Qingping stayed quietly by Meng Fu’s side, silently shedding tears. She didn’t even dare make a sound, afraid it would make Meng Fu even more upset. But Meng Fu, the bride, truly wasn’t sad—she had never held any illusions about that marriage. Whether or not Xie Wenzhao held her in his heart was unimportant to her; it didn’t affect her in the slightest when it came to being a good marchioness.
Meng Fu lowered her gaze. Once the palace maids finished doing her hair, she stood up and changed into her ceremonial robe. The robe’s golden phoenix spread its wings as if ready to take flight—vivid and lifelike. If she stepped into sunlight, it would surely appear even more dazzling, but even now it looked very fine.
“Miss, you look really beautiful today—really beautiful,” Qingping said emotionally.
In the imperial palace, His Majesty the Emperor was so excited that he hadn’t slept a wink last night. Before dawn, he had already changed into his wedding robe and was full of spirit, standing in front of the mirror. One moment he fussed with his hair, the next moment adjusted his sleeves. He turned and asked Gao Xi, “How do I look today?”
Gao Xi sighed helplessly in his heart—His Majesty had asked him this question eight times already since morning. He changed the wording and praised again: “Your Majesty, you are truly like a jade tree in the wind, elegant and graceful—graceful—” Gao Gonggong lacked education but was quick-witted, so he followed up, “If Her Majesty the Empress sees you, she’ll definitely like it.”
Li Yue gave Gao Xi an approving look. “You know how to speak.”
After the Emperor had finished dressing himself up, there was still over an hour left before the auspicious time to leave the palace to fetch the bride. This one hour felt longer than an entire day.
The enthronement ceremony for the Empress and the wedding were scheduled on the same day. First, the chief envoy would arrive at Meng Fu’s place to proclaim the imperial edict for her to become Empress. After that, Meng Fu would receive the officials’ kneeling bows, then change into her wedding robe and wait for Li Yue to come escort her to the palace.
While Meng Fu was receiving the bows from the officials in her residence, Li Yue was on the road to fetch his bride. He had prepared many gold and silver foil leaves and wedding candies, spreading joy all along the way to celebrate with the people.
The sound of the suona was penetrating and echoed far into the residence. Meng Fu had already changed into her red wedding robe. The palace attendants placed the red bridal veil over her head, and in that moment, her heart settled.
She didn’t know how long had passed before Li Yue arrived at her residence with the wedding procession. The music stopped, the wind ceased, and pale yellow flower buds fell silently from the tree branches. Although there were many people inside the residence, at that moment, no one dared speak—all fell silent. It was as if only Meng Fu and Li Yue were left in this courtyard.
His Majesty walked to her side, took hold of the red silk in her hand, and softly said: “A’Fu, I’ve come.”
Meng Fu’s breath slightly hitched. And as His Majesty’s voice fell, the courtyard’s drums and music started again. The crackling sound of firecrackers drowned out every other noise around them, and the long red ribbons at the gate began to dance gently in the breeze.
Meng Fu sat into the wedding palanquin. Inside, pastries had been prepared—most likely secretly arranged by His Majesty. However, perhaps due to excitement, Meng Fu didn’t feel hungry.
By the time the bridal procession reached the imperial palace, it was already dusk. After spending nearly half an hour paying respects to Heaven and Earth, the sky had turned completely dark. Fortunately, no one intended to make mischief in His Majesty’s bridal chamber. Once the palanquin was stopped in front of the Zichen Hall, the crowd dispersed.
Meng Fu was assisted into the rear palace of Zichen Hall. The palace servants gradually withdrew. Meng Fu sat on the bed, the surroundings completely silent. Her mind was a chaotic mess, like being suspended mid-air, unable to find a place to land.
Until the sound of a door opening came—Meng Fu’s hand, which was holding the ruyi scepter, tightened instinctively. She knew it was Li Yue who had come.
She wore the bridal veil over her head and couldn’t see anything. She only heard footsteps approaching slowly, each step landing heavily on her heart. Before long, a pair of black boots embroidered with gold patterns stopped in front of her. Meng Fu’s heartbeat suddenly quickened violently, her ears ringing with a deafening roar—like a mountain torrent pouring during a storm, or the endless cicada cries in summer trees.
Her grip on the ruyi tightened further. She instinctively held her breath, staring at the boots in front of her, until a wedding scale gently lifted the veil from her eyes, and her vision brightened and widened.
Inside Zichen Hall, everything was covered in brilliant red, festivity exuding from every corner. But Meng Fu didn’t have the heart to care about any of that. She slowly raised her head—Li Yue was standing right before her. Under the glow of the palace lamps, with the candlelight flickering, he wore a red wedding robe, less stern than usual, and with more tenderness.
Li Yue lowered his head and looked at Meng Fu steadily. In his eyes, her figure was clearly reflected, as though holding countless fragments of stars. His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly as he said in a low voice: “A’Fu, I want to kiss you.”
