Chapter 649: Chapter 649: Newlywed Bliss

Shen Ningning had a small bite to eat, then settled in to wait.

Mo Lingwei must have given instructions to the Palace Attendants, because the wedding maiden would come in from time to time to chat with Shen Ningning.

But it wasn’t long before Shen Ningning grew drowsy.

Last night, she had stayed up talking with her mother until the wee hours of the morning.

It was the first time the mother and daughter had seen each other in years. Whenever they were together, they wished they could say everything on their minds at once.

Shen Ningning had only slept for a single hour before she was woken up to have her hair and makeup done.

So even though it was just past noon, she was already so sleepy she could barely keep her eyes open.

The wedding maiden saw her leaning against the bed canopy, looking so pitiably sleepy. She said, "Crown Princess Consort, shall I help you remove your phoenix coronet so you can rest for a while?"

Shen Ningning opened her eyes. "Am I allowed to? Don’t I have to wait for Big Brother to come back?"

The wedding maiden smiled. "The Crown Prince gave instructions before he left. Your comfort is the highest priority. In any case, no one else will be coming for a while, so it’s perfectly fine to remove it."

Hearing this, Shen Ningning nodded. The wedding maiden helped her remove the heavy phoenix coronet, and she felt the strain on her neck ease considerably.

The wedding maiden then helped her out of her cumbersome outer robes. Shen Ningning could finally relax for a moment. She rubbed her aching lower back; sitting up straight for so long had made her quite uncomfortable.

"Crown Princess Consort, please get some rest. I will stand guard at the door. Just call for me if you need anything."

After the wedding maiden withdrew, Shen Ningning lay straight down.

But she felt something lumpy and uncomfortable underneath her, as if something was poking up.

Shen Ningning sat up and reached under the bedding. To her surprise, she pulled out several dried dates, walnuts, and peanuts.

Her eyes widened. "Was Big Brother afraid I’d get hungry? Why would he hide snacks here?"

Fortunately, Shen Ningning had already eaten her fill. She searched the bedding thoroughly, removed all the dates and peanuts, then smoothed out the covers again before lying down.

As evening approached, Mo Lingwei finally returned, reeking of alcohol.

He pushed open the door, swaying on his feet. The eunuchs tried to support him carefully, but he paid them no mind, calling out only Shen Ningning’s name.

"Your two older brothers... they can really drink. They even brought in ten heavy drinkers to try and take me down."

There was a strange hint of grievance in his tone.

Mo Lingwei continued muttering to himself as he waved his hand, dismissing the little eunuchs. He then shut the door behind him.

"Luckily, I anticipated this and arranged for men to take drinks for me. Otherwise, I’m afraid I would’ve passed out drunk in the outer hall and been unable to come back and be with you."

He rounded the screen and saw the figure sleeping soundly on the bed. His words trailed off.

The beauty on the bed was breathing evenly, her lovely face serene in her slumber. She was sleeping peacefully on her side in a relaxed posture, one small foot dangling off the edge of the bed. She was hugging his pillow, fast asleep.

Mo Lingwei’s heart melted at the sight.

He slowly approached, gently placed her foot back on the bed, and tucked the covers around her.

Then he sat on the edge of the bed, quietly admiring her sleeping face.

It was in this moment that the happiness of truly having married Shen Ningning, of having brought her home, became real and tangible.

He loved this feeling—coming home and being able to see her right away.

By the time Shen Ningning woke up, it was already 7 p.m.

She rubbed her eyes. The room was brightly lit by red candles, and her vision slowly sharpened from a blur.

Mo Lingwei was sitting nearby, engrossed in a book. When he caught her sitting up out of the corner of his eye, he turned his head and smiled. "Finally awake?"

Shen Ningning blinked, still dazed. "Why didn’t you wake me? What time is it?"

"It’s nearly past 7 p.m. I saw how tired you were, so I wanted to let you sleep a little longer." ’If she was exhausted, he wouldn’t have the heart to trouble her anyway.’

Shen Ningning sat up. Mo Lingwei set his book down, came over, and took her hand. "Are you hungry? I can have someone bring you a meal."

Shen Ningning shook her head. "Not hungry, just thirsty."

She went to the table for some tea and casually picked up the book Mo Lingwei had been reading. It had a plain cover with no title.

Curious, Shen Ningning opened it and flipped through a couple of pages. Her face instantly turned beet red.

She slammed the book shut, shot to her feet, and stared at Mo Lingwei, who was watching her with an amused smirk.

"You... you! How could you read such an indecent book!"

Mo Lingwei met her accusation with a look of calm innocence. "How else am I supposed to learn? What if I hurt you because I’m inexperienced?"

