Chapter: 8.1

Yao Huang noticed that he was focused on eating, so she leisurely began to eat as well.

After they finished their meal, Zhao Sui explained the plans for the day: “We’ll go to the palace first, and when we return to the estate, I will accompany you to receive the courtesies from the servants of the manor.”

Yao Huang nodded.

Zhao Sui shook a small bell that was placed on the armrest of his wheelchair. The bell had a small mechanism that only made a sound when it was pressed and then shaken. Normally, it wouldn’t make a sound no matter how much it was jostled.

Qing Ai entered with the maids, and after the couple exchanged pleasantries, they were ready to depart.

The path from here to the main gate of the manor was smooth and flat. Outside the gate, a grand carriage, reserved for the Prince, was already waiting. The back door was open, and a sturdy wooden plank was securely set up as a slope to help him get inside.

The other eunuch, Fei Quan, was standing inside the carriage, wearing only white stockings. Qing Ai turned the wheelchair so that it faced away from the carriage door and carefully pushed the wheelchair up the slanted wooden plank. Once it reached the top, Fei Quan grabbed hold of the wheelchair. The spacious carriage had no main seat; that area was specifically designed to secure the wheelchair. After Yao Huang got into the carriage, she could only sit in the left-side seat, while the right side was occupied by a three-tiered rosewood cabinet.

Throughout the entire process, Prince Hui’s expression remained neutral, Qing Ai and Fei Quan were silent and respectful, and the guards on duty at the manor, as well as the guards who would accompany them on the journey, including Zhang Yue, all had serious and solemn faces.

Ah Ji was so startled that she held her breath and dared not look too much. Yao Huang, on the other hand, was more fascinated by the various methods of attending to the prince and took mental notes of the procedures.

Fei Quan jumped down and helped Yao Huang into the carriage.

After Yao Huang settled into her seat, she smiled at Prince Hui and then looked at the mechanism on the carriage used to secure the wheelchair.

Zhao Sui looked at her.

Yao Huang understood and pointed to a button mechanism. “When the prince wants to get off, I just press here and the wheelchair will move, right?”

Zhao Sui nodded.

Yao Huang smiled. “When the prince needs to get off later, you don’t need Fei Quan to come up. I’ll push you down myself.”

Zhao Sui replied, “It’s better to let Fei Quan do it.”

With the wheelchair and him together, she didn’t have enough strength.

Yao Huang realized he was underestimating her and decided to prove it to him later.

Leaving Chongren Alley, where Prince Hui’s residence was located, a majestic view

of the imperial palace walls stretched eastward. The red walls and golden tiles were

imposing and unreachable.

Prince Hui was unwell, and his carriage traveled slower than usual, but it only took

half an hour to reach the Xihua Gate of the imperial palace.

Unless there were matters of state, imperial relatives and nobles would usually enter and

exit the palace through the Donghua Gate or the Xihua Gate, whichever was closer.

The carriage came to a stop, and Yao Huang looked at the Prince Hui. Seeing that he had

no objections, she confidently walked to the wheelchair, unlocked the securing device, and

waited for Zhang Yue to open the carriage door from outside. Yao Huang had already

pushed the wheelchair to the middle of the carriage.

Outside the carriage, Qing Ai was taking a wooden ramp to place it on the carriage, while

Fei Quan had taken off his boots and stood on a clean blue silk cushion, ready to board.

When they saw the scene inside the carriage, both were startled.

Just as Zhao Sui was about to ask Fei Quan to come up, he heard the Princess’s cheerful

voice from above: “I will push His Highness out of the carriage, you two can catch him

below.”

Qing Ai and Fei Quan had been close attendants to the Prince Hui for over a decade.

When the Prince was healthy, they dared to use their wit to make him laugh. But after the

Prince’s illness, the entire mansion became filled with trepidation. Although Qing Ai

and Fei Quan, due to their deep master-servant bond, didn’t treat the Prince like a

dangerous beast, they still acted with utmost caution and respect, never daring to utter a

frivolous word.

A tone as lighthearted as the Princess’s hadn’t been heard in the royal mansion  for a year.

Qing Ai broke out in a cold sweat. How dare the Princess?

Fei Quan’s heart pounded. The Princess can’t act so recklessly! What if she drops the

Prince?

Before the thought could settle, Fei Quan had already spoken, his expression respectful:

“No need, Princess. Let this servant do it.”

