As soon as the wheelchair moved, Yao Huang’s gaze was immediately pulled back, landing on Prince Hui’s fair hand with veins bulging from forcefully pushing the wheelchair.
Yao Huang hurriedly took over the wheelchair.
When she applied force here, the large wheels rolled, and Zhao Sui could only release his grip.
Yao Huang lowered her head to look. Prince Hui wore a stern expression—it was no longer simply lifeless.
Yao Huang raised her head and discovered that after passing two more shops, diagonally across would be “Liao’s Medical Clinic.” The clinic door had a lock hanging on it, but outside was erected a shelter with several long benches placed under it, left for common folk coming to see the doctor to sit and wait.
Yao Huang thus pushed Prince Hui under the shelter, positioning him to face the long bench, then sat down herself.
In just that short stretch of road, Prince Hui’s face had changed from displeased back to lifeless.
Yao Huang extended her hand toward him: “Give me the handkerchief.”
Zhao Sui took the handkerchief from his right sleeve and placed it in her palm.
The handkerchief was still damp. Yao Huang casually shook it open and was about to grab Prince Hui’s hands that had been dirtied by the wheels.
Understanding her intention, Zhao Sui snatched the handkerchief: “I’ll do it myself.”
When he wiped his hands, his palms faced downward. Seeing this, Yao Huang wanted to help again, but the moment her hand reached over, Prince Hui avoided it.
Yao Huang only found it amusing. Facing that handsome face everyone praised, she said softly: “When those young ladies and young wives stared fixedly at you, I only felt proud that my husband was handsome—I didn’t feel at all that they were taking advantage of my husband. How is it that when I look at someone else for two moments, when that person didn’t even notice or take issue with it, you’re the one who gets angry?”
Zhao Sui: “…Do not look at what is improper.”
Yao Huang: “Common folk don’t have so many rules.”
Prince Hui finally looked directly at his princess consort: “You are now a prin…”
Yao Huang nervously covered his mouth, looked around, and glared at him: “Be careful, don’t let people hear.”
Zhao Sui: “…”
Yao Huang withdrew her hand. Considering that he came from the imperial family with many proprieties, she yielded: “All right, I promise from now on I won’t stare at other men again. If I look, I’ll only look at you.”
As she spoke, her gaze circled once around Prince Hui’s upper body bound by his long robe.
Zhao Sui: “…Let’s go back.”
Yao Huang: “It’s still early. Since we’ve already come, let’s see what other shops are ahead.”
Having resolved the little tiff just now, Yao Huang continued pushing Prince Hui forward to browse. Passing a roasted goods shop, Yao Huang bought five catties each of plain and five-spice flavored roasted melon seeds, packaged in two small burlap sacks.
The shopkeeper handed the burlap sacks to Yao Huang. Yao Huang turned around and stuffed both bags of melon seeds into Prince Hui’s arms. If Prince Hui could even hold her, ten catties of melon seeds definitely wouldn’t tire him out.
After strolling back and forth for over half a shichen, Yao Huang finally pushed Prince Hui back to the new residence. At this time the sky was still bright. Before entering the door, Yao Huang even waved toward the pile of women on the opposite bank.
Fei Quan, who came to open the door, pretended not to see the two burlap sacks in the prince’s arms and closed the main gate with extreme speed.
Yao Huang steadied the wheelchair and asked: “Did two children come to deliver a dog?”
Fei Quan: “They delivered it. Doctor Liao… my father carefully examined it once. Jinbao, right? Jinbao doesn’t have fleas and hasn’t caught any other illness. It’s just small in size—its food intake hasn’t kept up, so it looks thin and weak. Big brother just gave it two baths and is drying its fur in the west courtyard. Should I bring it over now?”
Yao Huang: “Go ahead.”
Fei Quan bent at the waist, looking to the prince for permission.
The prince tacitly consented.
Fei Quan thus knew that the prince temporarily had no needs that would be inconvenient for the princess consort to attend to.
After Fei Quan left, Yao Huang pushed Prince Hui to the back courtyard. Her room always had a basin of clear water and a pitcher of clear water prepared. Wetting a cloth, Yao Huang walked to Prince Hui’s side, first placing those two bags of melon seeds on the table, then waving the cloth in her hand: “Will Second Master wipe himself, or shall I help you?”
