"Ping—"Meng Fuyao fell onto the mattress and flopped as if she were a dead fish.
Feeling something warm and soft beneath her, she hurriedly felt around, afraid that she had fallen onto Zhangsun Wuji"s body. Suddenly, she heard a low chuckle as someone said, "What are you feeling about for?"
The voice was low and gentle, smooth as a ball of silk yarn which spun around and around in the darkness of the night, causing one"s limbs to feel weak.
Meng Fuyao stiffened and retracted her hands as she laughed sheepishly and replied, "I lost some money, so I came down to look for it, it"s not with you? Sorry, sorry, I"ve disturbed you."
She still couldn"t bring herself to look at Zhangsun Wuji and got up to leave. However, she felt herself being pulled by someone against another person"s body. She could smell the faint fragrance of various medicinal herbs as it wafted around her.
Eyes wide open, Meng Fuyao instinctively pushed, only to realize that—she was trapped…
She was trapped!
The most serious situation in her lifetime had happened!
She, Meng Fuyao, was, trapped!
Meng Fuyao shouted and was about to push away the vicious person with all her force when the person on top of her suddenly spoke weakly. "Go ahead and push me, you"ll only just injure me one more time."
Meng Fuyao looked at the ceiling exasperatedly—Zhangsun Wuji really knew how to guilt-trip a person.
"Fine, I won"t push you, lest I touch your wounds." Meng Fuyao forced a smile onto her lips as she said breathlessly, "Fine, fragile items should be handled with care."
She attempted to hold Zhangsun Wuji gently, but that person already seemed to know what she was thinking and refused to move away as he murmured, "Can"t you just lend me a place to rest?"
"The bed is such a huge place, why do you have to use my neck to store your brain? Why do you have to use my chest to rest your shoulder? I"m still a growing young lady, it hurts being trapped like this!"
Meng Fuyao"s temper was ignited again, and she wanted to hurt this stubborn person again. It was just physical injury, why would he be weakened to this state? He was milking her pity with his injury—she was determined not to fall for it!
Just when she had steeled herself not to fall for it and was about to flip the person off her, Zhangsun Wuji murmured again, "The techniques practiced by my fellow disciples trains the entire body, from the skin to the flesh to the veins. Every part is a weapon, every part is filled with inner energy, and when one trains to the highest level, every part is protected, so we will not get injured easily, but once we get injured, physical damage is equivalent to internal damage…"
He snuggled against Meng Fuyao"s neck as he spoke, his breath falling in little huffs behind Meng Fuyao"s ear, ticking it slightly. Meng Fuyao moved away slightly, unsure whether it was due to his breath or his explanation that made her body feel warm and she softened slightly.
Yet, she did not know that she had already softened into a puddle of spring water nestled in Zhangsun Wuji"s chest. Their breathing melded together as one, and in the darkness, it seemed that it had become slightly heavier.
After a moment, Meng Fuyao finally said defeatedly, "You can only hold me to sleep, got it… No doing anything else."
There was a m.u.f.fled chuckle, and the person"s eyes glinted in the dark as he moved slightly. Meng Fuyao suddenly felt something wet on her face, followed by a pair of soft lips against her skin, moist and supple. She then felt a faint breath belonging only to him, carrying the faint scent of medicinal herbs, an exquisite and refreshing fragrance against her face, following the trail that Lord Yuan Bao had left on her face slowly, meticulously and gently.
A thought suddenly struck Meng Fuyao"s brain, and her entire face instantly flushed and began to burn—he was actually licking the syrup on her face!
The warm and gentle tongue was engrossed in its actions as he left a glistening trail on her skin; the mark he left held a faint sweetness, following up to the corners of her lips which held the dense fragrance of wine, intoxicating yet cool, invoking memories of the past, as though it were her own taste…
Zhangsun Wuji stopped at the corner of her lips, unmoving for a long moment before sighing. "No wonder our ancestors all said they would rather die drunk on the wine of their hometown…"
Meng Fuyao"s face reddened, and she pushed him away. Zhangsun Wuji laughed as he allowed himself to be pushed away, yet he refused to let go, holding her as she slept. "Fuyao, before you truly and completely accept my love, I won"t touch you."
"Do you dare?" Meng Fuyao"s embarra.s.sment turned to anger, "Do you know Guo Pingrong? That"s a fine example!"
Zhangsun Wuji smiled and reached forward to bite the side of her lip. Meng Fuyao cried out in astonishment, and he laughed. "Can you bear to?"
Meng Fuyao huffed indignantly and turned away, slowly settling down. After a while, she mumbled sullenly, "Sorry…"
Zhangsun Wuji turned on one side and propped himself up with an arm as he asked, "Hm?"
Meng Fuyao cast a side glare at the shameless person and refused to speak any further.
Zhangsun Wuji chuckled and reached out to tidy her messy hair, saying, "You finally said it."
"But I still feel that what I said that day wasn"t entirely wrong…" muttered Meng Fuyao.
The two of them remained silent in the darkness, each occupied with their own thoughts. Their feelings at the moment had nothing to do with the wind and the moon, yet the things they were thinking off were more distant than the wind and the moon.
After a moment, Zhangsun Wuji suddenly asked, "Who is the person you are missing?"
Meng Fuyao hesitated before replying, "My mother."
"Where is she?"
This time, Meng Fuyao remained silent for a long time before replying, "In a place far away."
