Xiao Feng's face contorted in disgust, and he retreated several steps. "Mother, you're so disgusting."
Tao Lengshuang glared at him and said irritably, "You know it's disgusting, yet you still take so many pastries. Don't others find it disgusting?
"Xiao Feng, you must remember that no one and nothing in this world revolves around you. Not everyone and everything will go according to your wishes. You can't always do as you please.
Even the Emperor cannot have everything his way. Do you understand?"
Now Xiao Feng understood where he had gone wrong and lowered his head in shame. "Mother, I'm sorry. Xiao Feng shouldn't have done that. Xiao Feng won't do it again."
Tao Lengshuang beckoned him over. Seeing him trot to her side, she stroked his head. "Xiao Feng, there's one more thing. You must save food. I've told you many times, we need to save food and not waste it.
As you can see, there are so many disaster victims outside who can't get enough to eat. You've also experienced hardship. Would you be willing to waste like this?"
Xiao Feng felt even more ashamed. He tugged at the hem of his clothes, his eyes red. "Mother, Grandmother, I'm sorry. Xiao Feng has done very, very bad, very, very hateful things."
Tao Lengshuang smiled and said softly, "It's good that Xiao Feng knows he made a mistake. Xiao Feng must not do such things next time, understand?"
Xiao Feng promised he wouldn't do such things again. He didn't want to be a disobedient, bad child.
"Promise not to do what again?" At this moment, Mo Lingxi, looking a little tired, walked in.
"Father!" Xiao Feng pounced on him and told him in a milky voice about the 'bad deeds' he had done, apologizing earnestly. "Xiao Feng made a mistake. Xiao Feng will never do such bad things again."
Mo Lingxi raised an eyebrow, picked him up with one hand, and sat down on a chair. "It's good that Xiao Feng can admit his mistakes and correct them. Just remember not to repeat them in the future."
Xiao Feng nodded vigorously. "Xiao Feng promises not to repeat them. I want to be a very, very good child."
Mo Lingxi praised him a few times, then let him go play.
Turning, he spoke to Tao Lengshuang about settling the disaster victims. "Zi Cheng and I discussed it all night. We've decided to observe the situation first before deciding what to do next, as the exact circumstances are unclear."
Tao Lengshuang understood these matters. While these actions seemed beneficial to the people, their true impact was uncertain, and it was unknown if anyone was manipulating things.
"It's good to observe for now, to avoid any trouble."
Mo Lingxi nodded and mentioned Zhou Wenxing. "Zhou Wenxing has already arrived at the imperial mausoleum. However, it was recently discovered that the former Emperor's affairs are related to him. I suspect someone is plotting against him."
Tao Lengshuang and Madam Sheng exchanged glances. The former Emperor's affairs were related to Zhou Wenxing? This matter seemed problematic from any angle.
"The former Emperor valued Zhou Wenxing greatly. With Zhou Wenxing's intelligence, he would absolutely not do anything to harm the former Emperor," Tao Lengshuang analyzed calmly. "But the problem is, who wants Zhou Wenxing to be a scapegoat, and for what reason?"
"Also, could the person causing trouble be the one who killed the former Emperor?"
Mo Lingxi had discussed these points with Zi Cheng, but they hadn't reached a conclusion.
"It's hard to say for now. However, since the other party has already made a move, we might as well wait and see. The most important thing now is to be patient."
Tao Lengshuang said, "I'm still thinking about something. Why is Zhou Wenxing involved? Could it be related to us?"
Madam Sheng added, "Lengshuang means that this person's true target isn't Zhou Wenxing, but to use Zhou Wenxing to scheme against us?"
Tao Lengshuang had such a suspicion. "It's my guess. Everyone knows how bad Zhou Wenxing's relationship with us is. If they can use Zhou Wenxing to scheme against us, this person can stay out of it."
Mo Lingxi thought further. "It might not be aimed at us. It could be aimed at the entire Jin Dynasty, as this matter involves the former Emperor."
With his words, Tao Lengshuang and Madam Sheng understood. Yes, this matter involved the former Emperor's case. If handled improperly, it could lead to serious consequences.
"Why not disclose this matter to Zhou Wenxing?" Tao Lengshuang's beautiful, cold eyes flashed with a hint of sharp light. "This way, we can kill two birds with one stone."
Mo Lingxi gave her a thumbs-up and praised her. "Princess Consort, you are indeed brilliant. Your plan is better than mine. I was struggling to figure out how to find the people Zhou Wenxing has hidden."
He had recently cleared out many of Zhou Wenxing's subordinates, but some were still unaccounted for. With this method, he believed he could soon eliminate all of Zhou Wenxing's personnel.
Tao Lengshuang playfully glared at him. "You just praise me."
Mo Lingxi replied, "If I don't praise you, who else can I praise?"
Tao Lengshuang let out a soft hum, her lips curling upwards. "Will you be very busy recently?"
Mo Lingxi rubbed his temples, indicating that he would be very busy during this period, mainly with settling the disaster victims, as well as handling the peace talks with the Northern Yuan Dynasty and other matters.
Tao Lengshuang felt a pang of sympathy for him and gave him some instructions. Then she heard Madam Sheng say something.
"Now that Zhou Wenxing has been sent to guard the imperial mausoleum, it's time to hold a banquet to acknowledge Lengshuang."
Tao Lengshuang exclaimed, not entirely surprised. "Has Auntie truly decided? Without concrete evidence, if something unexpected happens...?"
Madam Sheng held her hand and patted it gently, smiling affectionately. "I don't like to hear you say that. From the first moment I saw you, I felt a deep affection for you. At that time, I didn't know you were my own daughter.
When I learned you were my biological daughter, I dreamed of you standing proudly in my Sheng family, so that outsiders could not speak ill of you."
Tao Lengshuang, being a mother herself, understood Madam Sheng's maternal love perfectly. "Mother, your daughter never cared about those rumors. Your daughter only cares about your and Father's well-being."
The word "Mother" brought tears to Madam Sheng's eyes. She hugged Tao Lengshuang. "Good, good, good. Finally, I hear you call me Mother. Mother has no regrets in this life."
Tao Lengshuang gently patted her back. "Look at what Mother is saying. Your daughter doesn't want to hear it. Mother is still young and will live to see Xiao Feng get married and have children."
Madam Sheng dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief, smiling and repeatedly saying, "I also want to see Xiao Feng get married and have children, and for our family to be happy."
As she spoke, she instructed the wet nurse to prepare a banquet, adding that it should not be too grand, just a small, intimate gathering, to avoid giving anyone an excuse to find fault.
The wet nurse bowed with a smile and withdrew to make preparations. The Madam had finally seen the end of her hardships.
Tao Lengshuang chuckled. "Mother, if you hold the banquet before Father returns, Father will be unhappy."
Madam Sheng dismissively pouted. "Who cares about him, that smelly man? Besides, he can't help with the banquet anyway; he'd just stand there."
Hearing this for the first time, Tao Lengshuang glanced at Mo Lingxi.