Chapter 173

Chapter 173

After chatting with the emperor and empress in the imperial garden, the crown prince and his wife were ordered to take Yun Er back to the Eastern Palace to rest.

Having returned from a long journey, Yao Huang, as usual, first took a bath to wash off the journey's dust. Then, she sat on the heated daybed in the adjoining room to dry her hair while playing with Yun Er. She also summoned the wet nurse, Chun Yan, and Nanny Liu one after another to check on how Yun Er had been during her and the crown prince’s absence from the capital, as well as the various affairs inside and outside the Eastern Palace. When Nanny Liu said Prince Kang's wife still hadn't delivered, Yao Huang let out a relieved sigh—she had promised Chen Ying that she would visit once Chen Ying delivered.

By the time she finished her checks, the crown prince came in, and Nanny Liu took her leave.

Yao Huang gathered Yun Er into her arms, and the mother and child both looked outside, waiting for the crown prince to sit beside them. Once he did, Yao Huang placed Yun Er between them.

Zhao Sui liked to wear jade ornaments, and Yun Er loved grabbing his father’s jade pendant to chew on it happily, not needing any coaxing from his parents.

Yao Huang, catching the familiar medicinal oil scent on the crown prince, asked with concern, "We were delayed for two days on the road—did it mess with your therapy routine?"

Zhao Sui replied, "It was fine."

I found ways to work out in the carriage, though it wasn’t something he could easily explain to the crown princess.

Yao Huang leaned against the crown prince’s shoulder and gently touched his leg. "How strange. I never used to think about making you hold me every day, but ever since you mentioned that you shouldn't put weight on your legs lately, I keep wanting to climb into your lap whenever I see you."

Zhao Sui: "..."

Recalling how the crown princess used to casually climb into his lap, Zhao Sui could understand her impulse. Just as he had been living like a monk before meeting her, now that she was constantly by his side...

Suppressing that inappropriate thought, Zhao Sui slightly parted his legs, allowing the crown princess to sit between them.

Yao Huang carefully avoided Yun Er and sat down with a smile, leaning back against the crown prince’s chest.

Zhao Sui rested against a silk upholstered cushion, holding the crown princess in his arms. Before him were her soft, fluffy strands of hair, and beside them was their adorable, innocent child.

The family of three was enjoying this peaceful moment when a eunuch from Qian Yuan Hall arrived, announcing that the crown prince had performed his duties well and the emperor had sent a reward.

Since the reward was for the crown prince, Yao Huang didn’t need to make an appearance, saving her from having to fix her hair.

Watching the crown prince push his three-wheeled chair out the door, Yao Huang pinched Yun Er’s chubby little foot and muttered under her breath, "His Majesty is something else. If he wanted to reward you, he could’ve done it in the imperial garden. Why make Father trouble himself moving from the couch to the wheelchair twice?"

Yun Er couldn’t understand what his mother was saying—and if he could, Yao Huang wouldn’t dare say it, lest the little royal grandson accidentally spill the words in front of his grandfather.

After a while, the crown prince returned. Yao Huang glanced toward the door and first saw his legs resting on the wheelchair, followed by a lavishly decorated jewelry case adorned with a circle of gemstones placed on his lap.

The previously languid crown princess immediately sat up straight, staring at the jewelry case. "This... this is His Majesty’s reward for you?"

Zhao Sui replied, "Yes, that’s what the verbal order said."

Yao Huang suppressed a laugh and glanced at the crown prince’s head. "Since when did Your Highness develop a taste for jewelry?"

Zhao Sui met her gaze and said, "I don’t. I’ll tell Qing Ai to store it away."

Yao Huang quickly moved to the edge of the couch and reached for the jewelry case. "Wait, let me see what’s inside first. Maybe there are jade hairpins or crowns for men."

Zhao Sui pressed down on her smooth, pale hand and helped place the rather heavy jewelry case on the couch.

