Chapter 11: Incomparably Soft

Fang Rui thought it necessary to take some time to decide whether this time he should maim Lei Shengda’s hand or just get rid of his leg.

“General Lei, the young master has already retired for the night, please come again tomorrow.”

“Get out of the way! Shen Yu, stop dawdling! If you don’t come out I’ll barge in!”

Shen Yu widened her eyes at the man before her, a look of urgency flashing across her face. “Wait a moment, I’ll go out and brush him off.”

Just as Shen Yu turned to leave, Fang Rui stood at the bedside and sighed helplessly, reminding her, “Your hair.”

Shen Yu, about to open the door, touched her hair, then ran to the dressing table, grabbed a hairpin and quickly tied her hair up.

“Clothes.”

Shen Yu glanced down at her clothes, glanced at the cloth strip on the rack by the bed, and under Fang Rui’s gaze took the outer garment.

Fang Rui sighed.

“You don’t intend to bind your chest?” His gaze rested right on Shen Yu’s chest.

“Shen Yu, I’m coming in!”

“General Lei!”

From the voice it sounded like whoever was outside couldn’t be stopped and Lei Shengda was about to barge in. Lei Shengda was strong by nature and skilled in martial arts, so even a group of martial guards might not be his match, let alone ordinary guards who relied only on numbers.

Hearing Lei Shengda’s thunderous footsteps stride to the door, surprise floored Fang Rui. Lei Shengda actually dared to storm into Shen Yu’s bedchamber!

Fang Rui had no extra time to consider how to incapacitate Lei Shengda. With his left hand he pulled Shen Yu over, and with his right he quickly unhooked the canopy, so the gauze curtains cascaded down like flowing water.

He flipped back the quilt and dragged Shen Yu beneath it. Under the covers Shen Yu looked terrified… though actually he could barely see anything, Fang Rui could still vaguely make out Shen Yu’s wide eyes.

Under the covers their breath seemed unusually hot, and their bodies were pressed very tightly together.

No sooner had they lain down than the door was pushed open with a bang.

“Shen Yu, keep me company for a few cups! My concubine’s father died and she’s been crying and threatening to hang herself, I really… are you really asleep this early?” Lei Shengda saw the curtains down and the bulge beneath and assumed the guards hadn’t lied. Shen Yu had really gone to bed.

Shen Yu was terrified that Lei Shengda would come over and lift the covers. Lei Shengda, as someone used to the wilderness, paid no heed to rules or propriety. If he actually lifted the quilt, with her current attire and the person on the bed, even if she had ten mouths she wouldn’t be able to explain herself.

Shen Yu moved and Fang Rui immediately suppressed her. She had no choice and hissed viciously, “Get out!”

Lei Shengda usually spoke fiercely himself and wasn’t afraid of others being fierce with him. He walked toward the bed, muttering, “Don’t sleep, I’m upset…Get up and drink with me.”

Hearing Lei Shengda’s approaching footsteps, Shen Yu shouted loudly, “Stop right there!”

Lei Shengda paused, examined the bulge under the gauze more closely, and as if he suddenly understood something he laughed aloud, “I knew it, I knew it! How could Shen Yu not indulge in women? So you like to hide here. Fine, go on, continue.”

With that he left the room and, rather considerately, closed the door behind him.

Fang Rui cursed at the man inwardly. You don’t know a damn thing!

At the sound of the door closing Shen Yu anxiously tried to crawl out from under the quilt, but Fang Rui held her down, his voice low, “There’s still someone crouching by the door.”

Then again, Lei Shengda seemed to have done the right thing. Fine, he would spare him tomorrow, let him stay home a few days to properly nurse the injury on his arm.

That would count as making amends.

When Fang Rui said someone was still crouched by the door, Shen Yu was so frightened she didn’t dare move. After a long while she asked in a somewhat stiff voice, “Has he left?”

In fact the man had long since gone. He had only wanted to trap Shen Yu, to stay a little longer and breathe in her scent.

