After enjoying autumn scenery outside the city for a day and having dinner at Wangxian Tower at dusk, the Prince Hui couple returned to the prince’s manor.

From the time they re-entered the city, Prince Hui had been sitting in the carriage. When the princess consort and Qing Ai pushed the prince down from the carriage, one above and one below, Chief Steward Guo Shu waited quietly beside them. Only after the prince and princess consort entered the prince’s manor did Guo Shu bow and say, “Your Highness, around the third quarter of the si hour this morning, Prince Kang accompanied the young heir to visit, saying he came to sit for a while. Learning that you and the princess consort had gone outside the city, Prince Kang then left.”

Zhao Sui nodded slightly, indicating he understood, and didn’t inquire further.

Yao Huang thought that in all the time since she married Prince Hui, she had never seen Prince Kang come to the door. Today there was most likely some matter—the young heir was just a pretext. However, Prince Hui was inseparable from her, so he probably also didn’t know Prince Kang’s purpose in coming. The couple both didn’t mention this matter again.

The next day was the first day of the month, a day when Emperor Yongchang would definitely hold court.

In the great hall, civil officials formed ranks on the left, military officials formed ranks on the right. The two princes, Prince Kang and Prince Qing, stood side by side two steps ahead of the civil officials.

Emperor Yongchang felt that although his eldest son wasn’t smart enough, his temperament was still honest and faithful. Thus he had Prince Kang work in the Ministry of Finance. This way, if any silver had problems, Prince Kang would certainly investigate to the end, more or less deterring some officials’ greedy thoughts. The third son was accomplished in both civil and military arts, his talents second only to the second son, yet far less steady than the second son. Emperor Yongchang placed Prince Qing in the Ministry of Rites, preparing to first temper the rashness and impulsiveness in this child.

The fourth son on the consort’s side was only thirteen, not yet fully grown. Fond of play and activity, he didn’t look like he would amount to much. For now, Emperor Yongchang was still evaluating these two before him, hoping that by the time he reached sixty, both the eldest and the third would have progressed, allowing him to confidently hand over the imperial realm and court affairs to one of them.

After court was dismissed, Emperor Yongchang went to review memorials. Prince Kang went to Cuiwei Palace to pay respects to Consort Xian—the first and fifth of each month were his days for paying respects.

This time, Prince Kang mentioned yesterday’s trip to Prince Hui’s manor.

Consort Xian said in surprise, “Going outside the city to race horses?”

Prince Kang understood his mother consort’s feelings, because when he heard Guo Shu’s words, he was equally surprised. “Yes, he went together with my second sister-in-law, riding Jingwu. Jingwu is very intelligent, so presumably it won’t let my second brother fall.”

Consort Xian smiled. “Lady Yao looks to be a lively and bright-natured person. She’s actually brought your second brother to become more cheerful too. This is a good thing.”

With no other fresh news, Consort Xian instructed her son not to mention this matter to outsiders, then let him hurry to the Ministry of Finance for his duties.

Two days later, Consort Xian summoned her grandson, the young heir, into the palace and led the little one to play in the Imperial Garden.

Consort Xian was forty-six this year. In her youth, she hadn’t possessed any stunning beauty among thousands. She excelled in dignity and grace. Yet every year the palace gained several sixteen or seventeen-year-old newcomers, fresh as flowers. Emperor Yongchang’s gradually thinning interest all fell upon the newcomers. Each month he would basically only stay in Consort Xian’s palace for two nights, and just for pure sleeping.

But Emperor Yongchang dearly loved all three grandchildren in Prince Kang’s manor, especially the legitimate young heir. Whenever Consort Xian summoned the young heir to the palace, as long as Emperor Yongchang had time, he would come to play with his grandson or accompany him for a lunch meal in Consort Xian’s palace.

“Imperial Grandfather!”

Seeing Emperor Yongchang, the young heir happily ran over with both little arms spread wide.

Emperor Yongchang picked up his imperial eldest grandson and kissed the little one’s cheek. “Ah, you’ve gotten heavier again. Imperial Grandfather can almost not lift you anymore.”

The young heir said, “Because I’ve been obediently eating my meals recently, eating my bowl clean every time.”