Yao Huang eagerly opened it and found seven gold and gemstone-encrusted pieces of jewelry laid on a silk cushion inside. At the center was a hand-sized flower-shaped hair ornament with three layers of petals, each embedded with a gemstone.

Before she could finish counting the outer layer, the crown prince said beside her, "It’s said to be a twenty-one-piece jeweled headdress set."

Twenty-one pieces?

Yao Huang was stunned, then realized the jewelry case had multiple layers. She lifted the first layer and, sure enough, revealed a second layer with seven more pieces. Lifting that layer exposed yet another one beneath!

With no outsiders present, Yao Huang laid out all twenty-one gemstone jewelry pieces on the couch at once and began counting the gems one by one. When she reached over a hundred, the Crown Prince suddenly handed her a handkerchief.

Yao Huang touched her lips in disbelief—no drool.

Zhao Sui: "Mumbling already? It must be close."

Yao Huang smacked him in annoyance and was about to continue counting when she realized she’d lost track!

The prince chuckled beside her, provoking Yao Huang to smack him again. She didn’t need his help anyway—she could just start over.

Excluding those on the box itself, there were 218 gemstones in total, ranging from the size of pigeon eggs to peanuts. Including those embedded in the box, there were eighteen more!

Clutching the jewelry box, Yao Huang asked the prince, "Aren’t gemstones supposed to be precious? How does Father Emperor have such a bottomless trove of gems to gift?"

The last time, the peony hairpin studded with gems had left Yao Huang worried that she alone might deplete Emperor Yongchang’s gemstone reserves. But today, the emperor had left her speechless again with an entire box of gemstone jewelry!

Zhao Sui explained, "They’re precious because gemstone mines are rare. But once discovered, they belong to the imperial court, and private mining is forbidden. So every year, a batch of gemstones is sent to the capital. Father Emperor allocates some to the Wensi Academy to craft jewelry or objects inlaid with gems, which are then bestowed upon the royal family or officials."

Yao Huang understood: "So Father Emperor still has plenty of gemstones, and I don’t need to worry about leaving him penniless?"

Zhao Sui laughed.

The crown princess suddenly pecked his cheek. "You must have credited me for your leg’s recovery, so Father Emperor rewarded me."

Just as Zhao Sui was about to lower his gaze, he noticed Yun Er propping up his head, his keen phoenix eyes glued to them.

Zhao Sui: "...Keep those gems away from Yun Er."

Yun Er couldn’t chew through jade pendants, but the small gems embedded in jewelry might be gnawed off and swallowed.

So Yao Huang scooped Yun Er up, holding him with one hand while placing the jewelry back into the box with the other. She first made Yun Er count to twenty-one, then closed the lid and patted it. "See? Just now, Grandfather called your father away just to gift him these treasures. So Grandfather is the best grandfather in the world, and Yun Er must grow up to be filial to him."

Yun Er imitated his mother by patting the lid.

That night, the Crown Prince chided the crown princess about decorum for the first time in a while: "From now on, no improper behavior in front of Yun Er."

Yao Huang: "Fine. I’ll ogle the gems out of his sight."

She was a girl from humble beginnings, and it was natural for her to be dazzled by such rare treasures. But Yun Er was a little prince reared in royal opulence—he ought to emulate the prince and the eldest princess, who wouldn’t deign to pocket gold coins raining from the heavens. Of course, he only needed to adopt the attitude, not actually treat his own wealth carelessly.

Zhao Sui: "...Not just that."

Yao Huang was puzzled. "Did I do something else improper?"

Zhao Sui glanced at her lips, glistening like rubies in the lamplight.

Yao Huang: "...He’s only six months old. What could he possibly understand? Don’t worry, Your Highness. Once he’s old enough to notice, I promise I won’t accost you in public or private, so you’ll never risk embarrassment."

She said it with a laugh, then turned away to lie down.

Zhao Sui reeled her in and kissed the side of her neck.

Yao Huang grumbled, "Yun Er doesn’t like seeing improper things, and I don’t like doing them either. Please restrain yourself, Your Highness."

