The Crown Prince was evidently very satisfied with the new variation at the artificial mountain by the Secluded Pool. That evening after nightfall, when Yao Huang finished bathing and returned to the inner chamber, she discovered the Crown Prince sitting by the window reading. She thought he truly loved this book so much, and didn’t think anything of it at all.
“How long will Your Highness be reading?” Yao Huang asked casually.
Zhao Sui glanced at her, placed the book on the table, and said, “Push me over.”
Meaning he was ready to sleep now.
Yao Huang still didn’t think too much of it. She only looked with puzzlement at the three-wheeled rosewood wheelchair the Crown Prince was sitting in. Ever since he’d gotten the three-wheeled self-propelling wheelchair with the large golden wheels, whenever he was in the inner chamber, the Crown Prince hadn’t had Yao Huang help push him for quite some time.
Puzzlement aside, Yao Huang walked over with a smile and skillfully pushed the Crown Prince toward the canopy bed.
Between the outer corridor of the canopy bed and the bed itself was a spacious platform. To the left of the platform was Yao Huang’s vanity table.
The wheelchair entered the platform and after rolling two circles would reach the bed inside. However, the Crown Prince suddenly pressed down on the thin wheels on both sides and said with his back to the Crown Princess, “Go extinguish the lights.”
Yao Huang felt tonight’s Crown Prince was a bit strange.
But she still went to extinguish the lights. After making a full circuit, the room fell into darkness. When Yao Huang returned to the canopy bed, she discovered the Crown Prince and his wheelchair were positioned sideways right in the middle of the platform. If Yao Huang wanted to get to the bed, she would either have to go around in front of him or squeeze past the back of the wheelchair.
Yao Huang went nowhere and asked in confusion, “What is Your Highness doing?”
The Crown Prince said nothing. His left hand gripped the Crown Princess’s wrist and pulled her into his embrace. After the Crown Princess was seated properly, he pushed the wheelchair toward the Crown Princess’s vanity table two steps ahead.
Yao Huang was still confused when the Crown Prince lowered his head to kiss her neck, then continued searching until he found her lips.
Yao Huang was quickly kissed dizzy by the Crown Prince. Not until the Crown Prince used his noble and elegant voice to tell her to secure the wheelchair first did Yao Huang finally understand what this whole series of strange behaviors had been about.
She stayed motionless in the Crown Prince’s embrace and protested quietly, “That way is too tiring on the legs.”
Actually the sensation was similar to when she knelt on the bed facing away from the Crown Prince. The difference was that then she had been kneeling, whereas at the artificial mountain or by the vanity table she had to stand with bent knees. Even though her hands could brace against the mountain wall or table surface, when it was over her legs would still ache terribly.
Zhao Sui first helped the Crown Princess massage her knees, then continued kissing her.
Yao Huang was all too familiar with the Crown Prince’s various silences. Like right now, silently refusing to let her go while continuing to kiss her—this meant he still wanted her cooperation.
And Yao Huang could never help but soften her heart toward her husband with crippled legs. Thinking about how many variations those scholars and strong men in story books had to choose from, while her disabled husband had already lost many kinds of pleasure because of his legs—now that he’d accidentally stumbled upon a new one and it was still fresh and exciting, how could Yao Huang bear to refuse?
Yao Huang left the Crown Prince’s embrace, circled behind to secure the wheelchair. However, before obediently bracing herself against the vanity table to cooperate with the Crown Prince, Yao Huang first lightly bit his ear and reminded him, “Your Highness is becoming increasingly wicked.”
Since he already bore the accusation, Zhao Sui proceeded to be wicked twice in a row with his Crown Princess.
Adding both sessions together made over half an hour. Yao Huang was either collapsed in the Crown Prince’s embrace or imprisoned between the wheelchair and the vanity table with nowhere to escape even if she wanted to.
Crying was one thing, scolding another, but Yao Huang only felt utterly satisfied.
She loved Prince Hui who painted so skillfully, loved Prince Hui who was a refined gentleman during the day, loved the even more capable Crown Prince that Prince Hui had become, and she also loved this increasingly wicked Crown Prince.
Who didn’t enjoy novelty? She wished he would become even more wicked.
Zhao Sui currently held two responsibilities: one was testing and developing the heavy gunpowder formula for the weapons workshop, and the other was renovating the Eastern Palace. The former couldn’t be rushed. As for the latter, because the auspicious date for the Crown Prince and Crown Princess’s investiture ceremony had been set, and the Eastern Palace overall was still quite well-maintained, after the craftsmen bustled about for a month, the most exhausting and dirty work of renovation and demolishing the attached courtyards to convert them into gardens was basically complete. What needed to be done in the seventh month was to move in the newly made furniture, porcelain, and other items, transplant the artificial mountains and decorative rocks needed for the gardens, and let the newly applied lacquer on the beams, columns, doors, and windows air out.
