Li Yue looked at Meng Fu and thought about how, before long, she would become his empress, his wife, and his heart surged with heat once again. His gaze landed on Meng Fu’s slightly parted pale lips. He could vaguely see a hint of white teeth inside. Li Yue suddenly realized that perhaps those wind-and-moon storybooks [romance/erotica storybooks often sold in markets during pre-modern China] actually had some use—he should take a look at them.
He really wanted to kiss her lips. But since he had only just confessed his feelings to A’Fu, he was afraid of scaring Meng Fu, so he quickly shifted his gaze and lowered his head, somewhat stiffly saying: “Let me take a look at what you’ve written.”
Meng Fu let out a meaningful “mm” and handed over the stack of paper in front of her to Li Yue.
From last night until now, she had written three short stories. The protagonists were either ghosts in the mountains or spirits in the woods. The world was perilous, human hearts were deceitful, so these socially clueless and foolish yao [妖, supernatural creatures] instead appeared more lovable.
On the surface, the three stories told of foolish ghosts and yao encountering all kinds of mishaps upon first entering the human world, stirring up a series of laughable events. But beneath the surface, they depicted the hardships of the world. The stories were vivid and interesting, the language sharp and refined—within the laughter and scolding, all was literature.
After Li Yue finished reading, he naturally gave a round of praise. Meng Fu felt that His Majesty’s compliments today were especially untrustworthy—she could just draw a circle on paper and His Majesty could praise it like it was a blooming flower. Whether the stories were truly any good would depend on the bookshop owner’s reaction.
Li Yue accompanied Meng Fu in delivering the three stories to the bookshop. On their way back, he bought several pieces of furniture and had people from the wood workshop deliver them. The sun was slowly sinking in the western sky, and their shadows were pulled long and thin, occasionally overlapping. There were no other pedestrians left on the street. Just before they reached the residence, Li Yue quietly extended his hand and held Meng Fu’s hand.
Meng Fu’s hand was pale and smooth, her fingers slender, soft as if boneless. Unlike Li Yue—his fingers and the base of his thumb were covered in calluses from years of martial training.
Li Yue’s heart stirred slightly. As he walked, he observed Meng Fu’s expression. When Meng Fu turned her head to look at him, he quickly looked ahead again and said seriously, “The Empress Dowager wants you to enter the palace to keep her company.”
Meng Fu lowered her eyes to glance at the hand he held and did not pull her hand back. She smiled and asked, “Today?”
Li Yue replied, “Up to you, whatever you want. It’s fine even if you don’t want to go.”
Meng Fu felt that the Empress Dowager couldn’t have asked her into the palace for no reason, so she continued asking: “Did the Empress Dowager know that you came to see me today?”
Li Yue said honestly: “Yes, she did. Those two bolts of Floating Light Brocade were taken from the Empress Dowager.”
At that time, the misunderstanding between the Empress Dowager and His Majesty had unexpectedly come true. Meng Fu immediately understood—the Empress Dowager wanted to prepare the groundwork for His Majesty welcoming her into the palace in the future. Now that she frequently entered the palace, became acquainted with the emperor, and they gradually developed feelings for each other—everything could be made to seem perfectly reasonable.
“It’s a bit late today. I’ll go tomorrow,” Meng Fu felt that Li Yue was holding her hand a little tighter. She asked, “You have to attend court tomorrow, don’t you?”
Li Yue said: “The troops who went to Jùn Mountain for the hunt will return tomorrow. I’ll attend court the day after.”
Once he went to court, he would be busy again. Within a day, the time he could see A’Fu would be very little. When would he finally be able to marry A’Fu?
The sky gradually darkened. The sunset clouds in the sky were all tucked into the moon’s pocket. Li Yue stayed at Meng Fu’s place for dinner, and only reluctantly returned to the palace afterward.
The next morning, when Meng Fu finished dressing and came out of the residence, she saw a carriage parked at the entrance. A coachman dressed in rough cloth and a short tunic, wearing a bamboo hat, was sitting on the carriage. When he saw her approaching, he immediately jumped down and stood there with his head lowered.
Meng Fu narrowed her eyes and carefully examined the coachman in front of her. She spoke and asked: “This is?”
The coachman answered honestly: “This lowly one has come to escort Madam into the palace.”
Meng Fu let out a soft sigh and said somewhat helplessly: “Your Majesty.”
Upon hearing her voice, the coachman instantly lifted his head. Beneath the bamboo hat was indeed Li Yue’s face. He asked Meng Fu, “How did you recognize me?”
Meng Fu didn’t answer Li Yue’s question, but instead asked him, “Why are you dressed like this?”
Li Yue raised the whip in his hand and said with a proud face, “Later I’ll drive the carriage for you.”
Meng Fu pressed her lips together without speaking. Li Yue continued explaining: “The Empress Dowager said that if I came to pick you up and someone saw, it wouldn’t be proper. Like this, surely no one will recognize me.”
