The light of dawn shone through the window gauze into the Zichen Hall, the red xi character [囍, the “double happiness” symbol traditionally used in Chinese weddings] sprinkled with golden powder glistened under the sunlight, the dragon and phoenix wedding candles on the table had already burned out, wax tears piled up.
Meng Fu felt a gentle breeze brush across her cheeks, the wind carried a rich floral fragrance. She seemed to be amidst a courtyard full of spring scenery, countless flowers drifting down from the sky, landing all around her. Those flowers gathered into a large boat, lifting Meng Fu up, carrying her into the heavens.
Meng Fu awoke from her dream. When she opened her eyes, what first came into view was the unfamiliar red bed canopy above her head, embroidered with all kinds of auspicious patterns using colorful threads. She was slightly dazed for a moment, and then recalled that she and His Majesty had held their grand wedding yesterday—this was the Zichen Hall.
Last year, after Meng Fu and Li Yue had swapped bodies, they had also lived here for three months. Later, when their souls returned to their original bodies, Meng Fu still often came to the Zichen Hall. So, to her, this place wasn’t exactly unfamiliar.
She turned her head; His Majesty the Emperor had already woken and was propping his head up with one hand, gently watching her. Who knew how long he had been looking at her like that.
“Awake?” Li Yue asked her in a low voice.
Meng Fu made a sound of acknowledgment. Thinking about how the two of them had “tossed and turned like phoenixes and dragons” on this bed last night, her cheeks couldn’t help but flush a little.
His Majesty actually also felt a bit shy, but he had been awake for nearly an hour now—whatever shyness he had ought to have faded. He reached out and placed a hand on Meng Fu’s forehead, asking her, “Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”
Meng Fu shook her head. Last night, she had bled, which gave His Majesty quite a scare; he got off the bed at once and went to search for the ointment they got from Pang Huazhen.
His Majesty thought he had already been careful enough, preparing thoroughly beforehand, yet still ended up hurting her in the end. If Meng Fu hadn’t stopped him in time, he would have called for the imperial physician already.
At the time, Meng Fu felt as though her face was going to catch fire. Sitting on the bed, she had to try her best to remain calm and explain to His Majesty that it wasn’t his fault.
Only then did His Majesty realize that it had been her first time. From marriage to divorce with Xie Wenzhao, nothing had ever happened at all. His Majesty stood at the edge of the bed holding the ointment, staring blankly at Meng Fu for a while before getting back on the bed.
He knew a woman’s first time would be somewhat painful, so after that, his movements became even more careful, as if handling a fragile treasure.
To the point that, in the end, it was Meng Fu who couldn’t help but urge him, and only then did the flustered His Majesty slowly begin to let go.
Before the bridal chamber night yesterday, Meng Fu hadn’t felt tired at all. But after consummating the marriage, the taut string in her heart loosened all at once, and sleepiness surged. His Majesty, on the other hand, still had energy. Meng Fu originally wanted to go another round with His Majesty, but he had no such intention. He lightly patted her back twice, coaxing her: “Sleep.”
Meng Fu then closed her eyes. In a half-asleep, half-awake state, His Majesty carried her to the warm pool in the eastern side chamber to clean her body. After that, she fell into deep sleep and was no longer conscious.
After this sleep, Meng Fu felt much more refreshed; the weariness in her eyes had all disappeared. Li Yue, being looked at by her, felt a heat in his chest and rolled over on top of Meng Fu, his hands beginning to grow unruly.
At this point, Meng Fu could be very certain that she simply couldn’t teach His Majesty anything in this regard. Whether he had binge-read all kinds of erotic novels and the various versions of “fire-avoiding diagrams”, or it was just his natural talent, he seemed innately gifted without needing a teacher.
Moreover, His Majesty usually was clearly clueless when it came to reading expressions and observing subtleties, yet at this moment he was very good at observing her reactions.
Meng Fu’s body tensed.
His Majesty suddenly realized that he might be a bit bad—he really liked watching A’Fu lose control.
But not long after, the slightly-bad His Majesty received retribution.
After a while, His Majesty withdrew his hand, but the wrinkles on the bedsheet that hadn’t been smoothed out couldn’t be restored to their original appearance for a time.
The flush on her face hadn’t faded yet, and His Majesty lowered his head to kiss her lips. Then, just as he was about to kiss further downward, Meng Fu raised her hand and pushed against his chest, saying to him: “Your Majesty, it’s time to get up. In a moment, we still have to go to Cining Palace to pay respects to the Empress Dowager.”
His Majesty lifted his head and stared at Meng Fu, eyes carrying a trace of disbelief and shock—he felt as if he’d been “slaughtered after the donkey had finished turning the mill.” [idiom meaning someone is discarded after their use is fulfilled]
His Majesty still wanted to struggle a bit more and said, “It’s fine, Mother won’t mind.”
The Empress Dowager indeed didn’t particularly care for those rituals. One could say that anyone who was overly particular about etiquette wouldn’t be able to survive in His Majesty’s palace. Back when she learned His Majesty conferred a concubine title on a cat, she was so angry she fainted on the spot.
