The night was dark as ink. Leaving Prince Kang’s residence and boarding the carriage, after securing Prince Hui’s wheelchair, Yao Huang leaned close to his neck and sniffed.

Zhao Sui’s body stiffened slightly, then he heard the princess consort’s rather surprised voice: “Did Your Highness drink a lot tonight?”

Zhao Sui: “…Not too much.”

When it wasn’t official business, Prince Kang rarely got angry. Tonight, with Prince Qing taking the lead, everyone had poured drinks quite vigorously. With Prince Qing pressing the matter, the two close attendants beside Prince Kang didn’t dare directly escort Prince Kang away. Only when Zhao Sui saw that Prince Kang was truly drunk did he help persuade them to stop, after which Prince Qing began toasting him.

When men compete in drinking, they like to invoke feelings of brotherhood. In that situation, Zhao Sui inevitably drank several more bowls.

He didn’t tell the princess consort these details, but Yao Huang immediately guessed that among tonight’s male guests, only Prince Qing dared frequently urge Prince Hui to drink.

At Prince Qing’s wedding last time, he himself had been the groom being plied with drinks by others, naturally having no leisure to ply his second brother with drinks.

“Are you drunk? Is your head dizzy? Does your stomach burn?”

Noticing the slight flush appearing on Prince Hui’s handsome face, Yao Huang asked with concern.

Zhao Sui shook his head and looked toward the curtains on both sides: “Open them a bit, to disperse the alcohol smell.”

Yao Huang: “…”

So Prince Hui’s face wasn’t flushed from alcohol, but rather he was worried that the alcohol smell all over him would overwhelm the princess consort, damaging his dignity as a prince.

“Don’t disperse it, I like smelling the alcohol on Your Highness.” Yao Huang deliberately leaned close under his chin again and took a deep breath.

After deeply inhaling, naturally one must exhale a long breath. Prince Hui felt the princess consort’s warm breath falling on his Adam’s apple transform into a ball of fire, burning downward all the way to…

Zhao Sui looked to the side and said: “Water.”

Prince Hui was thirsty. Yao Huang quickly first poured him a bowl of no-longer-so-warm warm water.

After setting down the tea bowl, Yao Huang sat to the side, took out the purse A’Ji had given her when boarding the carriage, and poured all the broken silver from inside in one go onto the side, smiling as she began counting.

Zhao Sui had seen her counting this morning, so at a glance he could tell the broken silver had increased—the princess consort had won money.

“Over fifteen taels.” After finishing the count, Yao Huang said with reasonable satisfaction, then explained to Prince Hui who had been watching her the whole time: “Originally this morning I had won over fifty taels, but in the afternoon’s game I discovered that Side Consort Gu had been concealing her skills earlier. Once she revealed her true abilities, Second Princess, First Princess, and I all lost. Second Princess lost the most miserably—she lost all fifty taels of capital she’d borrowed from Side Consort Ruan.”

When the two princesses left the palace, they hadn’t expected to play cards at Prince Kang’s residence, so they hadn’t brought silver and had to borrow capital on the spot.

Zhao Sui saw on the princess consort’s face full schadenfreude. This was definitely not a virtue, but the princess consort’s smile was very attractive.

Returning to the prince’s residence, Zhao Sui repeatedly rinsed his mouth in the front courtyard, plus received massage and bathed before going to the rear courtyard.

Yao Huang leaned in his embrace, chatting with him about the things Second Princess had said to provoke her: “Of course I prefer being a guest at Prince Kang’s residence more. Eldest Sister-in-law and I have similar family backgrounds and compatible temperaments. Both side consorts are also warm and hospitable. Plus there are three children there to play with and relieve boredom. What does Prince Qing’s residence have? Just one third sister-in-law who has barely given me a proper look. Would I rush over there to be treated coldly?”

Never mind that Zheng Yuanzhen hadn’t sent her an invitation—if one day Zheng Yuanzhen really did, Yao Huang would have to worry whether it was a trap.

“But naturally I can’t say it like that openly. Third Sister-in-law disdaining me is her business. I won’t actively give her ammunition to use against me.”

Zhao Sui thought for a moment and said: “It’s best if you can maintain peace. But if someone truly bullies you, you don’t need to compromise and seek peace either.”

Yao Huang savored this, half-propping herself up to look at him: “Your Highness means that even if Third Sister-in-law bullies me, I can push back?”

Zhao Sui: “Mm.”