Yao Huang replied: “There’s not much space in the carriage. It’ll be too crowded if you

come up. Qing Ai, set up the ramp.”

Qing Ai looked at the Prince in the wheelchair.

Zhao Sui looked impassively at the wooden ramp in Qing Ai’s hand.

Qing Ai understood the Prince’s silent permission. He lowered his head and set up the

ramp. Fei Quan had to step aside to put on his boots. The guard, Zhang Yue, stepped

forward, ready to assist at any moment.

The wooden ramp connecting the carriage to the ground was long and slanted, with

auspicious patterns carved into its surface to prevent slipping from boots and the

wheelchair.

Qing Ai stepped up first, bending slightly as he gripped the sides of the wheelchair. In his

line of sight, the Prince’s hands were gripping the armrests, the backs of his hands taut.

As the wheelchair tilted, Zhao Sui, whose legs were weak, had to exert strength with his

arms to maintain his balance in the seated position.

Seeing that both were ready, Yao Huang said, “Let’s go.”

Qing Ai immediately exerted all his strength.

Yao Huang had already pulled the wheelchair upward to lessen Qing Ai’s burden, but as

Qing Ai exerted force, the wheelchair not only failed to move downward but instead shifted

further into the carriage.

Yao Huang: “…”

Realizing he had miscalculated, Qing Ai quickly adjusted his strength.

Finally, the wheelchair began to move downward. Feeling Qing Ai’s strength, Yao Huang

gradually reduced her effort to about sixty percent, allowing both her and Qing Ai to move

forward with ease.

Cooperation is mutual. Realizing that the princess consort wasn’t as delicate as he had

thought, Qing’ai gradually relaxed.

Zhao Sui couldn’t see his consort, but he could observe the bulging veins on the back of

Qing’ai’s hands slowly return to normal.

So, the princess consort wasn’t naïve or reckless; instead, she had a well-thought-out plan.

They got off the carriage smoothly, but the road ahead turned out to be more complicated

than Yao Huang had imagined.  

From Xihua Gate to the central palace, there were countless high and low thresholds and stone steps.

Every time they reached one, Qing’ai and Fei Quan had to lift the wheelchair. And every time they did, it served as a stark reminder to the palace servants—and to the princess consort—of Prince Hui’s “incapacity.”

Walking slightly behind, Yao Huang observed Qing’ai and Fei Quan’s lowered eyes as they

strained to maintain an appearance of effortlessness while lifting the wheelchair. He also

noted Prince Hui’s calm, expressionless face, which made Yao Huang feel uneasy.

It wasn’t about emotions—it was a natural sympathy and pity that a healthy person might

feel toward someone with a physical disability.

But even without the female doctor’s reminder, Yao Huang knew that sympathy was the last

thing Prince Hui needed.

Once they were back on flat ground, Yao Huang tried to lighten the mood. Pulling out a

handkerchief to wipe his forehead, he said, “The weather is really warming up. We’ve only

gone a short way, and I’m already sweating.”

At that moment, Qing’ai, who was pushing the wheelchair, glanced at the princess consort

and quickly signaled with his eyes. Fei Quan, walking two steps behind, caught the cue as

well. In front of the prince, they couldn’t use the word “walk”!

Yao Huang lowered her head to speak to Prince Hui but missed his subtle glance.

Zhao Sui cast a quick look at Yao Huang’s elaborate attire and then at her flushed face,

which was clearly reddened by the warm sunlight.

He simply said, “We’re almost there.”

In the palace, rules were many, and some things could only be endured.

Yao Huang, however, noticed that under the sunlight, Prince Hui’s face was excessively

pale—a pallor brought about by long periods of staying out of the sun.

The elders often said that children needed plenty of sunlight to grow strong. Yao Huang

didn’t know if there was any truth to that, but she felt that a person with a bit of color in

their complexion was much more pleasant to look at.

With that thought, Yao Huang deliberately moved to the other side of Prince Hui, ensuring  he could be exposed to more sunlight.

Her sudden change of position was so abrupt that Qing’ai and Fei Quan’s gazes followed her

in a half-circle. Zhao Sui also noticed her movement and vaguely guessed her intent, but he

didn’t ask.

With all the pushing and lifting, the four of them finally arrived at the central palace.

Emperor Yongchang, Empress Zhou, and the three imperial concubines were all present,

along with the eldest and second princesses, whom Yao Huang had briefly met the night

before.