AN: Guys...Guys...I swear on the moon and the stars that I didn't anticipate for this chapter to take as long to opening section to go where it did. In fact, I wanted XingYue to argue a bit more (not to fight; just to disagree/raise their voices a bit) and then transition into the second scene, but they told me in no uncertain terms that they wanted to engage in more pleasurable activities instead, so I had to rewrite everything in my head. This took longer than anticipated—and longer than it should have done. I got out of the habit of writing, couldn't figure out how I wanted the upcoming Xiao Ce arc to go, my grandfather passed away, and then… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ . For whatever reason, I just...didn't want to write, so I didn't. And then I did. I hope you enjoy this wrap-up/transition chapter; His Highness, the Crown Prince of Liang and his incomparably lovely Xia Xia should be condescending to grace Qing Shan Yuan with their presence next chapter.
As much as Yuwen Yue was looking forward to engaging in more...strenuous activities with Xing'er once she was his wife, he knew that he would never tire of experiencing peaceful, quiet moments like this one. Both he and his beloved were currently curled up together in their underrobes in Xing'er's bed after having managed to get a couple of hours of sleep. Although his exhaustion still nagged at him, he felt that the rest he'd just gotten had been the soundest he'd experienced in weeks.
The light of early morning filtered into the room, and the bustle of life at Qing Shan Yuan faintly intruded into their sanctuary. Xing'er's head was pillowed on his shoulder, and much of her chest was pressed against his in boneless abandon. One of her arms was firmly wrapped around his middle, and her legs were fortunately nowhere near the physical evidence of just how much he was enjoying Xing'er's present position.
He knew that, soon enough, Xing'er would awaken and they'd have to have a conversation that would likely be much less pleasant than his current situation. Xing'er's blissful expression would give way to a pensive frown, which would likely be followed by arguments, recriminations, and defensive posturing on both sides. His arm tightened around his beloved instinctively as he remembered the realization that had hit him so forcefully the moment that Xing'er had walked through that door and confronted him.
I would do anything—absolutely anything—to keep her at my side, he'd thought. His dismay at this realization that shouldn't have shocked him so deeply had caused him to temporarily retreat behind his typical arrogant, reserved mask.
His resolve to make her his wife was even stronger now that they'd renewed their commitment to one another and that Xing'er was nestled in his arms where she belonged.
Not exactly where she belongs, he mused as he noted their surroundings again. We're in the wrong bedroom—and the wrong bed. I'm tired of waiting to become one with her, and I'm not willing to waste any more time mourning and appeasing the unworthy.
As if hearing his thoughts, his beloved began to stir as the morning light continued to brighten. She was normally awake by now, but he knew that the recent past had exhausted her. Yuwen Yue couldn't stop a small smile from twitching his lips briefly as she tightened her arm around his middle for a moment and breathed deeply.
"Good dream," she murmured, her sleepy smile widening.
His heart panged for his beloved as he realized that she likely thought herself to be alone in her bed right now—or, perhaps, on the way to Yanbei. The realizations that Xing'er had once again chosen him over other men and that she'd just admitted to dreaming about him drew his lips into a full-blown smirk. Unable to help himself, he started slowly caressing Xing'er's back under the covers. He knew that this would wake Xing'er up, but he couldn't pass up the opportunity to caress his beloved—especially given the events of the past week.
A small frown marred Xing'er's beautiful face as it wrinkled in confusion.
"Long dream," she murmured, inhaling again in a more deliberate fashion.
Her eyes popped open and looked up at him with comical roundness; he wondered if she'd ever wake up in bed with him without seeming shocked and dismayed at the prospect—and the implications. Of course, he enjoyed the adorable confusion on her face, but he'd never tell her so lest she try to awaken with more dignity.
Memories of a few hours ago obviously returned to Xing'er, causing her gaze to fill with shame and trepidation before she returned her head to Yuwen Yue's chest. After a moment, her lips pressed a soft kiss to the underside of his jaw, and her arm squeezed him once before relaxing. A small sniffle came from his beloved, so he placed a kiss of his own on the top of her head. They were both stalling for time, but Yuwen Yue couldn't bring himself to regret any moment spent with Xing'er in his arms.
"I almost lost you," he whispered, not meaning to speak aloud.
Xing'er looked up at him in surprise, and he instinctively scowled at having been so open. He dropped the frown immediately, though, vowing to work on being more honest and tender with the woman who would soon be his da fu ren.
"Yuwen Yue-"
"I almost lost you, X'er," he repeated, giving her one of his piercing stares. "I can't lose you, X'er."
Her eyes filled with shame again before turning back towards his chest.
"I wish I'd have known that you felt that way before I left," she said softly.
"Would knowing have made that much of a difference, Xing'er? I know you were angry at me about multiple things."
"Of course it would've mattered!" she blurted, raising her eyes back to his defiantly and pushing herself up on his chest so that she could scowl down at him. "I only left because I thought you didn't want to marry me anymore!"
"But you only overheard my conversation with my grandfather right before you left, Xing'er," Yuwen Yue said, unwilling to allow Xing'er to lie to him—or herself. "Surely you'd planned to leave me well before last night."
"During our big argument, you told me that I would never be a certain kind of wife—implying that I would never be your wife. Then you told me that meeting your father had been premature—also implying that I would never be your wife. What was I supposed to think?"
"You were supposed to think that I was angry at the time but that we could reconcile later."
"You did a great job of reconciliation, Yuwen Yue," Xing'er muttered, her position on his chest showing off her blazing eyes and hard-yet-soft body to excellent effect.
Unable to resist temptation, Yuwen Yue pulled her back down towards himself and kissed her passionately. Xing'er gave a blurt of shock before returning the kiss with equal measure. There was a harshness to her embrace, but it only served to fire Yuwen Yue's blood all the more.
"I was trying to be serious, Yuwen Yue," she said, looking down at him with that dazed look he loved so much and had missed greatly.
"Was that not serious enough for you, Xing'er?" he asked before repeating his previous course of action.
"Yuwen Yue! You-!"
"You said that you didn't like my previous methods of reconciliation, so I decided to try a different tactic. Did you like this one better?"
Yuwen Yue never saw Xing'er move, but he had no trouble instinctively returning the passionate kiss that she gave him. Once again, his body was begging him to act in ways his mind knew were inappropriate, but the warm weight of Xing'er pressed against his chest and lips was robbing him of rational thought.
She broke the kiss and smirked down at him before saying, "You seemed to still be worried that I'm going to leave you, so I decided to try a different tactic to convince you otherwise. Did it work?"
