Even if there is to be meat compensation, it shouldn’t be tonight. Looking at His Majesty’s posture, Meng Fu felt like she was the one who owed money.
This should not be.
His Majesty lifted his foot and walked toward her. Meng Fu lowered her eyes and sized him up — His Majesty’s figure was really not bad. If it came to meat compensation, it should be quite valuable. The Imperial Consort (Guifei) really didn’t know how to appreciate it.
As Li Yue gradually approached, his shadow slowly climbed onto Meng Fu’s dress and eventually enveloped all of her in darkness.
Li Yue’s breath carried a faint smell of alcohol, spreading around Meng Fu. Meng Fu looked up at him. The lights were dim, hidden fragrance floated — she felt like she might be a little drunk too. Meng Fu was just about to bend down and pick up the clothes on the ground when His Majesty lowered his head first and held her lips, teeth carefully grinding on her lips.
Meng Fu slightly opened her lips, closed her eyes, wrapped her arms around his neck, and deepened the kiss with him. Unknowingly, His Majesty’s hand was already placed on her lower back. He slowly leaned down, laying her down on the soft bed behind her.
By the time Meng Fu came back to her senses, her waistband was already undone. His Majesty looked slightly drunk, yet his undressing skills were much more refined than usual.
Meng Fu lifted her eyes and looked into His Majesty’s. His Majesty was also looking at her. Those eyes still appeared relatively clear. She couldn’t help but once again wonder — is His Majesty really drunk or not?
Regardless, it shouldn’t be just done like this.
She withdrew her gaze, drove out those messy thoughts from her mind, sighed lightly, sat up from the bed, and looked down to retie her waistband.
His Majesty saw her sit up and instantly furrowed his brows in some dissatisfaction. He also looked down at himself, possibly worrying if A’Fu was disgusted with him — then he wouldn’t be able to meat compensate.
How could His Majesty owe a debt and not repay it! And it’s been owed for so long — today it must all be paid back, with interest!
Li Yue crouched down again, reached out his hand, hooked onto Meng Fu’s waistband, blinking his eyes and staring at her continuously — a bit like a large beast. This thought was somewhat disrespectful.
Meng Fu bent down, gave a heavy kiss on His Majesty’s forehead, then coaxed him softly: “Since you want to meat compensate, shouldn’t you prepare a bit?”
Li Yue tilted his head, eyes reflecting the nearby light, especially bright. He placed his hands obediently on Meng Fu’s knees, raised his head and seriously asked, “How to prepare?”
Meng Fu stood up, walked behind the screen, picked up the clothes His Majesty had thrown on the ground, then turned back and said to Li Yue, still squatting on the ground, “Your Majesty, please go take a bath first.”
Li Yue got up from the ground, turned his head and deeply nodded. He probably felt that what Meng Fu said was very reasonable.
Meng Fu sighed in her heart — so obedient, probably really is drunk.
She came over to help him put on some clothes. After His Majesty was dressed, he stood obediently in place, as if not knowing where to go. Meng Fu had no choice but to reach out from behind and push him toward the warm pavilion on the side.
Although His Majesty was much taller than Meng Fu, the good thing was that he listened well. Meng Fu barely used any force before pushing him to the water pool beside the warm pavilion.
Gao Xi saw this and quickly hid behind a pillar, covering his mouth and secretly laughing for a while. Seeing other palace attendants wanting to step forward, he quickly waved them back. This kind of scene wasn’t for just anyone to watch. He himself also left the Zichen Hall.
Above the pool in the warm pavilion floated a layer of white steam, like clouds or mist. A faint fragrance filled the entire pavilion. Meng Fu stood opposite Li Yue, helped him undress, pushed him into the water, then sat at the edge of the pool, propped her chin, and quietly watched Li Yue in the water.
His Majesty stood in the pool, looking up at Meng Fu on the bank. He walked over — the calm water rippled with each of his steps. He stopped in front of Meng Fu, smiled at her, then raised his hand and slapped the water hard. Instantly, a splash of water flew up.
A lot of water splashed onto Meng Fu’s body. Her skirt was already thin, and with just a bit of moisture, the clothes underneath could be seen. Meng Fu took a deep breath — if His Majesty had drunk just one cup less tonight, he wouldn’t be like this now. She lifted her hand to wipe the water off her face, and looked helplessly at Li Yue in the water.
His Majesty was definitely drunk. Otherwise, how could he be this childish!
Li Yue was still standing in the water, beckoning to Meng Fu: “A’Fu, come down.”
Meng Fu didn’t really want to go down. She felt that with His Majesty’s current state, if she went down, she might not be able to come back up.
His Majesty waited a while. Seeing Meng Fu make no move, he stretched out his hand, frowned, and said to Meng Fu: “A’Fu, my hand hurts. Hurry, come look at it.”
Meng Fu lowered her eyes and glanced at him, unmoved — His Majesty’s acting skills hadn’t improved at all despite being drunk.