The Crown Prince’s family would move into the Eastern Palace before the investiture ceremony. The Bureau of Astronomy selected several auspicious dates. After Zhao Sui discussed it with the Crown Princess and his father emperor, they settled on the twenty-eighth day of the seventh month.
Once the moving date was set, when the couple strolled through the garden again, looking at the familiar scenery they had enjoyed together for three years, they both felt reluctant to leave.
Passing by the bamboo grove, Yao Huang glanced at the bamboo courtyard inside, then blew on the top of the Crown Prince’s head: “We’re about to move away and I’ve never even been inside Your Highness’s golden house. I wonder if there’s a beautiful bamboo spirit hidden inside.”
Zhao Sui was speechless.
Jun’er, lying in the cart being pushed by his father in reverse, saw his mother bending over and thought she was playing with him. He happily kicked his little legs.
Seeing this, Yao Huang continued blowing air on the top of the Crown Prince’s head, and Jun’er kept laughing.
The little one was so adorable that Yao Huang instantly forgot the teasing words she’d just said.
Zhao Sui remembered though. While having his massage done in the front courtyard of Ming’an Hall, he had Qing Ai relay a message to Eunuch Cao.
On the nineteenth day of the seventh month, Zhao Sui returned to the residence relatively early. After bathing and changing into regular clothes, he played with Jun’er for a while, then invited the Crown Princess to tour the garden.
“This time we won’t bring Jun’er.”
Hearing this, Yao Huang looked at the Crown Prince sitting in his wheelchair. Unfortunately, the Crown Prince’s face was as elegant and handsome as usual. Yao Huang couldn’t judge from his expression whether he harbored any wicked intentions. After all, the rear garden of the prince’s residence was enormous with plenty of secluded spots. Once the Crown Prince had wicked thoughts, he could simply stop the wheelchair anywhere and begin.
This was the Crown Prince’s formidable ability—with just one simple sentence, he made his Crown Princess feel a bit nervous, a bit shy, and also somewhat expectant.
With her back to the Crown Prince, Yao Huang summoned the wet nurse and had her take Jun’er away.
Only the couple remained in the room. Yao Huang glanced at the Crown Prince and asked with a slightly flushed face, “Should we just go like this, or should we bring something?”
If they actually did it, being careful wouldn’t wrinkle their clothes, but one or two handkerchiefs wouldn’t be enough. Last time when they fooled around at the artificial mountain by the lakeside pavilion, it was because there was a pool of water right next to them that Yao Huang was spared the embarrassment.
Zhao Sui said, “…No need.”
Yao Huang replied, “…I meant food.”
Wicked Crown Prince, bad Crown Prince! Why would he emphasize not bringing Jun’er for a simple garden stroll, making her misunderstand!
When they set off with Yao Huang pushing the Crown Prince, she walked faster than usual.
Entering the rear garden, Zhao Sui pointed east, and Yao Huang pushed him along the stone path on the east side.
The bamboo grove was ahead. Zhao Sui said, “Let’s go see the bamboo courtyard.”
Yao Huang replied, “What’s there to see? No one’s lived there for two years. The light inside is dim too. Your Highness may not fear the bamboo spirit you’re raising, but I do. Perhaps it’s harboring resentment that I lured Your Highness away.”
Zhao Sui said, “…I’m taking you inside to see. I had it cleaned in advance.”
Yao Huang fell silent.
Neither of them spoke further. Only the wheelchair turned onto the small path into the bamboo grove.
The bamboo courtyard was deserted. Yao Huang saw the door was ajar and directly pushed the wheelchair forward. The Crown Prince naturally reached out to push open the door.
The evening sun only illuminated half the window of the western side room. The other parts of the small courtyard were all dark.
It was too quiet. Even with the Crown Prince beside her, Yao Huang still felt somewhat uneasy. As if knowing why she was pushing so slowly, the Crown Prince looked back and assured her, “There’s no bamboo spirit.”
Male or female, old or young, fierce or kind—there were none.
The Crown Princess huffed at him, “That’s not what I’m afraid of.”
Passing by the stone table in the courtyard which actually had a small pot of bowl lotuses on it, the couple arrived at the main hall door facing north. As usual, the Crown Prince pushed open the door.
Yao Huang curiously looked inside and discovered it was completely empty except for a neat expanse of stone floor tiles. Wall lamps were installed on both side walls, and two rows of gentle candlelight dispelled the dimness brought by the surrounding bamboo groves.