The river water only looked clear—it definitely wasn’t as clean as well water. Whether Prince Hui’s face that had been splattered with others’ saliva or his hands that had pushed the wheelchair both needed to be wiped again.
Zhao Sui took the cloth. Only after the princess consort turned to wash the handkerchief did he press it to his face.
Yao Huang went outside to hang the handkerchief to dry. When she returned, Prince Hui had already finished wiping.
Yao Huang poured each of them a bowl of water, then sat beside him. From the burlap sack she grabbed a small handful of melon seeds and, learning from Prince Hui, used only her hands to shell them. Having shelled one, she held the kernel to his lips: “Outside, Second Master shelled so many for me. Now it’s my turn to feed you ready-made ones.”
Zhao Sui: “I wasn’t specifically shelling them for you. I truly rarely eat such idle snacks.”
Yao Huang: “Rarely eat them—is it because of dignity and propriety and such, or because Second Master doesn’t like eating them?”
Men had so many concerns. They didn’t even dare openly sit on a cushion. Perhaps they also feared eating idle snacks would lead people to comment that they lacked dignity and seriousness?
Zhao Sui fell silent.
Yao Huang understood. Smiling, she stuffed the melon seed kernel between Prince Hui’s lightly pressed lips. Zhao Sui had no choice but to open his mouth. When the princess consort offered more, he received them with his hand.
After feeding him several in succession, Fei Quan and A’Ji came together. Whether or not the prince stayed overnight in the back courtyard, A’Ji would keep night watch for the princess consort in the west room.
Fei Quan held Jinbao, who had been personally bathed by Chief Eunuch Qing Ai who specially served the prince in the imperial family. The little puppy was also timid with strangers, pitifully cowering in Fei Quan’s arms. Apart from rotating a pair of watery black eyes to observe the surroundings, it could be said it didn’t dare move at all.
Yao Huang took Jinbao. Fei Quan and A’Ji then withdrew.
After arriving in the princess consort’s arms, Jinbao still didn’t dare move.
Yao Huang stroked its fluffy head while laughing at it: “Why are you so timid? Let me tell you, I’m the minor official’s daughter with the best fortune under heaven, so you’re the ordinary little dog with the best fortune under heaven. Having met Second Master, you just need to enjoy good food and drink. Your four siblings from the same litter, no matter how well their lives turn out, can’t compare to yours.”
Jinbao couldn’t understand, but it could sense the gentleness in its new master’s hand—even more comfortable than the touch of its original little masters.
Prince Hui just quietly watched from the side.
Yao Huang reached her hand under Jinbao’s belly and felt—round and bulging. It seemed it had eaten a full meal at Gao Niangzi’s place.
After Yao Huang had her fill of doting on it, she asked Prince Hui: “Does Second Master want to hold it? Qing Ai washed it very clean—it’s all the fragrance of soapberry.”
Zhao Sui: “No need.”
Yao Huang deliberately said: “Second Master couldn’t really be afraid of dogs, could he?”
Zhao Sui looked toward Jinbao and suddenly called: “Little Yellow.”
Jinbao perked up its ears, clearly more accustomed to this old name.
Yao Huang: “…”
She glared at Prince Hui with resentment: “If my lord continues teasing me like this, I won’t talk to you anymore in the future.”
Zhao Sui: “You started it.”
Yao Huang: “But I didn’t give my lord a nickname! Since I was small, only those few annoying children in the alley would deliberately call me Little Yellow, Yellow-Yellow, Ah Huang. Does my lord also want me to be annoyed with you and dislike you?”
Zhao Sui didn’t answer this question. He only reached out to touch Jinbao’s head and said to the puppy: “To receive a name bestowed by the princess consort is truly your good fortune.”
Roundabout as it was, Yao Huang shot him a reproachful look.
Outside the window it had darkened. Zhao Sui still needed massage and bathing. He called for Fei Quan to push him to the front courtyard. Before leaving, Prince Hui looked at Jinbao in the princess consort’s arms and said: “Have A’Ji send Jinbao to the west courtyard. It can be brought back tomorrow morning.”
In Prince Hui’s eyes, cats and dogs were things that masters only held and played with when they liked them. At all other times, servants took care of them completely.
Yao Huang smiled: “No need. Let it sleep in my room. It’ll keep me company nicely.”
Zhao Sui looked at the princess consort a couple more times, somewhat suspicious whether she was hinting at something.
However, the princess consort was stroking Jinbao again, her eyes full of affection—it really didn’t look like she was using the dog to express feelings.