This time, Yuwen Yue took Xing'er by surprise as he flipped her over on her back, pinned her beneath himself, and proceeded to demonstrate his approval of her method of reassurance. His ability to think of their actions in such rational terminology rapidly dissipated, however, as his hand reached for the tie of Xing'er's underrobes and his lips began to kiss their way down her neck and towards the currently-covered skin that would soon be bared to him.
A sudden, fierce desire to claim her as his so that she could never leave him rose up within, and he found himself struggling to exercise that iron control he'd had for most of his life. He lost himself in the arms of his beloved, realizing dimly that his own underrobes had been partially discarded by Xing'er's clever hands.
Yuwen Yue captured her lips in another searing kiss before pulling back slightly and looking into her eyes. The love and desire he saw in them almost pushed him completely over the edge again, but the guilt and shame mixed in with the positive emotions doused his ardor and brought him back to his senses.
Before he could change his mind, he pushed down on the mattress on either side of Xing'er and vaulted over her, retying his underrobes with his back to the bed. He picked up the robe he'd worn yesterday and pulled it on as well, refocusing his mind in the few moments he needed to make himself presentable.
"What's wrong, Yuwen Yue?" Xing'er asked in confusion as she rolled over on her side and faced him.
The view she presented to him almost caused him to lose control again, but his love for Xing'er—and his Yuwen stubbornness—prevailed. He strode back to the bed and sat down, tying Xing'er's underrobes closed with what he hoped was an open, compassionate expression. Yuwen Yue gave her a tender but brief kiss for good measure, not wanting to foster any misunderstandings between them.
"When I finally become one with you, X'er, we'll be married- and we won't be acting out of fear or guilt."
"Oh."
Yuwen Yue barely resisted the urge to sigh.
"I'm sorry, Yuwen Yue. I don't know what else to say. I don't care much for ceremonies. I love you and want to be with you. I don't want you to think I'm going to leave you, and I'm sorry for trying to leave you. So I figured-"
He silenced her with another kiss, finally breaking it to stand up from the bed and hold out his hand to her. She took it without hesitation, allowing him to pull her to her feet. Xing'er looked up at him in awkward confusion before asking, "What are we going to do, Yuwen Yue?"
"First, Xing'er, you're going to put on those lovely dark blue robes I gave you just before everything fell apart," he said, walking over to her wardrobe and pulling out said garments. "Then we're going to go to our rooms, eat breakfast at our table, and plan our wedding. Does that sound agreeable, Xing'er?"
"Mm."
Yuwen Yue was going to tease her about her lack of response, but he found his concentration—and control—slipping again as his eyes met hers while he was tying her blue robes closed for her. He gave into temptation and kissed her again, thankful that they were far enough away from her bed to not fall back into it so easily.
His conclusion was called into question as the bed seemed to materialize right behind the backs of Xing'er's legs, and he hazily wondered how it had managed to move across the room on its own. The ridiculousness of the thought brought him back to reality, and he broke the kiss before he could do something that they'd both regret in the long-term if not the short-term.
"W-we should probably leave," Xing'er said, attempting to be nonchalant. "I'm really hungry."
Her stomach chose that moment to rumble, and he smirked at her before holding out his hand.
"Come," he said in his most compelling voice just because he knew how much she liked him doing so. "Let's go to our rooms so I can satisfy your hunger."
Xing'er blushed in a way that almost put them right back in bed. Before he could make a move, however, she grasped his sleeve before impishly saying with an innocent face, "Xing'er will obey."
Breakfast can't come quickly enough, Yuwen Yue thought as he resolutely turned his back on the inviting bed and escorted Xing'er to the door.
"How did you manage to mess things up this badly, you moronic Yuwen?" the Grand Concubine asked Yuwen Yue stridently.
Both of the idiots currently seated at her table wisely—or foolishly, depending on one's perspective—elected to remain silent as she continued to rant at them.
"Don't get me wrong: I've seen Yuwen males make significantly worse decisions than your most recent ones, but the past week ranks highly on the list of disastrous Yuwen mistakes I've had the pleasure to witness. Those Third Branch devils must have been laughing their ugly faces off at the complete and utter mess that you were making of your life. How did you almost manage to lose the best thing that's ever happened to you in your miserable life? That woman loves you utterly and completely, and you were willing to throw her love away like my late, less-than-lamented husband would've discarded his latest victim."
Xing'er's eyes flashed in anger at such an insult to the buffoon whom she'd obviously forgiven, but she wisely—or foolishly, depending on one's perspective—decided to put some breakfast in her mouth rather than to let vitriolic words come out of it.
Maybe there's hope for her yet, the tai fu ren mused as she began her next salvo.
"I'm quite impressed, really," the Grand Concubine said, pausing for effect as she sipped at her cup of morning tea. "I didn't think you had the capacity for idiocy within you that others of your line have been blessed to possess. I thought you were different, you see. I actually believed you to be competent, honorable, sensible, and an entire host of other positive characteristics that have always been foreign to all other Yuwen men of my unfortunate acquaintance. But you're not, are you?"
To her frustration, Yuwen Yue continued to stare at her wordlessly with that insufferable Yuwen stoic arrogance. She'd brought him and his woman into her chambers for breakfast in order to get a rise out of him and to make him see reason, but he'd turned aside all of her insults as if she were an enemy spymaster that was determined to break his resolve.
I may not be your enemy, but I am resolved to break your silence.
"You're just like them," she said with a sneer. "You may have more honor—which is not a particularly difficult feat—but you were still just as willing to murder Xing'er and cast her off as if she were another poor, dead iron bell."
Xing'er tried to stand up after this second insult, fury blazing in the lines of her body and those expressive eyes that the tai fu ren knew had ensnared more than one man. Yuwen Yue calmed her with the single touch of a hand, however, his own face never losing its tranquility. He slowly slid his hand down Xing'er's arm and grasped her hand in his, turning his head towards the woman at his side. Xing'er's burning eyes left the tai fu ren's and came to rest briefly on Yuwen Yue's, their expression leaving the Grand Concubine with no doubt of her feelings for the idiotic spymaster—nor his for her, for that matter.
At least this situation can be salvaged, but I won't let either of them get away without confronting their own faults—with a bit of help from me, of course.
"You have the chance to beat them, Yuwen Yue," she said in a softer yet firm voice. "You have the chance to marry one of the most extraordinary young women I've ever had the pleasure to meet under unorthodox circumstances. You had all of this within your grasp, and yet you almost drove her away with your...with your...Yuwenness!"
The bitterness of the past suffused her voice as she brought up another unsavory topic.