There was also a door on the north side, and the door panel was actually open, letting in some of the evening sunlight from the rear courtyard.
Zhao Sui explained, “This area isn’t for receiving guests, so there aren’t many furnishings.”
He first took the Crown Princess to the bedchamber in the eastern room.
The bedchamber was very spacious. On the north side was a heated kang platform. Against the east wall stood a washing stand. In the southeast corner stood a wardrobe. Under the window on the south side was a flower stand. There was nothing on the west wall. Except for the fact that the materials used for these few simple furnishings were better than those in the Yao family’s old residence on Longevity Lane, this bedchamber at first glance seemed even more austere and simple than an ordinary minor official’s home.
A quilt was laid out on the west end of the heated platform, and a rosewood low table was placed on the east end.
Zhao Sui said, “Most of the time I read in the study, so there’s no need for many tables and chairs here.”
Yao Huang immediately pushed the Crown Prince to the study in the western room.
The study looked much more normal. However, aside from two large bookcases covering the walls and a desk and flower stand, the study was actually quite empty too.
The more Yao Huang looked, the stranger she found it: “If it’s just like this, why didn’t Your Highness invite me in to sit before?”
Her imperial husband was never one to be intentionally rude at any time.
Zhao Sui was silent for a moment before saying, “I don’t like being disturbed. Before I had a self-propelling wheelchair, I installed two rows of connected handrails in the three rooms. The handrails allowed me to move between positions here relying only on myself.”
Words alone would make it difficult for the Crown Princess to imagine. Zhao Sui had the Crown Princess push him to the rear courtyard. The handrails in the rear courtyard were still there.
Yao Huang looked at those two rows of hardwood handrails encircling the entire rear courtyard and finally understood the Crown Prince’s meaning. She also understood why his palms had developed such thick calluses.
But with his legs immobile, how did the Crown Prince walk?
On either side of the rear door was an entrance to the handrails. Zhao Sui turned the wheelchair to the entrance on the right side. His hands gripped the handrails and lifted himself up.
The handrails were set according to his height. When Zhao Sui lifted himself like this, the position of his hands was similar to the height where his hands would naturally hang when he stood normally. So at this moment, Yao Huang, still standing behind the wheelchair, saw what appeared to be the Crown Prince’s back in a normal standing position.
Yao Huang had seen the Crown Prince’s martial bearing sitting on horseback, had seen the Crown Prince lying in bed where his leg condition also couldn’t be detected, but she had never seen his upright figure standing like this.
The Crown Prince’s hanging sleeves concealed his tensed arm and wrist muscles. Only his ten fingers tightly gripping the handrails and the backs of his hands revealed that he was actually “standing” by arm strength.
Yao Huang slowly circled to the front of the Crown Prince and looked at him from outside one side of the handrails. She could only see the Crown Prince’s neck.
So the Crown Prince was even taller than her brother.
Yao Huang suddenly didn’t dare look up, afraid of seeing the Crown Prince’s face flushed and losing composure from exerting too much arm strength, afraid the Crown Prince didn’t want her to see him like this.
Zhao Sui was very familiar with his own arm strength. He knew that holding himself up like this for a while wouldn’t cause him to lose his composure, otherwise he absolutely wouldn’t “stand” up in front of the Crown Princess.
The Crown Princess didn’t dare look at him, so Zhao Sui silently looked at the Crown Princess who was a head shorter than him. The young woman he usually could only look up at, it turned out…
“How do you move?” the Crown Princess suddenly asked curiously.
Zhao Sui was speechless.
He had no intention of demonstrating how to move, or rather, he didn’t want the Crown Princess to see any ungraceful side of him.
The Crown Prince sat back in the wheelchair.
Only then did Yao Huang look over.
Zhao Sui avoided her gaze.
Yao Huang told him to face this way and not move, then she herself ran to the handrails on the other side and, copying the Crown Prince, used both hands to lift herself between the handrails with her feet off the ground.
Zhao Sui could hear her movements. Looking straight ahead, he reminded her, “Be careful not to fall.”
Yao Huang felt fine just holding herself up without moving, but once she tried to move forward, after just a few attempts she landed on the ground.
When there was no further movement behind him for a long time, Zhao Sui slowly turned the wheelchair around, only to see the Crown Princess bend down and crawl out from the handrails. She ran in one breath to the base of the north wall in the rear courtyard. With her back to him and her head tilted up, she called out from far away, “The bamboo here is quite lovely!”
That voice carried laughter, but it also carried a tremor.