Seeing that Meng Fu was still unwilling to come down, Li Yue suddenly curled his lips into a smile. Before Meng Fu could figure out what he was smiling about, His Majesty took another step forward and stretched out his arms to directly lift Meng Fu down. The clothes on her body were instantly soaked through, clinging tightly to her figure. Meng Fu was just about to speak, but Li Yue lowered his head first and sealed her lips — she couldn’t make any sound at all, her whole person leaning against Li Yue’s chest, listening to the peng peng beating of his heart.
The pool water was very hot, but Li Yue’s hands seemed even hotter than the water in the pool. In just a few moves, he stripped off all of Meng Fu’s clothes.
Originally, the bath would have only taken one or two ke [one ke = 15 minutes, so 15–30 minutes], but with all the commotion, more than a full hour passed. In the end, Meng Fu was carried out of the pool by Li Yue.
Meng Fu’s breathing still hadn’t steadied. She looked up at Li Yue’s chin and let out a confused sound, asking, “Were you actually drunk or not?”
Li Yue looked down at her, the corners of his lips lifted as he raised an eyebrow proudly: “Of course not drunk.”
His Majesty’s current appearance indeed didn’t look like he was drunk, but the way he was when he first arrived at the warm pavilion — who would believe he wasn’t drunk?
Li Yue carried Meng Fu straight to the bedchamber behind the warm pavilion. Meng Fu only slightly regained her senses after being placed on the bed. She squinted and sized up Li Yue for a while, then asked him, “Didn’t you say earlier that you wanted to repay your debt today?”
His Majesty nodded seriously and righteously: “Yes, isn’t that what I’m doing right now?”
Meng Fu gave an “alright,” tonight she wanted to see whether Li Yue was drunk or not after all. She sat up, pointed to the spot she had just been lying in, and said to Li Yue, “You lie down.”
Li Yue gave an “oh,” and obediently lay down as Meng Fu instructed. Meng Fu changed her posture and kneeled beside him, her gaze sweeping inch by inch across his body.
His Majesty was clearly a little excited, reaching out to pull Meng Fu down. Meng Fu lifted her eyes and looked at him: “Don’t move.”
His Majesty pressed his lips together, looking slightly wronged. Meng Fu leaned down and gave him a kiss on the corner of his lips as comfort, then coldly and unfeelingly said: “If you’re repaying with meat, you have to have the appearance of repaying with meat.”
His Majesty responded with another “oh,” but when he heard Meng Fu say “meat compensation,” his eyes immediately lit up, staring at her without blinking.
It had already been a year since Meng Fu and Li Yue’s grand wedding. Everything that should have been done and shouldn’t have been done had already been done. But at this moment, being looked at like this by His Majesty, Meng Fu still felt a little shy and didn’t know how to start.
This little lecher of a His Majesty, perhaps because he drank too much tonight, when Meng Fu forbade him from making a move, his expression suddenly turned pure, as if he didn’t understand anything.
This made Meng Fu a little flustered.
She pressed her lips together, then sat on top of Li Yue.
The candlelight flickered, her shadow cast onto the wall on the other side, rising and falling.
Meng Fu eventually confirmed that Li Yue was indeed a little drunk — just that the price she paid was a bit much. She felt like all the bones in her body were falling apart. And by the time she realized this, His Majesty’s alcohol also seemed to have worn off. He carried her out to wash up.
Fortunately, the next day was a rest day. Meng Fu didn’t get out of bed until the sun was high in the sky. His Majesty’s body was truly quite good — he drank so much last night, made a mess until midnight, yet woke up in the morning still full of vigor and dragged her out in the afternoon to practice boxing.
But General Tang wasn’t as lucky as His Majesty. After sobering up and returning home this morning, he was scolded by Madam Tang and ordered to sweep the yard. Ji Yun’s wife was a bit gentler, but he had a formidable grandmother — he was also dragged into the ancestral hall and lectured.
While learning boxing from Li Yue, Meng Fu suddenly figured something out — was there a possibility that His Majesty’s alcohol tolerance wasn’t actually that high, it’s just that even when he was drunk, General Tang and the others couldn’t tell?
Tang Mingqi and Ji Yun only stayed in the imperial capital for less than half a month before hurrying back to Northern Frontier.
In the winter month of that year, many foreign tribes in the Northern Frontier allied and launched a large-scale invasion. After discussions, Tang Mingqi and Ji Yun led thirty thousand elite troops deep into enemy territory, but fell into an ambush. Most of the thirty thousand elite soldiers were killed or wounded. Tang Mingqi also sustained severe injuries in this battle. The physician said he needed at least three months of rest before he could get out of bed.
The commanding general in the Northern Frontier was then only Ji Yun. Ji Yun was skilled in military strategy but average in martial ability, not suited to lead direct combat. The rest of the soldiers followed his orders but lacked coordination, and often couldn’t change tactics in time, resulting in frequent defeats by the foreign tribes.