After a long while, Li Yue finally let go of Meng Fu.
Clear wind, bright moon, sparse shadows slanting—Meng Fu raised her head, lifted both hands to caress Li Yue’s cheeks. In her eyes seemed to be a pool of autumn water, and inside reflected the moon and Li Yue.
Meng Fu took several breaths before she felt that the heart pounding in her chest wasn’t so noisy anymore.
She really hadn’t expected to see him tonight. Just a moment ago, she was still thinking about what clothes to wear to see him tomorrow.
As a result, now her hair wasn’t even combed, and she was only draped in a plain-colored outer robe.
Meng Fu let out a long breath, her excitement also calmed down a little. She asked him hoarsely, “Why did you come back tonight? Also… also climbed over the wall to come in?”
A dignified emperor of a nation, actually climbed the palace wall to return—who would believe that if it got out?
Li Yue grabbed Meng Fu’s hand, placed it at his lips and kissed it, smiling: “I was eager to see you, so I rode into the city first.”
When he was climbing the wall, he was actually noticed by the Imperial Guards. They quickly called over a group of brothers to catch the intruder, but when they arrived and saw it was His Majesty, the guards instantly didn’t know what to say.
Li Yue waved at them, and they pretended they hadn’t seen anything, turned around and continued patrolling. That way, Li Yue was able to smoothly and unhindered sneak all the way here.
Meng Fu imagined His Majesty climbing over one palace wall after another, and couldn’t help but find it a bit funny. She threw herself into Li Yue’s arms and hugged him tightly.
Li Yue hadn’t expected her to suddenly hug him. His chest hurt, and he subconsciously gave a muffled grunt.
Meng Fu was startled. She quickly let go of him and asked, “What’s wrong? Are you injured?”
Li Yue said, “It’s nothing. Just a small wound. Almost healed already.”
Meng Fu slightly furrowed her brows, feeling that His Majesty’s words might not be so trustworthy—plus, he hadn’t mentioned at all in his letters that he was injured.
“Let’s go inside first.” She pulled Li Yue’s hand and walked toward the Zichen Hall.
Li Yue thought the matter had passed just like that, and happily followed Meng Fu into Zichen Hall. He sat on the bed, waiting for A’Fu to sit in his lap.
But Meng Fu only stood in front of him, lowered her head, and said to him: “Take off your clothes.”
Li Yue glanced at the sky outside, feeling a bit conflicted: “Now? It’s almost dawn. Isn’t the time a bit too short? I still have to head back later.”
Tomorrow he was to lead the army back to the imperial capital.
Meng Fu really wanted to knock open His Majesty’s head and help clear out some of the junk inside.
Meng Fu said: “I want to check the wounds on your body.”
“No need, right?” His Majesty said with difficulty.
“Hurry up and take it off,” Meng Fu urged.
His Majesty let out a light sigh. If A’Fu said this in any other situation, how pleasant it would have sounded… Seeing Meng Fu’s firm attitude, Li Yue could only take off his outer robe and underclothes one by one.
The candlelight was bright. On Li Yue’s chest, new and old scars crisscrossed, long and short. One spot was still wrapped in fine cloth, slightly oozing blood.
Li Yue saw Meng Fu’s expression turn rather solemn, and he comforted her: “It just looks scary. It’s really nothing.”
Meng Fu stared at the wound on his chest for a while, then suddenly stretched out her hand, placed it on his wound, and pressed down lightly.
Meng Fu didn’t use much force, but Li Yue immediately sucked in a breath of cold air.
Meng Fu quickly withdrew her hand and asked: “Didn’t you say it was nothing?”
Li Yue had nothing to say.
Meng Fu then asked him again: “Does it hurt or not?”
His Majesty said: “When I’m thinking of you, then it doesn’t hurt.”
His Majesty was truly getting more and more glib with his mouth.
Meng Fu turned and walked out.
Li Yue quickly reached out to grab her sleeve and asked: “A’Fu, where are you going?”
