Thanks to the strict upbringing from Consort Du in his youth, Zhao Sui had long been accustomed to rising early around four quarters past the hour of Yin.
The room was pitch dark. Without needing anyone to wake him, Zhao Sui woke on his own, hearing the Princess Consort’s long, regular breathing beside him.
Zhao Sui lifted the blanket covering him and pressed it firmly between himself and the Princess Consort, then propped himself up with both hands to sit up.
Just as he gently placed both legs beneath the bed and prepared to retrieve the outer trousers the Princess Consort had re-draped over the wheelchair last night, there was movement behind him. Two arms like water snakes encircled his waist from left and right, immediately followed by the Princess Consort’s soft mumbling: “Your Highness, don’t go. Hold me a bit longer.”
Prince Hui took a deep breath, pressed down on the Princess Consort’s right index finger that was trying to snake into his waistband, and reprimanded in a low voice: “Stop fooling around.”
The Princess Consort immediately grew aggrieved: “These past few days I didn’t fool around. I was so virtuous—afraid of delaying Your Highness’s duties, I’d rather sleep alone on a lonely pillow and push Your Highness away. And the result? Your Highness actually blamed me for it, abandoned me to look at bamboo, and even demanded I repay a debt. Fine! Now I’m not being virtuous, and Your Highness blames me for fooling around.”
Zhao Sui tilted his head back, at the same time firmly pressing down the Princess Consort’s hand that still wanted to cause mischief. However, the Princess Consort had not only hands but also a mouth—like Jinbao, she came to bite his undergarment.
This kind of Princess Consort was simply asking for trouble. Zhao Sui wasn’t unable to spare a quarter-hour to punish her.
It was just that Qing Ai and her maids should all be waiting outside. If the Princess Consort’s cries truly carried out, what would they think?
Normally it would be one thing to hear it, but today was a day with a court assembly.
“Those two nights—no need to make them up.” Guessing what the Princess Consort was after, Zhao Sui compromised.
“Your Highness is so good. Your Highness should hurry to court and serve the Emperor Father with peace of mind.”
The water snake-like arms along with ten little snake fingers withdrew. Zhao Sui turned back to see the Princess Consort wrapped in the blanket, having rolled comfortably to the innermost side, the back of her head facing him.
He continued watching for a few more moments before beginning to dress.
Cold winter days were most suitable for sleeping in. Prince Hui’s mansion only had two masters. With His Highness departing early for duties, the sole female master, the Princess Consort, could naturally sleep as long as she wished.
At mid-hour of Si, Yao Huang finally woke up, somewhat hesitant whether to eat breakfast now or simply have something light and save her appetite to eat lunch directly.
Before she could decide, someone came from the front to report that Master Deng had delivered new wheelchairs.
Yao Huang quickly drank two mouthfuls of yam and lotus seed congee before going first to see Master Deng.
Only ten-some days had passed since the last wheelchair delivery. This time Master Deng brought only two golden nanmu wood wheelchairs, both equipped with wheels of noble golden hue. One four-wheeled chair was suitable for Prince Hui’s outdoor movement, while the three-wheeled one was for indoor use. Although heavier than the rattan chair, pushing it short distances made little difference, and sending it to the Ministry of Works office better suited Prince Hui’s status.
Yao Huang exclaimed, “So fast?”
Without Prince Hui present, Master Deng was much more at ease. Smiling, he explained: “This commoner is very experienced making wheelchairs for His Highness. The weapons workshop now has molds specifically for the large golden wheels and master blacksmiths who’ve mastered this craft. If His Highness truly only uses two colors of large golden wheels regularly, then the weapons workshop can forge a batch of wheels in advance. With this commoner keeping rosewood and golden nanmu wood ready for immediate use, crafting a wheelchair only requires five or six days.”
The apprentices handled the pure physical labor while he handled the meticulous carving requiring careful skill.
Yao Huang stroked the golden large wheels equipped on the golden nanmu wheelchair. The more she looked, the more she liked them. “The weapons workshop has regular duties, so the wheels should follow His Highness’s preferences—no need to devise new patterns. But as for wheelchair styles, I’ve thought of a new one. I’m afraid you won’t be able to enjoy leisure just yet.”
Master Deng was half nervous, half expectant: “Please speak, Princess Consort. Being able to serve His Highness and the Princess Consort, this commoner is happy to be busy.”