"According to my sources, even that spineless worm of a man whom you call 'Father' tried to tell you that you were wrong, but you refused to listen to him. Not that I can blame you for not wanting to heed the words of a fool, but even a moron can be right a few times in his life. But, no. You felt no need to listen to him or anyone else. After all, you are Yuwen Yue, the leader of the Eyes of God, the heir of all of the Yuwen holdings, the wielder of Po Yue Jian, the conqueror of the Afterlife Camp, and the master of all you survey whenever you're looking down at the rest of us from that pavilion of yours. How many of those fancy titles mean more to you than 'Xing'er's husband'? At this rate, that's a title you'll never have. At least I won't have to worry about vacating these lovely da fu ren's quarters since you likely won't be filling them with a bride any time soon!"
"I regret to inform you that you'll have to vacate these rooms much sooner than anticipated, tai fu ren," Yuwen Yue said with a slight mischievous twinkle in his eyes that made her want to reach across the table and claw them out. "Xing'er and I have, indeed, settled our differences, and she has once again agreed to marry me—soon."
"Is this true, Xing'er?"
"Mm," Xing'er agreed, her gaze much less tranquil and amused than that of her supposed fiance.
"Then you're an idiot, too—although whether for leaving or returning, I'm not sure. Maybe both. But you're just as moronic as your so-called fiance—and not in a good way, either."
Instead of blazing, Xing'er's eyes turned cold. The Grand Concubine noticed Yuwen Yue's grip on Xing'er's hand tighten, and she was satisfied that the results of this little meeting she'd orchestrated with the two lovers would bear the fruit she desired. Xing'er would take her medicine like her stoic fiance had and would use it to become stronger and wiser.
Or she'll use it as an impetus for gaining vengeance on me at a later date, the Grand Concubine acknowledged.
"You aspire to be the da fu ren of a noble house, yet you ran away from adversity like a common iron bell. Instead of fighting for your man—or at least fighting with your man one last time before telling him to his face you were walking out on him—you snuck out in the middle of the night with your sisters like a trio of runaway slaves. You managed to misinterpret the entire situation, spend time with that gutless wonder of a general behind Yuwen Yue's back, drag Yuwen Yue's most loyal people into this mess and somehow get them to lie for you, and entertain the servants endlessly with a fresh smorgasbord of gossip. Congratulations, Xing'er. I'm quite impressed with your display of willful ineptitude."
For a brief moment, the Grand Concubine thought that Xing'er was going to try to defend herself, but the shame and regret mingled with the expected anger in her eyes told the tai fu ren that the young woman had already grasped the wrongness of her actions.
"The tai fu ren is wise and perceptive," Xing'er murmured with chilly civility, repeating the words she'd spoken the night they'd met at Hong Shan Yuan.
"Of course I am," she said dismissively. "I've experienced more Yuwen idiocy and depravity than anyone else who's still living. I've earned my wisdom and perception the hard way—and with no one to comfort me after the monsters had come. I deliberately told Yuwen Yue all of those terrible things that happened to his mother in the hopes that he would demonstrate his difference from his ancestors and turn towards you instead of away from you, but instead he had to prove his lineage."
The Grand Concubine could tell that Xing'er agreed with her, but the woman refused to take the bait and insult Yuwen Yue. The tai fu ren was both reassured and disappointed.
"Yuwen Yue was under a great deal of stress," Xing'er said diplomatically. "I wasn't at my best, either."
"No, you weren't," the tai fu ren agreed. "In fact, from what I've heard from my sources, the only person who behaved like a mature adult in all of this is that naive puppy of a prince you foisted off on me because he somehow managed to unravel your brilliant scheme in a week. That snot-nosed, wet-behind-the-ears, spoiled brat of a royal actually came out of this situation smelling like a rose—or a tulip, as the case may be."
"I can see that your...sources are good at lurking outside of doors," Yuwen Yue said wryly. "I'm so glad to have received my reward for allowing you to keep them as your...deaf and mute servants."
"How else am I supposed to keep up with all of the idiocy going on around here? I wouldn't need such sources if the inhabitants of this place had more common sense!"
Yuwen Yue gave her another aloof, arrogant smirk, making her wonder for the thousandth time how Xing'er could stand to be in the same room with him, much less married to him. Her eyes turned towards the young lady, and she was disgusted to note the desire in her eyes as Xing'er looked up at the spymaster.
Xing'er actually thinks that expression is...attractive! I'm surrounded by idiots!
"I'm surrounded by idiots," she muttered, her words mirroring her thoughts. "That's the only conclusion I can draw. I'm surrounded by complete and utter morons."
The spymaster's stare continued unabated, and Xing'er's face was arranged in an insolently innocent expression that was just as punchable as her fiance's.
"Well?!" she blurted, startling Xing'er if not Yuwen Yue. "What are you still doing here? Go away! Resolve things between you! TALK! If my...sources come back in here and tell me that they've heard anything but heart-to-heart talking, flute-playing, and kissing coming from inside of your rooms, I'm going to send a note to Princess Chun'er telling her that you're all dying to help Yuan Song plan her birthday party and that you have some great ideas you would love to share with her as soon as possible!"
"Should you do so, we'll be sure to inform the princess of the wise, perceptive woman from which we got all of our best ideas," Xing'er said, her face full of insincere deference.
The tai fu ren couldn't help but be amused at the girl's cheek, but the look of desire on the spymaster's face in reaction to Xing'er's expression squelched her good humor.
"Talking. Flute-playing. Kissing. That's it! Don't test my patience!"
"Could Xing'er give me a shave, tai fu ren?" Yuwen Yue asked with glittering eyes.
"Mm," Xing'er agreed, taking a hand and suggestively running its palm along one of Yuwen Yue's cheeks. "You're right: You do need a shave."
Only the fact that aging Grand Concubines weren't supposed to roll their eyes in front of inferior company stopped her from doing so.
"Get out of here before you do something I don't want to see," the tai fu ren said, waving a thin, bangled arm towards the doors.
They bowed and left quickly, exchanging heated gazes as they went.
"Idiots," she muttered again as her veiled girls entered through the open door to attend her. "Am I ever going to be surrounded by anything other than complete, utter idiots?"
Her "deaf and mute" servants knew better than to respond.
"I'm sorry I left you, Yuwen Yue," Xing'er said softly, once again running a hand along Yuwen Yue's jawline.
He stared at her silently from his own position on what he'd insisted on calling their bed, his expression neither condemning nor encouraging her. They'd been stretched out side by side on top of the covers for a few minutes and had been content to gaze into each other's eyes in amicable silence until Xing'er had felt compelled to make her confession.
"I know I've already apologized for leaving you, Yuwen Yue, but I wanted to say it again. I'm sorry for leaving you. I'll never leave you again. Never. Well, at least not out of anger. I might have to leave you during a battle if we get separated. You might have to leave me for business, and you might have to send me on missions without you. And then there's the possibility of death or dismember-"
Yuwen Yue silenced Xing'er with a tender kiss, wordlessly accepting her apology with what was fast becoming Xing'er's favorite method of him doing so. He stared into her eyes for a few moments after pulling back from the kiss before issuing his own apology.
