having another disagreement over taking care of me, from now on, I will just let Qingai and the others serve me when moving about the palace. I hope Eldest Brother and Third Brother will understand.
With the words reaching this point, Prince Qing finally let go.
Qingai lowered his head, walked around to the back of the wheelchair, and invited Prince Kang to go first.
As the eldest, Prince Kang had no choice but to walk in front. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Qingai pushing his second brother towards the right ramp, so Prince Kang also came over to this side. When the wheelchair started to descend, he reached out and grasped one side of the wheelchair's backrest, preventing it from rushing too fast and flying out.
However, the ramp had specially built ridges, so the progress of both the wheelchair and the person pushing it would be hindered. Unless Qingai suddenly fainted, it was absolutely impossible for him to lose his grip.
To ensure his body's balance, Zhao Sui held the armrests on both sides with his hands, not casting a single glance sideways.
After descending the steps, Prince Kang and Prince Qing once again guarded the left and right sides of the wheelchair, respectively.
Upon exiting the Chengtian Gate of the inner city, Prince Kang and Prince Qing had to walk south along the main avenue to reach the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Rites. Prince Hui, however, could turn east right here by the Court of the Imperial Clan to go to the Ministry of Works.
Zhao Sui had Qingai stop and bid farewell to his two brothers.
Prince Kang looked surprised, while Prince Qing wore a faint smile: Second Brother is just like before, still so fond of peace and quiet.
Zhao Sui tacitly agreed and signaled Qingai to head east.
Seeing this from behind, Yan Lun, the Minister of Works, quickened his pace to catch up with His Highness Prince Hui's wheelchair. Since he chased after him, the two Vice Ministers of Works and several Directors of the Ministry of Works also hurried to catch up. Regardless of which prince they supported in their hearts, they had to give Prince Hui this superficial respect.
His Highness Prince Hui in the wheelchair thus led a string of people to the Ministry of Works amidst the sound of silent footsteps.
Yan Lun asked His Highness Prince Hui to wait a moment. He shouted a few times toward the various duty rooms, calling out all the low-ranking officials and clerks who were not qualified to attend court. He had them come forward on their own to bow to His Highness Prince Hui in descending order of their official ranks and according to their respective departments.
This way, although His Highness Prince Hui might not remember all the officials' names and faces, he could get a general idea of which departments, storehouses, and offices the Ministry of Works was divided into, and what specific duties each place was in charge of.
After the introductions, Yan Lun asked His Highness Prince Hui, On the morning of the first and fifth day of every month, this humble official convenes the two Vice Ministers, the Directors of each department, the Vice Directors, and the Secretaries for a morning meeting to assign new tasks or report on the progress of current construction projects. Would Your Highness like to come and listen?
Zhao Sui nodded.
Yan Lun then led the way to his duty room.
As a newcomer, His Highness Prince Hui only needed to observe. As he listened, he noticed that no matter which Director or Secretary finished speaking, Yan Lun would always emphasize one thing when summarizing: it was too difficult to ask the Ministry of Revenue for silver!
When the morning meeting ended, Yan Lun let the other officials leave first. With a respectful expression, he kept His Highness Prince Hui behind and asked for instructions, Which department's projects is Your Highness prepared to take over first?
The Ministry of Works was mainly divided into four major departments, managing the construction of palaces and official buildings, the manufacturing of various official items, water conservancy projects like bridges and river channels, and the repair of mausoleums and selection of craftsmen. However, no matter which department took on what project, they had to deal with the estimation, auditing, and receipt and dispatch of funds, and ultimately had to deal with the Ministry of Revenue, even engaging in a verbal battle of three demands and three refusals.
Yan Lun looked at His Highness Prince Hui expectantly, prepared for His Highness to be confused by the complexity and to recommend a major project for him.
After a moment, His Highness Prince Hui spoke: I will first familiarize myself with the workflow of the Ministry of Works. Have someone send all the construction files and account audits of the projects from all departments that were completed and put into the archives last year, and which will not be called upon recently, to my office. After I have read through all of them, I will look for you.
Yan Lun: ...All the files archived last year?
Zhao Sui: Yes.
Yan Lun: That is entirely too many. Your Highness might not finish reading them before the end of the year.
Zhao Sui: This prince is not in a hurry.
After saying that, he looked at Qingai, who immediately pushed His Highness Prince Hui away.
Yan Lun: ...
.
In His Highness Prince Hui's office, two large, empty, brand-new red sandalwood bookcases were quickly piled high with scrolls of files and account books delivered by the clerks of the Ministry of Works.
Yan Lun sent clerks from his side to check on His Highness Prince Hui from time to time. Every time they returned from looking, the clerks had only one sentence to say: there was no movement at all.
