It's So Sweet

The voices in the room came to a sudden hush. The royal members divided into two, creating a open trail in the center of the room. All the worries in Shen Mohua's head were gone. The moment she saw the change in his eyes, she knew he wouldn't leave her alone.

Ou Junsan strode towards the front, his hand holding tightly onto Shen Mohua. Only when he stood in front of the emperor did he kneel down.

"Commander Ou...? What's the meaning of this?" Tang Weisheng demanded.

Ou Junsan carried himself with dignity. He was not ashamed of the scars on his face or his choice of action. He was as proud as any man standing up for his woman.

"Your Majesty, you granted three wishes for my victory over the Southern Borders. At that time, I asked you to wait for my response. Today, I stand here before you. All I want is your blessing on my marriage."

Shen Mohua almost couldn't breathe. Ou Junsan's words echoed into her ears like waves splashing from the sea. Never did she imagine he would be this straightforward and with the emperor...

She wanted to tell him he was foolish to waste his wishes. She wanted to pull him away and make him give it a second thought. It was all so incredibly unreasonable that she couldn't believe those words came from his mouth.

Yet, as she took a careful look at Ou Junsan bearing the load wholeheartedly, she found him more attractive than she had ever seen.

Shen Liu could finally calm the knot in his heart. Meng Jia smiled in relief at her husband and the couple shared a knowing look. They did not choose wrongly.

The empress was dumbfounded for a moment, her words caught up in her throat. Beside her, the emperor's eyes crinkled. A certain conversation came to mind. "Is this the woman you rushed back to meet?"

Ou Junsan didn't bother to hide anything. "To answer Your Majesty, yes. Shen Mohua is my betrothed."

The emperor stepped forward and pulled Ou Junsan up. "Why didn't you say so earlier? Commander Ou, you always seem to be able to surprise me. Today, yet again, you impressed me with your dedication to love."

"Your Majesty's generosity is too heavy for this one to accept..." Ou Junsan muttered.

"Then you must accept my gift. Your wedding shall be held in seven days' time and I will personally come to give my blessings."

"Your Majesty, that's--"

"Father!" Tang Fulan angrily stepped in. "How can you favor a commander over your own son?"

Tang Weisheng strolled comfortably back to his chair. He sat down with a calm smile. "Commander Ou has many military accomplishments. What have you done for the nation? Once you step out the doorways of the brothels and into the sunlight, we can talk."

"Father, that's too much! You're humiliating me in front of everyone!" Tang Fulan pulled out the sword from his side and pointed it towards Ou Junsan. "If you're so great, let's have a duel."

"Your Highness, this one does not dare." Ou Junsan remained as still as ever, even when the blade slightly grazed his skin.

Tang Fulan smiled in triumph. "What a coward."

Shen Mohua grimaced at the tiny distance between the sharp blade and Ou Junsan's face. She could stand still no longer. She was in the middle of contemplating whether to kick or punch when the emperor spoke.

"That's enough, Fulan. Don't embarrass yourself further. Commander Ou's marriage is an imperial order, even you must respect it."

Tang Shi, who had been a spectator this whole time, pulled his brother away. "Commander Ou is a greatly accomplish loyal subject. Hearing his legend can't compare to seeing him in person tonight. Ou Junsan, I truly applaud you for your bravery and boldness. May your marriage with Miss Shen be longlasting and full of happiness."

Ou Junsan gave a slight bow, nothing more and nothing less of what was necessary. "Thank you, Your Highness."

Song Qiuyue stood next to her husband. Her gaze moved from Shen Mohua and lingered on Ou Junsan in a daze. "Congratulations..."

Shen Mohua couldn't tell why the beautiful woman seemed as if she could break into tears any moment. Ou Junsan's voice pulled her out from her thoughts as he directly addressed the emperor and ignored the princess consort.

"If Your Majesty does not mind, this one would like to watch fireworks with Miss Shen before the night ends."

"Of course, please enjoy yourselves." Tang Weisheng motioned everyone back to their seats. Once again, music filled the room and the previous event was not talked about any longer. At least not until tomorrow.

Without further ado, Ou Junsan pulled her hand and together, they ventured towards the lights in the distance.

---

Fireworks shot into the night, blooms bursting across the dark sky.

Shen Mohua stood next to Ou Junsan on the hill overseeing the lake where they just narrowly escaped. Her skirt swirled in the wind as she stared at Ou Junsan. The lights of the firework illuminated his features in bright red and green.

She engraved into her mind the curves of his nose down to his chin and how it changed into the sharpness of his jawline. A strand of his curls fell onto his cheek and before she could stop herself, her fingers already gently hooked it around his ear.

"You're not watching the fireworks," he stated.

"..." Shen Mohua couldn't find an excuse. "I'll watch it right now!"

He reached his hand into his pocket and pulled out a bunny shaped sugar candy, but the bunny had broken into smaller pieces. Feeling the strange shapes, he hurriedly prepared to put it right back when she snatched it out of his hands and unwrapped it into her mouth.

Plop.

"..." Ou Junsan. Little liar...

"Mmm, so sweet," she complimented innocently.

Ou Junsan did not say anything, but she noticed the slight curve of his lips. She secretly stashed a piece away. "When did you have time to buy this?"

"When you were painting," he replied. His curved lips fell flat as the earlier event refreshed itself. "I was gone for a minute and you already got in trouble."

She had strong protests against his statement, "It was a setup!"

"I know," he assured. "Be careful next time, alright?"

Caught by surprise with the softness in his voice, she could only agree, "Okay."

There was a long silence between them in which the only sound was the sound of distant fireworks. Even now, her eyes were focused solely on him.

"Shen Mohua," he suddenly called.

She was startled, not expecting to be caught red handed again. "H-huh?"

"Are you sure you want to keep the rock found by the roadside when there's a diamond in your reach?"

This man, he was so confident in front of the emperor, but so unsure in front of her. She stood on her tip toes and cupped his cheeks with both her hands. "You are the rarest gem in my hands. I don't need a diamond, I don't need any prince. When I have you, I have everything."

"You can't possibly mean what you said."

His words got her eyebrows scrunched together. "You don't believe me?"

"I just don't think--"

She tugged him towards her and directly placed her lips over his. Afraid of his lecture of man and woman keeping distance, she kept count of time.

One.

Two.

Three.

Shen Mohua pulled back, her chest heaving heavily and her cheeks on fire. "T-there, do you believe me now?"

Ou Junsan tilted his head. His tongue swiped across his bottom lip. Then, his Adam's apple bobbed down and back up as he swallowed.

The piece of candy in her hand was the first thing she could think of. "Ou Junsan, want to try it? I promise it's sweet."

He, who rarely ate candy, parted his mouth. A refreshing sweetness rushed in. Shen Mohua was right, it was really sweet.

So sweet that maybe, just maybe, his heart felt it too.