Yao Huang bit her lip and said quietly: “Of course I hope it can be like that, but I’m afraid of what-ifs. What if in the future Third Sister-in-law’s status has the opportunity to advance further? If she settles old scores with me then, wouldn’t I suffer a loss?”

Zhao Sui looked at the princess consort and instructed her: “The higher one’s status, the more one must abide by propriety and law. No matter what her status is, you will always be her second sister-in-law. If she provokes without cause, both you and I can submit memorials to impeach her.”

Yao Huang: “That still requires asking His Majesty to make the decision. Which emperor doesn’t favor his own empress?”

Zhao Sui: “Before the civil and military officials, His Majesty must also be reasonable.”

Since this topic had come up, Yao Huang quietly asked: “Does Your Highness think the First Prince or Third Prince has more hope? If it’s the Third Prince, I’ll need to be more careful and can’t run to Prince Kang’s residence too frequently.”

Zhao Sui: “I don’t know. You don’t need to worry too much. Interactions between princess consorts won’t affect court matters.”

Yao Huang: “Understood. Then I’ll continue being friendly with Eldest Sister-in-law. Suddenly becoming distant would actually make both sides suspicious.”

The next day, the couple entered the palace to observe the ceremony. Because Prince Kang and Chen Ying were the eldest brother and sister-in-law, Prince Hui and Prince Qing’s two couples had to go over to greet the new sister-in-law.

Yao Huang pushed Prince Hui forward. After calling out to eldest sister-in-law, she looked at Chen Ying with deep meaning.

Chen Ying understood her meaning. Thinking of that time at midnight when she had indeed been pleasured to tears, she immediately flushed red and lowered her eyes, not daring to look at Yao Huang again.

Yao Huang smiled. With Chen Ying’s temperament, she wouldn’t easily anger Prince Kang. With that night’s concerns eliminated, Chen Ying’s future days should not be bad.

Prince Kang was dealing with this kind of scene for the second time. Originally there was nothing to be embarrassed about, and he sat upright with a calm expression. However, when Chen Ying’s face reddened and Second Sister-in-law smiled like that, Prince Kang suddenly felt an awkwardness as if the secrets between him and his little princess consort last night had been seen through. He subconsciously looked toward his second brother in the wheelchair.

Zhao Sui called out to eldest sister-in-law then lowered his eyes, not noticing any of this.

Yao Huang pushed him away, letting Prince Qing and his wife come forward to give their greetings.

As soon as Yao Huang left, the heat on Chen Ying’s face receded. Toward Zheng Yuanzhen, she felt even more awe than Yao Huang did—the awe of a minor official’s daughter toward the beloved daughter of the Grand Princess. After all, during that month at the Embroidery Pavilion, Zheng Yuanzhen had at least observed Yao Huang from a distance a few times, but treated her like dirt beneath notice, not even glancing at her once. Chen Ying couldn’t be like Yao Huang, who from the moment she married into the prince’s residence could view Zheng Yuanzhen as an equal sister-in-law.

Emperor Yongchang and Empress Zhou sat side by side in the main seats, immediately seeing the intimacy and distance among the three daughters-in-law’s relationships.

Strangely enough, when Zheng Yuanzhen was just his niece, Emperor Yongchang had viewed his niece like his own First Princess—good in every way without any flaws. But now that Zheng Yuanzhen had become his daughter-in-law, Emperor Yongchang suddenly discovered his niece’s shortcomings. She was too proud, unwilling to even get close to her two sisters-in-law. Even though the three women’s statuses before marriage were vastly different, his niece should at least give face to her two cousins.

However, these were all minor matters. Emperor Yongchang had too many state affairs to worry about, and soon threw this fleeting thought to the back of his mind.

After Chen Ying took leave of her family, Yao Huang spent several days accompanying Chen Ying on a proper tour of the capital. Poor Princess Kang, though nearly a full year had passed since entering the capital, had only had the opportunity to go out after marriage.

Leaving the two noble places of the imperial palace and prince’s residences, Chen Ying alone with Yao Huang was no different from an ordinary sixteen or seventeen-year-old young girl. She would be attracted by the stories at teahouses, would be dazzled picking through piles of jewelry and silk, and would laugh showing a mouthful of small white teeth when Yao Huang told some amusing story. In Yao Huang’s eyes, Chen Ying was a playmate she very much liked—a hundred times better than Prince Hui who wouldn’t speak unless asked.