At noon, the officials of the Ministry of Works arrived at the dining hall one after another to eat. Prince Hui did not show up; he merely sent Qingai to fetch lunch for the master and his two servants.
The two vice ministers of the Ministry of Works sat beside Yan Lun. Watching Eunuch Qingai leave, the Left Vice Minister whispered, "Is His Highness simply familiarizing himself with the ministry's procedures, or is he planning to inspect our past construction projects for errors?"
The Right Vice Minister replied, "Unlikely."
What kind of superior would start picking faults with his subordinates right upon arrival?
Even if Prince Hui was not in a hurry to prove himself to the Emperor by taking on duties, he wouldn't be foolish enough to actively offend people.
Yan Lun glared at both of them. "Mind your own business. As long as you don't make any mistakes, you wouldn't need to fear even if the Emperor himself came."
Over in the quietest office of the Ministry of Works, Zhao Sui finished his lunch, stood supported on the two rows of handrails in the resting room for half an hour, and then called Feiquan in to give him a massage.
Feiquan had only recently learned this from Doctor Liao after the prince decided to take up an official post. Doctor Liao had taught him hands-on while massaging Prince Hui. Feiquan learned very diligently, and since he had served the prince since childhood, and the prince was no longer so lifeless, the naturally lively Feiquan dared to massage up and down the prince's long legs.
Zhao Sui closed his eyes. Having read files all morning, only now did he allow himself the indulgence of thinking about his princess consort.
At dusk, to avoid the massive wave of officials getting off work, Zhao Sui left half an hour early.
The Ministry of Works officials secretly observing his side breathed a sigh of relief. They had been terrified that Prince Hui would imitate Prince Kang, who worked in the Ministry of Revenue, arriving early and leaving late every day, forcing most of the Ministry of Revenue officials to stay back and feign diligence with him whether they had work or not.
.
Prince Hui's Manor.
Yao Huang had gone to Changshou Alley early in the morning to chat with her mother about Prince Hui's new position and new wheelchair, and then listened to her mother talk about the family's recent situation and the fresh gossip in the neighborhood.
Having spent day and night with Prince Hui for so long, Yao Huang had not experienced such pure relaxation in a long time. She didn't have to wonder if Prince Hui was bored by himself, nor did she have to worry about whether he was truly happy when she was by his side.
Staying in Changshou Alley until the red sun slanted westward, Yao Huang returned to the manor, still wanting more.
Having a military officer for a father, Yao Huang knew that the normal time for court officials to get off work was the hour of You. She didn't expect that just as the hour of You arrived, the porter would send word that Prince Hui had returned.
As Yao Huang went to the front to greet him, she muttered to herself: Was it because the prince could capriciously leave early, or was Prince Hui exhausted on his first day of work and thus got off early?
Because getting out of the carriage was quite troublesome for Prince Hui, by the time Yao Huang reached the front, Qingai had just pushed Prince Hui through the main gate.
Seeing that Prince Hui at least didn't look displeased, Yao Huang smilingly took over the wheelchair.
Zhao Sui looked at the princess consort's shadow on the ground and said, "You don't need to come out specially to greet me in the future."
Yao Huang blurted out without missing a beat, "But I missed Your Highness! Ever since we came back from Mount Ling, this is the first time I haven't seen Your Highness for a whole day."
Zhao Sui thought to himself that the princess consort's memory was indeed not very good. The time she went to Prince Qing's Manor for the wedding banquet, and the time she entered the palace for the chrysanthemum banquet, they hadn't seen each other for the entire day.
Fortunately, these were minor matters, so Zhao Sui did not correct his princess consort.
It wouldn't be long before dinner. Yao Huang pushed Prince Hui into the main hall of the front courtyard, parked the wheelchair, and sat on the left side of the long table, tilting her head to earnestly study Prince Hui, whom she hadn't seen all day.
Zhao Sui was still not used to the princess consort's passionate gaze and lowered his eyes.
Yao Huang smiled and asked, "Was Your Highness busy on your first day at the Ministry of Works?"
Zhao Sui shook his head.
Yao Huang: "Did you take on any specific duties?"
Zhao Sui: "There's no rush for duties. I'm first reading last year's construction files to familiarize myself with the procedures."
Yao Huang understood. Prince Hui had read books for another day; it was nothing more than moving his study from the manor to the Ministry of Works.
"What did you do today?" Zhao Sui asked, looking at the hem of his princess consort's skirt.
The princess consort said somewhat plaintively, "With Your Highness away, it was so boring being alone, so I had to go to Changshou Alley to keep my mother company."
Zhao Sui didn't know how to respond to that.
Today was the eleventh, but if the princess consort insisted on his company, he would not refuse.