’He’s actually saying something like that so bluntly!’

Shadows shifted outside; it seemed there were palace maids on duty. Shen Ningning was mortified, terrified they might overhear.

Mo Lingwei chuckled softly. "Fortunately, it doesn’t look too difficult. Perhaps you’ll even enjoy it."

Humiliated, Shen Ningning stomped her foot and moved to cover his mouth.

"Don’t you say another word!"

But Mo Lingwei seemed to have been waiting for this exact moment. He swept Shen Ningning up into his arms and carried her toward the bed.

Shen Ningning panicked. "What are you doing?"

"It’s our wedding night. I haven’t forgotten. I saw you sleeping so soundly earlier and couldn’t bear to wake you. But now, since you’re not hungry and not tired... shall we study the illustrations in the book together?"

As he spoke, Mo Lingwei gently set her down on the bed. The moment his lips descended for a kiss, Shen Ningning quickly blocked him.

"And what if I say no?"

Mo Lingwei raised an eyebrow slightly. "Then I’ll just have to make it so you can’t speak, my dear wife."

He captured her lips in a kiss, effectively swallowing any protest she might have made.

The bed curtains fell. At some unknown point, the candles burned down to their wicks. All that remained in the room was a single, flickering shadow that swayed with the rise and fall of the curtains, until the last sliver of light was finally extinguished at dawn.

Yesterday, the brothers Xie Mingxu and Xie Ming’an had ended up drunk and passed out, thanks to the stand-ins Mo Lingwei had arranged.

So, early this morning, the two brothers came to the Eastern Palace once again to pay their respects.

The Chief Eunuch cordially invited the Crown Princess Consort’s two older brothers into the main hall to have a seat.

He added with an apologetic smile, "The Crown Prince and the Crown Princess Consort have not yet risen. Please, sirs, have a seat and wait for a moment."

Xie Mingxu glanced at the hourglass nearby. It was just past 7:00 AM. ’Their sister must be exhausted from the wedding yesterday,’ he thought. ’It’s fine for her to sleep in a little.’

"It’s no matter," Xie Mingxu said. "You may attend to your duties, Eunuch."

However, the two brothers ended up waiting for a full hour.

Before they knew it, it was nearly noon.

A eunuch had come to refill their tea three times, and the brothers had already taken turns visiting the latrine for the fourth time.

Finally, Xie Ming’an couldn’t sit still any longer. He stood up and called to the eunuch at the door, "Are the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess Consort still not awake?"

’It’s already noon! My sister can’t be going hungry!’

The eunuch cupped his hands and gave another apologetic smile. "Not yet, sirs. Please, wait a little longer."

Xie Mingxu and Xie Ming’an exchanged a look, both of them frowning.

Xie Ming’an whispered to Xie Mingxu, "Big Brother, I suspect the Crown Prince is afraid we’ll cause more trouble, so he’s deliberately hiding our sister and refusing to let us see her."

Xie Mingxu crossed his arms, deep in thought. "The Crown Prince shouldn’t be that ridiculous... but let’s wait a bit longer."

And so, at noon, the Chief Eunuch of the Eastern Palace even had a meal served, allowing the brothers to eat while they waited.

An hour after their meal, Xie Mingxu had had enough. He stood up. "Has the Crown Prince truly not risen yet? The two of us have important matters to discuss with him today."

The eunuch looked troubled. "I just went to ask, sirs. They are still not up."

Just then, a little eunuch ran over. "Chief Eunuch, there’s movement inside! The Crown Prince has called for water!"

Xie Mingxu and Xie Ming’an exchanged a glance. ’So they really are just waking up now?’

The Chief Eunuch smiled. "You see, sirs? If you’ll just wait a little longer, I will announce you both as soon as the Crown Prince has finished bathing and dressing."

So, the two of them sat down again to wait.

However, another thirty minutes passed...

The little eunuch came running back in a hurry. "Chief Eunuch, it seems the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess Consort have fallen asleep again! The bath water was carried out, and there hasn’t been a sound since."

Xie Mingxu: "..."

Xie Ming’an slammed his hand on the table. "Sleeping this much! Can the Crown Prince and Crown Princess Consort’s bodies even handle it?"

With that, he strode toward the door. "I’m going to go talk some sense into them!"

The Chief Eunuch’s heart leaped in alarm. How could he dare let him barge in?

’The Crown Prince and Crown Princess Consort are newlyweds! Why do these two brothers-in-law keep causing trouble?’

"Mr. Xie, you mustn’t..."

Just then, an attendant came to announce, "The Prime Minister’s wife is here."

Xie Mingxu and Xie Ming’an froze.

’Mother came to see our sister, too?’

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