Leaving the imperial study and pushing the prince back to the Ministry of Works, Qing Ai noticed that many officials walking through the courtyard were secretly observing the prince’s wheelchair.

Qing Ai recalled the scene at dawn when Prince Qing had held up a lantern, allowing all the officials to examine the prince’s new wheelchair.

At that moment, Qing Ai’s blood had run colder than the relentless wind, because he knew the prince disliked having people pay excessive attention to his legs or wheelchair.

To the prince, his disabled legs together with the wheelchair beneath him had become a scar, and who would enjoy having people stare at their scars and gossip about them?

While Qing Ai felt distressed on the prince’s behalf and resented Prince Qing’s reckless behavior, he also prepared himself to serve the prince with extra care today, lest the prince’s already displeased mood worsen further.

However, after the morning court session when daylight had fully broken, Qing Ai was surprised to discover upon seeing the prince’s face clearly again that the prince appeared no different than usual, seemingly unaffected by the incident. Even now, as some minor officials from the Ministry of Works frequently stole glances at the wheelchair, the prince remained calm and composed. Upon entering his office and arriving at his desk, the prince simply continued reviewing documents.

While waiting alone outside, Qing Ai suddenly remembered the prince’s response to Prince Qing, saying the new wheelchair’s cowhide seat surface had been changed because the princess consort worried about him being cold.

Qing Ai smiled—so it was love me, love my dog.

When the prince was in good spirits, Qing Ai’s mood improved as well. However, today’s weather grew increasingly overcast. When he went to the dining hall to fetch lunch around noon, the sky had only been gloomy, but as he emerged carrying two food boxes, a snowflake actually landed on the back of his hand.

This was the first snow of the winter. Qing Ai felt somewhat excited and trotted back to the office: “Your Highness, it’s snowing!”

Zhao Sui looked up toward the open doorway.

Worried about the warm air escaping from inside, Qing Ai only let the prince look for a moment before closing the door and saying: “Just a few small snowflakes for now. Your Highness, please eat first. By the time you finish, it should be coming down heavier.”

Zhao Sui propelled his wheelchair to another table he specifically used for meals.

He ate on this side while Qing Ai and Fei Quan sat facing each other on the guest chairs and ate on their side. The Ministry of Works was not like the prince’s residence—there weren’t so many rooms to allocate for their use. Since the prince was willing to accommodate them, Qing Ai and Fei Quan ate freely.

The prince ate methodically, and although Qing Ai and Fei Quan also ate properly, they were much faster. After the prince had also finished eating, Qing Ai tidied up the food boxes while Fei Quan brought warm water to serve the prince for rinsing his mouth.

Afterward, the two remained outside while Zhao Sui pushed his wheelchair to the rest room by himself.

Inside the rest room, a row of handrails had been installed along the wall from the doorway to the washroom on the north side. Having sat for half the day already, Zhao Sui supported himself on the handrails to leave the wheelchair, relying on the strength of both arms to keep his entire body in an upright position.

Although he had tried countless times without any results, Zhao Sui still made efforts to mobilize his legs. Because he held no hope, even when his legs remained completely motionless, Zhao Sui no longer grew irritable or angry, simply maintaining this habit with equanimity.

After supporting himself long enough, Zhao Sui returned to the wheelchair and moved to the heated kang on the south side, lying on his side facing the window.

Outside, officials were successively heading to the dining hall for their meals, while others who had already eaten were returning to their offices. The officials discussed the weather, their current assignments, or household matters in low voices. The wind had diminished compared to the morning, and occasionally there would be soft sounds of snowflakes hitting the window paper.

What was the princess consort doing?

Today was the second day—could the handkerchief be embroidered yet?

Yao Huang was at Longevity Lane. That morning she had gone excitedly to South Street, where she bought jewelry for her mother, maternal grandmother, two maternal aunts, and her cousin at a jewelry shop—one piece worth about ten taels and two pieces worth about five taels each per person, spending a total of one hundred taels. Then she went to a silk shop to buy two bolts of silk for each family member of both the Yao and Luo families to make New Year’s clothing. She also purchased rouge, face powder, fine tea, and good wine thoroughly, finally loading a full cart to take to Longevity Lane.

