Chapter 14.1

Tonight, the wheelchair remained empty.

Yao Huang didn’t know how other newlywed couples spent their nights, nor did she understand how her husband, who had a leg disability, felt about it. Perhaps this was something that should be restrained, or perhaps the Prince simply wasn’t interested due to his condition.

Yao Huang felt relieved about the lack of pressure. They had only known each other for a few days, and every time the Prince’s hand reached out in the darkness and silence, she felt her heart race, making it hard to reconcile the Prince she saw during the day—silent and dignified—with the one at night, especially considering the sounds she made that embarrassed her to hear.

If both of them lost their composure, it might be easier to accept; however, it was only she who was overwhelmed, while the Prince merely breathed a little heavier, his gaze seemingly unchanged from the daytime.

Yao Huang was grateful that she had intentionally tousled her hair to mimic her earlier state when she looked in the mirror. The reflection didn’t look ugly; otherwise, with her hair a mess and crying out, she might have appeared as a madwoman in the Prince’s eyes, worsening their already fragile relationship.

Yao Huang had learned to cherish this opportunity to share a bed. Once under the covers, she skillfully hugged him.

The person in her arms remained still, only the rise and fall of his chest with each breath breaking the stillness.

In the pitch-black tent, she could barely make out the outline of Prince Hui from his jaw to his collarbone, occasionally seeing his Adam’s apple move up and down.

Inhaling the faint fragrance from him, Yao Huang praised, “Your Highness, the names of those four horses are really nice. Did you come up with them yourself?”

Zhao Sui: “Mm.”

Yao Huang: “Then help me name my horse too; I picked the chestnut-colored one.”

Zhao Sui thought for a moment and said, “Neon.”

Yao Huang liked it very much and admired him: “Your Highness must be very knowledgeable!”

Silence fell again.

Yao Huang laughed: “I shouldn’t have asked; you’re not one to boast about yourself.”

Still silence.

Yao Huang bit her lip and gently shook his shoulder: “Does Your Highness not like chatting with me? If so, I’ll just sleep quietly from now on and won’t bother you again.”

Zhao Sui: “…It’s not that.”

Yao Huang: “Then why are you so quiet?”

Zhao Sui: “I’m not good at chatting; I can only answer your questions.”

Yao Huang propped herself up, looking down at his hazy face, she smiled: “Whatever I ask, Your Highness will answer?”

Zhao Sui: “I’ll answer what I can.”

Yao Huang: “Then I have a lot of questions, but I’m afraid I might say something wrong and upset you.”

Zhao Sui: “I won’t answer questions that would upset me. Just don’t intentionally provoke me next time, and I won’t get angry.”

Yao Huang supported herself with her right arm, twirling a strand of hair with her left hand, and hummed: “If you weren’t a prince, I wouldn’t be so cautious with my husband. But since you are the Prince, I’m afraid you might unleash your royal authority at any moment. If it’s mild, you might just make me kneel in the ancestral hall, and even the servants would look down on me. If it’s severe, you might divorce me, making me the laughingstock of the entire capital.”

Zhao Sui chuckled softly, a brief and silent laugh that went unnoticed by his wife.

“Then you can choose not to treat me as a prince, and I won’t use my status to pressure you.”

Yao Huang: “Really?”

Zhao Sui: “Really. You don’t need to address me formally from now on.”

Yao Huang smiled, leaning closer to his ear, deliberately drawing out her words: “Your Highness, you—are—so—good.”

Zhao Sui turned his head to the other side.

Yao Huang guessed he might be ticklish and playfully blew gently into his ear.

Zhao Sui closed his eyes.

He didn’t dodge, which made it less interesting. Yao Huang leaned back on his shoulder again, asking him: “Does Your Highness feel sore sitting in the wheelchair all day?”

Zhao Sui: “…”

Yao Huang’s body stiffened: “I hope I didn’t offend you with my first question! Please don’t misunderstand; I just meant that the wheelchair is hard. If you sit for a long time and feel uncomfortable, I can sew a soft cushion for you.”

Yao Huang had always wondered why, in a royal household that enjoyed so much luxury, even carriages could fit so many exquisite items, yet no one thought to put a cushion on the Prince’s wheelchair.

Zhao Sui: “…No need. I don’t spend more time in the wheelchair than an ordinary official.”

