Chapter 142

Chapter 142: He Knows How to Care

They were together all night, telling each other all the longing in their hearts. Huo Zheng had been apart from the one he loved for too long, and he had drunk wine; Chun Zhi almost felt like she would fall apart from his enthusiasm.

They did not stop until the sky began to lighten. Chun Zhi had just closed her eyes when a maid called from outside: “Prince, please rise. You must enter the palace today to give thanks.”

Chun Zhi opened her eyes at once, but she was so tired. Her whole body ached, and she could hardly move. [This is all Huo Zheng’s fault. He knew we had to enter the palace early, yet he still tossed me about like that.]

Huo Zheng, well fed and well rested, felt clear and bright. Seeing the look she gave him, he smiled and said: “It’s still early. Sleep a bit more; going into the palace later to give thanks is the same.”

Chun Zhi pushed back, saying: “How can a new bride be lazy with the elders on the very first day?”

Even ordinary families set many rules for a new bride, not to mention the Imperial House. Empress Wang already did not favor her; if they went late today, the Empress would surely be even more displeased.

Chun Zhi tried to sit up. The moment she moved, her waist throbbed. She could not help lifting a hand to thump Huo Zheng’s chest once.

Huo Zheng steadied her and said with a laugh: “I was drunk last night and did not know my own strength. Please forgive me, Princess Consort.”

Chun Zhi frowned and said: “You clearly said last night you were not drunk.”

Huo Zheng held back a grin and said: “People who are drunk always say they are not drunk.”

Those were Chun Zhi’s exact words from last night, and he remembered them well, handing them right back to her.

Chun Zhi shoved him away and reached for her robe, but it was a little far and she could not reach it.

Huo Zheng put on a coat, fetched the outfit she would wear to the palace, and helped her dress and put on shoes himself.

When he dressed, he even left his sash undone for her to tie, saying in a low voice: “I trouble you, Princess Consort.”

After she tied his sash, Chun Zhi sat before the bronze mirror and lifted a jade comb to smooth her hair.

Huo Zheng came to stand with her before the mirror. In the bronze surface, they looked like a perfect pair.

He had wanted to coil her hair with his own hands, but today they had to enter the palace and could not risk delays. Chun Zhi disliked how clumsy he was at combing and said it would waste time, so he smiled and told the maids to come in and attend to the Princess Consort’s hair and makeup.

The maids answered and filed in. The Prince of Chang’an Manor had never had a mistress before, and Huo Zheng usually did not let these maids come near him; they had never seen the prince smile like this, and none of them dared lift their heads to look at him.

Chun Zhi dressed before the mirror while Huo Zheng washed up to the side, the maids serving both of them. They finished quickly.

The kitchen had long prepared breakfast. A maid asked from the doorway: “Would the Prince and Princess Consort like to have breakfast now?”

Huo Zheng gave a short yes.

Chun Zhi, however, hurried to see Little Xing Hui. Before, she always slept with the child. Because of the wedding last night, she had left him with Qing Ye and the wet nurse. She had not seen him for a whole night and missed him very much, so she went straight to the side room.

Huo Zheng went with her. Little Xing Hui was already awake and had just finished his milk. Qing Ye was holding him to watch the birds outside the window.

The child’s eyes had been caught by the birds, but when the door opened and he turned his head, he saw his mother. He waved his little hands at once, asking to be held.

Chun Zhi stepped forward, took him into her arms, and asked in a soft voice: “Did you miss Mother?”

Huo Zheng stretched out his index finger to tease him, and Little Xing Hui grabbed the finger tightly.

Qing Ye stepped up to give them a proper greeting, then smiled and said: “The young master is very good. He woke and did not see Mother, yet he did not cry or fuss.”

Chun Zhi said: “Thank you, both you and the wet nurse.”

Holding the baby, Chun Zhi went with Huo Zheng to the flower hall to eat breakfast.

Because the master had just wed, rewards were handed out across the whole Prince’s Manor. The steward led group after group of house matrons and maids to greet the Princess Consort and offer lucky words to please her.

People changed in front of Chun Zhi again and again. She kept smiling and nodding, but after quite a while she could not hold back and leaned close to Huo Zheng’s ear to whisper: “There are too many people in the Prince’s Manor. I can’t remember them all.”

Huo Zheng laughed softly at that and said by her ear: “You are the Princess Consort. If you cannot remember, it is no problem.”

“But…” Chun Zhi thought of what Madam Mu had said, that it was hard to be the mother of a clan, and even harder for a Princess Consort who must manage all the affairs of a prince’s manor.

Knowing what worried her, Huo Zheng spoke low: “Relax for a few days first. When you have time, call in the stewards and ask them about the key matters. Hold on to the big things and let the small ones go.”

Chun Zhi nodded and said: “All right.”

Madam Mu had also said that in a large household you do not need to grip every single matter. Take hold of the most important, and let the rest go.

After the household finished greeting their new mistress, messengers from the palace arrived to invite Prince Chang’an and the Princess Consort to enter the palace.

Huo Zheng brought Chun Zhi and the child to the palace. As they walked along the palace road, he feared she would tire from carrying the baby, so he reached out and took Little Xing Hui into his own arms.

Chun Zhi said in a low voice: “You have not carried him much before. Let me do it.”

Huo Zheng answered calmly: “It is because I did not carry him much before that I should carry him more now.”

The eunuch attendant leading the way could not help glancing back when he heard this. [Among the princes, Prince Chang’an speaks the least. I did not expect that after marrying, he would be the most caring.]

Seeing that Little Xing Hui stayed quiet in Huo Zheng’s arms and did not fear the new place at all but only opened his bright eyes to look this way and that, Chun Zhi let Huo Zheng keep carrying him.

The eunuch attendant led them straight to the Emperor’s bedchamber. Empress Wang had already arrived.

After the announcement, Huo Zheng, holding the child with one arm and Chun Zhi’s hand with the other, led her into the hall.

They saluted together and said: “Greetings to Imperial Father and Imperial Mother.”

Little Xing Hui stared at his grandfather and grandmother in the Dragon Robe and Phoenix Robe. He was not afraid of strangers at all and waved his little hand as if to touch them.

Chun Zhi pressed down his little hand, and he at once lifted the other little hand to wave.

Huo Yuan laughed when he saw this and said: “This little brat is bold. Bring him here and let me take a look.”

Huo Zheng stepped forward with Little Xing Hui and said softly to the child: “Xing Hui, this is your Imperial Grandfather.”

The baby could not speak yet and only babbled.

Finding him very amusing, Huo Yuan teased him with a finger and asked: “Have you chosen his formal name?”

This meant placing the child onto the Jade Ancestral Register. The boy had been born outside the capital; whether he could be entered depended on the Emperor’s will. Now Huo Yuan asked first.

Huo Zheng answered at once: “Not yet.”

“Xing Hui” was only a milk name, chosen to mark the day of his birth. They had not yet given him the formal name for the Jade Ancestral Register.

Hearing this, Empress Wang spoke quickly: “Since he does not have a formal name yet, please, Your Majesty, grant him one.”

Although Chun Zhi did not suit her taste, this child truly won hearts. The Emperor already had several grandsons, but none had yet received a name personally bestowed by him. Empress Wang seized the moment.

Huo Yuan glanced at Empress Wang, thought for a beat, then smiled and said: “I wish this child long joy and peace, so let him be called Zi An.”

Empress Wang smiled and said: “Zi An, Huo Zi An. That is truly a fine name. Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Huo Zheng and Chun Zhi shared a look, then bowed together and said: “Thank you, Imperial Father, for bestowing the name Zi An.”