The cart drove into the Yao family courtyard. Luo Jinhua, wrapped in a thick cotton jacket of fine cloth, came out to receive her daughter, only to see her daughter struggling to navigate through the silk bolts and boxes piled at her feet, grinning like a foolish newly-rich girl who had just caught gold cakes falling from the sky and couldn’t wait to go shopping!

Her daughter being so mindful of her natal family did not please Luo Jinhua at all. She told A’Ji and the others not to rush moving things and hurriedly pulled her daughter into the east room for a hushed scolding: “Our family isn’t so poor that we can’t make ends meet—where’s the need for you to lavishly bring things home?”

Although Prince Hui’s son-in-law probably didn’t care about this small amount of money, Luo Jinhua didn’t want to constantly take advantage of her daughter’s marital family for nothing!

Yao Huang leaned close to her mother’s ear and told her about the five thousand taels with a smile.

Luo Jinhua was completely dumbstruck.

Yao Huang quickly explained that this sum had already received Prince Hui’s tacit approval and would cause no trouble whatsoever. Only then did Luo Jinhua dismiss the various concerns that had just emerged in her mind, then embraced her daughter in wild joy, as if gold cakes had actively fallen from the sky into her arms.

Watching her mother’s mouth hanging open, Yao Huang’s heart doubled in happiness. That indifferent attitude of Prince Hui’s, not treating five thousand taels of silver as anything important, was definitely not the reaction Yao Huang had hoped for.

After smiling until her face ached, Luo Jinhua had A’Ji’s mother and the others move everything inside. Looking at the jewelry and touching the silk, Luo Jinhua asked: “How much did you spend altogether?”

Yao Huang casually replied: “Didn’t even spend two hundred taels.”

The natal family’s usual contacts were still former relatives and neighbors, none of whom were particularly wealthy or noble. It would have been inappropriate for Yao Huang to give overly precious jewelry and silk. What she had selected today was perfect—all items that the Yao and Luo families could occasionally splurge on themselves if they steeled their hearts. Wearing them out wouldn’t immediately make people suspect they were benefiting from Prince Hui’s residence.

Luo Jinhua gazed at her daughter’s increasingly noble and composed face, sighing: “It’s true that one’s environment shapes one’s character. My Yao Yao has lived in the prince’s residence for half a year and looks more and more like a natural noblewoman.”

Yao Huang laughed: “Noble in what way? Apart from not lacking money anymore, I don’t feel I’ve changed at all.”

She still didn’t want to rigidly follow those rules that noblewomen observed, she would still occasionally blurt out the crude words that the noble prince didn’t like to hear, and as for that true noble air of casually being willing to spend several thousand taels on a famous painter’s calligraphy—Yao Huang admitted she probably could never learn that in this lifetime.

Luo Jinhua didn’t quibble with her daughter, only telling her to enjoy herself this once but not to spend all five thousand taels on the natal family.

Yao Huang: “…Mother, rest assured. I’m keeping the rest for myself. In case the prince becomes unwilling to spend money on me in the future, I’ll need to have some jewelry made to maintain appearances.”

Luo Jinhua spat three times consecutively, telling her daughter to shut her crow’s mouth.

After eating lunch at her natal home, when Yao Huang returned to the prince’s residence around noon, the small snowflakes had already become heavy, drifting snow.

Yao Huang asked Eunuch Cao: “Does the prince’s carriage have an umbrella prepared?”

Eunuch Cao: “Yes, there’s a special place to store umbrellas. Regardless of rain or snow, they’re kept there year-round.”

Yao Huang: “When the prince went out, was he wearing a cloak?”

Eunuch Cao: “He wore a fox fur cape, newly made by the embroidery room this winter. When the prince is seated, the hem can hang down to cover half his leather boots, guaranteed not to let the prince get cold.”

Yao Huang knew about that fox fur cape because the embroidery room had also made her a bright red satin-surfaced fox fur cape, along with four cloaks of different satin surfaces. Yao Huang had quietly asked Bai Ling, who had seen the grand world in Consort Du’s palace, and learned that her fox fur cape alone, fitted to her size, was worth two to three thousand taels of silver. Prince Hui was so much taller than her—his cape would only cost more.

