Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Yao Huang leaned against Prince Hui’s shoulder, her thin eyelids lightly closed, still able to feel the soft light from the lotus-shaped candle stand opposite the traditional Chinese daybed.

In the quiet night, her breathing was irregular, mixed with the rustling sound of Prince Hui’s hand moving against the silk fabric.

Yao Huang knew that Prince Hui had been watching her, as intently as when he painted her.

Yao Huang hoped she still looked good at this moment, but she couldn’t keep her voice steady.

She covered his hand and whispered, "Your Highness, let’s move to the bed."

Prince Hui didn’t respond, nor did he let go of her hand.

In her haze, Yao Huang remembered that he had once suggested staying here, but she had refused. Now that he had gone through so much effort to move to the daybed, why would he give up now?

Realizing that she couldn’t avoid it tonight, Yao Huang turned her head to look at the door of the inner chamber, which was still slightly ajar, with light inside and darkness outside. As long as Lark came close to the door...

Yao Huang managed to squeeze out a voice, "Alright, let’s do it here. But let me hang a piece of clothing to cover the gap?"

Prince Hui stopped his hand and looked at her evasive eyes, saying, "Leave the light on."

Yao Huang almost called him a 'jerk.'

Feeling weak, Yao Huang got off the bed and went to the wardrobe to grab a long skirt. She walked lightly to the door, planning to hang it on the hooks on both sides of the door latch. However, the gap was too small; the long skirt could only block the lower half of the door seam, while the upper part remained exposed, with nothing to hang on.

Yao Huang tilted her head, estimating the distance from the daybed to here. Thinking that the sound would travel straight over, she decided to open the door.

A lamp was still lit in the side room, and bedding was laid out on the floor. Lark was dozing pitifully on the table.

Yao Huang coughed.

Lark suddenly sat up straight, saw the princess, remembered what had happened before sleeping, and stood up to ask, "Is His Highness done painting? Do you need water?"

There was a basin of clean water and a pot of warm water in the room. Yao Huang couldn’t bear to trouble Lark and the water room maids in the middle of the night, so she said, "No need. You, move the bedding to the main room."

Lark thought of something, her face turned red, and she quickly picked up the bedding and went out, leaving the princess looking conflicted.

With fewer people around, Yao Huang latched the door and saw that Prince Hui on the daybed had picked up the novel she had thrown aside and was pretending to read it, leaning against the pillow. Yao Huang was in no hurry now and walked to the easel to look at her painting.

At this glance, Yao Huang was actually captivated by the image of herself in the painting. The painted colors were different from her reflection, but the woman lying on the bed in Prince Hui’s brush could still be recognized as the princess at first glance. The ink brush outlined two slender eyebrows, cinnabar dots painted two red lips, and a light blush was applied to the cheeks.

The entire painting, from the person to the hem of the skirt, exuded a soft, serene beauty.

"Do you like it?"

Yao Huang looked up and met Prince Hui’s gaze.

Yao Huang pointed to the corner of her mouth that she couldn’t suppress, letting him see.

Prince Hui said, "Take it down and lay it flat on the table to dry. We’ll have it framed tomorrow."

Yao Huang carefully took the painting off the easel and, before placing it on the table, thoroughly checked the surface to ensure there were no water stains.

After laying it out, Yao Huang examined it once more, then returned to the daybed. She bowed her head, wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and whispered shyly, "For the sake of that painting, I’ll comply with you tonight."

.

Facing each other, Yao Huang was closer to Prince Hui’s face than ever before, so close that with a slight lift of her head, she could fall into his eyes.

Prince Hui had the pillow and bed railing behind him, but he didn’t want to lean back. He supported himself with one hand on the cool mat to maintain balance and reached for her collar with the other.

Yao Huang averted her gaze.

Zhao Sui reminded her, "You’ll need to handle the trousers yourself."

Yao Huang's eyelashes trembled even more as she heard him add, "Mine too."

At the thought, Yao Huang instantly shrank back, her reason being the one that had always lingered in her heart: "Let’s just lie down. I’m worried I might hurt your leg."

She always thought Prince Hui’s leg was more fragile than most, and it needed to be treated with care, not pressed or hit.

Normally, Zhao Sui might’ve overanalyzed her words, but at this moment, he didn’t care. But it didn’t hurt to scare her a little; a timid princess would be more willing to cooperate with him.

Then, Yao Huang heard the prince’s flat, emotionless tone: "It’s not like it can get any worse."

Yao Huang: "..."

She realized her mistake—she shouldn’t have brought up his leg or its condition. Her careless words must’ve hit a sore spot, which made him turn cold.

Yao Huang glanced at him nervously: "Your Highness, I didn’t mean it."

Zhao Sui: "I know."

After a pause, Zhao Sui picked up where he left off, while Yao Huang just closed her eyes, not daring to say another word.

.

Thankfully, her pressing didn’t make Prince Hui’s leg any worse, but Yao Huang’s knees were red from prolonged contact with the cool mat.

In the heat of the moment, Yao Huang hadn’t felt any discomfort, but once it was over and she could finally get down, the movement sent a sharp pain through her, making her gasp.

Zhao Sui reclined against the pillow, propped up by the bed’s headboard, and upon hearing the sound, he looked down, just in time to catch her wincing as she lifted her left knee, which was red and startling against her pale skin.

Zhao Sui quickly sat up and moved her aside, carefully examining her calves. Fortunately, the cool mat in the prince’s residence was finely woven and smooth, so it didn’t break the princess’s skin.

But it was enough to leave Yao Huang feeling slighted. She grabbed her undergarments to cover herself and softly complained, "I told you we should’ve gone to the bed, but you insisted on staying here. You were fine, but I was the one who ended up hurting."

