The Empress Dowager saw the puzzled expression on Li Yue’s face and somewhat displeasedly furrowed her brows. At this point already, the Emperor actually still wanted to hide things from her—did he think he had concealed this matter very well?
If only the Emperor, in his daily conduct, could have a bit of the acting skills he was showing in front of her now, he wouldn’t have been discovered so early by her.
She sighed and said, “At this point already, Emperor, you don’t need to hide it from Aijia anymore.”
“It’s not that,” Li Yue carefully placed the jade pendant in his hand into a zitan wood box and seriously asked the Empress Dowager, “What exactly is the matter you’re referring to?”
The Empress Dowager lowered her head to glance at the jade pendant in Li Yue’s box, and deliberately asked, “Why does this jade pendant only have half? Is the other half with Meng Fu?”
Li Yue said in surprise, “How did you know that?”
The Empress Dowager: “……”
She looked carefully at the Emperor in front of her—his puzzled expression was truly sincere. The Empress Dowager was really baffled: did the Emperor really think that the matter between him and Meng Fu was concealed flawlessly, without anyone noticing? Where did he get such confidence!
Because the Emperor’s tone was simply too upright and confident, the Empress Dowager, who had originally wanted to advise him not to be hasty, suddenly couldn’t find a way to say it, and could only tactfully say: “Aijia heard that the Marquis of Xuanping and his wife have divorced.”
“Yeah, you even know about that?” Li Yue said. “They just divorced today.”
The Empress Dowager let out a breath—the moment they divorced, the Emperor rushed back from Jun Mountain. To say that nothing was going on between the two of them—who would believe that?
The Empress Dowager asked him, “Then what do you plan to do after this?”
Li Yue made a questioning “mm” sound, not grasping the Empress Dowager’s meaning. The Empress Dowager could only elaborate further: “Meng Fu, a young unmarried woman, after a divorce, her days likely won’t be easy.”
Li Yue nodded and said, “That old man Meng Yanxing even severed ties with her. This afternoon, this son helped her find a residence in the capital. I’m thinking of going out tomorrow to help tidy up the house and buy some decent furniture. I’m also thinking of buying the house next door—she’s a young woman living alone outside, it’s dangerous. This son has to go look after her when I have time. Right, Mother, don’t you have two bolts of fuguang brocade? You’re not using them, are you? Why not let this son have them—I’ll bring them to her tomorrow. She has a light taste and doesn’t like to cook, so I also need to find a cook…”
The Empress Dowager listened for quite a while and really wanted to ask the Emperor: That’s it? Not a single word about the important matter?
She looked at the endlessly rambling Li Yue with a complicated expression—Is this the point? Is any of this the point?
The Empress Dowager couldn’t help but start doubting—How exactly does he see Meng Fu?
He’s been rambling this whole time, and it’s all about Meng Fu—he’s considered everything about her food, clothing, housing, and daily life. To say that he has no feelings for that girl—wasn’t that just as ridiculous as a wolf saying it’s gone vegetarian?
Always known to be rough and careless, Li Yue at this moment also noticed the Empress Dowager’s gaze was a bit strange. He paused his rambling and asked, “Mother, why are you looking at this son like that?”
“You…” The Empress Dowager raised her hand and held her forehead, then asked Li Yue, “Have you never thought of letting her enter the palace?”
Li Yue let out an “ah” sound, showing a look of sudden realization. The Empress Dowager thought the Emperor was finally going to tell her the truth, but then heard him say, “You miss her? Then this son will ask her tomorrow if she has time to visit.”
The Empress Dowager: “……”
At this moment, the Empress Dowager was truly confused—Was the Emperor really pretending to be clueless with her?
“You don’t like her?” The Empress Dowager finally couldn’t help but directly ask him.
Li Yue’s expression instantly froze. He looked somewhat dazedly at the Empress Dowager opposite him. His lips parted, but he forgot what he was going to say—his mind had gone completely blank.
He likes Meng Fu?
The Empress Dowager asked him, “Like or not like—just tell Aijia, so Aijia can at least have a sense of it.”
“I…” Li Yue’s heart was pounding wildly. He raised his hand to press against his chest. It was like he understood something, yet also like he didn’t understand anything. He asked the Empress Dowager, “The kind of ‘like’ you’re talking about—what kind of ‘like’ is that?”
The Empress Dowager said: “The kind of like that a man feels for a woman, what else could it be? Don’t tell me you want to be brother and sister with her? Emperor, if you truly think that way, Aijia doesn’t mind—Aijia can summon her to the palace tomorrow and adopt her as a foster daughter. That way, even though she divorced the Marquis of Xuanping, others still wouldn’t dare look down on her.”
Adopt her as a foster daughter?
Li Yue definitely didn’t want a younger sister, he just didn’t want a sister. But what did he want?
All of a sudden, Li Yue realized that he probably should have read more of those tasteless romance storybooks. At least then, he wouldn’t be realizing only now that he might be experiencing his first awakening of love.
His Majesty felt this was a grave matter. He had to think it through carefully. He said to the Empress Dowager, “Mother, let me think about it.”