Breathing Shen Yu’s fresh scent, Fang Rui felt heat coursing through his body and a dry mouth. The soft sensation against his arm made his heart restless. More than just a dry mouth, he felt as if his whole body were in an oven.

“He’s gone.” He could only say Lei Shengda had already left. He feared that if he didn’t get out from under the quilt soon he’d certainly pounce on Shen Yu.

The consequences were unthinkable.

Upon hearing that he had left, Shen Yu immediately threw off the quilt. Emerging from under the covers, her face, whether from holding back or something else, was flushed.

She climbed down from the bed, took several deep breaths, and just as her heartbeat was finally settling, Fang Rui said…

“Did you put something on your bed? I just felt my arm touch something soft.” Saying that, Fang Rui lifted the quilt and searched the bed.

Shen Yu was speechless.

“Why’s it not here? Just now…” Fang Rui’s words faltered as if he’d remembered something. He turned his head instantly and his gaze fell on Shen Yu’s chest, seeming to realize something.

Fang Rui had been taught by the Empress to keep himself chaste. As Crown Prince there were many beauties in the Eastern Palace he never so much as glanced at. He met Shen Yu at 17 and by 19 had concluded his attraction lay with men, so he had never touched a woman.

So earlier he didn’t know what it was, only that it felt soft, surely pleasant to the touch. He just hadn’t expected…

That women were in fact as soft as the bawdy jokes in the streets said.

Shen Yu, of course, knew what that thing was. She clutched her chest protectively and shot Fang Rui a glare.

The dry-mouthed feeling intensified. He cleared his throat and shifted his gaze away from Shen Yu. Though his voice was deliberately hoarse, a hint of levity could still be heard, “You look fragile, but that’s all it is, just looks.”

Shen Yu closed her eyes and breathed out, then opened them to look at him. “Think of three conditions properly and I’ll agree to them. By then you will act as if you know nothing.”

Fang Rui raised an eyebrow, taking Shen Yu’s words to be a joke. He got off the bed, walked a few steps toward her, and said, “Didn’t I already give one condition? Be good, call me ‘husband’.”

Shen Yu glared at him. How on earth did she offend someone so shameless?

Suddenly Fang Rui’s ears pricked. Voices drifted in from outside the courtyard. If he wasn’t mistaken, it was the voice of Old Master Shen.

“You say General Lei just barged into Yu’er’s bedchamber? From what he said, there were other people in her room?”

The old steward pushing a wheelchair said, “Old Master, the servant who came to report did indeed say so.”

“Do you know who the person in the room was?”

The old steward shook his head and replied, “No.”

Hearing this, Fang Rui frowned. Why couldn’t he have a peaceful night! If this happened a few more times he was worried he’d have to find an excuse tomorrow to take Shen Yu with him in plain clothes on an outing!

He sighed and said, “Someone’s coming. I’ll go ahead. You’ll have to save that ‘husband’ for next time.”

Shen Yu was stunned, wondering who had arrived. Could it be her grandfather?

He hurried to the window and opened it, seemed to remember something and turned back, saying, “You’d better quickly straighten your clothes, or you might get lectured.”

Shen Yu grabbed her collar tightly and glared at him.

Fang Rui chuckled softly and then leapt out of the window, even closing it behind him. Shen Yu quickly double-locked the window, and just as she had straightened her clothes and hair, someone knocked at the door.

“Young master, the Old Master has arrived.”

Outside the window Fang Rui looked at the window and sighed. Why did someone always spoil it whenever he wanted to spend a little more time with Shen Yu?

He looked at the deepening night and knowing it was late, carefully slipped away from behind the window.

Returning with Rong Tai to the exterior of the imperial bedchamber, the gate Imperial Guards saluted Fang Rui and said, “Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager is waiting for you in the main hall.”

Fang Rui flashed a small smile. This was a good time. Even if she didn’t come now he would go to pay respects tomorrow.