"I'm sorry for driving you away, X'er," he murmured. "I'm sorry for making you think I didn't want to marry you anymore. I'm sorry for shutting you out of my life. I'm sorry for not treating you with the respect you deserve as my future da fu ren. I'm going to do my best to give you your proper place in my life for the rest of our days."
Xing'er accepted his apology with a kiss of her own.
"I'm sorry for pressuring you to explain yourself to me even though I could see you didn't want to tell me what was bothering you. I don't have much experience with relationships—at least not that I can remember, anyway. I've always been able to get my sisters to tell me the truth by pressuring them until they break, so I tried the same tactics on you. I promise to do a better job of giving you your space in the future."
"No, X'er," Yuwen Yue rasped after kissing her again. "I'm going to let you into my life, remember? You were right to try to take care of me as only a wife can do. I was wrong to push you away. I'll never...X'er...You know that my job involves many secrets—most of which I'll never be able to tell you. I promise to always try to tell you those secrets I can safely share with you without compromising our security."
"I meant what I said last night, Yuwen Yue," Xing'er said, kissing him for emphasis. "I never cared about the details of your visit to the tai fu ren; all I wanted was for you to confide in me about your feelings. I will, of course, listen to anything you want to tell me about those conversations, but all I ask is that you give me the chance to comfort you after one of those talks has drained you emotionally."
Her beloved pulled her into his embrace and once again demonstrated his approval of her statement. He stared at her for a few more moments as if he were weighing his next words carefully.
"I'm sorry for all of those times in the past when I treated you so poorly for my own amusement—or because I wanted to deny the powerful feelings you caused to form within me. I won't apologize for the harshness I had to use to train you and to curb your impetuous, rash tendencies, but I promise to never employ such tactics in the future unless absolutely necessary."
Xing'er kissed him in acceptance before rendering another apology.
"I'm sorry for comparing you to Yuwen Huai," she said, caressing his face again. "In many ways, that was the worst thing I said to you. You're nothing like him."
"He certainly couldn't kiss as well as I can," Yuwen Yue said with a smirk before demonstrating.
"Fortunately, I wouldn't know," Xing'er murmured once she'd caught her breath.
"X'er, about my father..." Yuwen Yue said, fidgeting on the bed in an endearingly awkward way. "X'er, I won't apologize for being angry about you going behind my back in order to meet with my father, but I will apologize for not understanding why you wanted to get to know him. All I could see was the bitterness of the past, and I lashed out accordingly. In the future, I won't keep you from getting to know him better. In fact, I'm going to try to at least establish a polite relationship with him myself."
The big grin that formed on Xing'er's face was echoed in a smaller counterpart on Yuwen Yue's own face. She couldn't help but kiss him after such an announcement; he didn't seem to be bothered by her decision in the slightest.
"I also won't apologize for feeling the need to escape Qing Shan Yuan or to explore such an interesting place as Hei Shan Yuan. Apologizing for turning down an invitation to dine with my powerful future father-in-law would also be ridiculous, but..."
Xing'er looked down at the covers between them, shame filling her face again. Yuwen Yue pulled her close in comfort, his hand making comforting circles on her back once again as she gathered her thoughts.
"I'm ashamed of the way I felt as I sat there talking to him," she murmured. "True, I enjoyed his war stories; your father can spin a tale better than most. I also delighted in being with Meng Feng and Yue Qi in such an informal way. But I can't deny that...I can't pretend that I didn't know that your eventual discovery of what we'd done would hurt you, Yuwen Yue. I can't pretend that I didn't want to hurt you. Because I did want to hurt you. I wanted you to know the pain of being excluded by the people you loved just as I felt that you'd done to me. I'm sorry, Yuwen Yue. I'm so sorry."
Her beloved gently tipped her head back and kissed her tenderly, accepting her apology without hesitation.
"Oh, X'er," he rasped before kissing her one more time, "I'm not innocent in that regard, either. Why do you think I punished Yue Qi and Meng Feng? While I felt the need to remind them that I was in charge, I mostly just wanted you to know that people you cared about were being punished because of your actions. I'm sorry, X'er."
She reassured the man she loved that his apology was accepted and made another of her own.
"I'm sorry that my impetuous nature led me to make so many unfortunate decisions. Many of the memories I have—even the ones from when I was a child—involve me running for my life, reacting to a threat, or having to solve a crisis almost instantly. I can't...Yuwen Yue, I wish I could promise that I won't let that side of me make decisions anymore, but you know that I can't. That's too much a part of who I am, and I would already be dead were it not for my instincts. All I can promise is to do the best I can to use more logic and reason when making a decision."
"I'll help you, X'er," Yuwen Yue said with less arrogance than such a proclamation would've produced in the past. "I'll do my best to make our home a place that doesn't require those types of decisions from you."
"We're spies, Yuwen Yue," Xing'er said with a small smile. "We have to make those types of decisions all the time."
"But you won't have to make them alone," her beloved vowed as he pulled her even closer.
Xing'er responded with the most logical reply she could think of: a kiss. Her response didn't seem to inspire rationality in her fiance, however, and she soon found herself on her back beneath him again with his lips on hers. This time, Xing'er was the one who pushed Yuwen Yue away and vaulted herself off of the bed.
"See, Yuwen Yue?" Xing'er said with her most innocent expression. "Xing'er is already making more logical decisions. Do you approve?"
Yuwen Yue gave her a potent look that made her resolve falter.
"I thought you were going to help me to make good decisions, Yuwen Yue."
"How would coming back to our bed be a bad decision, X'er?"
"We're not married yet, Yuwen Yue."
"That's a situation we're going to remedy in short order."
"Mm. But you should probably shave first."
Yuwen Yue held his passionate gaze for a moment longer before getting out of the bed. He sat down at the table and looked at Xing'er expectantly, so she went over to his shelves and brought the shaving razors back with her. She picked up the one she always used and placed it at his throat, relishing as always the intense feelings that rose up between them as she did so.
Xing'er braced herself for Yuwen Yue to make some sort of comment designed to discompose her, but the first rasp of the blade on skin passed wordlessly. She allowed herself to lose herself in his gaze for a few moments as she readied the blade for another pass, but she promptly returned to her shaving duties.
"So when are we getting married, Xing'er?" Yuwen Yue asked nonchalantly as Xing'er replaced the blade at his throat a third time.
"Ah?!" she asked, flinching but managing to control the razor. "Yuwen Yue! You-! One of these days, my hand is going to slip!"
"And what a tragic day that will be for both of us, Xing'er," he replied with a knowing look. "So when are we getting married?"
"Ah...well...that is to say...soon?"