He then stepped forward again, shook the whip in his hand, and smiled as he said to Meng Fu: “This lowly one drives very steadily. Madam can be at ease.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a female voice called from behind: “Miss—”
Meng Fu withdrew the smile at the corners of her lips. Her gaze passed over Li Yue to the person behind him, and she asked aloud: “Qingping? Why have you come?”
After Meng Fu and Xie Wenzhao divorced, she didn’t know what kind of life she could lead, so she had given Qingping a sum of silver and told her to return home. Yet it had only been two days, and she had already come back. Meng Fu didn’t know how she had even found this place.
Qingping quickly stepped forward. Her small face was miserable-looking as she sniffled, held onto Meng Fu’s hand, and said to her: “Miss, I missed you.”
Li Yue gave a light hum beside them. Qingping immediately turned to look at him—she had already noticed this coachman was acting suspiciously toward their miss. How could a coachman stand so close to their miss? Although he was quite handsome, so what if he was handsome? Could good looks be eaten?
Qingping’s face was full of alertness. She stood in front of Meng Fu and asked: “Miss, who is he?”
Li Yue gave another hum. Meng Fu glanced at His Majesty—there wasn’t time to explain things to Qingping now, so she said: “Qingping, stay home for now. I have to go to the palace. I’ll be back tonight.”
Qingping said worriedly: “Miss, you’re going to ride his carriage?”
Meng Fu reassured Qingping, saying: “It’s fine, don’t worry. I know him.”
Li Yue lifted his chin slightly, swung the whip in his hand, and his expression became even more pleased with himself.
This only made Qingping even more worried. There were bad men who specifically targeted acquaintances. What’s more, this man in front of her was tall and strong, had a not-so-obvious scar on his face, and carried an air of banditry. She tugged at Meng Fu’s sleeve and softly asked: “Miss, how about you switch to a different coachman?”
Meng Fu glanced at Li Yue. Why was His Majesty acting so childish?
She patted the back of Qingping’s hand, and in the end, still got onto His Majesty’s carriage.
His Majesty waved the little horsewhip, bringing along his beloved lady as they entered the palace—leaving only Qingping behind, full of worry.
Last night, Li Yue had gotten several wind and moon storybooks from the secret guards. The messy plots in those stories weren’t interesting, but some of the described “actions” made one’s heart race. Yet Li Yue didn’t dare do anything. He was afraid of scaring A’Fu, so this had to be taken slowly.
Just as the two of them had entered the palace, Gao Xi quietly came to report that Minister of Rites Zhang Songzhi was requesting an audience and was currently waiting outside the Zichen Hall.
Li Yue had no choice but to first return to change his clothes and receive Zhang Songzhi.
Meng Fu went to the imperial garden and played with the imperial concubine’s child for a while. Not long after, Gao Xi came again to lead her to Zichen Hall. Meng Fu didn’t know what had happened in the hall just before—by the time she entered, Zhang Songzhi and the palace attendants had already withdrawn, and Li Yue’s face still carried a trace of undissipated anger.
Meng Fu walked over gently, stood by his side, and softly asked him, “Your Majesty, did you have Divine Physician Pang take a look at you?”
As soon as Li Yue heard Meng Fu’s voice, he immediately raised his head to look at her, and his expression changed entirely—his facial features all softened. But Meng Fu could still tell that His Majesty was a little annoyed in his heart.
“He’s taken a look. The poison in my body has already been neutralized,” Li Yue told Meng Fu everything truthfully. “Pang Huazhen told me I should be a bit happier during this time—it’ll help with recovery. A’Fu is my medicine. When I see A’Fu, I feel happy.”
When Meng Fu heard this, she tilted her head slightly, assessing that His Majesty still harbored some irritation in his heart. The joy in his eyes wasn’t fake, but he was still holding onto something unhappy inside.
Li Yue was still looking up at her, his eyes full of tenderness. Qingping thought he was tall and intimidating, difficult to deal with. But Meng Fu felt that His Majesty was more lovable than anyone else.
Pang Huazhen hoped His Majesty could be a little happier…
Something stirred in Meng Fu’s heart. She suddenly bent down and lightly dropped a kiss on the left side of Li Yue’s cheek, then quickly straightened up and looked away awkwardly.
Her heart was pounding like a drum, as if it was about to leap out of her chest.
She had been far too bold.
But at this moment, Li Yue, sitting behind the long table, was frozen like a stone statue.
When Meng Fu snapped back to her senses and saw he was still like that, the shyness and unease in her heart actually faded a little. When Li Yue finally moved just a little, she asked him, “Still angry, Your Majesty?”
“No.” Li Yue’s face was flushed red, his hands unsure of where to place themselves. The remaining bit of reason in his mind was warning him that this wasn’t right—why had Meng Fu been the one to make the first move, when he had been the one worried that he might scare her?
She kissed him?
She kissed him!
After quite a long while, Li Yue finally regained a bit of composure. He coughed once and pretended to be calm as he said, “No, I’m still angry.”