Meng Fu sat up from the bed and said to Li Yue, “Since we’re already awake, we should still make a trip first. Let’s not keep Mother waiting too long.”
Seeing that there seemed to be no room for negotiation, His Majesty could only say helplessly, “As you command, my Empress.”
After he spoke, he actually chuckled to himself. Meng Fu lowered her head and couldn’t help but laugh along with him.
Meng Fu’s skin was rather delicate and quite fair; even the slightest force would leave a mark. When she lifted the blanket from her body, His Majesty’s gaze burned as he stared at the marks he had left on her last night.
His Majesty’s gaze was simply too scorching—it was impossible to ignore. Meng Fu paused in her movement to pick up clothes, turned her head to look at His Majesty, gaze lowered. For matters like this, it ought to be give and take.
She reached out her hand.
Originally, they were supposed to go to Cining Palace immediately, but because of this, they were delayed for almost another half hour.
After some lingering, by the time the two of them arrived at Cining Palace, it was nearly noon. The Empress Dowager, however, was not angry at all. In fact, she even felt a bit surprised—her son, who hadn’t liked anyone in over twenty years, had finally fallen for a girl. That A’Fu could even look this spirited today was already beyond her expectations.
Upon seeing them, the Empress Dowager said with a chuckle: “Aijia just knew that you two likely wouldn’t be able to get up this morning. I originally thought of having Gugu Chen go and tell you that it’s fine not to come today. But then I figured, you’d probably only hear that message after getting up, so whether it was said or not made no difference. You arrived just in time. Stay here at Cining Palace for lunch later—Aijia will cook personally.”
Once her words fell, Li Yue looked a little resentfully in Meng Fu’s direction. Meng Fu pretended not to see His Majesty’s silent protest and said to the Empress Dowager, “You don’t need to tire yourself. Just let the imperial chefs prepare a few dishes.”
The Empress Dowager waved her hand and said, “Aijia just enjoys doing these things. Otherwise, it’s boring to sit idle in the palace. Now that A’Fu, you’ve entered the palace, come visit me often when you have time and chat with me.”
Meng Fu nodded. Li Yue then spoke, “Mother, if you really find it boring, why not go outside the palace for a walk?”
The Empress Dowager gave Li Yue a look, teasing him, “Your Majesty, could it be that you’re getting jealous just because Aijia wants A’Fu to accompany me more?”
Li Yue said with a straight face, “How could your son be such a jealous person?”
The Empress Dowager nodded and said, “Aijia thinks you look very much like one. A’Fu, what do you say?”
Meng Fu laughed and said, “Even if His Majesty gets jealous, he wouldn’t be jealous of you, Mother. His Majesty is right—if you have the time, you can go out and walk around.”
The Empress Dowager shook her head and said, “Better not. Aijia is old now. Going out of the palace requires a whole group to accompany me. It’s such a hassle coming and going.”
Meng Fu said, “Mother, how can you say you’re old? You look like you’re only a few years older than me. If I call you ‘Older Sister,’ others would believe it too.”
His Majesty clicked his tongue beside them. Meng Fu, still smiling, lifted her hand and lightly smacked the back of His Majesty’s hand. But in return, His Majesty caught her hand and held it tightly.
The Empress Dowager saw the little movements between the two of them, and the smile on her face deepened a little more. After all, she was already advanced in age—whenever she smiled, many fine lines would gather at the corners of her eyes. She reached out and gave the little prince a push on the shoulder, and the little prince then jumped down from his chair, walked over to Meng Fu, and obediently called out, “Greetings, imperial sister-in-law.”
Meng Fu was a bit surprised. She had thought it would take some time before the little prince would open his mouth. The Empress Dowager smiled and said, “It was Aijia who taught him.”
Meng Fu took the box from Li Yue’s hands and opened it in front of the little prince. Inside were two books on arithmetic.
After Night Talks of Mount Qi was completed last year, Meng Fu had asked the bookstore owner to keep an eye out for any books on arithmetic at several bookstores in the imperial capital. The bookstore owner had truly taken the matter to heart. A few months later, he sent Meng Fu some books that even the palace’s archive pavilion did not have. Meng Fu looked through all of them and felt that two of them were quite suitable for the little prince, so she brought them along today.
Originally, she had planned to give them to the little prince after chatting with the Empress Dowager. But now that the little prince had opened his mouth to call her imperial sister-in-law, giving them to him at this moment was even better.
The little prince held the books in his hands, lifted his head, eyes sparkling as he looked at Meng Fu, and in a clear voice said, “Greetings, imperial sister-in-law!”
Meng Fu let out a light laugh. The little prince stood on tiptoe, bounced up a little, eyes opened wide, and called out two more times: “Imperial sister-in-law! Imperial sister-in-law!”
At this moment, the little prince really looked exactly like His Majesty after being kissed by her but still holding a straight face and insisting that he was angry.
Meng Fu reached out to pat the little prince’s head and said to him, “Not today.”
The little prince understood these words. He then turned his head toward His Majesty and called out, “Greetings, imperial brother.”