"Your eloquence and enthusiasm are heart-warming, Xing'er."
"You took me by surprise, Yuwen Yue! I'm concentrating on not slitting your throat, and you're asking me deliberately provocative questions. Forgive me for not being able to answer your question when we haven't even consulted anyone about the auspicious dates yet."
"Mm. Yes. That is a problem. Xing'er, tell me honestly: Do you really expect our marriage to be particularly...lucky?"
"Ah?"
"Do you really think that our wedding date will have any bearing whatsoever on the quality of our marriage?"
"Mm. I see your point, Yuwen Yue. No, I don't think our marriage will be lucky. You and I are not lucky people, after all. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if both of us died young in horrible ways. We're both stubborn and will probably argue a lot. I'm rash and impulsive; you're arrogant and aloof. We'll probably spend half of our lives misunderstanding each other and the other half making up for said misunderstandings."
"Thank you for that ringing endorsement of our upcoming marriage, Xing'er."
"Well, you did ask, Yuwen Yue," Xing'er replied as she continued to shave her fiance. After a pause, she asked, "Why did you ask me that question? What did you mean by it?"
"I simply wanted to establish that you didn't believe that our picking a specific day to get married would help or hurt us in any way. In fact, I would even go so far as to say that we can get married any time we want and the results will be exactly the same."
"Mm," Xing'er grunted in agreement. "That makes sense."
"So when are we getting married, Xing'er?"
She managed to hold in her sigh of frustration, but she knew that Yuwen Yue would have that arrogant smirk on his face that she'd be torn between slapping and kissing off if she looked at him.
"I don't know, Yuwen Yue. After all, we still have to buy many things for our wedding. Firecrackers, red decorations, our red robes..."
Yuwen Yue fidgeted slightly, and Xing'er looked up in time to catch an oddly insecure look in his eyes.
"What? Did I say something wrong? We have to have all of those things, don't we?"
"Of course, Xing'er. But I already bought them."
"What? All of them?"
"Yes."
"Firecrackers?"
"Yes."
"Red decorations?"
"Yes."
"Food and drink?"
"Yes."
"A palanquin?"
"Yes."
"Even our robes?"
Yuwen Yue leveled another intense gaze at her, so she set the razor down and looked down at him in question. He stood up and walked over to his wardrobe, opening it and removing a beautiful red robe that she knew would fit her perfectly as had every other item of clothing he'd ever given her. She looked at him in wonder, many questions vying for utterance.
"How long?" she whispered.
"Since I bought you the robes you're wearing, X'er," he murmured.
"Just before everything went so wrong," she said, tears forming in her eyes. "And yours?"
He replaced her robe and showed her his own, his face forming an expression that seemed almost reverent.
"Oh, Yuwen Yue. I'm so sorry."
"No more apologies, X'er," he rasped as he returned his robe to the safety of his—their—wardrobe. "We're beyond the point of apology now. When are we getting married, X'er?"
Before she could answer, his lips descended on hers again, robbing her of sensible thought for an indeterminate amount of time.
"We're getting married soon, aren't we, X'er?"
"Yes, Yuwen Yue," she managed to say before he kissed her again. "Soon."
"When?"
"Whenever...whenever you want, Yuwen Yue."
"That's the answer I wanted, X'er."
"I'm...I'm glad to hear it, Yuwen Yue. But we should probably wait until after I've finished shaving you."
His eyes glinted with humor as he looked down at her, and Xing'er wistfully wondered if she'd ever get to hear her beloved laugh. She instinctively knew that the sound of his laughter would be wonderful, but she had no idea what she would have to do to cause him to display his mirth in such a way.
"I think we'll have to wait at least a bit longer than that, Xing'er," he said, sitting back down at the table.
She wordlessly resumed her attentions to his face, efficiently removing all traces of stubble from that gorgeous jawline that she wanted to run her hands over endlessly. It was so hard, yet so soft. She couldn't wait until she was finished and she could use the excuse of rubbing away the freshly-shaven hair from his face. Xing'er could almost feel the smoothness of his skin beneath her thumbs as she envisioned caressing his cheeks…
"Nobody has ever given me such...thorough shaves as you do, Xing'er," Yuwen Yue said with dry amusement.
Xing'er felt herself blush as she realized that she'd been shaving the same patch of skin for the past several moments. She quickly set the blade down in its place and took Yuwen Yue's face in her hands, indulging in the fulfillment of her recent fantasies. His eyes darkened in appreciation as he, too, seemed to revel in the contact.
The tension built between them again as she slowly and gently caressed his jawline and cheeks. They'd kissed many times this morning, but this buildup of emotion was different somehow. Perhaps their conversation about marriage had caused the upswelling of feelings, or maybe there was something elemental about holding his life in her hands as she shaved him.
Or maybe I simply want to bring this shave to the conclusion that you wanted to bring the last one to before I was so rudely interrupted by Yue Qi and Yuan Song, she reflected as she tilted his head back towards hers.
Yuwen Yue followed her lead willingly, his eyes darkening further as he seemed equally eager to end this shave properly. Xing'er slowly lowered her own face towards his, secure in the assurance that nothing and no one would disturb them this time.
"Trouble is coming! Trouble is coming! Trouble is coming!"
Xing'er looked up at the parrot in disbelief, having forgotten about his presence due to her complete absorption in Yuwen Yue. She wanted to fuss at the bird for the interruption, but she could tell from his demeanor that he was sincerely regretful about the situation. Footsteps sounded nearby, and the familiarity of their cadence had them all looking at each other in wide-eyed disbelief.
"Not this time," Xing'er muttered, bringing her mouth down on Yuwen Yue's in a fiercely passionate and defiant kiss.
She pulled away as the footsteps stopped before their door, but before she could register that anything unusual was happening, Yuwen Yue had pulled her down onto his lap and taken complete control of the kiss. Xing'er was straddling his lap, and Yuwen Yue's tongue was imprinting itself on the inside of her mouth. A vague sense of alarm filled her as she heard the doors begin to open, but a few deft moves by her beloved had their hair and clothing—and Xing'er herself—straightened as Yue Qi stepped into the room.
Xing'er knew without looking up at her beloved from her place on his lap that he likely looked pristine and in control while she probably appeared as if she'd just been thoroughly kissed by her fiance. She couldn't bring herself to feel any embarrassment about that fact as Yuan Song walked into the room after Yue Jiu announced him.
Yuan Song knew that he'd always remember the scene that met his eyes as he walked through the door of Yuwen Yue's rooms. Xing'er was perched on the spymaster's lap and was looking up at him with an expression of affectionate exasperation. Yuwen Yue looked as placid as ever—except for his swollen lips and mischievous eyes that told a tale of their own. The prince suspected that Xing'er's position on Yuwen Yue's lap was not entirely voluntary, but he also saw no evidence that she desired to remove herself from the embrace of the man she loved.