After Prince Hui left, Yao Huang freshened up and had A’Ji go to the west courtyard to find a small basket. She lined the inside of the basket with a layer of dry grass used as kindling, pressed it down firmly to make a dog bed for Jinbao, and placed it right beside Yao Huang’s bed.
Jinbao was the smallest dog in its litter. Since birth it had been bullied by the other four. When nursing or eating meals, it could only eat what was left over. That’s why it was so timid and weak. During the day was still all right, but tonight suddenly changing to an unfamiliar place to sleep, waking up in the middle of the night unable to find the big dog that had always slept with it, the little creature began crying in a milky voice.
Yao Huang slept soundly. Only after Jinbao had called seven or eight times did it wake her. Groggily, she leaned over the side of the bed, extending one hand into the dog bed, stroking while perfunctorily coaxing: “All right, all right, stop crying.”
Pressed down flat in its bed, Jinbao sensed the warmth from that hand and indeed stopped crying.
At this moment, A’Ji pushed open the door from outside, peeking in to ask: “My lady, is everything all right?”
Yao Huang held down Jinbao which wanted to get up again, mumbling: “It’s fine. Jinbao misses home and is crying a bit. Go sleep. Even if you hear it cry again, you don’t need to come over.”
A’Ji: “Better let me take it to my side so it won’t disturb my lady’s rest.”
Yao Huang: “No need. Go sleep quickly.”
A’Ji did want to sleep. Just as she reached the west room door, she heard someone knocking at the door from the covered corridor. A’Ji hurried over and through the door heard Fei Quan quietly asking: “What happened to my lady?” Could it be a snake or mouse or something had run in and frightened her?
A’Ji explained.
Fei Quan relaxed and went back to report to the prince.
In Zhao Sui’s mind floated an image of the princess consort, clearly very sleepy yet having to coax a puppy, while also having her monthly flow.
When Prince Hui was awakened for the second time by the faint dog cries from the back courtyard, he called Fei Quan and asked: “What hour is it?”
Fei Quan looked at the water clock: “Just past the hour of Zi.”
Zhao Sui: “Light the lamp.”
A’Ji knew the princess consort liked dogs. When she was little she’d kept one for a full seven or eight years. Later when the dog fell ill and died, the princess consort had cried so sadly that the master and mistress had to take her to Wangxian Tower for a banquet to coax her into feeling better. So when the princess consort insisted on having Jinbao sleep with her, A’Ji didn’t try to take over the task.
Jinbao hadn’t cried for long. A’Ji had almost fallen back asleep when Fei Quan’s voice came from outside the window, calling her to open the door.
A’Ji jolted awake. The small door only had two keys—one for the front courtyard, one for the back courtyard. At night, only when the prince came over would Fei Quan dare use the key.
Hastily throwing on clothes, A’Ji opened the door at the fastest speed.
Under the faint moonlight, there was indeed a wheelchair outside the door.
A’Ji lowered her head and stepped aside.
Fei Quan pushed the prince into the east room in the dark.
Yao Huang first sensed Jinbao’s uneasy movements, then realized someone had entered. The wheelchair rumbled—it was the prince.
Yao Huang didn’t want to move. Continuing to soothe Jinbao, she asked: “How did Second Master come? Everything’s fine on my end.”
Zhao Sui: “You disturbed me. Have Fei Quan take it to the west courtyard.”
Yao Huang didn’t mind hardship herself, but she couldn’t delay the prince’s rest. She could only watch as Fei Quan carried away both dog and bed together.
In the deep of night, since Prince Hui had come to the back courtyard, naturally he wouldn’t return.
Yao Huang pushed the wheelchair to the bedside. Prince Hui propped himself up onto the bed.
Yao Huang habitually nestled into his embrace, muttering: “How are Second Master’s ears so sharp? I thought you couldn’t hear.”
Zhao Sui patted her hand: “Sleep.”
Probably because she’d been stroking Jinbao for so long, the half-asleep Yao Huang, after holding the prince for a while, actually went to touch the prince’s chest. Under the thin silk garment was an area of obvious muscular bulge. Though not as exaggerated as the blacksmith beating iron in the shop, it was still quite solid. Applying a bit of force, she could press down slightly.
Prince Hui being stroked: “…Don’t want to sleep?”
Yao Huang, growing more awake the more she touched, hurriedly turned away.