In the last moment, Zhao Sui had indeed only thought of himself. Avoiding her gaze, he said, "From now on, I’ll do as you say. There’s medicine in the residence; call a maid to get it."

Yao Huang, both embarrassed and annoyed, said, "As if you’re not worried people will figure out what we were up to, huh?"

Zhao Sui: "..."

Yao Huang pressed on her reddest knee, and after a moment, the pain began to ease. She sighed in relief, "Let’s just get some proper sleep for the rest of the night; it should be better by morning."

After saying that, she sneaked a peek at Prince Hui, still lying motionless. During the intense moments, she hadn’t dared to look, but now...

Zhao Sui promptly pulled up his trousers.

Yao Huang felt both envious and angry. The prince’s ease in taking off and putting on his trousers was so convenient, unlike her, who had to find all her clothes and put them back on piece by piece.

"I’m getting down now; turn around, Your Highness."

Zhao Sui cooperatively turned his head.

Yao Huang fumbled as she got dressed, picked up the water jug, and mixed two basins of warm water. She brought one to the couch for the prince and carried the other to the bathroom for herself.

When she came out, Zhao Sui had also finished wiping himself and was sitting in the wheelchair.

Yao Huang pushed him back into the canopy bed, and the couple lay down at opposite ends with clear boundaries.

The lights were already out, but the memory of what happened on the couch stayed with Yao Huang. Although it was different from what the court lady had taught her, it was more or less the same, except that the prince had changed from lying flat to leaning against the pillow, and ninety-nine percent of the effort was his.

Pulling the quilt over her head, Yao Huang turned around under the covers, feeling so embarrassed, as the prince had seen everything clearly.

"Don't smother yourself," Zhao Sui pulled the quilt away from her head.

Yao Huang pulled it back on purpose.

Suddenly, Zhao Sui moved over, threw off the quilt, and held her tightly from behind.

Yao Huang panicked for a moment, but once she was sure he meant no harm, she obediently let him hold her, her fingertips gently tracing along his strong arm: "Isn't it something? We've only known each other for half a month, and yet we’ve already done that. Since I grew up, even my mother hasn’t bathed me much; it's always been A Ji."

Zhao Sui remained habitually silent.

Yao Huang: "What’s even more incredible is that you're a prince. With how distant you are during the day, who’d have thought that at night, you’d also..."

Zhao Sui covered her mouth.

Yao Huang pulled his hand away, turned to face him, and insisted on saying: "Prince, you’ll do it but won’t own up to it?"

Zhao Sui: "Keep talking, and you’ll be crying later."

Yao Huang: "..."

She quietly put some distance between them.

Zhao Sui lay back in his original position: "Sleep now. We’ll see how things are in the morning. If it’s hard to walk, we’ll need an excuse to miss the palace banquet."

Yao Huang obediently went to sleep right away.

With her mind racing, Yao Huang woke up as soon as Zhao Sui sat up in the morning. Without a word, she pulled off the quilt and rolled up her pant legs.

Zhao Sui was just as concerned, and then he saw two fair and well-proportioned legs, with only the toenails painted in bright red.

A pale hand suddenly covered his eyes: "You're not allowed to look."

Mulling over the palace banquet, Zhao Sui silently moved to the wheelchair.

After breakfast at Ming'an Hall, Zhao Sui said: "We’ll leave at the end of the hour. Take your time getting ready."

Yao Huang nodded, watching Qing Ai push the prince away, wondering what was so special about the bamboo courtyard. With less than an hour left, he still insisted on returning to the bamboo courtyard.

Yao Huang first took her four maids to look at the painting.

A Ji: "It’s stunning, like a fairy coming down to earth."

Lark: "Yes, it's really beautiful."

Chun Yan: "I can imagine the look in the prince's eyes when he painted the princess. Only with real love could he paint so vividly and beautifully."

Qiu Chan: "An afternoon plus an evening. By the way, how long did the prince paint last night?"

Lark: "Two hours."

Yao Huang overheard and casually said: "It didn’t take that long. It was done just after the second watch."

Lark: "But I saw that it was almost the third watch when you..."

Halfway through, Lark suddenly realized that although the inner chamber's light was on from the second watch to the third watch, that didn’t mean the prince was still painting the princess.

At this, all four maids blushed.

Yao Huang felt like slapping herself for saying that extra sentence.

Since Yao Huang was now familiar with Eunuch Cao, she sent for him to arrange the mounting of the painting. After all, it was a painting from her boudoir and not suitable for the steward Guo Shu to see.

Upon seeing the painting, Eunuch Cao heaped praise on both the prince and the princess.

When it was almost time, Yao Huang, all dressed up, arrived at the front courtyard. She didn't wait long before Qing Ai pushed the prince over. Prince Hui, seated in a rosewood wheelchair, wore a brocade robe with a crimson base and black collar. As long as one didn't look at his face, he still looked festive.

Once in the carriage, Yao Huang couldn't contain her excitement: "My Prince, besides the banquet, what other celebrations are there in the palace for the Dragon Boat Festival?"

Zhao Sui: "In the past, there were dragon boat races, and after the feast, we watched willow shooting and polo."

Yao Huang: "I've seen dragon boat races and polo among the common folk, but what is willow shooting?"

Zhao Sui: "A pigeon is placed inside a gourd, and the gourd is tied to a willow branch. When the gourd is shot and breaks, the pigeon flies out. The one whose pigeon flies the highest wins."

Yao Huang: "Ah, what if someone is too strong and shoots the pigeon dead with an arrow..."

Zhao Sui: "The gourd is so light that it sways when hit, softening the arrow's impact."

Sway...

Yao Huang glared at him and turned her head away.

It wasn't until Prince Hui saw the princess's cheeks turn red that he realized why she had glared at him.