Emperor Yongchang pinched the little one’s tender cheek. Looking forward, he discovered that Chen Ying, the eldest daughter-in-law who hadn’t yet formally entered the family, was also there. Consort Xian probably wanted the eldest daughter-in-law to grow close to the young heir in advance.

Emperor Yongchang walked over holding the young heir.

Chen Ying curtsied in greeting. Having seen Emperor Yongchang several times while following Consort Xian, she no longer had the initial nervousness of not daring even to raise her eyes.

With a child present, the topics all revolved around the child.

Emperor Yongchang tested the young heir’s lessons and said to Consort Xian, “Not bad, smarter than his father was as a child.”

Consort Xian glanced toward her daughter-in-law’s direction and gently chided, “Little Ying is here. Your Majesty, leave Prince Kang some face.”

Emperor Yongchang snorted.

After Emperor Yongchang’s novelty of doting on his grandson passed, Consort Xian had Chen Ying take the young heir to look at chrysanthemums not far away. Then she said to Emperor Yongchang, “Prince Hui becomes more cheerful by the day. Two days ago, Prince Kang specially took the child to Prince Hui’s manor, thinking to keep Prince Hui company and relieve his boredom. Unfortunately, Prince Hui was actually accompanying his wife out. Your Majesty, guess where the young couple went?”

Emperor Yongchang saw Consort Xian smiling tenderly, clearly the second son and his wife had done something amusing. He cooperatively guessed, “Touring the markets?”

Consort Xian: “Outside the city.”

Emperor Yongchang: “Going outside the city to enjoy autumn? Visiting temples to offer incense?”

Consort Xian smiled. “Racing horses. The couple each had a horse. Prince Hui rode Jingwu.”

The miraculous story of how Jingwu found the unconscious Prince Hui in a cliff cave at the bottom of a precipice—this tale of a divine steed saving its master—had long spread both inside and outside the palace.

Since it was Jingwu, Emperor Yongchang’s heart, which had risen in worry about the second son falling from the horse, settled down. Subsequently, a blurred memory surfaced from deep in his mind—the second son, still a young man, had just learned to ride horses and ran several laps around the racecourse, rarely showing the high spirits that a young man should have. Unfortunately, once he dismounted, the second son immediately changed back into his expressionless bookworm appearance.

So the second son could still ride horses.

Emperor Yongchang was very happy for his son. Riding horses was good. At least when sitting on horseback, the second son could see the same elevated view as before.

On the ninth day of the ninth month, the Double Ninth Festival, officials had a day off. This day happened to be when the Prince Hui couple rested. Otherwise, going out continuously was quite exhausting, especially for Prince Hui.

“I want to return to Changshou Alley. When the prince is tired from reading, could you help me train Jinbao?”

After waking together with Prince Hui in the early morning, Yao Huang said, still carrying some drowsiness.

Zhao Sui understood the princess consort’s implication—this trip to her maternal home didn’t require him to accompany her.

“Mm.”

Qing Ai pushed Prince Hui away. After the familiar wheelchair sounds completely disappeared, Yao Huang changed to lying flat on her back and let out a long breath.

Prince Hui was very handsome, very refined. Yao Huang was also happy to take Prince Hui out to play, letting him see the scenery and liveliness of the capital that a native-born capital resident had never seen.

But Yao Huang could say with a clear conscience that Prince Hui was absolutely not a good companion for outings. It had nothing to do with his legs. Even if his legs were fine, having Yao Huang occasionally accompany Prince Hui out was acceptable, but over time, she would get a headache!

Prince Hui was merely willing to go out and about. Each outing plan was made by Yao Huang. At such times, Yao Huang had to ensure Prince Hui could enjoy her arrangements, so she would secretly observe Prince Hui’s expression, fearing that places she found worth visiting he wouldn’t like, causing Prince Hui to endure in vain all the various inconveniences of going out in a wheelchair.

But what kind of person was Prince Hui?

Stripped of that deathly aura, Prince Hui’s emotions were still hard to discern. Things that made Yao Huang laugh out loud would probably only make him lift the corners of his lips slightly. Sights that made her crane her neck to look, he observed with an indifferent expression. Including browsing shops—Yao Huang bought whatever she liked, while Prince Hui’s gaze fell on everything with neither ripples nor waves, leaving Yao Huang at a loss for how to buy him gifts.

