Chapter 25

Yao Huang still remembered the torment of being scrutinized by the Prince last time, so she pushed the wheelchair to the edge of the bed. She was about to extinguish the lamps in the room.

The brightest ones were a pair of gilded lotus lamps. Each candlestick extended three lotus lamp holders, holding three four—finger—thick candles.

A little breeze could seep in through the cracks in the window. The pale yellow candle flames flickered gently, like her heart, which was beating wildly.

As she approached, Yao Huang picked up the lampshade placed beside her and was about to put it over one of the candles when she heard the Prince’s voice behind her, “Leave them on for now.”

Leave them on for what?

The Prince didn’t say anything, but Yao Huang knew. He hadn’t brought a book tonight. Besides looking at her, there was nothing else for him to look at.

And that calm, almost commanding tone made Yao Huang unable to even think about negotiating. The Prince was easy to talk to during the day, but at night, he was always strong and domineering. Even if he comforted her when she cried pitifully, he would continue what he was doing. He was very hard-hearted.

Putting down the lampshade, Yao Huang walked back slowly, lowering two layers of curtains. The room was still very bright.

The wheelchair was empty, but Yao Huang knew that didn’t prove anything. The Prince could have taken off his pants in the middle of it all. After all, she was facing away from him and couldn’t see.

Blushing, she climbed onto the bed and lay down on the inside, nervously waiting for the familiar chest to press against her.

Thinking about the Prince, Yao Huang didn’t even notice that she had naturally curled her legs forward, anticipating his approach.

Zhao Sui saw it all clearly, but he didn’t want his Princess Consort to think that he stayed tonight purely for that.

He lay flat on his back, facing the canopy, and asked, “Don’t you want to see me?”

Yao Huang blinked, “No, I do.”

Zhao Sui said, “Then why are you in that posture?”

Yao Huang: “…”

It was a misunderstanding, but Yao Huang couldn’t explain it. She was just burning with frustration.

She turned over and looked at the Prince across from her with resentment. “I want to see you, Prince. I wish I could keep my eyes open from day to night, and then from night to dawn. Are you satisfied now?”

Zhao Sui glanced at her his voice flat. “Don’t talk nonsense. Before, you liked to hold me and chat for a while. Tonight, you’re acting like this. What is it if not anger?”

Yao Huang still couldn’t argue because arguing would only add to her embarrassment.

Since he wanted to hear her chatter, Yao Huang pretended nothing was wrong, hugged him, and pressed her cheek against his shoulder. “Alright, I’ll chat with you now, Prince. What do you want to hear?”

Zhao Sui said, “What happened to Pan Xu Niang after Li Dashi died?”

Yao Huang said, “She’s powerless and without influence. Even if she wanted to seek justice for her husband, she wouldn’t be able to. She can only try to make the best of her situation and live a good life.”

Zhao Sui asked, “Tell me more.”

Yao Huang continued, “She sold all of her family’s land to pay for the lawsuit. She was left penniless. Thankfully, she met a kind farmer who was willing to let her farm two acres of his land…”

Zhao Sui interrupted, “Does this farmer have a wife? Otherwise, helping a widowed woman like that could lead to gossip.”

Yao Huang said nothing.

She was telling a story, and he was asking all these questions. If it weren’t for the fact that the storybook was inappropriate to show others, she would have thrown it at the Prince and let him read it himself.

Yao Huang started making things up, “There was some gossip, so after Pan Xunniang saved up enough food for a year, she stopped renting the farmer’s land and went to town to find work. She was lucky enough to save the old mother of a blacksmith. The old woman, knowing her situation, took her in as her adopted daughter. From then on, she worked as a laborer at the blacksmith’s shop, supporting herself.”

Zhao Sui said, “Continue.”

Yao Huang replied, “I only got to this part. I haven’t had time to read the rest. I’ll tell you more after I finish reading it.”

Zhao Sui said, “Alright. I’m not sleepy yet. Bring it over, and I’ll read it myself.”