Before Meng Fu could speak, His Majesty bent down and accurately captured her lips, kissing her slowly and deeply, savoring and tasting.
Meng Fu tightly clutched the bedding beneath her hands, tilting her head upward and letting His Majesty take what he wished.
After a long moment, Li Yue finally released her lips. His gaze was dark and heavy, seemingly flickering with firelight. Meng Fu’s heart pounded violently in her chest. She tried hard to calm herself, her breath trembling slightly. She reminded Li Yue: “Your Majesty, it’s time to drink the he jin wine [合卺酒 – ritual “joining cup wine” drunk by bride and groom at traditional Chinese weddings].”
At the mention of “he jin wine,” Li Yue seemed to suddenly snap back to his senses. The overbearing presence from earlier faded by more than half. He responded deeply with an “en,” then turned to pour the wine—but when he walked, he almost moved his hands and feet at the same time.
Every time Meng Fu saw His Majesty like this, some of her tension would dissipate.
Not long after, His Majesty returned carrying two cups of wine, handing one of them to Meng Fu. After drinking the he jin wine, was it time for the bridal chamber now? Recalling those “fire-avoidance diagrams”, the previously domineering and enchanted Li Yue suddenly felt a bit at a loss.
He pressed his lips together and asked, “A’Fu, if you drink this cup, you won’t get drunk, right? If you get drunk, can the two of us still consummate? Last time during the Empress Dowager’s birthday you had just three cups and got drunk, using my body no less—can you really drink alcohol? Or should we switch to some other kind of wine…”
Seeing that His Majesty was going on and on with no end in sight, Meng Fu thought that if he kept talking, he might go on till dawn. She had no choice but to interrupt him: “Your Majesty, are you very nervous right now?”
“How could I be?” His Majesty forced a calm smile.
Meng Fu lifted her wine cup, the corners of her lips lightly curved, glancing at His Majesty as if she’d seen right through him.
His Majesty flushed slightly with embarrassment, but then straightened his back and said with righteous indignation, “What’s wrong if I’m nervous because I have no experience!”
After saying that, he raised his cup, looped it around Meng Fu’s arm, and together they downed the he jin wine in one go. Right after, the inexperienced His Majesty leaned over and kissed Meng Fu’s lips again, attempting to sweep the remaining wine in her mouth into his—but it was too late, she had already swallowed it.
Li Yue took advantage of the situation and kissed her a while longer before letting go. Then he looked her over. Seeing no signs of drunkenness on her face, and her eyes still clear, he stood up and said: “Is the phoenix coronet heavy? I’ll help you take it off first.”
He carefully removed the phoenix coronet, phoenix hairpins, and dangling ornaments from the top of Meng Fu’s head, placing them on the nearby table. Her black hair flowed like a waterfall down her back.
His Majesty then asked: “Are you hungry? Want something to eat?”
Meng Fu shook her head.
“Are you tired today? Do you want to rest—”
Li Yue’s words weren’t finished before being interrupted by Meng Fu. Meng Fu asked him, “Your Majesty, what’s wrong with you?”
“I…” Li Yue took a deep breath and turned around in place twice. He said, “I need to prepare a bit.”
Meng Fu found it funny. At this point, she herself wasn’t feeling very nervous anymore. Tilting her head, she asked, “What else do you need to prepare?”
Seeing that His Majesty didn’t speak, Meng Fu smiled and asked, “Should I ask Gonggong Gao to bring in a fire-avoidance diagram?” [a euphemism in ancient China for sex education illustrations or intimacy manuals]
“There’s no need for that.” Li Yue returned to Meng Fu’s side and sat down. He pulled Meng Fu’s hand over. His lips moved slightly, and at last he said, “Later, A’Fu, you’ll have to teach me.”
“I…” Meng Fu wanted to say that, in truth, she didn’t have experience either. But in the end, she didn’t say it. Those matters, if you read books, you could understand. For her to teach His Majesty, it should be no problem… right?
Her full head of black hair spilled across the bright red bedding, setting off Meng Fu’s skin like snow, like a celestial maiden who had fallen into the mortal world. Li Yue knelt on the bed and slowly loosened her sash.
His Majesty’s palms were very warm. His fingers were nimble, powerful, and carried a thin layer of calluses.
Meng Fu felt as though she were floating among the clouds. After a long time, she opened her eyes. The tips of His Majesty’s fingers were stained with a bit of watery gleam. Though his clothing was a little disheveled, it was still worn properly on his body.
But she herself—her clothes had long since scattered to the surroundings.
Did His Majesty really need her to teach him?
His Majesty didn’t give her time to think. He leaned down, pressed his lips against her ear, and called her “A’Fu” again and again.
Meng Fu opened her lips, wanting to respond to him, but couldn’t make out any clear sound—only breathless gasps remained. His Majesty kissed the flushed tip of her ear and said to her: “A’Fu, if it feels uncomfortable later, let me know.”
Meng Fu lowered her gaze. Her thick lashes trembled slightly. She softly gave an “en.”
The red gauze hung down. The red candles burned high.