Chapter 88

Chapter 88

In the half month following Prince Qing's wedding, Yao Huang and Prince Hui maintained a routine of going out every other day.

The increased activity outside made certain thoughts fade upon returning to the residence, at least for Yao Huang. Prince Hui must have been tired as well, as he had been taking pure naps during the day for several days in a row. Only on the fifth night of the month and last night did Yao Huang think about her approaching menstrual cycle and worry that Prince Hui might be too pent up, so she specifically pushed him to the backyard. However, Prince Hui showed little interest, only holding her gently once.

Today is the Double Ninth Festival, although a minor festival, Prince Hui should still sleep on her side.

As the autumn nights grew longer, Yao Huang was awakened by Prince Hui in the pitch dark, unsure of the time. While cooperatively wrapping her arms around Prince Hui's neck, she thought hazily that a day of rest really made a difference. Whether staying in the residence or going out, Prince Hui spent most of his time in a wheelchair, yet the difference in physical exertion could be so significant?

When her mind was muddled by Prince Hui, the princess became incoherent again: "You deliberately keep me awake in the middle of the night, don't you? If you don't want to accompany me out, just say so! I'm not forcing you!" She wished she could rest for a few more days!

Since the princess brought it up herself, Zhao Sui paused and said, "It's not that I don't want to accompany you, I just don't want you to get tired."

Yao Huang: "I'm tired now too!"

Prince Hui fell silent.

The princess cried and got angry, her right hand wearing a green bracelet worth a thousand taels of silver clawed at his shoulders and neck.

She loved this bracelet too much, afraid to wear it out for fear of damaging it, and afraid to wear it to social events for fear of causing envy and trouble, so she only wore it while sleeping.

The princess's skin was as smooth as congealed fat, her arm raised high, the green bracelet had already slipped from her wrist to her elbow.

Finally, the princess's arms drooped like vines without support, the green bracelet pressed between her slightly sweaty skin and the brocade, moving back and forth on its own.

In the bed curtains, a pair of hands pressed on the princess's shoulders, and the sleeping princess unconsciously moved inward.

A Ji urgently said, "Princess, wake up, Prince Kang has brought the little prince to visit!"

It was already mid-morning, usually the princess could sleep as long as she wanted, but today with distinguished guests, if the princess delayed appearing, it would make Prince Kang suspicious.

Prince Kang and his son?

Yao Huang woke up, seeing A Ji and Lark behind her all ready to serve her in washing and dressing, she quickly got up, before washing her hands, she carefully took off the green bracelet and stored it in a silver box with gilded floral patterns. When Prince Hui brought the green bracelet from the jewelry store, it came with this silver box.

Lark combed the princess's hair, while A Ji held a bowl of silver ear and red date soup, feeding her spoon by spoon to prevent her from going to the social event on an empty stomach.

In the front courtyard of Ming'an Hall, Zhao Sui sat in a wheelchair to the north, Prince Kang sat on the left side of the long table, holding his five-year-old little prince in his arms.

"Go and greet your second uncle," Prince Kang encouraged, pushing his son.

The little prince shrank into his father's arms, secretly peeking at his second uncle in the wheelchair with round, grape-like black eyes.

When Zhao Sui went north to fight the Wu in the 27th year of Yongchang, the two-year-old little prince had no memory. After Zhao Sui returned injured from the battlefield last year and stayed secluded, the little prince had no chance to see this second uncle, making him almost a stranger. Plus, this second uncle looked cold and indifferent, seemingly not fond of him at all, so the little prince's timidity was understandable.

Prince Kang wanted to push his son again, but Zhao Sui said, "We are family, no need to stand on ceremony."

Prince Kang smiled awkwardly, looking outside for the umpteenth time, wondering why his talkative and cheerful sister-in-law hadn't arrived yet?

Suddenly, footsteps were heard outside, and soon, a figure in a white blouse and green skirt appeared at the door of the hall.

Seeing the situation inside, Yao Huang smiled and called out "Big Brother" to Prince Kang, then waved cheerfully at the little prince: "Dun'er is here, come and let your second aunt hold you."

The little prince was also shy with this second aunt, but she smiled so beautifully, and with a push from his father, the little prince cooperatively walked over.

Yao Huang led the little one to sit at the other end of the long table, then cradled the little prince in her arms, touching the tender cheeks unique to children, and pinching the little prince's chubby hands, sincerely praising, "Dun'er is so handsome."

Prince Kang had a long face and narrow eyes, while the little prince now looked like an oval face with peach blossom eyes, clearly resembling the former princess, a very handsome boy, but his forehead and eyebrows looked very much like Prince Kang, giving him a very upright air.

The little prince stared unblinkingly at his even prettier aunt.

The kitchen brought over pastries and fruits. While taking care of the little prince, Yao Huang glanced at the two princes who were both watching her and the child.

Guessing that Prince Kang had important business to discuss with Prince Hui, Yao Huang asked the little prince, "Your aunt has a little dog. Would you like to go see it?"

The little prince nodded eagerly.

Yao Huang then asked Prince Hui to host Prince Kang and took the little prince away.

Zhao Sui looked at Prince Kang.

Prince Kang: "...I'm fine, just my hands are itching, and I wanted to ask my second brother to play a game of chess with me."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Sui instructed Qing Ai to fetch the chessboard.

Prince Kang pulled up a chair to sit opposite his second brother, and they began to play chess in silence. As they played, Prince Kang recalled their youth when their father didn't want his second brother to stay shut in the study all day and asked him, as the elder brother, to find ways to take his second brother out. Prince Kang tried, and his second brother was willing to go out with him, but he had to rack his brains to keep the conversation going. If he didn't speak, his second brother would remain silent, making Prince Kang feel quite awkward.