Yao Huang was dumbfounded. There was no way she was going to give him the book. Gritting her teeth, she hugged him and swayed him gently, whispering softly into his neck, “Your Highness, are you more interested in the book or me?”

After a moment of silence, Zhao Sui patted her shoulder and said in a low voice, “You.”

Yao Huang breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, the Prince gave her some face and didn’t insist on the storybook.

Since he wasn’t reading the storybook, things went smoothly. Prince Hui turned to face her and devoted his attention to his Princess Consort.

Perhaps he was getting the hang of it, because he didn’t turn her back around. Yao Huang closed her eyes and let him move her as he pleased.

When they both felt sufficiently aroused, Yao Huang instinctively wanted to turn away.

Zhao Sui held her shoulders and said, “Stay like this.”

Yao Huang said nothing.

She thought it would be difficult, but Prince Hui insisted on trying. All he had to do was speak, while Yao Huang had to do all the work.

No matter what, Yao Huang didn’t mind. She was just afraid that the Prince would get frustrated with his repeated failures.

Yao Huang didn’t even dare to open her eyes to see his expression.

Suddenly, as she unconsciously raised her left leg, the Prince supported her. “Stay like this.”

Yao Huang said nothing.

Yao Huang nearly fell backward onto the silk bedspread. The Prince pulled away her pillow, so when she was forced to move upwards, there was no resistance.

On previous nights, Yao Huang had been half-lying down, with most of her face buried in the pillow. The Prince couldn’t see her clearly, and she only looked back at him when she was begging for mercy. Now, Yao Huang could clearly feel the Prince’s gaze moving over her, and she could see it too. It felt like an earthquake, but she didn’t want to look. She grabbed her undergarment and covered her face with it.

Zhao Sui didn’t interfere. This way was more tiring, and he didn’t want his Princess Consort to see his awkwardness or his ferocity as he indulged in this despite his disability.

When the Prince finally released his right hand, Yao Huang’s left leg felt as if it had gone numb.

Zhao Sui rested first. When he had rested enough, he turned to face her. She was still leaning against the headboard, which made it convenient for him to loosen the muscles in her left leg.

He was being kind, but Yao Huang was so sore that she cried out in pain.

Zhao Sui lightened his touch. Seeing her moist eyes, filled with tears, gazing at him, he asked, “Don’t you ride horses often?”

Yao Huang replied, “Not often at all. Our family only has two mules. My father and brother usually ride them. I only get to ride them when they’re resting. Besides, from the time I was registered for the draft to now, more than half a year has passed, and I only rode a horse once yesterday. My legs are like this all of a sudden. Who could stand it?”

Zhao Sui said, “Now that you have Neiguang, you can practice more.”

Yao Huang said nothing.

She was so angry that she used her right foot to push his shoulder.

Zhao Sui used his right hand to support himself and used his left hand to hold her ankle, his gaze shifting away.

Yao Huang quickly pulled the blanket over herself, trying to break free from his grip. Her already flushed face burned even hotter.

Zhao Sui knew his own limitations and didn’t push it any further.

The next day, he woke up half an hour earlier than usual and helped his Princess Consort exercise her right leg. As a result, Yao Huang woke up even later. She didn’t even bother to wash up, and she immediately called for Bailing to come in and massage her legs.

Ah Ji loved learning new skills. Chunyan’s embroidery was too delicate and complex for her, and she didn’t have the patience or time for it. Qiucan’s arithmetic was too simple for her, and the more difficult problems gave her a headache. So, while Bailing massaged the Princess Consort’s legs, Ah Ji knelt at the foot of the bed and watched, learning as she helped massage the other leg.

When she saw the hand prints around the Princess Consort’s thigh, she exclaimed in alarm, “Princess Consort, what happened?”

She had seen many more marks left by the Prince, all of them above the thigh. Could it be that the Prince was angry and pinched the Princess Consort?

Yao Huang glared at her, “Don’t ask what you shouldn’t.”

Ah Ji was stunned. She smiled awkwardly, guessing that the Prince and Princess Consort had been up to something new.