“Think about what?” The Empress Dowager couldn’t understand. Just now, in front of her, the Emperor had thought out everything regarding that girl’s food, clothing, housing, and daily needs, yet hadn’t thought at all about the proper business.
It was truly exhausting.
Her own son really didn’t seem to realize that he liked that girl. He was already over twenty years old. Could it be that he believed all the concern and preference he had shown Meng Fu stemmed from his noble, helpful nature? Did he not reflect on when he ever was so helpful? Lord Wei and Lord Liu were both elderly officials, and he still argued with them daily!
The Empress Dowager asked, “Have you thought about the possibility that after her divorce, she might marry someone else?”
Li Yue pressed his lips together and didn’t speak. Ever since Meng Fu’s divorce, he had never thought about these things. Only now, after the Empress Dowager mentioned it, did he realize—she might marry someone else. The moment he thought of another man being by her side in the future, Li Yue’s entire heart clenched, and even his breathing became difficult.
All of a sudden, he seemed to understand a little why he had felt so happy when he learned Meng Fu had divorced.
The Empress Dowager continued to ask him: “Emperor, do you want to marry her?”
Want to marry her?
On a rainy autumn night, Meng Fu rode a horse alone to Jun Mountain. When the silver lightning struck down, she raised her head and looked toward him. The clothes on her body had been torn by branches, her long hair was soaked by rain and stuck to her pale cheeks—she looked very disheveled, yet her eyes were bright. In that moment, she appeared breathtakingly beautiful in Li Yue’s eyes—so beautiful it startled the soul. Li Yue would never forget it for the rest of his life.
Everything, in this moment, suddenly became clear. He began to understand why his heart would beat so fast whenever Meng Fu got close, and why he could never let her go.
He really should have read more of those lowbrow storybooks. [话本 : refers to folk storytelling novels or drama-like storybooks, often romantic or emotionally dramatic, considered “vulgar” or “lowbrow” literature.]
Thinking of this, Li Yue suddenly lowered his head and let out a light laugh.
The Empress Dowager sighed silently in her heart. How did I end up with such a pure-hearted son? He really doesn’t seem like he was raised in the imperial palace.
She waited for quite a while, but still didn’t get a response from Li Yue. He seemed to be completely immersed in his own thoughts. The Empress Dowager softly called out to him: “Your Majesty?”
Li Yue still didn’t respond. The Empress Dowager had no choice but to raise her voice and call again.
This time, Li Yue finally heard. He lifted his head to look at the Empress Dowager—his eyes were shining. He said, “I understand now, Mother.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he stood up and quickly walked out.
The Empress Dowager was startled. What did he just understand?
She quickly turned around and called out, “Emperor! Emperor!”
She knew the Emperor’s temperament was impulsive. She worried that in a moment of impulse he would do something that shouldn’t be done. Raising her voice, she asked, “Where are you going right now?”
Li Yue stopped and turned his head, but before he could speak, the Empress Dowager added: “She only just divorced the Marquis of Xuanping. No matter what you’re thinking now, you must stay calm. The world is already harsh on women—if you bring her into the palace right now, all sorts of gossip will surely spread. It will be no good for you or for her.”
Li Yue turned around. He smiled and replied seriously to the Empress Dowager: “Mother, this son understands, of course this son understands.”
Seeing that the Empress Dowager still wore a disbelieving look, Li Yue explained: “This son just wants to go see her.”
The Empress Dowager frowned and said: “At this hour, that girl has already gone to bed—what are you going there for?”
Li Yue smiled and said: “Still, this son wants to go take a look.”
The Emperor should know what’s appropriate. The Empress Dowager nodded and said: “Alright, go, go then.”
After leaving the Zichen Palace, Li Yue mounted his horse and galloped out of the palace. The night wind lifted his long robe; the undulating vermilion palace walls stretched out under the moonlight, continuing on to where the moon had risen.
He liked A’Fu.
So he liked A’Fu, huh.
Li Yue sat on horseback, recalling all kinds of past scenes, and let out another low laugh.
The hidden guards trailing behind Li Yue with light body movement (qinggong) nearly fell out of the sky when they heard His Majesty laugh. What happened to His Majesty?
Though today the Lady of Marquis Xuanping had finally divorced the Marquis, was there really need to be this happy? It sounded… eerie.
Meng Fu’s newly rented residence was a certain distance from the imperial palace, but on horseback it didn’t take too long. When Li Yue reached the street, he dismounted and led his horse to the small courtyard. Standing outside the gate, he never knocked.
Moonlight filtered through the two laurel trees in front of the door, whose leaves had all already fallen, leaving snowy white shadows on the ground—like remaining snow that hadn’t been swept clean.
Li Yue could see the lights in the residence were still on—Meng Fu was likely not asleep yet.
Only today had he fully realized his feelings. He was burning with the urge to see her, to talk to her. Yet he was also afraid of disturbing her.
Would A’Fu like him?
His Majesty faintly felt that A’Fu should like him—but he also feared this was just his own illusion.