The new wheelchair with push rims was created for Prince Hui, but countless people with disabled legs could benefit from it in the future. Master Deng already viewed this wheelchair destined to be passed down through generations as his life’s greatest pride. He could die without regrets.
And all of this was an opportunity given to him by the Princess Consort before him.
Yao Huang smiled. “Don’t worry, this time it shouldn’t be so difficult.”
After explaining the new idea and having Master Deng make two more sets of rosewood and golden nanmu wheelchairs to keep at the mansion as spares, Yao Huang had Eunuch Cao see Master Deng off.
In the evening when Prince Hui returned from the Ministry of Works, he saw the two new golden nanmu wheelchairs in the front courtyard reception hall.
Yao Huang said, “Golden yellow truly shows dust less easily than purple. Tomorrow morning Your Highness should switch to this one. The Emperor Father bestowed so much golden nanmu wood on us in one go—he must also be hoping Your Highness will use it soon.”
Golden nanmu wood was for exclusive imperial use. As an imperial descendant, Prince Hui sitting in a golden nanmu wheelchair wouldn’t cause officials to gossip.
Zhao Sui nodded, though he was already very satisfied with the rosewood wheelchair he currently used.
After finishing dinner, Prince Hui still needed to bathe in the front. Yao Huang took away in advance the three-wheeled golden nanmu wheelchair that would henceforth remain in her room.
The Princess Consort’s action made Zhao Sui recall last night’s awkwardness before and after relieving himself.
But the Princess Consort wanted him to frequently stay in the rear courtyard, so Zhao Sui was willing to overcome that slight awkwardness.
As Yao Huang predicted, the officials didn’t pay much attention to Prince Hui’s brilliantly golden new wheelchair. After all, no matter how good this thing was, they couldn’t use it—they hoped they’d never need to use it in their lifetimes.
In a blink, it was the seventh of November. Master Deng, whom they hadn’t seen for over half a month, came to the mansion again. However, this time he also brought along the proprietor of the Beijing woodwork shop where he worked.
Eunuch Cao personally came to Ming’an Hall to fetch the Princess Consort.
Yao Huang asked curiously, “Proprietor Fu? What’s he here for?”
Although Master Deng was still nominally employed at the Fu family’s woodwork shop, this past half-year he’d been single-mindedly crafting various new wheelchairs for Prince Hui and was already seen by outsiders as a person of Prince Hui’s mansion. Prince Hui’s mansion basically had no relationship with the Fu family’s woodwork shop.
Eunuch Cao speculated, “He probably wants to discuss some business with the Princess Consort. What you had Master Deng create this time is a fine thing.”
Yao Huang’s heart beat faster. She had purely tried new methods for Prince Hui’s comfort, yet had actually produced something even Eunuch Cao acknowledged as good?
The seventeen-year-old Princess Consort liked gold and silver but had never handled any major business. Joy and excitement showed plainly on her face.
Eunuch Cao tactfully offered a reminder.
Yao Huang quickly calmed down. Silver or no silver, she was now a Princess Consort. She could be spontaneous and at ease, but couldn’t damage the Princess Consort’s dignity over money matters.
Arriving at the front, Proprietor Fu, visiting the mansion for the first time, barely glimpsed the Princess Consort’s magnificent skirt hem before hurriedly kneeling to kowtow. This forced Master Deng beside him, whom the Princess Consort had long exempted from such grand ceremony, to accompany his proprietor in kowtowing once through.
Yao Huang’s tone was mild: “Rise.”
The two men stood up.
Yao Huang first went to examine the items Master Deng had brought to the hall.
There were three chairs in total, all of golden nanmu wood. Two were Prince Hui’s three-wheeled and four-wheeled wheelchairs, while one was an armchair crafted for the Princess Consort.
Besides the large golden wheels, Prince Hui’s two wheelchairs still had golden nanmu chair frames, but the wooden chair seats that looked very hard were gone. In their place were yellowish-brown cowhide seats that looked very elastic. The cowhide’s outer edges were cleverly sewn in, forming a seamless whole with the entire wheelchair, completely without the deliberate feel of laying a cushion over a finished wooden chair.
Yao Huang first examined Prince Hui’s wheelchair, reaching out to press down. The cowhide surface sank into the shape of her hand, and when she released, the depressed cowhide bounced back.