When their father found out, he instructed him to accompany his second brother in doing things he loved.

Prince Kang asked, and his second brother said he liked reading, besides that, he also enjoyed playing chess and painting.

Painting was a solitary activity, so Prince Kang played chess with his second brother, always winning, which made him feel rather awkward. Later, when their father came to watch the brothers play chess and took him away, he scolded him: "It's one thing for the elder brother to be less skilled at chess than the younger brother, but you couldn't even tell that your second brother was letting you win all along!"

Remembering the past, Prince Kang looked up at his second brother and said, "Let's play honestly, you don't need to let me win. Although I'm not very good at chess, I can handle losing."

Zhao Sui nodded.

They played three games in a row, and Prince Kang lost every game.

Prince Kang turned to look outside and said, "The weather is nice, let me push you to the garden to enjoy the sunshine."

Zhao Sui: "..."

Prince Kang walked over to push his second brother's wheelchair, a look of relief on his face that his second brother couldn't see. But the next moment, he couldn't smile anymore, horrified as he stared at the thin red scratches on the back of his second brother's neck. He stopped abruptly, pulling his second brother's collar back to reveal more red marks hidden beneath.

Seeing this with his own eyes, Prince Kang was furious: "What happened, who did this to my second brother?"

Zhao Sui had noticed a slight sting when he wiped his neck and back with a towel last night but didn't think much of it. Now, being questioned by his elder brother, he immediately understood what had happened. After a brief silence, Zhao Sui explained, "It's hard to turn over at night, and my neck and back often get rashes. When they itch, I can't help but scratch."

The anger in Prince Kang's eyes quickly turned to heartache, his eyes even welled up with tears.

Zhao Sui didn't turn around, speaking in his usual tone, "I'm used to it, elder brother, there's no need to feel sorry for me. And please keep this a secret for me, I don't want people to worry about anything other than my legs."

Prince Kang remembered his mother's warning that disabled people hate sympathy the most because it's useless and only rubs salt in their wounds.

Prince Kang's throat tightened as he agreed.

When they reached the back garden of Prince Hui's residence and came to the north side of Cuiping Mountain, seeing the newly built ramp suitable for wheelchairs, Prince Kang once again truly felt the hardships his second brother had endured over the past year, his eyes filling with tears once more.

As they made their way to the west side of the lake, Prince Kang saw his sister-in-law. She threw a red cloth ball high into the air, and his son and a golden-haired puppy raced after it eagerly.

Looking at his sister-in-law's carefree smile, Prince Kang's expression hardened. He parked the wheelchair and let his second brother throw the cloth ball to the child, then walked over to his sister-in-law, standing with his back to his second brother, and whispered sternly, "My second brother's back is covered in rashes that he's scratched until they bled. How could you not see that?"

Yao Huang: "..."

Prince Hui's back feels as smooth as his face, he couldn't possibly have rashes!

However, if it's about scratching until bleeding, Yao Huang seemed to understand what was going on.

Her face grew hot as she lowered her head.

Prince Kang thought she was ashamed and continued, "It's to your credit that you can make my brother happy, but you need to be more attentive. At night, when my brother has difficulty turning over, you or Qing Ai should help him turn a couple of times, don't just sleep soundly without a care."

Yao Huang understood that Prince Hui must have been making up stories to Prince Kang, and Prince Kang, who had never been scratched by a former princess or concubine, actually believed Prince Hui.

Yao Huang wasn’t about to get upset with a clueless prince, and besides, such a misunderstanding was better than letting Prince Kang discover the couple's intimate matters.

"Understood, brother, rest assured, I will be more careful. Please also help us cover up this slip-up. I fear father will blame us if he finds out."

Prince Kang responded with a firm "Hmph."

Prince Kang and his son did not stay for a meal. Yao Huang pushed Prince Hui to escort them to the palace gate. Returning to Ming'an Hall, and taking advantage of Qing Ai and Fei Quan having left, Yao Huang stood behind and gently touched Prince Hui's neck: "Darling, why didn't you tell me about the rash? I got scolded by His Highness."

Zhao Sui: "...I’ll be more careful next time."

Seeing the normal expression on Prince Kang's face after speaking with her, Zhao Sui knew that the princess had cooperated with his excuse.

Yao Huang: "Who needs to be careful? Should I stop scratching you, or should you stop disturbing my sleep?"

Prince Hui did not answer.

This was his way of saying he wasn’t going to change. Yao Huang, annoyed, pushed the wheelchair forward.

Because the princess thought the wheelchair with push wheels was unsightly, Zhao Sui had recently been using the original lightweight red sandalwood wheelchair. Now pushed several steps away by the princess, Zhao Sui struggled to move the wheelchair himself and could only sit quietly in place.

Yao Huang walked over, pushed him into the hall, and asked curiously, "His Highness came at the end of the month, and now again today—is something going on?"

Zhao Sui: "Nothing, it's similar to his intention of pushing my wheelchair in the palace."

Half genuine, half for show.

Yao Huang thought for a moment before understanding. Emperor Yongchang’s concern for his disabled second son was plain for all to see. She had taken good care of Prince Hui, and Emperor Yongchang had rewarded her with a jade ruyi. If Prince Kang showed more concern for Prince Hui, Emperor Yongchang would surely praise him as a good elder brother.

Emperor Yongchang was already over fifty, and the crown prince would likely be chosen between Prince Kang and Prince Qing.

For the comfort of herself and Prince Hui, Yao Huang hoped that Prince Kang would ascend to the throne. Prince Qing seemed like someone who would often mock Prince Hui, and Zheng Yuanzhen had never treated her as a sister-in-law.

However, these matters were still far off, and Yao Huang dared not interfere, only cautiously observing. But Prince Kang’s visit today had actually given her a little help with her next move.