As soon as Wei Jun’an saw that His Majesty had a sign of loosening up, he immediately seized the opportunity to emphasize to His Majesty just how great a danger an incompetent official could pose—to the court, to the emperor, and even to the entire world under heaven.
Meng Fu swept her gaze over the officials below the court, whose expressions varied, and said meaningfully: “What Beloved Minister Wei says is true.”
After saying this, she suddenly realized that this didn’t quite sound like something she would usually say—it seemed she had picked up some bad habits from His Majesty.
Wei Jun’an was such a clever man that he immediately heard the double meaning in His Majesty’s words. But at such a critical moment, he could only play dumb and say that what His Majesty said was right.
Meng Fu saw Liu Changlan looking at Wei Jun’an with an expression of wanting to speak but holding back, so she simply said, “Beloved Minister Liu looks like he has something to say.”
Liu Changlan was no fool. It was obvious that His Majesty had almost finished negotiating with Tang Mingqi. Right now, saving one colleague meant one less opponent—that was a merit in itself.
Liu Changlan said: “This humble official believes that what Lord Wei said is very reasonable.”
Meng Fu smiled and said: “It seems that Lord Liu has been saying that quite a lot lately, hasn’t he?”
Liu Changlan couldn’t tell whether His Majesty was angry or not, so he lowered his head and continued smoothing things over: “What His Majesty says is also very reasonable.”
Meng Fu said: “Then let Us go back and think about it. That’s all for today—court is dismissed.”
After the court session ended, as soon as the officials walked out of Xuanzheng Hall, they couldn’t help but begin to discuss. They had all thought this matter was definitely over and had already prepared to kneel outside Xuanzheng Hall for three days and nights. Although it might not move His Majesty, at the very least it could show their resolve. In such circumstances, even if military generals were really going to be promoted in large numbers and their own companions were going to be cut down, the court in the future would never be harmonious.
But today in court, they suddenly realized there was still room to fight for this, and immediately understood that if they gave it a try, the situation might not be as bad as imagined. If they didn’t have to kneel in front of Xuanzheng Hall, then it was better not to kneel.
After all, with His Majesty’s temperament, he really might let them kneel to death outside.
Tang Mingqi still didn’t know His Majesty’s true intentions. In court, he had completely acted his part truthfully, which made him look particularly intimidating. Seeing Meng Fu seeming to have the intention to give way today, General Tang was very surprised—this really didn’t seem like something His Majesty would do.
Tang Mingqi said: “Your Majesty, this humble official believes that promoting thirty military officers is not a difficult matter.”
Meng Fu smiled slightly but still had no intention of telling this General Tang the truth. With General Tang’s strong performance, Wei Jun’an and the others would make the greatest concessions.
That afternoon, she went to Yunxi Pavilion to meet up with Li Yue, and said to him: “Tomorrow in court, Lord Wei should agree to promote some military officers. The number won’t be as many as thirty. I estimate that if only half remain, Lord Wei and the others will already be very pleased. Next will be the matter of awarding official ranks. With the reforms of cutting officials and northern frontier training in place beforehand, giving out a third-rank official title shouldn’t be too hard. In a few more days, this matter should almost be settled.”
“So soon?” Li Yue was a little surprised. If it were up to him to handle this matter, it would take at least two or three months. Later on, if Wei Jun’an and Liu Changlan acted up, it might even be delayed further.
Meng Fu made a sound of acknowledgment. This time was different from the past—when Wei Jun’an and the others thought they had already touched the emperor’s bottom line, they would definitely hurry to finalize the matter to avoid the emperor going back on it. She said to Li Yue: “The reason this matter could succeed is still because Your Majesty laid the groundwork well in the past.”
Li Yue raised an eyebrow. That sounded good. He asked: “Is that praise for me?”
“Of course.” Meng Fu said with a smile.
She paused for a moment and then said: “The thing I mentioned in the reform about cutting one-fifth of the officials, although it’s fake, it can still be used as a threat. The ministers know you have this intention. In the future, if there’s something difficult to handle, you can use this to scare Lord Wei and the others a bit. It should work quite well.”
Across from her, Li Yue opened his eyes wide—he hadn’t expected Meng Fu to give him this kind of tactic. He felt that she was somehow a little different from when he first met her.
He unconsciously sat up straight, holding a teacup in his hands, and seriously nodded his head with a “I’ve learned this” kind of expression—adorable enough to make Meng Fu want to laugh, but she held it back.
She took a sip of tea and asked Li Yue: “How have you been lately in the marquis manor?”
“Not bad. Xie Wenzhao has been quite sensible these days, staying home honestly and going over the account books. The concubines didn’t act up either—just like to come to Jixue Courtyard, chirping and chattering a bit annoyingly.”