Prince Hui, who could only see the princess consort in the evenings, discovered that the words “eldest sister-in-law” could also make the princess consort’s eyes shine with that seemingly affectionate light.

On the twenty-third day of the twelfth month, officials and students all began their New Year holiday, lasting until the fifth day of the first month after the new year.

Early in the morning, Yao Huang pressed down on Prince Hui who was preparing to get up, smiling as she said: “My mother has already bought all the New Year goods the family needs to prepare. Our household hasn’t bought them yet. Will Your Highness accompany me to buy them today? This is the first New Year you and I are spending together. I want us to prepare for it ourselves.”

Zhao Sui looked at the princess consort, saying with surprise: “I thought you had already bought everything when shopping with Eldest Sister-in-law.”

Yao Huang: “What I bought with Eldest Sister-in-law were all ordinary things. New Year goods naturally should be bought together by family members.”

Speaking of “family members,” the princess consort’s bright eyes looking at him seemed to contain something extra that wasn’t there when she mentioned eldest sister-in-law or Jinbao.

However, before Prince Hui could discern what it was, under the princess consort’s overly brilliant smile, he looked away. After a moment of silence, he said: “Alright.”

Too many people in the capital wore silk and satin, but something like a gold-inlaid large wheelchair was extremely rare. To avoid exposing Prince Hui’s identity too much wherever they went, making ordinary people either tremble with fear or gossip, when going out today, Prince Hui chose the four-wheeled elmwood wheelchair that hadn’t been used for a long time.

The carriage stopped at the street side. Yao Huang pushed Prince Hui onto South Street. Qing Ai and Fei Quan dressed as young servants followed behind, waiting to carry New Year goods for His Highness and the princess consort.

Roasted nuts and dried goods, preserved meats and pastries, silk and wine and tea, fireworks and firecrackers—since His Highness and the princess consort wore fine silk bestowed by the palace, Yao Huang bought some ordinary ones to reward A’Ji and the four senior maids, Qing Ai and Fei Quan the two close attendants of His Highness, as well as head stewards like Guo Shu, Eunuch Cao, and Nanny Liu. Including couplets and blessing characters, Yao Huang bought them stack by stack.

Qing Ai and Fei Quan each ran back to the carriage once to put away items.

The crowd was bustling, and they had bought almost everything. Yao Huang pushed Prince Hui to turn around, preparing to head back.

Suddenly, a somewhat familiar voice came from ahead: “Wang’er, Wang’er?”

Yao Huang instinctively looked toward the sound.

Before seeing that thousand-household wife who often showed off in front of her mother, Yao Huang first met a familiar handsome face. Li Tingwang, over eight feet tall, stood in front of a jade shop diagonally ahead. Ignoring the continuous flow of people coming and going around him, Li Tingwang seemed to have seen her long ago. When Yao Huang raised her eyes, she crashed right into those complex black eyes that seemed filled with so many things he wanted to say to her that they were overflowing.

Yao Huang’s heart jumped, silently cursing her bad luck!

Such a conspicuous young master from a thousand-household family, staring straight at her—had Prince Hui already noticed?

One moment of eye contact, one thought—it actually only took an instant. After the shock, Yao Huang continued pushing Prince Hui forward as if nothing had happened. Only when they were close enough did she stop, calling out with surprise to the mother and son now standing shoulder to shoulder: “Madam, Young Master Li?”

Wang Shi naturally wasn’t afraid of Yao Huang. What she feared was Prince Hui sitting in the wheelchair, whom she didn’t dare look directly at. She feared Prince Hui discovering her son’s admiration for Yao Huang, who had already become a noble princess consort!

Just as she was about to pull her son down to kneel and pay respects to Prince Hui, Yao Huang quickly said: “The Second Master and I came out to stroll casually. Madam needn’t be overly ceremonious.”

After speaking, she smiled and introduced the two to Prince Hui. Colonel Li was her father’s superior. With this connection, it was perfectly normal for the two families to be acquainted.

Zhao Sui nodded, looking toward the mother and son.

Wang Shi curtsied, respectfully greeting the Second Master with an expression of deference.

Li Tingwang clasped his hands and bowed, his gaze fixed on the pair of boots on Prince Hui’s wheelchair footrest.

“You may rise.”

He heard Prince Hui’s cool and indifferent voice, followed by the princess consort’s smiling farewell: “Please go about your business. The Second Master and I will be going now.”