Yao Huang then felt beneath the seat surface. A thin board was laid there to support the two-finger-thick cowhide seat.
Master Deng explained: “Inside the cowhide is a silk-faced cotton cushion with dense stitching ensuring even cotton distribution. It won’t deform even after a winter’s use.”
Yao Huang asked, “Why use cowhide?”
Even her centurion father had two pairs of cowhide official boots. These golden nanmu and rosewood chair frames of Prince Hui’s should be paired with more expensive animal pelts, shouldn’t they?
Master Deng replied, “This commoner inquired with experts from fur shops. Cowhide is most durable and sturdy. Fox fur, sable fur and such, though precious, aren’t suitable for prolonged sitting. This commoner boldly guesses His Highness might not want to frequently maintain wheelchairs because of animal pelt issues.”
Yao Huang nodded. Prince Hui was indeed this type of person. If his body were normal, it would be one thing, but a disabled person frequently wearing through animal pelt chair seats—was it that the pelts weren’t sturdy enough, or that Prince Hui’s bottom was too hard, or that he sat too long?
Yao Huang could attest that Prince Hui’s bottom wasn’t that hard. Outsiders didn’t know this. Rather than give people grounds for gossip and mockery, better to directly use sturdy cowhide. In any case, this color looked quite compatible with golden nanmu.
After inspecting Prince Hui’s wheelchair, Yao Huang looked at the armchair she’d specifically requested for her own use. Also a golden nanmu frame, but both the seat and backrest were padded with cowhide, with a layer of lustrous, fine, and supple golden brocade sewn over the cowhide.
Yao Huang sat on it to test. The cowhide seat and backrest were springy and comfortable. Never mind sitting on it being warm in winter—it would be comfortable in spring, summer, and autumn too!
Having tested it, Yao Huang smiled at Master Deng. “These chairs are also excellent. Master Deng put his heart into them.”
Master Deng dared not claim sole credit: “In response to the Princess Consort, this commoner only determined how to modify the chair seats. The sewing work for all three chair surfaces was completed by other master craftsmen at Proprietor Fu’s shop.”
Only then did Yao Huang look toward Proprietor Fu.
Proprietor Fu, however, believed it was entirely due to the Princess Consort’s clever idea that they had the opportunity to create such comfortable yet elegant armchairs.
After the compliments, Proprietor Fu bent deeply at the waist, earnestly requesting that the Princess Consort permit his woodwork shop to sell identical leather chairs, willing to give the Princess Consort a share of profits year after year.
Yao Huang and Eunuch Cao exchanged a glance.
The Great Qi Dynasty prohibited officials from directly engaging in commerce to prevent them from abusing power for private gain. Imperial relatives were the same, unless managing some enterprise on behalf of the court.
The shops and residences not for personal use belonging to Prince Hui’s mansion were all leased to merchants for rent only.
If Yao Huang accepted profit-sharing from the Fu family woodwork shop, she would be bound to the woodwork shop’s business. Perhaps it wouldn’t count as breaking rules, but word getting out wouldn’t sound good. If the woodwork shop then did anything outside using Prince Hui’s name, it would cause even more trouble for Yao Huang and Prince Hui.
Yao Huang replied with listless interest, “I don’t like doing business. Moreover, the leather chair idea came from Eunuch Cao. Whether you can use it, discuss with Eunuch Cao.”
Having said this, Yao Huang left.
After playing with Jinbao at Ming’an Hall for a while, Eunuch Cao came over. He took an envelope from his breast and handed it to the Princess Consort with a smile.
Yao Huang opened it. Inside were five one-thousand-tael banknotes!
Eunuch Cao was one of their own. Yao Huang didn’t hide her shock: “This much?”
Eunuch Cao explained: “The Fu family’s woodwork shop is the premier one in the capital, with branches in major provincial and prefectural cities. Once they spread word promoting that even His Highness and the Princess Consort favor their leather chairs, so many officials and wealthy merchants both in and outside the capital will surely go to his woodwork shop to order them. Even if other shops can imitate them identically, the Fu family will still be the first choice for discerning people.”
Any large business had to proceed step by step. Procuring wood and furs all took time. Proprietor Fu producing five thousand taels in one go was quite sincere.
Yao Huang certainly didn’t think it too little. Five thousand taels! Although it was merely Prince Hui’s noble stipend for one year, her father would need to serve as a centurion for over eighty years to earn this amount!