Entering the hall, the Empress Dowager sat in a side chamber, fingers twirling a string of prayer beads. Hearing the summons and the cry of “Your Majesty,” she opened her eyes, knowing Fang Rui had returned.

“Your son pays respects, Mother.”

The Empress Dowager looked up at him. Her eyes showed little emotion, like a woman who cared for nothing in the world and viewed everything lightly. But that was not truly the case.

The Empress Dowager wore a high-collared black robe with wide sleeves embroidered in dark red. The subtle patterns on her clothes were stitched with dark, luminescent threads. Majestic and noble, nearly forty yet well-preserved, she looked barely in her early thirties, with kind brows and eyes. In the palace, those who became ultimate victors and rose to such a rank as Empress Dowager had long learned to keep their power hidden. Judging by the surface alone one could never know what lay in such a person’s heart or what dirty deeds she might have done.

The Empress Dowager was originally the daughter of a high official. With her family’s backing she could have easily become Empress and thought the position was within reach. She had never expected that a frail, sickly merchant’s daughter would appear and, because of her meritorious service in saving the throne, be made Empress.

Her divine favor and status were both taken away. How could she possibly be magnanimous enough to let it go?

“Rui’er, where have you been? Why are you back so late?” The Empress Dowager’s tone carried no reproach, sounding like an ordinary question.

Fang Rui casually replied, “Just took a walk outside the palace.”

Sensing Fang Rui’s evasiveness, the Empress Dowager said, “Still resentful that I said I wanted to choose a concubine for you?”

It was precisely the pretext of selecting a concubine that had allowed him to avoid the Empress Dowager and ease tensions for the past fortnight.

A smile tugged at Fang Rui’s lips. “Since Mother already knows, your son will not explain further. At the founding of the state, great-grandfather said that as long as there are heirs, later generations could forgo selecting concubines.”

The Empress Dowager’s eyes twitched slightly. “When will you have heirs, Rui’er? You haven’t even turned over a single tile yet.”

Fang Rui sat down on a bench, smile unchanged. “Mother need not worry, your son is still young. If you’re concerned, perhaps worry about my brother. He has come of age this year and his marriage should be discussed.”

Mentioning the younger son, the Empress Dowager’s expression shifted slightly. Lifting the teacup with her gloved hand she sipped and said, “The matter of Zhan’er’s marriage will be handled by you as his elder brother.”

Letting him, the elder brother, decide? No doubt none of his choices would satisfy her.

“Then your son will be more attentive.”

“I won’t force you to select concubines, but the matter of heirs must be emphasized.”

“Your son understands.”

The Empress Dowager and he normally spoke little. After sitting for a while she said she would leave. After escorting her away, he returned his gaze and said to Rong Tai behind him, “Find out what kind of women Prince Zhan prefers.”

Rong Tai was stunned. “Your Majesty, do you really intend to arrange a match for Prince Zhan?”

Fang Rui smiled, lips curved. A gleam flashed in his eyes. “Of course, we won’t just propose, it must succeed.”

Fang Zhan was his biological younger brother and not a bad sort by nature. As a child he’d toddled after him with a runny nose, calling “Elder Brother,” which was somewhat endearing. If it weren’t for the Empress Dowager and the consorts she had him marry deliberately stirring trouble, he wouldn’t have been so wavering. Fortunately he realized all of this early. In the sixth year of his reign when the Empress Dowager forced a power struggle, it was because he tipped Shen Yu off that Shen Yu had the chance to enter the palace and save the throne.

Rather than brothers destroying each other, it would be better to make Fang Zhan an ally. If the Empress Dowager had no means to manipulate him…that wouldn’t be a bad thing.

The curve at Fang Rui’s mouth lifted higher. Seeing the smile that came naturally to His Majesty, Rong Tai instantly understood his plan… The emperor’s skill at winning hearts had perhaps been inherited from Emperor Cheng, and even surpassed him.