A wide grin split Yuan Song's face as he took in the obvious contentment of his two close friends. Even without the physical evidence of at least some of their recent activities, Yuan Song could sense the peace, happiness, and affection radiating from both people. All was obviously well between them, and they were hopefully well on their way to putting the troubles of the past behind them.
"Greetings, Your Highness," Yuwen Yue said with a respectful inclination of his head.
Yuan Song noticed with amusement that the spymaster forewent the hand clasp because both of his arms were still firmly wrapped around Xing'er's waist. She gave as dignified of a clasp and bow as she could given the circumstances, and Yuwen Yue's eyes shimmered with reserved amusement and even a touch of adoration at Xing'er's antics.
He realized with a shock that he suffered no heartache at witnessing the physical and emotional closeness between Yuwen Yue and Xing'er, and he felt a sudden desire to make this conversation as short as possible so that he could engage in more enjoyable pursuits—preferably with a certain former assassin. Never had he felt such a potent wish to put the past firmly where it belonged.
"I woke up this morning and decided to visit my good friends here at Qing Shan Yuan to make sure that everything was as it should be," Yuan Song said after making his own opening greetings.
"As you can tell, everything is normal here, Your Highness," Yuwen Yue said as if Xing'er sitting on his lap were an everyday occurrence.
Maybe it will become an everyday occurrence from now on, he thought with surprisingly good humor.
"I can see that, Yuwen Yue," Yuan Song said, still grinning. "I don't see a single unusual thing in this room. Do you, Xing'er?"
"Well, there is one unusual thing, Your Highness," Xing'er said with an innocent smile.
"And what would that be?"
"We don't normally keep Yuwen Yue's razors on the table. I had just finished giving him a shave before we were inter...before you came to visit us, Your Highness."
Yuan Song's grin widened even more at Xing'er's mid-word correction; he couldn't resist the opportunity to have a bit of fun with the woman he'd once loved.
"I seem to remember seeing those razors on that table not too long ago. Is this shave a tradition between the two of you, or do you only hold a knife at his throat on special occasions?"
"Yuwen Yue told me that he appreciates the thorough shaves that I give him."
"Is that right, Yuwen Yue?" Yuan Song asked with obvious amusement.
"I appreciate my fiance's skill with blades of all kinds," Yuwen Yue said with an arrogant smirk.
"So you're finally acknowledging that you're engaged? It's about time, Yuwen Yue. When are you getting married?"
"We were just discussing that before you came to visit," Yuwen Yue said.
"Before I interrupted you?"
"You're never an interruption, Your Highness," Xing'er said with false sincerity that, as always, drew a laugh from the prince.
"You're surely going to get married soon, right?"
"Yes," Yuwen Yue said, looking down at the woman on his lap possessively. "Isn't that right, Xing'er?"
"That's right, Yuwen Yue," Xing'er said, gazing up at the spymaster with a look of unguarded love that would've pierced Yuan Song's heart not too long ago.
"That's good, Xing'er. Let me know when you two choose an auspicious date."
"Maybe we'll get married on Princess Chun'er's birthday," Xing'er said with a smile. "Then we'd have our own event to plan for that day."
"You wouldn't dare!" Yuan Song squawked.
"That's not a bad idea, Xing'er," Yuwen Yue said blandly. "What could be a better way of honoring the princess than getting married on her special day?"
"But then you wouldn't be able to...attend...Chun'er's...Very funny, you two," Yuan Song said as he realized their plan—and another startling fact. "Yuwen Yue, did you just...joke with me?"
"Of course not, Your Highness," Yuwen Yue said with a straight face. "We could honor the princess by getting married on her birthday and provide extra festivities for the few sober party-goers who remain. But now that I think about it, the princess's birthday is too far away for us to get married."
"It's not that far; it's only a few months away."
"As I said, it's too far away."
Both the prince and Xing'er goggled at Yuwen Yue.
"When you told me you wanted to get married soon, you really meant it, Yuwen Yue," Xing'er said softly.
"Of course I meant it, Xing'er. Would I have said it otherwise?"
"Of course not, Yuwen Yue," Xing'er said sweetly. "You never say anything you don't mean."
Yuwen Yue gave Xing'er a look that was so potent that it made Yuan Song feel like an interloper.
"We're getting married soon, Xing'er," Yuwen Yue murmured without breaking eye contact with his fiance. "In fact, the two-year anniversary of the bedchamber maid competition is in a couple of weeks. We'll get married then, Xing'er."
"Two weeks?" Xing'er yelped. "That's...soon."
"Yes, it is, Xing'er. Do you have any objections?"
Yuan Song watched in fascination as the two of them stared into each other's eyes.
"I can't think of a better day to marry you than the day I chose to become yours, Yuwen Yue," Xing'er finally whispered.
"Did you really choose to become mine, X'er?" Yuwen Yue murmured in a tone Yuan Song had never heard before.
"Does it matter?"
"Not really," Yuwen Yue admitted. "At this point, assigning blame for our feelings for each other is quite pointless."
"Blame? That's not a romantic way of describing your love for one another, Yuwen Yue," Yuan Song scolded his friend.
"Yuwen Yue's sense of the romantic is often lacking," Xing'er said.
"Have you forgotten how you ended up in my lap, Xing'er?" Yuwen Yue asked her.
Xing'er's responding blush made Yuan Song fidget awkwardly in place.
"I fell into your lap after I finished shaving you," she finally said.
"You had a bit of help, Xing'er."
"You were very helpful, Yuwen Yue," she murmured, looking up at him.
"So you're getting married in a few weeks. Good, good, good!" Yuan Song said with fidgety enthusiasm. "You don't have much time to plan, though, so I'll just go ahead and leave right now. In fact, I wanted to see...Where is Meng Feng, anyway? I didn't see her at the gate. Surely she's not still being punished."
Yuan Song would've felt more glee at the uneasy look that flashed in Yuwen Yue's eyes for a few moments had it not signaled that his fears were accurate.
"Meng Feng is currently cutting the grass in the clearing near the cliffside. It had gotten too long, and I knew that she would benefit from the exercise."
All of Yuan Song's goodwill evaporated in the face of such a pallid defense of Yuwen Yue's actions. Xing'er was also looking up at the spymaster with a look of dismayed betrayal on her face, so the prince knew he had an ally.
"How can you continue to punish a woman whose only crime was getting involved in your petty family squabble?" Yuan Song asked Yuwen Yue while moving towards him. "Just because she's only known cruelty from her masters in the past doesn't give you the right to punish her in a less harsh way for your own sins. Tell me where she is so I can tell her that her punishment has ended."
