After the entertainment was over, Emperor Li and the Empress had retired to their own respective palaces to "rest." The day was simply too stimulating.
Long Zheng had long left the venue when he stepped out earlier.
Li Yun upheld his duties as the Crown Prince, attending to the guests as well as sending them off. Before he knew it, General Bai had intercepted him and started introducing to him his eldest daughter, Bai Youyou.
This girl was different from her sisters in that she appeared to be gentle and calm upon first sight. She had adhered to propriety when greeting Li Yun and didn't so much as glance at his countenance as she did so. If he did not notice her sneaking glimpses at him before the banquet had started earlier, then he could have believed that General Bai was the only one pining for his position.
Unfortunately, Li Yun proved to be astute and this eldest daughter of the general had failed to appeal to him.
He could understand where these noble daughters were coming from, in their pursuit for an influential man's hand in marriage. However, Li Yun felt nothing for them and had no plans to accommodate any women that could hinder his current peaceful lifestyle.
Moreover, he did not want to take in anyone that held an obvious dislike towards his little sister and her only friend.
Li Yun felt that should the day come when he found someone of interest, then he would take them without any hesitation. However, he had yet to find that someone whom he valued more than his precious little sister.
Of course, as the eloquent Crown Prince he was, Li Yun did not make any assurances nor did he displease General Bai as he slipped away to attend to the other guests as his irresponsible younger brother could not be counted on.
As much as Li Hao wanted to also "rest" with Bai Ping, Bai Ping feigned ignorance and ran up to Li Feifei to talk as they hadn't spoken at all after Hua Shen took her away the previous day from the brothel. Furthermore, her best friend was marrying out of the kingdom the next morning!
Who knew when they would be able to see each other again if not on the busy battlefield?
So, followed by her slightly depressed lover, Bai Ping approached Li Feifei who had snuck out to a nearby gazebo with Hua Shen not too long after her parents had left.
Well, even though it was said that she snuck out with Hua Shen, but it was obvious that Hua Shen had followed Li Feifei out.
Li Feifei felt that the air inside was too stifling and boring, so she would rather sightsee than put up with useless banter.
The pavilion wasn't particularly large, but it was exquisitely designed, with two benches sitting opposite from each other within.
The view that could be seen consisted of the large, clear pond with water lilies forming a semi-chaotic pathway from the gazebo to the other end of the pond. Within, only two koi could be found swimming as if they were the only existences in the world—one completely black and the other white.
Thus, the sight Bai Ping and Li Hao were met with upon stepping onto the gazebo was one that made even the closest of couples feel like they simply weren't qualified to call themselves a "couple."
No matter where he was, as long as Li Feifei was around, it seemed as if Hua Shen had to be in direct contact with her or he'd die or a terrible calamity would befall the entire universe.
While Li Feifei was standing at the edge with her smooth white hands propped up on the rail, Hua Shen had long since taken the liberty to cuddle himself up behind her with his broad chest pressed firmly against Li Feifei's narrow and delicate back.
As the sun had already set, the moonlight illuminated the scene before Bai Ping and Li Hao, making the couple in front of them appear as if they had walked straight out from a painting. The two looked as if they were made for each other what with the harmonious silence between them as Hua Shen gazed down with wholehearted concentration at Li Feifei in his arms who fed the two lone fishes in the pond every other second.
What made it even more visually pleasing was that the two appeared as if they were already married, what with the red robes draped over both of their bodies. The contrast between the darkening light blue sky and the vibrant red hue of the garments was very aesthetic.
In Hua Shen's eyes, there was only Li Feifei.
But Li Feifei was curious how much more the two fishes could eat before they died of overeating.
Unfortunately for Hua Shen, Bai Ping had stayed around Li Feifei for far too long to truly care about reading the mood.
"Fei-er!" She called out cheerfully from a little distance behind, causing Li Feifei to come out from her musing.
At this point, even Li Hao felt some pity and sympathy for this brave brother-in-law of his.
Stuck between Hua Shen's powerful arms, Li Feifei turned around with a slight smile as she greeted this newfound comrade of hers equally as cheerful, "Ping-er!"
Even if Bai Ping was only a few strings of data and coding, Li Feifei had to admit that this female lead was truly endearing and easy to get along with.
Extremely malleable, Li Feifei nodded to herself in satisfaction.
Hua Shen already knew that this girl was the same girl from the previous day at the brothel. Also, she was already involved with someone else so there was no way his baby could be swiped away from him by her.
Thus, even though he refused to part with Li Feifei as he'd already gotten comfortable, Hua Shen still put on an amiable appearance as he nodded to Li Hao standing not even half a step behind Bai Ping in acknowledgement. Li Hao, who was just about to apologize for his love's rude behavior as well as pay respect to Hua Shen, was forced to stop in the midst of his movements and just helplessly stood in silence.
