Meng Fu put down her hand, leaned her body back, and sat up a little straighter. She tilted her head to look at His Majesty opposite her. Sunlight passed through the thin window gauze and slanted down between them, countless specks of dust slowly drifting in this golden light.
Li Yue softened his voice and asked her again: “A’Fu, do you like me?”
Their gazes intertwined. His Majesty’s eyes were like the brightest star in the summer night sky—inside them were nervous expectation, and also sincere and intense affection. In these eyes, Meng Fu saw her own reflection. Her reflection also seemed to be waiting for her to give a reply.
And at such an important moment, Meng Fu could even space out a little. Yesterday, when she came out from the Meng family and ran into His Majesty, His Majesty should not yet have understood his own feelings. What happened last night that made His Majesty come to her this early in the morning and say these things to her?
His Majesty was still waiting for her response. His expression was solemn, his gaze focused, and he never urged her.
Did she like His Majesty?
Of course she did.
The rustling autumn wind made the courtyard fence creak and groan. Meng Fu opened her lips slightly, and the hand His Majesty had placed on the corner of the table clenched abruptly along with the parting of her lips—but after waiting a long time, he still didn’t hear Meng Fu’s answer.
It wasn’t that Meng Fu deliberately wanted to dangle His Majesty along. Perhaps it was because she was too shy, too nervous, couldn’t organize her words well. Perhaps she wasn’t fully prepared. Or perhaps because the sunlight at this moment was too gentle—she realized she couldn’t make a sound.
Just now she had thought His Majesty’s way of speaking was somewhat incoherent. If it were her in his place, she might not even speak as smoothly as he did.
His Majesty was still looking at her, only now his gaze held a bit of doubt—perhaps wondering what he had just wanted to say.
Meng Fu pursed her lips. After a long moment, she seriously nodded to Li Yue.
She liked His Majesty.
Liked him more than anyone else in this world.
Now that she had already divorced Xie Wenzhao, there was nothing she couldn’t admit.
The chirping of birds outside the window stopped completely at this moment. The drifting dust in the air seemed to turn into a massive river, slowly flowing, encircling the two of them, separating them from the mundane world. In this slice of heaven and earth, only the two of them remained.
Li Yue’s hands, which had been gripping the corner of the table, finally relaxed. A huge smile bloomed on his face, and the joy in his eyes nearly became tangible. While waiting for Meng Fu’s answer, even though he had believed she probably liked him, until he received her definite confirmation, he couldn’t rest easy. Now, the heart he had been holding up could finally come to rest.
The corners of Li Yue’s mouth lifted wildly, joy radiating from the corners of his eyes and brows. His body unconsciously leaned forward a little—now only a fist’s distance away from Meng Fu. If he moved a little more, his lips would land on Meng Fu’s forehead.
His Majesty lowered his eyes and looked at Meng Fu. He felt that A’Fu at this moment was really too cute, too cute. Unfortunately, the desk between them was truly in the way—otherwise, he could reach out and hug her.
Seeing His Majesty so happy, Meng Fu’s previously nervous mood also relaxed. She took a deep breath and solemnly said to His Majesty: “I like you, Your Majesty.”
Li Yue was stunned. He had thought Meng Fu’s nod earlier had already answered his question. He thought that whether she nodded or said it out loud made little difference to him—after all, the meaning was the same. But now that he heard Meng Fu say it with her own mouth, His Majesty had to admit—he really did want A’Fu to say aloud that she liked him. At this moment, he vaguely felt that the heart in his chest was being gently stroked by a wave of tender sea water.
Meng Fu looked into His Majesty’s eyes and said once more: “I very, very much like Your Majesty.”
Li Yue smiled, his lips curved. He had actually wanted to ask when A’Fu had started liking him. But as soon as he thought of A’Fu saying she liked him very much, he couldn’t help but smile again, unable to form any words.
Warm sunlight fell into every corner of the room. A few yellowed leaves danced down from the branches with the wind. This was the most beautiful autumn day of the entire year.
Those gossip books are fucking useless!
Dark guards, go find something actually useful to read!
A good while passed before the smile at the corners of Li Yue’s lips became less obvious.
Meng Fu slightly lowered her gaze. Although she had exchanged feelings with His Majesty this time, she still could not be certain of her future.
But people live in the present—matters of the future are to be known in the future. His Majesty’s confession today was enough to make her happy for a long time. Even many years later, when she had grown old and thought back on everything that happened today, the corners of her mouth would probably still curl upward.
“That…” Li Yue suddenly opened his mouth again. His expression held some nervousness and unease, but this time, there was more delight within his expression. He pressed down the corners of his mouth, trying his best to appear dependable, and asked Meng Fu, “Then, are you willing to marry me?”