"Have you ever known Meng Feng to quit while she's in the middle of something?" Yuwen Yue asked pragmatically.
"I'll help her finish her task, and then her punishment will be over," Yuan Song asserted.
"Are you really going to pick up a scythe yourself and work alongside her?"
"I deserve to be punished as much as she does, so should I not share in her punishment?"
"Neither of you deserves to be punished, Yuan Song!" Xing'er said while looking up at Yuwen Yue with a glare. "Especially not after last night!"
"I'm sure the Yue Guards outside are puzzling over your words, Xing'er, since you said them so loudly," Yuwen Yue said without looking like the thought bothered him.
"Not if they were paying attention to who was here and who was outside last night," Yuan Song said.
"What do you mean?" Xing'er asked.
"I wasn't the only one who had a mission to complete last night," Yuan Song murmured, looking at them significantly.
Xing'er's eyes widened, but Yuwen Yue's stayed as impassive as ever. Xing'er looked up at the spymaster, who in turn turned his inscrutable gaze on Yuan Song.
"Yue Qi is already conveniently located at the stable, so have him saddle your mount and Meng Feng's," Yuwen Yue finally said. "You can tell him his punishment is at an end as well—or you can let him suffer a bit more if you're so inclined, Your Highness. You can ride out to the cliffside and then do what you will."
"That's a lovely idea, Yuwen Yue," Xing'er said, trying to get up from the spymaster's lap. "In fact, I want to talk to...Yuwen Yue! Why won't you let me stand up?"
"Because you're being punished, Xing'er," Yuwen Yue said with a glint in his eyes.
"What?! I thought we already talked about all of this. Of course, I thought we'd already talked about Meng Feng and Yue Qi, too."
"I hardly had time to deal with them this morning, Xing'er."
"I'm sure that your shave took the whole morning," Yuan Song scoffed.
"The Grand Concubine requested our presence in her quarters for breakfast and...enlightenment. That took up a great deal of our morning."
"I'm sure it did," Yuan Song said, a grin forming on his face again. "I can imagine the type of advice she gave both of you."
"She didn't advise Yuwen Yue to punish me," Xing'er said with a pout. "So why am I being punished, Yuwen Yue? And how?"
"If I'm letting Meng Feng and Yue Qi off of their punishments, then you have to take their places, Xing'er."
"Ah?"
"And since you tried to leave me, your punishment is having to sit on my lap for the rest of the day."
"But that doesn't make any sense, Yuwen Yue! You should choose to not punish them because doing so is right, not because..."
Yuan Song barely held in a chuckle as the implications of Yuwen Yue's "punishment" penetrated Xing'er's mind.
"All day, Yuwen Yue?"
"All day, Xing'er."
She pretended to deliberate for a few moments before making a show of settling herself back onto Yuwen Yue's lap.
"Xing'er will obey," she said with a contented look on her face.
The prince lost his battle with his laughter and gave in, chortling at the absurdity of his friends' behavior.
"I want to have a word with Yue Jiu before you leave, however," Xing'er said, a mischievous smile forming on her face. "I'm going to tell him to prepare a nice lunch for you and Meng Feng to eat at the cliffside once the field has been cut."
"Are you going to condemn us to bread and water, Xing'er?"
"It's the least we can do, Yuwen Yue," Xing'er said, looking significantly at Yuan Song. "Besides, I've learned from experience that eating a meal on your lap is best done as simply as possible."
By the time that Yuwen Yue had finished saying, "You have a good point, Xing'er," Yuan Song had already summoned Yue Jiu back into the room so he could leave as soon as possible.
As Xing'er relayed her orders to Yue Jiu with more dignity than she should've been able to muster given her position on Yuwen Yue's lap, Yuan Song marveled at the level of peace he felt about both the past and the future. His mind and heart had already turned towards the woman who was even now diligently working at a task she should've never been given.
That's never going to happen again, he vowed even as he knew he had no way of enforcing such a promise.
Yue Jiu escorted him out, and Yuan Song walked out of Yuwen Yue's rooms with the sense of walking into the future.
"Fools! Fools! Fools!" he heard the parrot cry out as he turned back around for one last glimpse of the pair.
Xing'er was situating herself more comfortably in Yuwen Yue's lap as the spymaster was using his strong arms to gather her against himself. She rested her head on his shoulder, and Yuwen Yue looked down at her with such open adoration that the prince knew he wasn't supposed to witness the moment. He quickly turned away, not wanting to observe any more intimate moments that weren't meant for him.
If I never do anything else right in my life, I can still comfort myself with the fact that I made this happen—with a bit of help from the best woman in the world, of course, he thought as he strolled across the main courtyard towards the stables.
"I meant what I said, Meng Feng," Yuan Song muttered as he scythed another section of the large clearing.
Meng Feng gave the man she loved a small, serene smile before saying, "I know you did, Yuan Song. And I meant what I said, too."
"I know you did, Meng Feng," he replied after giving her a sheepish look. "But that doesn't mean that I'm not going to do my best to keep Yuwen Yue from punishing you for getting in the middle of his lovers' spat."
"The situation was more complicated than that, you know," she said as she relished the burn in her muscles from the repetitious work. "I deliberately did something that I knew would displease my master."
"So what? Just because Yuwen Yue was being unreasonable and Xing'er was being...Xing'er..."
"They were both being themselves, weren't they?" Meng Feng said with another smile.
Yuan Song responded with one of his heart-stopping boyish grins before scowling again. Meng Feng maintained her serene countenance by sheer force of will.
"I blame Yuwen Yue the most because he's in charge. What kind of a leader punishes his people for trying to protect those he loves?"
"One who's also trying to keep control over his people—and to make sure that his fighters don't grow soft due to endless hours of guard duty and a ready supply of good food."
"Like you're going to grow soft, Meng Feng," Yuan Song scoffed, not quite suppressing a wince as his muscles protested the foreign motion he was forcing them to make.
"I could easily grow soft at Qing Shan Yuan," she asserted. "Life in the Afterlife Camp honed my skills to a razor's edge, but the relative ease of life here has caused me to let my guard down in a variety of ways."
"Like making room in your life for the handsomest prince in Wei?"
"I haven't met Crown Prince Xiao Ce yet, so I haven't had a chance to let him into my life," Meng Feng teased her beloved with a serene smile.
"If I had my way, you'd never meet Xiao Ce—or, at least, he'd never meet you," Yuan Song said with an endearing scowl.
"Why not, Yuan Song?"
"Because he's an unscrupulous womanizer and I want to keep him as far away from you as possible."
"Didn't you say he's utterly devoted to his Xia Xia and is supposed to be marrying your sister?"
"Getting to know my sister was the stated reason for his visit, but I've seen no evidence of him making anything but a cursory attempt to do so."