Once or twice was fine, but with repeated occurrences, Yao Huang was exhausted. She couldn’t help but miss her old playmates—a group of people chatting, laughing, fighting, and making noise without any reservations.

Fortunately, the weather was getting cold, giving her a reason to reduce the frequency of outings.

Yao Huang had also wondered whether Prince Hui would prefer staying in the manor to read, only occasionally going out?

But could he keep reading like this for a lifetime? What if he ruined his eyes?

At Changshou Alley, the Yao family didn’t know their daughter would return. Yao Lin had left early to meet friends. Yao Zhenhu was at the Eastern Camp preparing for the Emperor’s increasingly imminent military review. Even Luo Jinhua was chatting at a neighbor’s house. It was Wu Shi who sent Qiao Niang to call the madam back.

Luo Jinhua walked hurriedly and found her daughter sprawled on the kang in the east room of their home, arms and legs spread.

Luo Jinhua was startled. “What’s wrong?”

Yao Huang moaned softly, “Mother, I’m so tired!”

Luo Jinhua: “…What tired you out?”

Yao Huang confided her troubles to her mother. “When the prince shut himself in the Bamboo Courtyard, I actually had peace of mind. But I also wanted him to recover his vitality. Now I’ve brought him to life, so naturally I must continue to make his life interesting, right? But he’s fundamentally not someone who loves to play. Always thinking of ways to keep him entertained, I’m exhausted here.”

She patted her own head.

Luo Jinhua quickly pressed down her daughter’s hand, afraid her daughter would knock herself silly.

Taking off her shoes, Luo Jinhua sat cross-legged before her daughter’s head and first helped massage her daughter’s forehead.

Her husband and son were both people who didn’t like to use their brains. Father and son lived carefree and straightforward lives, all relying on her to worry about trivial matters inside and out. Her daughter could originally have married an ordinary young man from a common family background and lived an ordinary life after marriage. However…

Of course, Luo Jinhua had no dissatisfaction with her prince son-in-law. That a prince could indulge her daughter so much was already a blessing for her daughter and the entire old Yao family.

After thinking it through, Luo Jinhua said softly, “In the final analysis, the prince has too much leisure time. If he had duties, going out early and returning late, only able to accompany you in the evenings and on rest days, then you’d be complaining that the days he could accompany you out were too few.”

Distance lends enchantment—this applied to parents and children, and equally to husbands and wives. Otherwise, where would the saying that a brief separation is like a new honeymoon come from? Not seeing each other for a whole day was also a kind of brief separation.

Yao Huang looked at her mother overhead, her mind bubbling with many thoughts.

Duties—what duties could the prince perform? Would the prince be willing to do them? Did the court have suitable duties for the prince? Would Emperor Yongchang grant them?

Following this, Yao Huang thought of Prince Hui’s clever plan to clear wasteland and plant yellow essence in Lingshan, thought of how Prince Hui saw through the hidden circumstances of Magistrate Qi’s death in just a few glances, thought of the several military achievements he had established before.

He could do what a presented scholar civil official should do. On the military side, the prince simply couldn’t personally kill enemies anymore, but he could manage troops and train soldiers. Didn’t Sun Bin command a great army from a wheelchair when surrounding Wei to save Zhao?

After eating lunch with her mother, Yao Huang returned to Prince Hui’s manor in refreshed spirits. Hearing A’Ji say that Prince Hui had taken Jinbao to the Bamboo Courtyard for training.

Yao Huang rested well for an afternoon. At dusk, she went to the Bamboo Courtyard to fetch Prince Hui.

Zhao Sui sat in the wheelchair, being pushed by Qing Ai gradually closer to the courtyard gate.

Thinking of the princess consort’s gradually undisguisable fatigue these past days, Zhao Sui lowered his eyes. Actually, he didn’t need the princess consort to accompany him out so frequently, didn’t need the princess consort to rack her brains to talk with him, yet didn’t know how to speak up.

When the wheelchair emerged from behind the courtyard wall’s obstruction, Zhao Sui looked toward the stone table.

Just as Prince Hui worried he would see the princess consort’s forced smile, the princess consort came running toward him with a smile, her eyes bright and clear, as if it were the first time she had come to the Bamboo Courtyard to find him.