After saying this, Li Yue lifted his arm and rolled up his sleeve—originally wanting to show Meng Fu the results of his recent training—but then realized the results weren’t all that obvious. He put his arm down again, gave an awkward cough, and said to Meng Fu:
“Wait a couple more days, and I’ll be able to perform smashing a big rock on my chest.”
Meng Fu couldn’t help but let out a “puchi” laugh. She imagined that scene, and the smile on her face grew even bigger.
But soon she gathered her smile, and instructed Li Yue: “Your monthly matter should be coming soon, don’t get too tired these few days, and eat less cold food.”
Li Yue’s smile immediately froze at the corners of his mouth. He’d been living too freely these past few days and completely forgot about this matter. He slumped down onto the table, the whole person becoming dejected—just like a little kitten that had suddenly lost its dried fish.
Meng Fu silently watched him for a moment, then picked up the teapot and poured a cup of tea, placing it in front of Li Yue.
Li Yue lazily lifted his eyelids, glanced at it, and casually asked: “What’s this?”
“Ginger brown sugar water.” [Note: 生姜红糖水 is a traditional Chinese remedy for menstrual cramps.]
Li Yue: “……”
Last month when he had his “monthly matter,” Qingping had cooked a lot of this for him. But just now when they ordered food, did they even mention this?
He looked down—it was just an ordinary cup of tea.
This little girl could now tease people too. Compared to before, she was a lot more cheerful.
Li Yue inexplicably felt happy in his heart. He finished off the tea that Meng Fu had poured for him in one gulp and said to her: “Later we’ll go to the western outskirts, I’ll teach you archery.”
Meng Fu asked: “Archery? What for?”
Li Yue said: “Autumn hunt—of course you have to hunt.”
“There’s less than two months left until the autumn hunt. In such a short time, I probably won’t learn it well.”
Archery wasn’t like horseback riding. To shoot accurately not only depended on talent, but also required diligent practice. And Meng Fu knew she didn’t have much talent for this sport, nor did she have much time to practice.
She said to Li Yue: “I’m thinking that once we get to the hunting ground, I won’t go out to hunt. I’ll feign illness and stay inside the tent.”
Li Yue said: “That’s no fun. It’s rare to get a chance to go out—you should really take the opportunity to relax.”
Meng Fu still hesitated. She said: “If I shoot badly during the autumn hunt, and can’t bring back a single prey, wouldn’t the ministers laugh at you?”
Li Yue immediately sat up straight. He looked around and arrogantly said: “Who dares to laugh? Who dares to laugh?”
Meng Fu: “……”
With His Majesty acting like this, truly, no one would dare to laugh.
“Let’s go.” Li Yue stood up, put on his veiled hat, and said to Meng Fu.
“Are we really going, Your Majesty?” Meng Fu felt that on this matter, she should give His Majesty some face. During the autumn hunt, General Tang, Ji Yun, and the others—former comrades of His Majesty from the northern frontier—would also be present. The ministers in court might not dare laugh, but General Tang might. Maybe after she and His Majesty switch back, General Tang would bring this up to tease His Majesty.
Li Yue took a deep breath, then exhaled. He puffed up the white veil on his hat and said to Meng Fu:
“Miss Meng, seeing me like this now, could you give me a little face, alright?”
Li Yue actually didn’t insist on having Meng Fu shine during the autumn hunt. He just thought—teaching her more skills, whether she ended up needing them or not in the future, would never be a bad thing.
“Alright then.” Meng Fu said.
Li Yue let out an exaggerated “ay-yo,” teasing her: “You’re quite reluctant, little girl.”
He was now speaking with Meng Fu’s voice, and it really sounded like flirtatious banter between lovers.
Meng Fu’s face flushed slightly—not just because of Li Yue’s teasing, but also because it had been many, many years since someone last called her “little girl.”
She wasn’t actually young anymore—she had already been married to Xie Wenzhao for four years. In the past, she had felt like she could already see the end of her entire life. But now, she suddenly felt that this world still had many small surprises waiting for her to discover.
Meng Fu followed Li Yue to the archery range in the western outskirts. The place had already been cleared in advance. The same Dong Feng who had previously tried to snatch the private room at Yunxi Tower had also wanted to come here to shoot arrows with his scoundrel friends. When he heard the place had been reserved by someone, he had even intended to make a fuss about it. But the moment he turned his head and saw the Emperor coming, he instantly dropped to his knees and chickened out, thinking to himself, what kind of luck is this? Why do I always bump into the Emperor whenever I’m about to do something bad?
Li Yue couldn’t be bothered to waste time with him and raised his hand to wave him away. Dong Feng and his friends quickly kowtowed to express thanks for the favor, and then each of them ran off faster than rabbits.