Meng Fu said: “I’m asking Gao Gonggong to summon an imperial physician to take a look at you.”
“It’s really nothing, it was already handled while I was in Beijiang, in a few days it’ll heal.”
Li Yue spread open his arms and said to her, “Come here quickly, let me hug you. I missed you to death.”
“Alright.”
Meng Fu nodded, turned around and sat down on a stool to the side, and asked: “Then why don’t you tell me how you got injured? Why didn’t you tell me?”
His Majesty coughed, opened and closed his mouth for half the day, yet still couldn’t come up with a suitable reason.
Meng Fu rolled her eyes at him, pulled out fine cloth and hemostatic medicine from the cabinet, and came over to help him reapply the medicine and bandage.
Li Yue carefully observed Meng Fu’s expression, wanting to know whether she was angry.
Meng Fu only lowered her head to tidy up the cloth that had been changed, and when she came back, she said to Li Yue: “Sleep for a while first.”
Li Yue tried reaching out his hand to hold Meng Fu’s arm. Seeing that she didn’t resist, he pulled her onto the bed in one go, and hugged her, saying: “A’Fu, sleep with me.”
Meng Fu responded with an “Mm,” laid her head on his arm, and quickly fell asleep with her eyes closed.
Li Yue thought the matter was over just like that.
But after he returned to the palace and finished recuperating from his injuries, Meng Fu brought up the old matter again.
His Majesty had a very good attitude in admitting fault—but once asked if he would still dare next time, the answer was yes.
Meng Fu didn’t want to argue with him in the middle of the night. She picked up the blanket and wanted to go out for some quiet.
Li Yue panicked all of a sudden and shot up from the bed, asking her: “A’Fu, where are you going?”
Meng Fu said to him: “I’m going to sleep outside. You think about it properly.”
“Truly outrageous!”
His Majesty got out of bed and said to Meng Fu: “You put it down!”
He stepped forward, snatched the bedding from Meng Fu’s hands, and very imposingly said: “I’ll go out!”
Meng Fu had been keeping a cold face the whole time, but now was nearly unable to hold back a laugh from being amused by him.
Gao Xi was outside assigning tasks to the hidden guards. When he saw Li Yue coming out carrying bedding, several people all revealed puzzled and astonished expressions.
His Majesty carrying bedding out? In the middle of the night—is he going out to sun the blankets?
Li Yue glared at them and said: “What are you looking at? Never seen an emperor going out to sleep on the floor?”
Gao Xi and the hidden guards quickly lowered their heads, not daring to speak.
To be honest, they were inexperienced—this kind of scene, they really had never seen before.
Li Yue waved his hand, telling them to go farther away.
Meng Fu had originally intended to sleep in the side hall for the night, but His Majesty simply laid down right at the door.
Not long after, the lights inside Zichen Hall went out.
His Majesty lay with his eyes open, looking at the bright moon overhead, hugging his little blanket tightly.
He murmured: “Tonight’s moon is really round, A’Fu.”
“It’s really cold out here.”
“A’Fu, my chest hurts.”
“A’Fu—”
Before Li Yue could finish speaking, he heard a creak—
The palace doors were pulled open from the inside, and Meng Fu stood at the doorway, looking down at him.
“A’Fu…”
His Majesty actually looked a little pitiful.
Meng Fu squatted down and reasoned with His Majesty. She said: “Your Majesty, now I already know that when you’re injured you’ll hide it from me. Even if you write nothing in your letters, I’ll still worry. So in the future, when you get hurt, don’t hide it from me anymore, alright?”
Li Yue had always thought differently.
He believed the injuries he got were all minor.
Even if he told Meng Fu, it wasn’t like she could come to his side—
It would only make her worry for nothing.
But what Meng Fu said now also made sense.
Li Yue pressed his lips together without speaking.
Meng Fu stood up, lowered her eyes to look at him, and said: “If you still insist on thinking the same way as before, then just stay here and freeze tonight.”