Thinking this through, Yao Huang suddenly understood why Prince Hui had reacted so calmly to her unexpected windfall of five thousand taels. It turned out he truly had grown up in wealth since childhood. Not to mention distant things, just his wheelchairs made of either red sandalwood or golden nanmu wood wouldn’t be cheaper than a wheelchair forged from pure gold.

Yet this naturally noble prince only wanted a handkerchief she embroidered herself.

With nothing else to do, Yao Huang had Chun Yan bring some small silk scraps. After selecting and comparing, Yao Huang chose a piece of bamboo-green plain silk. The silk was light, thin, and soft—very comfortable for wiping face or hands.

What should she embroider?

Mandarin ducks were too vulgar, and overly ornate designs required many colored threads. After pondering for a moment, Yao Huang had Chun Yan teach her to embroider swallows—a bamboo branch with one large swallow perched on it and a small one flying beside it, like what Prince Hui had painted on the river lantern.

Since Prince Hui didn’t disdain her needlework, Yao Huang couldn’t be too perfunctory either. She first practiced on ordinary silk, and this practice lasted all afternoon.

As Prince Hui was about to return, Yao Huang had Chun Yan put away the needlework basket. Standing up to stretch her muscles and bones, she donned the fox fur cape with sleeves and went to the front.

By now, a layer of snow had accumulated on the ground. Yao Huang deliberately stepped twice in places the servants hadn’t swept, and the soles of those sable-fur boots sank completely in.

After waiting about a quarter hour, A’Ji, who had been watching outside the main gate, ran back saying the prince’s carriage had already turned into the lane.

Yao Huang told her to return to Ming’an Hall first, while she herself took an umbrella outside the gate.

Qing Ai and Fei Quan sat on the left and right of the carriage shaft, both seeing the princess consort, but neither informed the prince inside.

When the carriage stopped, Qing Ai went inside to push the wheelchair, while Fei Quan stood in front of the carriage. After Zhang Yue had prepared the wooden plank, he opened the carriage door.

Zhao Sui, wearing his cape and sitting in the warm, soft cowhide wheelchair, only discovered when the door opened that the princess consort was actually holding a green silk umbrella, standing to one side at the end of the plank. The road surface was white, the princess consort’s umbrella was also white, and flying snow continued to fall like a curtain, blurring his vision. Yet Zhao Sui still clearly saw the princess consort’s fair cheeks and chin, clearly saw her face flushed with peach pink.

When the wheelchair settled firmly on the ground, Zhao Sui looked at the princess consort’s right hand holding the umbrella, with only the fingertips showing redness, and said nothing.

Yao Huang didn’t take over the wheelchair this time, but walked alongside holding the umbrella for Prince Hui. Only when they reached the entrance to the main hall of Ming’an Hall’s front courtyard did she hand the umbrella to Qing Ai and push Prince Hui inside herself.

The thick curtain fell again, isolating the cold outside.

Yao Huang stopped the wheelchair north of the long table. Just as she was about to pour a bowl of hot water for Prince Hui, who had been cold all the way back, Prince Hui suddenly reached out and pulled her onto the wheelchair.

Zhao Sui had intended to use his hands to warm the princess consort’s hands, but upon grasping them, he surprisingly discovered that the princess consort’s right hand, which had been exposed outside holding the umbrella, was actually warmer than his hands that had been tucked inside the wide sleeves of his cape all along.

Zhao Sui released her immediately.

Yao Huang smiled and inserted her right hand into his wide sleeve, following Prince Hui’s slightly cool hand all the way into the narrow sleeve of his python robe. By the time she reached his elbow area, the prince’s arm was quite warm.

Zhao Sui looked at the princess consort in his arms and said: “Next time when it snows, you needn’t come out to meet me. There’s an umbrella in the carriage.”

Yao Huang: “I know that, but I like holding an umbrella for the prince. Can Fei Quan holding it be the same as me holding it?”

Prince Hui fell silent.

Of course it wasn’t the same. Qing Ai and Fei Quan were merely close attendants by his side, while she was his princess consort.

Qing Ai and Fei Quan escorted him back to the residence, but the princess consort came to meet him home.

Prince Hui untied his sash and spread open his cape to completely enfold the princess consort in his embrace.

Before long, the princess consort wrapped in two layers of fox fur cape lifted her flushed face and complained: “So hot…”