Ignoring her, the prince shoved her inner robe off one shoulder.

Soon, artisans from the prince’s old estate arrived at the Eastern Palace with the hardwood railings dismantled from Prince Hui’s bamboo courtyard.

It wasn’t that the prince was too cheap to get new ones—rather, the old railings had been worn smooth by years of his hands, while new ones might chafe his palms.

These craftsmen were all seasoned hands, and it took them only half a day to firmly install the handrails.

To ensure the Crown Prince had ample time to practice walking during his duties, Emperor Yongchang specially granted him an extra half-hour of rest at noon each day. After all, he was now solely in charge of the firearms workshop, overseeing the development of gunpowder weapons, and could manage his daily workload at his own pace.

Thus, after finishing his morning duties, Zhao Sui would return directly to the Eastern Palace to have lunch with the Crown Princess, then dedicate the extra half-hour to leg exercises and massage.

On the sixth day of the ninth month, Prince Kang’s residence sent joyful news—Lady Chen had given birth, and both mother and daughter were safe and well.

After informing the Crown Princess, Yao Huang left the palace, accompanied by the eunuch sent by the Noble Consort to deliver gifts.

Chen Ying, who had just woken from a nap, gave a weak but tender smile to the Crown Princess by her bedside. "You could’ve just come for the third-day ceremony. Why the rush?"

Yao Huang whispered, "I’ll jump at any chance to get out of the palace! It’s not like I came just to see you."

Chen Ying smiled even more brightly.

Yao Huang asked if she had been afraid during childbirth.

Chen Ying shook her head. "I was in too much pain to think about anything else. Before the birth, I did have some wild thoughts, but remembering that Her Highness the Crown Princess in the palace was thinking of me, I wasn’t afraid anymore."

Even the Noble Consort had praised Yao Huang as a woman blessed with good fortune, and indeed, her path had been one of abundant blessings. Chen Ying thought to herself, surely the close friends of such a fortunate person must also share in that luck. Otherwise, if anything happened to her, wouldn’t Yao Huang, the fortunate one, be heartbroken?

Yao Huang laughed at this. "Who cares if it’s logical? If it makes you feel better, then it’s true!"

After visiting Chen Ying, it was time for Yao Huang to return to the palace. Prince Kang, leading his young son, came to see off his sister-in-law, the Crown Princess.

Yao Huang had little to say to Prince Kang. That evening, she asked the Crown Prince, "Did Your Highness tell Elder Brother about your legs?"

If not, when the Crown Prince suddenly appeared standing before Prince Kang one day, though he’d surely be overjoyed, might he later feel that his little brother had hidden it from him all this time—like they weren’t real brothers?

Zhao Sui replied, "If he enters the palace tomorrow, I’ll invite him to the Eastern Palace for lunch."

These past few days, Prince Kang’s mind had been preoccupied with Lady Chen, so Zhao Sui hadn’t wanted to trouble his elder brother with his own affairs.

The next day, Prince Kang did indeed come to the palace for duty. After all, this wasn’t his first kid, and both Chen Ying and their daughter were in good health, leaving him little to worry about.

After a busy morning, he was brought to the Eastern Palace by his younger brother at noon. Prince Kang even chided Zhao Sui for being overly formal. "This is my fourth kid already. No need to make such a fuss over me. When Yun Er was born, I, as the elder brother, didn’t even think to invite you for a drink."

Zhao Sui smiled, then slowly pushed himself up from the table with both hands. His right hand shook slightly as he lifted the wine jug, trembling as he poured a cup for his elder brother.

Prince Kang’s eyes glistened in shock.

Zhao Sui sat back in his wheelchair, explaining only that he’d found out his legs could move again during a hunt. He then asked Prince Kang to keep it a secret for the time being.

Choking up, Prince Kang said, "Very well. Today, you host me. When you’ve fully recovered, your big brother will throw you a proper celebration!"