"Do you think he came to Wei just to visit Qing Shan Yuan?" she asked.
"We speculated before that he would probably want to come here because of the Eyes of God and Yuwen Yue," Yuan Song replied. "Honestly, I'm not sure that Qing Shan Yuan isn't the main reason behind his visit."
"Because he's already attached to Xia Xia and has shown no interest in any other woman?"
"Right—well, except in terms of flirtation, at which he's a master."
"After watching him more, do you think his womanizing is a cover like we discussed?"
Yuan Song sighed, taking another swipe at the tall grass with his scythe.
"I can't say for sure," he said in frustration. "Sometimes I feel as if his smile is a little too brittle and his effusions a little too flamboyant, but then he'll say something outrageous with such a sincere bearing..."
"But you're already beginning to see through him, Yuan Song," Meng Feng said with an encouraging smile. "See? You're learning new skills every week."
"I am!" he said, grinning widely. "When I talked to Yuwen Yue and Xing'er today, noticed how expressive his eyes can be for the first time. I could see his vulnerability and devotion when before I'd only seen the mask."
"We'll make a spy out of you yet," she said, privately wondering if Yuwen Yue might have simply been more open than normal due to his brush with losing his beloved.
Yuan Song grinned boyishly for a few moments before his expression turned more serious.
"I don't want to be a spy," he murmured. "In a year or two, I'll be old enough to build my own palace somewhere outside of the city and take a...I mean, I'll be able to get mar..."
A blush suffused Yuan Song's face, and he took a hand off of his scythe to rub his ear self-consciously. Meng Feng gave him as serene a smile as possible, knowing full well that more of her heart might be showing than was prudent.
"I'm sure that you'll be very happy," she said softly as she cut down some of the last grass at the edge of the clearing.
"I'm not," he whispered.
"Not what?"
"Not sure I'll be happy," he admitted, his scythe rasping over the ground with more force than necessary. "After all, what good does a palace do a prince without a worthy princess to share it with him?"
"I'm sure you'll find a worthy princess, Yuan Song. Maybe Xiao Ce has a sister and you can trade her for your own sister."
For once, Yuan Song didn't smile at one of her jokes. Instead, he deliberately stalked over to the last patch of grass and scythed it, his eyes burning with an intensity that she idly wondered if he'd stolen from her master. They gazed at each other for a few moments before she wordlessly laid her scythe down against the base of a tree and disappeared into the trees beyond the clearing, knowing he would follow her.
"Yuan Song, you know that-"
"-that I've already found my worthy princess? Yes, I do know that."
"Yuan Song-"
"I know what you're going to say," he blurted. "I know all of the arguments you're going to make already. I've made them all myself over and over and over again. I've tried to figure out some way, any way, that I could actually convince...that is, that maybe we could...that someday...I know that...I know that I don't know."
Meng Feng desperately wanted to hug him again, but she knew that putting physical distance between them was necessary for her to maintain her emotional detachment.
"I know," she murmured. "I know, Yuan Song. If things were different, I know that we could..."
How odd that I can't even voice it, she thought wryly. I've killed men with barely a thought or a twinge, and now I can't even confess my feelings to the man I love. At least that difficulty seems to be mutual.
As if he'd heard her thoughts, his back straightened, his shoulders squared, and his jaw hardened. His eyes blazed again with that telltale intensity—a newfound confidence that, when combined with his disheveled, sweaty state, made the prince look more desirable than ever. Meng Feng knew that he'd likely displayed some of this fire while confronting Yuwen Yue on her behalf, and not even her Afterlife Camp hardness could resist its heat.
"I love you, Meng Feng," he said with such simple, straightforward fervency that her mask fell completely away. "Even when I thought I loved Xing'er...No. That's not right. I'm not going to pretend that I didn't love Xing'er—or that I don't still care deeply for her safety and well-being as a friend. But when I confronted her on the road—and her and Yuwen Yue in his room this morning—I realized that I've put the past completely behind me. When I envision that palace outside of Chang'an, you're the only woman I can envision making its da fu ren."
Meng Feng knew all of the reasons why she should keep him at arm's length, but she stepped closer and wrapped her arms around him instead. This embrace felt even more wonderful than that first one, and she knew that she'd never be able to stop herself from loving this man.
"I can't say that I can envision the future," Meng Feng murmured into his chest. "I've never been able to envision the future, honestly—at least not in terms of predicting change. When I decided to leave the Afterlife Camp, I came up with a basic plan: Find someone strong and skilled enough to take out my old master and maybe hire me to work for him—or free me, perhaps. The first time I ever saw Yuwen Yue—weak as he was—I somehow knew that he could save me after I saved him and Xing'er. But even then, I couldn't really envision the future. I figured I'd kill for him, protect his home, and guard his girl. And then I actually got to know them—and the other residents of Qing Shan Yuan—and I felt I wanted to stay there forever."
"And now?" he whispered huskily into her hair before inhaling deeply.
"And now...Now, for the first time in my life, I could envision a life of my own—even if it is just a fantasy. If things were different..."
"But they are different, Meng Feng," he murmured as he softly rubbed her back. "We both know I love you now. Doesn't that make everything different?"
Meng Feng looked up into Yuan Song's open, earnest, loving eyes and sighed.
"Risk has never bothered me before. I always assumed I would die young on a mission or defending my home, so old age—or even middle age—was never a real possibility to me. I do not fear death—but I do fear what would happen to you if your family found out about us. I would risk almost anything for you, but-"
With surprising speed, Yuan song lowered his face to hers, capturing her lips in a sweet yet firm kiss. While it didn't last too long, it managed to convey all of the prince's love and convictions. She pulled back slightly and looked up at him, unable to stop a wide smile from forming on her face in spite of the impossibility of her beloved's dreams for the two of them.
"I love you, too, Yuan Song," she admitted before wrapping her arms around his neck and bringing his face back down to hers.
His embrace left none of his feelings to the imagination, and Meng Feng decided to—at least for the moment-revel in her present happiness without worrying about the inevitable day of reckoning that would result from their relationship.
The distant chattering of approaching maids drew them back to the present, and she followed her beloved back out into the clearing. After all, just because she knew the emperor would find out about them eventually didn't mean that she wanted to foolishly hasten said discovery.
AN: Hopefully my next update won't take 2ish months; I make no promises, though, since this upcoming Xiao Ce arc is still only half-formed in my head and completely un-outlined and I'm not sure that I'm out of my slump yet. I'll also be away for a week visiting with family/burying my grandfather, and I don't know whether that will enhance or reduce my desire/ability to write. Next chapter: Xiao Ce/Xia Xia intro/lunar convergence? Next next chapter: Lunar convergence?/pact? Next next next chapter: party time? Plans? Next next next next chapter: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