Prince Hui was a person who observed propriety.

Because he was of noble rank as a prince, he needed to first seek Miss Yao’s consent before requesting his father the Emperor to bestow the marriage. After obtaining his father the Emperor’s approval, he would then formally visit the Yao family to pay respects to Miss Yao’s parents. This way there would be no suspicion of using his power to force the marriage. Unfortunately, war suddenly erupted in the north and he couldn’t go to Changshou Alley according to plan. But Miss Yao might have already told her family, so to demonstrate the sincerity of his marriage proposal, Zhao Sui arranged for Nanny Liu to send festival gifts to the Yao family at every holiday.

Now that he had returned to the capital, both publicly and privately Zhao Sui should make up for the proper etiquette at the first opportunity.

Before leaving the palace, Zhao Sui once again requested an imperial decree from his father the Emperor. His father told him not to rush, saying he would invite the female family members of meritorious households to attend this year’s Mid-Autumn palace banquet. He would have Empress Zhou lavishly praise Yao Huang at the palace banquet, and then his bestowal of marriage would follow naturally. If he bestowed the marriage today, it would instead seem as if he were using his son’s marriage to reward Yao Zhenhu.

Today was the seventh day of the eighth month. There were still eight days until the Mid-Autumn Festival. Zhao Sui could only continue waiting.

After returning to his manor, Zhao Sui bathed, changed clothes, and put on a set of everyday robes. After leaving time for Miss Yao’s family to reunite, he finally set out with gifts of gratitude.

He could tell that Yao Zhenhu still didn’t know, so the public explanation for this visit was to express gratitude for Yao Zhenhu’s life-saving grace.

Yao Zhenhu had no doubts whatsoever. He just felt Prince Hui was being too polite. Given the battle situation at that time, any soldier should have risked their life to escort the two commanders through the enemy encirclement—it was their duty. The military merit was already recognition of his service. Why did Prince Hui need to privately send another gift?

But Prince Hui was after all a prince of noble status. Yao Zhenhu couldn’t very well push both the person and gifts away, so he could only respectfully invite Prince Hui into the main hall.

The Yao family was a household of modest means. They hadn’t bought any armchairs for receiving guests. The main hall only had four wooden stools commonly found in common people’s homes.

Yao Zhenhu personally selected the one that looked newest—the one his daughter often sat on—and brought it before Prince Hui, saying frankly, “My humble dwelling is simple. I beg Your Highness’s pardon.”

After speaking, he even used his sleeve to wipe the stool surface, because the jade-colored brocade robe Prince Hui wore looked truly too precious.

Zhao Sui looked toward Madam Luo, whose face showed both awkwardness and obvious knowledge of the inside story.

Luo Jinhua said, “My daughter went out to play with her brother. Shall I send someone to call them back?”

Zhao Sui said, “No need to trouble yourself. This junior came today mainly to pay respects to the Earl and Madam.”

Having just become an earl and not yet accustomed to this form of address, Yao Zhenhu felt increasingly awkward the more he heard Prince Hui’s refined speech. He said to his timid wife, “Go fetch a jar of wine. I’ll drink a few bowls with the Prince.”

He didn’t know how to properly entertain Prince Hui. Drinking wine was the simplest and most worry-free method!

Luo Jinhua looked at Prince Hui inquiringly.

Zhao Sui cupped his hands: “I trouble Madam.”

Luo Jinhua hurried away covered in goosebumps. Prince Hui was handsome, yes, but he clearly wasn’t one of their kind of people. Her daughter liked him, but she found it quite overwhelming.

Two quarters of an hour later, after Zhao Sui had accompanied Yao Zhenhu in reminiscing about their battlefield years over two bowls of wine, he saw two familiar figures walk past the Yao family’s gate.

Zhao Sui instinctively stood up.

Actually seeing the noble and refined Prince Hui in her own family’s simple little main hall, thinking of the things on the two mules behind them, Yao Huang’s ears burned so hot they might catch fire. Her father had just received his reward silver and the siblings had run out to buy a pile of things—what would Prince Hui think?

One moment Yao Huang resented her father for urging her and her brother to go shopping, the next moment she resented Prince Hui for calling at their door so unexpectedly without any warning, leaving her completely unprepared.

Yao Lin didn’t have as many thoughts as his sister. He had been holding it in all day. Now seeing Mr. Zhao deliver himself to their door, Yao Lin rushed over excitedly: “Mr. Zhao, what’s going on here? How did you become Prince Hui?”