Zhangsun Wuji gazed at the sadness in her eyes and the tears threatening to spill out as his eyes too stung slightly. Finally, he slowly said, "Fuyao, can"t I help you at all?"
Meng Fuyao didn"t reply.
Help? How could he help? It would be too painful.
She wanted to go against the heavens, how could he give up a life of happiness to follow her?
"No matter what, I always hope that you will be well… The position as the Emperor of the Five Regions Continent is the only t.i.tle most befitting for you to revolutionize the world and be an excellent… emperor."
Meng Fuyao closed her eyes and tried to imagine Zhangsun Wuji in the Emperor"s dragon robes, and what kind of empress would be beside him. However, no matter how hard she thought, the woman"s face remained a blur, and she couldn"t fit anyone in it.
She let out an empty laugh.
"Sleep now, you"ve not been resting well these past few days." Zhangsun Wuji patted her, his voice soft as he continued, "Don"t make things difficult for yourself. If you make things difficult for yourself, it"s the same as making things difficult for me, and combined together it would be double the suffering. Think about it, is it worth it?"
Meng Fuyao couldn"t help but let out a laugh. Zhangsun Wuji leaned forward and kissed her forehead, saying, "You little fool, it"s no use trying to convince you. Let"s just… take it one step at a time."
Meng Fuyao finally returned to her usual self.
She smashed the wine jar, donned new robes and gaily went to work.
Sitting at one side, Ya Lanzhu and Lord Yuan Bao watched her retreating silhouette and glanced at each other. Their meaning was clear in their eyes:
"She deserves a beating!"
Meng Fuyao rode a horse through the streets. At the moment, Pandu was peaceful and quiet, but it was the kind of peace that made one inevitably feel that there was something sinister brewing, especially at the east wing a.s.sembly point of the n.o.bles. The feeling of unease was even more apparent, and there were people attempting to escape, attempting to collect grain. The country that had been at peace for so many years was beginning to panic at the impending entrance of a single person.
Meng Fuyao looked up and gazed at the dark clouds which refused to part. She wasn"t sure why, but she felt a nagging uneasiness in her heart as though uncontrollable things were happening far away, that there was an insidious change which couldn"t be detected, c.u.mulating like the dark clouds before a storm. And very slowly, without changing its course, it was making its way towards her.
No matter how she thought, Meng Fuyao couldn"t think of a way to avoid it. After a long time, she gave the horse"s side a little kick and continued moving forward.
Pandu had already begun preparing for war, and all the troops had been gathered and were awaiting orders. Zhan Beiye and the great Black Dragon army had already crossed the river and powered forward with tremendous force. Although the great Black Dragon army was formidable in combat and overwhelmed the rusty Tiansha army like a pack of wolves descending from the desert, they were merciful and avoided frightening the people and killing the innocent. Cities that took the initiative to surrender were given special treatment as well. As such, the small yet powerful group moved forward with speed, and there was but a day left before they descended upon Pandu.
Due to that, Tiansha had conducted numerous discussion conferences, the topic of their discussion being whether they should send the troops out to the city of Danshui sixty miles from Pandu and take Zhan Beiye head-on with their infantry and prevent the enemy from reaching Pandu, or centralize their forces within Pandu to defend the imperial city. Both sides debated heatedly and refused to concede to each other. Today, they were debating again. Zhan Nancheng was sitting on the throne, wearily watching both sides argue. Recently, he had not been looking well, and everyone thought that it was because of Zhan Beiheng"s betrayal that affected his mood. Only Meng Fuyao watched him gleefully, trying to guess what kind of disease he had contracted.
At the discussion, everyone speaking were high officials who had the power to decide national affairs, and someone like Meng Fuyao had no authority to speak, so she simply stood there nonchalantly looking at her fingernails.
Suddenly, Zhan Nancheng called out to her. "General Meng, what do you think about it?"
Everyone present shut their mouths and hastily turned around, their eyes full of curiosity and suspicion.
"This silly rascal, what could he possibly know?"
"Ah?" Meng Fuyao hurriedly put down her hands and stood at attention as she replied, "Your Majesty, with your power, regardless of whether at Danshui or Pandu, we will always secure victory and overcome all obstacles and send the treacherous thieves fleeing…"
"Tch!" Everyone turned away—How shameless!
Zhan Nancheng ma.s.saged the spot between his eyebrows wearily and said, "General Meng, just say what you really want to say."
"Although my parents are the ones who gave birth to me, Your Majesty is the one who knows me truly." Meng Fuyao smiled and said, "Then your servant shall speak?"
Zhan Nancheng smiled bitterly and nodded.
Meng Fuyao suddenly turned around, and spread her hands wide as she roared, "You fools!"
All the officials turned green with rage—how could this rascal just open his mouth and curse like that!
One of the three great officials rebuked angrily, "Meng Fuyao, is this royal court a place for you to let loose?"
Meng Fuyao jumped onto the steps and pointed at his nose as she retorted, "Old Man Xi, His Majesty has allowed me to speak my mind, yet now you"re not letting me speak? Are you defying His Majesty"s orders? Why are you defying His Majesty"s orders now? Unless you harbor malicious intent? Why would you harbor any malicious intent? Unless you"re trying to switch to Zhan Beiye"s treacherous faction…?"
Old Man Xi lowered his head and coughed slightly as he shook his head and shrank back, utterly defeated.