Meng Fu: “……”
She raised her head to look at Li Yue, for a moment not knowing what to say. His Majesty’s progress was really too fast.
Meng Fu reminded Li Yue: “I just divorced yesterday, Your Majesty.”
“I know, I know,” Li Yue’s eyes sparkled as he asked her, “I just wanted to ask first, is A’Fu willing to marry me, become my empress?”
To become His Majesty’s empress?
Meng Fu was well aware that after she divorced Xie Wenzhao, and later severed ties with the Meng family, her background and experiences truly did not meet the requirements of the royal court for an empress. Once the court officials learned of it, they would certainly oppose it.
But the opposition of the court officials had never counted for much in His Majesty’s eyes. Moreover, because His Majesty had never taken a consort until now, with a little mediation, the court officials would probably soften—this wasn’t something too difficult to resolve.
What Meng Fu was thinking about wasn’t this. She understood His Majesty—one could say she understood him better than anyone else in the world. There was just one matter she wanted to ask clearly for herself.
The world always said that after a woman married, she should not be jealous. Back when she was in the Xuanping Marquis’s residence, she had done quite well in this regard. She didn’t care how many concubines Xie Wenzhao took, even if he kept a few mistresses outside, she could act like she didn’t see it. It didn’t matter to her—because she didn’t love Xie Wenzhao. Looking back on those years in the marquis residence, her relationship with Xie Wenzhao was more like that between superior and subordinate. Who would care how many women the boss married or took? At most, it would be treated as a joke.
Thinking like this, Meng Fu felt that after moving out of the marquis’s residence, she should have taken more money with her.
But when facing Li Yue, she absolutely could not be so magnanimous. She definitely could not bear there being a third person between them.
She liked His Majesty very much. That’s why she treated this relationship with such seriousness. She didn’t want it to end in a miserable wreck. If it were going to end like that, then she’d rather not begin—let them both cherish this affection in their own hearts instead.
If this had been in the past, even if Meng Fu had many concerns in her heart, she would have only tried to sound His Majesty out in a roundabout way. But perhaps she had been influenced by Li Yue—now Meng Fu directly asked: “Then will Your Majesty take in other concubines in the future?”
“No.” Li Yue didn’t even hesitate. He gave Meng Fu a promise: “There will only be A’Fu.”
Since the topic was already opened, it was better to ask all the remaining questions. Meng Fu pressed her lips together and asked again: “Then… then if there’s no suitable heir?”
Before she and His Majesty swapped bodies, a physician had examined her and said her health wasn’t good, not easy to conceive. Now, whether she was better or not, Meng Fu herself didn’t know.
His Majesty really did have an imperial throne to pass on.
She had always acted cautiously, thinking three steps ahead for every one she took. All the more so with something this big. The pressures from outside—they could face together with His Majesty. But if, because of this, a rift grew between them, then what should be done? She didn’t want to wait until the time came and bring it up only to end in chaos. She thought it was better to raise these concerns now.
“No problem. We can adopt one.” Li Yue had already thought about this before. Before he met Meng Fu, he hadn’t even considered the matter of marrying a wife. He felt that all the girls in the world were the same, none of them were to his liking, and he would avoid them as far as he could.
A’Fu was different. From the first moment he saw her during the Lantern Festival in the eleventh year of Wenkang, she was different. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have made such a promise with a little girl.
After meeting A’Fu, even those storybooks full of vulgar jokes started to seem like they had some meaning.
Meng Fu lowered her head. They were originally talking about something very happy, but she had rationally asked His Majesty one question after another. Was she being a bit too cold?
She asked Li Yue: “Your Majesty, am I being a little selfish like this?”
“How could you be?” Li Yue raised his hand and lightly tapped Meng Fu on the forehead, then quickly withdrew it. He said to Meng Fu, “I’m the same. I don’t want A’Fu to think about any other man. I don’t want you to have a child with another man in the future.”
Meng Fu let out a soft puff of laughter. His Majesty really was very fair.
She really liked His Majesty too much.
She suddenly felt it was a little funny—clearly the two of them had only just exchanged feelings, yet they were already thinking about matters so far into the future.
“So, is A’Fu willing?” Li Yue looked into Meng Fu’s eyes and softly asked her.
Meng Fu pressed her lips together and smiled. Dappled sunlight scattered across her brows and between her eyes. She had never been as calm and open as she was now. She nodded and said: “Willing, of course I’m willing.”
She must become even better, even tougher, so that in the future she could face all sorts of storms and winds together with His Majesty.