Sheng Lengshuang kicked him. "Listen to what our Prince Ming Rui says. It's truly moving. I almost believed you."
Mo Lingxi stole a kiss. "You must believe me. These are my true feelings."
"Don't play coy! Do you dare say you've never thought of taking a concubine or a secondary wife?"
"...That was before. Things are different now. I truly have no such thoughts."
Sheng Lengshuang looked as if she knew it all. "All you men are like this. You say one thing and do another. Fortunately, I didn't believe you."
Mo Lingxi quickly explained, "Wife, our relationship wasn't good before. At that time, I thought that for the sake of the country and the Emperor, it would be fine to take a concubine or a secondary wife. They would just be housed in the manor."
"But now that I've fallen in love with you, it's different. I can't do such a thing, nor would I hurt your feelings for those women."
The corners of Sheng Lengshuang's lips curved upwards, her tone light. "Listen, listen. It's truly moving. Can you guarantee that you won't take a concubine or a secondary wife in the future?"
Mo Lingxi raised three fingers and swore, his expression solemn. "I swear, in this life, I will only have you, and no one else. Otherwise, may lightning strike me."
Sheng Lengshuang raised an eyebrow. "Your oath sounds quite convincing, but if oaths were truly useful, there wouldn't be so many faithless and heartless men and women in this world. So, rather than believing oaths, it's better to believe that pigs can climb trees."
"Don't talk to me about oaths. I only believe in facts."
Mo Lingxi nodded understandingly. "This is for the best. Believing too much in oaths, or in one person, isn't good."
Sheng Lengshuang found it amusing. "Isn't this you undermining yourself?"
"No! If it's for your own good, it's not undermining myself."
"I like hearing you say that."
Mo Lingxi could see that Sheng Lengshuang's mood hadn't been affected, and he felt relieved. "This was my fault for not handling things well, which led to this incident. If something like this happens again, you don't need to be polite."
Sheng Lengshuang glanced at him sideways. "Do I seem polite today? I can also see that Zhang You was set up. Anyone with a little brain wouldn't do something like that at a palace banquet and force you to take her."
Mo Lingxi didn't care about these details. To him, it didn't matter if Zhang You was manipulated by others. What mattered was whether Sheng Lengshuang was affected.
"Look, you've made your stance clear today. Shouldn't you give me a formal title?" he asked cautiously.
Sheng Lengshuang half-closed her eyes. "You want a formal title? Your test isn't over yet. We'll talk about it after you pass. If you're in a hurry for a formal title..."
"I'm not in a hurry for a formal title!" Mo Lingxi cut her off. It would be a joke if, after enduring so long, he stumbled now.
Sheng Lengshuang let out a soft hum, a hint of a smile growing on her lips.
When they returned to the Sheng family, Madam Sheng had something to discuss with Sheng Lengshuang, so Mo Lingxi and the others returned to their respective courtyards.
"Mother is looking for me. Is she going to talk about the palace banquet?" Sheng Lengshuang asked.
Madam Sheng nodded, then shook her head. "Yes and no. After the incident at the palace banquet, your marriage to Prince Ming Rui can't be delayed any longer. If it drags on, it will attract more gossip."
"No matter how much our family disregards gossip, we must consider the royal family, do you understand?"
Sheng Lengshuang understood these things and knew that living in this era meant following its rules. One should never think of defying the rules of an era; it was the most foolish approach.
"Mother means, when Prince Ming Rui proposes to me again, I should agree to marry him?"
Madam Sheng was reluctant to see her daughter marry so soon. She dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief, tears welling up. "Originally, without the incident at the banquet, it wouldn't matter when you got married. But with what happened at the banquet, and Prince Ming Rui saying such things publicly, if you still refuse to marry him, it's inevitable that rumors detrimental to the royal family will spread."
"Lengshuang, we are always subjects. No matter how favored by the Emperor, we cannot do anything detrimental to the royal family. Do you understand?"
Sheng Lengshuang understood this all too well. In this world of imperial power, the Emperor's words were absolute, and no one could disobey. Especially subjects, who could not go against the Emperor's will, nor do anything that would harm the royal family.
"Mother, I will consider this matter further. Please rest assured, I will not do anything foolish."
Madam Sheng knew her daughter was resourceful and intelligent. She sighed, "Lengshuang, Mother also doesn't want you to marry so early and wants to keep you home for a while longer, but..."
Sheng Lengshuang comforted her. "Mother, don't think too much about it. Even if I get married, it's not like I can't come back. Besides, there's still Xiao Feng. Mother, instead of thinking so much, you should spend more time with Xiao Feng. This child is very clingy."
As soon as her grandson was mentioned, Madam Sheng's face lit up with a smile. "Xiao Feng is exceptionally well-behaved. Seeing Xiao Feng is like seeing you when you were little, which has also fulfilled one of my wishes."
"The only bad thing about Xiao Feng is that he doesn't like to study and has often tried to skip school."
Sheng Lengshuang was helpless. "There's nothing that can be done about it. Many children are like this. Mother, please put in more effort and don't let Xiao Feng skip school."
Madam Sheng told her not to worry. Although she was also reluctant to make Xiao Feng work too hard, this was for his own good and she couldn't let him act out.
...
The next morning, early.
Mo Lingxi held the betrothal gift list and showed it to Sheng Lengshuang. He swatted away Xiao Feng, who had come over to look. "Wife, take a look. Are these betrothal gifts enough? If not, I'll prepare more."
Sheng Lengshuang glanced at it. All the items were precious and valuable. "What did you talk about with my father last night? You came to show me this so early in the morning."
Mo Lingxi rubbed his hands and chuckled. "Father-in-law said that I should come and present the betrothal gifts soon."
The corners of Sheng Lengshuang's mouth twitched. For a moment, she didn't know what to say. She also understood that her father was worried about rumors detrimental to the royal family spreading, which was why he said those words to Mo Lingxi.
"I have a feeling that last night's incident was your doing, so that you could reconcile with me as soon as possible."
Mo Lingxi cried out in protest. "Wife, by heaven and earth, last night's incident was truly not my doing. If it really was me, I would have presented the betrothal gifts last night, wouldn't I?"
Sheng Lengshuang didn't know if she believed him. She put the betrothal gift list aside. "We'll talk about this later. There's no rush. There are some things I still need to think about."
Mo Lingxi also knew it wouldn't be that easy. He massaged her shoulders. "Take your time to think. If there's anything, I'll handle it."
Sheng Lengshuang gestured for Xiao Feng to look at the betrothal gift list slowly. She touched his head. "Xiao Feng, you can't be like your father. You'll get your legs broken."
Xiao Feng glanced at his father with a hint of disdain. "Father is truly useless. Even I can coax Mother, but Father can't."