Yao Huang: “Oh, so you lie down for the rest of the time?”

Zhao Sui: “I read. When I get tired, I lean on something and stand for a while.”

After hearing this, Yao Huang touched his left hand and felt a thick callus in his palm. She understood how it had come to be.

With so many thoughts, Yao Huang’s face grew warm as she buried her face in his shoulder: “No wonder Your Highness’s arms are so strong.”

He would only fully bear down on her at the end, relying on his arms to support himself during the process.

Zhao Sui: “…Do you want something?”

Yao Huang was embarrassed by the images in her mind, her voice soft and delicate: “Want what?” Powerful arms like the Prince’s?

Zhao Sui: “Nothing.”

Now Yao Huang realized what he meant, the intense embarrassment made her roll off him, hiding under the covers and pulling them over her head, indignantly justifying: “I didn’t! I was just complimenting you, did I say something wrong?”

Her hasty denial resembled a child who craved candy but stubbornly insisted otherwise, trying to cover it up.

Zhao Sui looked outside the tent: “Well, let’s sleep.”

As silence spread, Yao Huang, tucked under the covers, no longer felt so hot. Once her chaotic thoughts calmed down, she suddenly realized: did the Prince think of something himself, which is why he asked her that?

Hearing the Prince say such nice things, like not needing to treat him as a prince, she truly didn’t take him seriously. He might get angry.

Turning over, Yao Huang remained under the covers but gradually inched back toward the Prince, wrapping her arms around his waist. Her voice was as sweet as honey: “Does Your Highness want it? If you want, I want it too.”

Zhao Sui suddenly grasped her hand, deepening his voice: “Sleep. Tomorrow is the twenty-fifth, and I’ll still be here.”

If they did it tonight, they could do it again tomorrow night; she might feel resentful toward a disabled Prince who was still so greedy.

In the morning, Zhao Sui woke up first. Yao Huang, embarrassed by the “flirtations” from last night, pretended to be asleep under the covers, making sure her blanket was tightly wrapped around her. Soon, Qing Ai would only see her head.

Zhao Sui had sat up. Seeing her refusing to move, he looked at his legs and then shook the bell.

Qing Ai pushed the door open and, lowering his gaze, lifted the two layers of the bed curtains. He suddenly caught sight of a pair of red-bottomed slippers.

Not only was Yao Huang not accustomed to calling the eunuch to serve, but it was also Qing Ai’s first time facing the newlywed Princess in such an intimate setting. He steadied his heart and focused entirely on assisting the Prince with his clothing.

He was very skilled at this. In no time, he had pushed the Prince’s wheelchair out.

Yao Huang came back to life.

However, when they went to the front yard for breakfast, Yao Huang didn’t dare look at the Prince beside her. Her face was flushed with embarrassment, and she felt a surge of resentment. Clearly, it was the Prince who had initiated everything; she had only asked to please him, and he could have just cooperated. After one encounter, it would have been fine, but he had seriously refused her, making her seem thick-skinned.

Since their marriage, it was the first time Yao Huang hadn’t actively sought a conversation.

Zhao Sui could see her flushed face, which wasn’t her usual healthy complexion but rather the bashfulness of their first night together.

Zhao Sui silently served her a pan-fried dumpling.

The dumpling’s skin was slightly golden and each one was only the size of a thumb. They were arranged in a circle on a plate, with a small heap of green coriander in the center, purely for decoration.

“Thank you.” Yao Huang glanced at his chest as she thanked him, picked up a dumpling, dipped it in vinegar, and took a couple of bites.

Just as she scooped half a spoonful of red date yam porridge, another pan-fried dumpling was served to her.

Finally, Yao Huang looked directly at Prince Hui, seeing him calmly eating his own food. She understood that the Prince didn’t think there was anything wrong with what she had said last night.

Yet, Yao Huang still felt wronged. She wanted to tell him that she wasn’t such a frivolous girl. Her father might have a low-ranking official position, and her mother wasn’t a lady from a prominent family, but they had raised her well. She and her brother were both good children who understood etiquette, righteousness, and integrity!

Staring at that dumpling, Yao Huang slowly put down her chopsticks and lowered her head: “It’s all your fault! You clearly started it; I didn’t think about it at all. I was just afraid you’d get angry, which is why I said that.”