Zhao Sui lowered his eyes.

Yao Zhenhu asked, “What Mr. Zhao?”

Yao Lin explained it to his father, saying that Prince Hui was that Mr. Zhao who had prevented the martial academy students from removing their clothes when playing polo.

Afraid her father and brother would speak clumsily and offend Prince Hui, Yao Huang had no choice but to follow: “That’s enough. The Prince was in plain clothes performing duties at the time and didn’t want to frighten the students. Don’t mention these old matters anymore.”

Yao Lin said, “Fine, we won’t mention that. But what about Prince Zhao liking you? Clearly every time you two met, I was—Ah!”

Yao Huang had viciously pinched her brother’s lower back. After pinching, she ran to the western wing room.

Luo Jinhua promptly stepped in, scolding her son not to speak carelessly.

Yao Zhenhu, listening as if to heavenly texts: “…”

Only then did Zhao Sui inform Yao Zhenhu and Luo Jinhua that he had already obtained his father the Emperor’s consent to bestow the marriage, as well as the arrangements for the Mid-Autumn palace banquet, and apologized for the breach of etiquette two years ago.

Yao Zhenhu said, “Yao Yao and her mother keeping things from me is common. But in the military camp, why did Your Highness also keep it from me?”

Zhao Sui replied, “The timing wasn’t right then. I feared disturbing the Earl’s peace of mind.”

Luo Jinhua said, “Your Highness was right to keep it secret. We also didn’t tell him because we feared he would have wild thoughts on the battlefield.”

Yao Zhenhu said, “Alright then, what’s kept secret is kept secret. So, Your Highness truly intends to marry our Yao Yao as your princess consort?”

Zhao Sui said, “Yes. I hope the Earl and Madam will grant their approval.”

Luo Jinhua said with flattered delight, “Your Highness, please don’t say such things. That Yao Yao has gained Your Highness’s favor is both her good fortune and our entire family’s good fortune. You don’t know how happy I was when Yao Yao first mentioned this matter to me…”

Carried along by Luo Jinhua’s joy, Yao Zhenhu and Yao Lin also only focused on being happy.

Zhao Sui lowered his eyes listening to the family of three’s praises, occasionally offering modest responses.

In the kitchen, Auntie Wu was already cooking dishes with great energy along with A’Ji’s sisters. Luo Jinhua enthusiastically invited Prince Hui to dine at their home.

Unable to refuse such warm hospitality, Zhao Sui agreed.

Yao Zhenhu still wanted to pull Prince Hui into continuing to drink, but Luo Jinhua said, “How could Your Highness be accustomed to such inferior wine? You should personally go to Wangxian Tower to buy two jars of good wine.”

Yao Zhenhu felt his wife was right, but he needed to entertain the Prince, so he told his son Yao Lin to go.

Luo Jinhua said, “You father and son go together. Buy several jars—one person can’t carry them all.”

Too lazy to hint anymore, Luo Jinhua grabbed one in each hand and pushed them out. After closing the main gate to block any passersby’s possible gazes from the street, Luo Jinhua went to the western wing room to call her daughter, telling her to go to the main hall to attend to the guest while she went to the kitchen to help.

Yao Huang had already taken out the boxes containing Prince Hui’s banknotes and waist token. Now given the opportunity, she couldn’t worry about being shy anymore. Holding the two boxes, she came to the main hall and, with lowered eyes, handed them to the brocade-robed prince standing in the middle of the hall, completely out of place with his surroundings: “These all belong to Your Highness. Since Your Highness has returned, please take them with you when you leave.”

Zhao Sui didn’t look at the boxes. His gaze remained fixed on Miss Yao’s face the entire time.

At fourteen, Miss Yao had been lively and bright. What first moved him were her eyes, clear and fresh as spring water, and her smile more captivating than spring itself.

The Miss Yao before his eyes was now sixteen. Her eyes remained as clear and fresh as before. She wasn’t smiling, but her lowered brows and eyes, her blushing cheeks, made it even harder for him to look away.

The sounds of stir-frying from the kitchen reminded Zhao Sui where he was. His gaze swept over Miss Yao’s soft white hands holding the boxes, and Zhao Sui said in a low voice, “Gifts already given—how could there be reason to take them back?”