The morning passed in this way. After lunch, Yao Huang called for Lady Gao and told her to prepare well for tomorrow’s luncheon. “They’re all my relatives. No need to make anything too complicated. Five meat dishes, three vegetable dishes, and one soup will do. Make double portions. If any dish runs out, bring out another one.”

Lady Gao laughed, “Princess Consort, don’t worry. Just wait and see tomorrow.”

What kind of banquet would have double portions? She was going to prepare sixteen different dishes for the Princess Consort’s relatives, including the three fish dishes that the Princess Consort had requested, each with a different method of preparation!

That afternoon, Yao Huang took a long nap. When she woke up, her legs had recovered to about 80%. Thinking that her body was indeed more delicate than it had been six months ago, Yao Huang called for Ah Ji to bring her a long rope. She had Bailing and Chunyan, who couldn’t jump, stand at either end of the rope and swing it while she, Ah Ji, and Qiucan took turns jumping, doing double jumps, and triple jumps.

They jumped for a while, then rested for a while. After an hour, all three of them were flushed and had sweat—dampened strands of hair sticking to their foreheads.

Yao Huang was the one who persevered the longest out of the three. Even Ah Ji couldn’t keep up with her.

Bailing admired her, “Princess Consort, you’re amazing!”

When she first met the Princess Consort, she thought that she was just lazy and that’s why she was so plump. She never imagined that she would be as light as a swallow when she jumped.

Ah Ji, proud of her, said, “That’s nothing. The Princess Consort can also use a spear. She’s so graceful, even better than my young master.”

Chunyan immediately chimed in, “Princess Consort, can you show us?”

Yao Huang took a wet towel and wiped her sweat, glancing at the setting sun. She smiled, “It’s still early. I’ll show you.”

She called for a little maid and asked her to borrow a spear from Guo Shu. Prince Hui was famous for his military achievements, so there was definitely no shortage of weapons in the mansion.

Guo Shu came in person, bringing two spears. One was a wooden spearhead, used by the guards in the mansion for practice. The other was a long spear made of black and red ox sinew wood, with a sharp spearhead. It was the old spear that Prince Hui had used when he was young.

Guo Shu’s voice held a hint of pleading, “Princess Consort, if you’re just practicing, please use the wooden spear. If you hurt yourself, the Prince will be worried.”

Yao Huang smiled and grabbed Prince Hui’s old spear. She told everyone to step back into the corridor and, without a care in the world, practiced the spear technique she had learned from her brother.

The ordinary soldiers in the military camp, including her father, the Baohu, had only learned the simplest spear technique for fighting enemies. Her brother had also learned this technique from their father when he was young. Later, when he was admitted to the military academy, the teachers assigned by the court taught them different techniques, including boxing, spear, saber, and sword. Her brother was afraid of trying to learn too much at once, so he chose to focus on spear and saber techniques. Yao Huang not only learned these two techniques from her brother, but she also had Li Tingwang teach her swordsmanship.

If she hadn’t been able to get something out of Li Tingwang, Yao Huang would have ignored him long ago, just because of his foul mouth.

After finishing the spear technique, she held the spear with its tip pointing downwards and thrust it forcefully into the stone brick on the floor. A clear, small pit appeared on the brick.

She smiled and looked at Guo Shu.

Guo Shu was first shocked, then he clapped his hands and praised, “Princess Consort, your spear technique was excellent. I underestimated you before. Please forgive me.”

Yao Huang was very magnanimous. She twirled the spear in her hands and asked, “Can you get m

The two spears her father and brother had saved up to have made were too heavy for her; this one was just right.

Guo Shu said, “The Prince’s spears are all custom—made by the imperial armory. I’ll ask the Prince for permission; with his token, we can have one custom—made at the armory.”

Yao Huang replied, “That’s too much trouble. Forget it. I don’t need it often; when I feel like it, I’ll just use the Prince’s old one.”

She had served him so diligently at night; she figured Prince Hui wouldn’t be that stingy.