Li Yue took a long breath. In the end, he still got up from the ground, tugged on the hem of Meng Fu’s clothes, and said in a coaxing tone: “Alright, I won’t hide it from you again in the future.”
—
In the second month of the following year, during the palace examination of the imperial civil service exams, after discussing with Li Yue, Meng Fu selected a scholar from the northwest region to be the Tanhua Lang. [Tanhua Lang: The third-place winner in the final imperial exam—considered highly prestigious.]
The Tanhua Lang had fine appearance and bearing. Walking on the street, he would often receive fruit tossed into his carriage until it overflowed.
It was said he had some insights in academic matters.
Meng Fu invited him into the palace to consult him on certain questions.
His Majesty, meanwhile, was in the neighboring palace hall discussing how to pacify Yun and Gui.
Meng Fu noted down several key points that the Tanhua Lang brought up.
His Majesty had likely finished consulting with his ministers and came over to take a stroll around Meng Fu’s side. He pretended to casually pull a book from the bookshelf, then walked out again.
Not long after, His Majesty returned, holding a plate of pastries in his hands, and presented them in front of Meng Fu: “A’Fu, try these—the imperial kitchen just sent them over.”
Meng Fu raised her eyes to look at him and asked: “Your Majesty, why don’t you sit here and listen together?”
“Sure.”
Li Yue straightforwardly sat down beside Meng Fu, squinting his eyes as he scrutinized the Tanhua Lang across from him.
The Tanhua Lang was being stared at so intently by His Majesty that he was completely uncomfortable; even his speech became halting.
He felt he really shouldn’t have stayed here.
Meng Fu, seeing that he was a bit uneasy—and having more or less asked what she needed—let him leave.
The Tanhua Lang quickly took his leave, trotting off in small steps as if there were a ferocious beast chasing after him.
After he left, Li Yue rubbed his chin and said: “This Tanhua Lang looks… still passable, I suppose.”
Meng Fu nodded and went along with him:.“Mm, still passable.”
Yet His Majesty was still not satisfied. He said:.“But I think his nose isn’t as tall as mine.”
Meng Fu really couldn’t hold it in—she let out a laugh.
She turned to ask Gao Xi:.“Why is it so sour today? Gao Gonggong, what did the imperial kitchen make today? The sourness can be smelled from so far away.” [酸 (sour): a pun here, referring both to literal sour food and the slang for jealousy.]
Gao Xi kept his head down and said nothing. He absolutely didn’t want to get involved between the two of them.
Li Yue of course understood that Meng Fu was saying he was being jealous.
So what if he was jealous? It’s not like A’Fu didn’t get jealous too!
Right then, he happened to see Guifei sneak in from outside.
Li Yue slammed the table and declared:.“Tonight, I will have Guifei serve in the bedchamber!”
Yet Guifei didn’t even glance at him, merely flicked the big fluffy tail behind it, gave a light leap, and jumped into the Empress’s arms—
Completely uninterested in His Majesty’s favor.
Li Yue: “……”
Meng Fu decided to help His Majesty save a little face and asked: “Your Majesty, shall I carry Guifei onto the bed for you?”
His Majesty got even angrier.
He coldly snorted and decided to let the Guifei know what Thunderous Wrath meant.
He said in a low voice: “No need. It’s not Guifei anymore.”
Meng Fu, while laughing, kissed Li Yue on the corner of his lips and said: “I don’t like him. What are you comparing yourself to him for? Besides, he isn’t as good-looking as Your Majesty to begin with.”
Li Yue instantly became like a big cat that had just been stroked in the right direction.
His entire body screamed the word: comfortable.
He pulled Meng Fu into his arms and lowered his head to kiss her again and again.
In the midst of their movements, they pressed onto Guifei’s tail.
Guifei meowed once—but no one paid it any attention.
Such is the coldness of the world!
As soon as it became a discarded consort, it suffered this humiliation.
Meow!