Yao Huang bit her lip, staring at his chest as she said, “Your Highness gives generously, but I find those banknotes burn my hands. During the day when I go out, I fear thieves will enter the house. At night when I sleep, I can’t sleep soundly. If Your Highness truly has my best interests at heart, then do as I wish.”

Zhao Sui said, “After the Mid-Autumn Festival, Father Emperor will bestow the marriage—”

Yao Huang interrupted, “I don’t care. As long as we’re not yet married, I won’t spend your silver. Since I can’t spend it, better to be out of sight and out of mind.”

Hearing this, Zhao Sui accepted the two boxes. Looking at the young lady before him who seemed relieved of a burden, he reminded her, “There are also those two paintings. Please return them as well, Miss.”

Yao Huang looked up with incomprehension. Meeting Prince Hui’s entire handsome face fully revealed after removing his battle helmet—a face even more devastating than two years ago—Yao Huang immediately lowered her head again, saying unhappily, “The paintings are all of me. Once given to me, they’re mine.”

Zhao Sui said, “They are yours. I merely trouble you to lend them to me for a period of time. When you and I are wed, I will certainly return them to their rightful owner.”

Yao Huang glanced at the jade pendant at his waist and asked, “Lend them to you for what purpose?”

Zhao Sui replied, “To view the paintings.”

Yao Huang: “…”

Thinking of how when she first received the first painting she had wanted to look at it dozens of times every day, then imagining Prince Hui also carefully examining the painted image of her brows, eyes, lips, even her shoulders and waist contours, Yao Huang’s face caught fire. She embarrassedly threw out the words “lecher” and turned to run back to the western wing.

Zhao Sui instinctively reached out.

Yao Huang’s wrist was caught in someone’s grasp—slender, strong fingers, with thumb and forefinger clearly encircling her entire wrist.

Before Yao Huang could turn her head, that hand had already quickly withdrawn, as if scalded, or perhaps extremely afraid of being scolded by her.

“A momentary lapse. Please forgive me, Miss.”

Yao Huang was very unaccustomed to Prince Hui being so excessively polite. Facing him sideways, she said quietly, “I won’t return the paintings. Besides this, is there anything else?”

Zhao Sui found it hard to voice—what he wanted was for her to stay a bit longer, to let him look at her a few more times.

“I’d like to see your back courtyard. Would you please show me the way?”

Prince Hui said thus.

Yao Huang nearly laughed aloud. Their own back courtyard wasn’t large—one could see to the end with a single glance. What need was there for showing the way?

But she still agreed.

Leading Prince Hui to the back courtyard, Yao Huang pointed at the four nearby vegetable plots and introduced them: “These two plots are cabbage, this plot is radishes, this plot is beans. The beans are almost finished growing. Once pulled out, we can plant another crop of cabbage.”

Zhao Sui looked at each one and memorized what the three vegetables looked like.

Yao Huang then pointed at the mule shed in the northeast corner: “Those two are our family’s mounts. Although mules aren’t as valuable as horses, they’re easier to care for than horses. For travel outside the city, they’re not much worse than horses.”

Zhao Sui nodded.

Yao Huang glanced at the pigsty and outhouse in the northwest corner but ultimately didn’t mention them to His Highness Prince Hui.

Zhao Sui didn’t pay attention to that area either. His eyes were entirely on his fiancée bathed in the evening sun.

Yao Huang noticed Prince Hui’s gaze and silently stopped talking, lowering her eyes.

Zhao Sui asked, “These two years, how have you been?”

Nanny Liu had said that when she learned he was also going to war, she had burst into tears immediately.

Yao Huang thought for a moment, walked to the bean plot, plucked a withered yellow pod, and while peeling the beans inside said softly, “It was alright. Right after the army left the capital it was very hard. I worried about my father and also worried about the person who painted for me. As time went on, it faded. Only occasionally would I miss him especially. Sometimes I’d dream the army had returned victorious. Sometimes I’d have nightmares too.”

Zhao Sui watched her nimble hands peel out four beans and said, “I missed her very much.”

Yao Huang looked over: “Who?”

Zhao Sui didn’t answer, only looked at the young lady beside him without further evasion.

Understanding, Yao Huang’s entire body grew hot. She turned her head away: “I’m leaving. Your Highness should also hurry and put those two boxes in the carriage.”

Zhao Sui suddenly grasped her hand. Then, taking advantage of Yao Huang’s rigidity, he used one hand to pry open her fingers and, one by one, took away the four warm beans from her palm.