Seeing as the man who interrupted their fun was not moving away anytime soon, Bai Ping decided to scrutinize his features from head to toe with slightly narrowed eyes.
Then, before Li Hao had any time to pull her gaze away she had already done so herself as she smiled brightly at Li Feifei, "You got yourself a good one, Fei-er!"
To this praise, Hua Shen's previous amiable facade had immediately transformed into a genuine one as he finally found someone who could be considered a true supporter of his love!
Following is shift in temperament, Hua Shen's arms tightened around Li Feifei's waist and she knew that he must have had that silly grin from before pasted across his face again—that smile that made one want to swing him a good one.
But she couldn't deny Bai Ping's words, as they were true, "En."
Li Feifei gave a slight smile as her hands went from the railings to the muscular arms wrapped around her waist.
Hua Shen was ecstatic when he heard Li Feifei's acknowledgement, and he instantly pulled her small figure even closer to himself as if trying to meld their two bodies into one. So, even though it was getting darker and colder outside, with the thick layers of clothes on herself in addition to Hua Shen's seemingly scalding body heat Li Feifei only felt as if she were inside of a burning furnace instead!
Witnessing such public display of affection, Bai Ping had already expected this from the previous occurrence inside the venue.
Sneakily, she crept towards Li Feifei and whispered in a playful manner, "Make sure he pulls out ah!"
She was just wanting to give useful advice as thanks for Li Feifei reminding herself to tame Li Hao's sexual desires before something bad happened. There was no way these historical men would even think of the consequences of such early pregnancies because to them, 15 was not particularly early.
Moreover, they had a duty to produce heirs, so pulling out was completely irrational to these men.
In Bai Ping's case, she had somehow forgotten—Li Feifei naturally assumed that it was due to the effect of female lead's and male lead's IQs dropping substantially once involved with each other.
Even if their men loved and cherished them enough to consider pulling out, Bai Ping knew that even the smallest mistake would be intolerable. And, it was better to tame the beasts in the long run anyway.
As for any contraceptives, at this point in time there were obviously no condoms, and the decoctions all had a certain amount of poison in them—there was no way Li Hao would allow her to take any risks.
Bai Ping figured with how much Hua Shen appeared to love Li Feifei, he'd be the same.
With Bai Ping's advice, Li Feifei's face could only darken as she believed Bai Ping was deliberately getting back at her for silently calling her out in the past. This misunderstanding was not unfounded.
After all, even though Bai Ping had whispered, everyone present was within range and to top it all off they were all martial arts experts!
But Li Feifei's face was thick, albeit slightly darker than usual as she complied with a strained smile, "Of course, Ping-er. We naturally aren't like you two."
Having had her good intentions returned with a slap in the face, Bai Ping indignantly huffed before rolling her eyes and stomping away with slightly flushed cheeks along with Li Hao as she left behind a few words, "Well then, we won't bother your love session any further! I guess the next time I see you, you'll be an Empress. Hah!"
Bai Ping laughed as if the latter half if her words were hard to believe.
Li Hao had long since been paralyzed the moment he'd heard the vulgar words his love had whispered into his sister's ears. He simply stiffly let Bai Ping drag him along back to her carriage.
As soon as the third and fourth wheels had left, Hua Shen immediately pounced; lowering his lips down to the crook of Li Feifei's neck, Hua Shen gently nipped and sucked on her tender skin as he deeply breathed in her alluring rosy scent that was neither too strong nor too weak.
He exhaled hotly onto her exposed and fair neck as he chuckled seductively, "Should I pull out, Fei-er?"
Li Feifei glared down at his provocative eyes, "If you dare, see if you won't be met with a dysfunctional little brother the next morning!"
What use is it if it can't even do its duty correctly?
Hua Shen burst into a cacophonous laughter, his sturdy chest vibrated strongly against Li Feifei's back through their many layers of clothes.
"But if you do that, then you'll never be satisfied ever again."
Li Feifei brought her small hand up to pinch Hua Shen's flawless tanned cheek, "Then you better make sure that when the time comes, you do everything properly."
"En," Hua Shen smiled indulgently before tilting his head upwards, capturing his wife's perfect petite lips with his own.
Hua Shen and Li Feifei already knew they were both just teasing each other with their remarks.
After all, they both wanted to reunite with their little baby just as bad as the other.
But before then, they had three years to pass.
Within those three years, in order to not strain his wife's youthful body in any way detrimental to her long-term health, Hua Shen could only make do with any other methods of satisfaction for his teenage hormones that didn't include penetration.
These three years were bound to be his greatest trial yet.
Thus, the farewell ceremony ended, and the time for their departure soon approached after another steamy night.