Chapter 650: Chapter 650: Never Enough

Xie Mingxu and Xie Ming’an stepped forward, bowing with clasped hands.

"Mother."

Shen Siyi walked up with a wide smile. Then, before either brother could react, she reached out and pinched both of their ears.

"OW!" Xie Ming’an yelped, hopping in place. "Mother! What is it this time?"

"You have the gall to ask me? Your sister just got married. Today is only the second day. What trouble are you two here to cause? Come home with me."

Shen Siyi dragged them along. The brothers didn’t dare to resist, grimacing in pain as they scurried to keep up.

Xie Ming’an retorted indignantly, "Mother! We just came to see our sister! We were worried she’d be exhausted from the tedious wedding ceremony yesterday. And look, we were right! She is tired. It’s already afternoon, and she and the Crown Prince still haven’t gotten up."

Shen Siyi stopped abruptly. Turning to face them, her gaze swept over them, sharp and appraising.

"Have you two never liked any girls?"

Xie Mingxu and Xie Ming’an exchanged a glance. Xie Mingxu was the first to look away.

"Mother, I’m not a blockhead like my second brother."

"Who are you calling a blockhead!" Xie Ming’an stomped his foot in anger.

Xie Mingxu remained perfectly calm. "I know why our sister woke up so late."

Shen Siyi pressed her lips together. "You know, and you still brought your brother here to cause trouble?"

"Our sister must have been up talking with the Crown Prince until all hours. That’s why she woke up so late," Xie Mingxu declared in all seriousness.

Shen Siyi’s eyes went wide. She stared at Xie Mingxu’s face—he was completely serious.

He clearly didn’t think there was anything wrong with what he’d said; in fact, he looked as though he were offering a serious analysis.

"My big brother’s right!" The realization dawned on Xie Ming’an, and he didn’t doubt for a second that Xie Mingxu could be wrong. "Ningning and the Crown Prince always get along so well. Now that they finally have a whole night together, they must have been talking so much they lost all track of time."

The more he spoke, the more convinced Xie Ming’an became that he had to see Shen Ningning before he could leave.

"Mother, as her second older brother, I need to remind her to take care of herself. And especially the Crown Prince—from what I’ve seen, he can’t make any decisions for himself. He just does whatever our sister says."

Shen Siyi gazed at her two clueless sons, truly at her wit’s end.

’When I’m not around, my husband Xie Suzhi’s way of teaching the boys must be incredibly direct and unrefined.’

It was common for young masters of wealthy families to take a maid as a bed-servant around the age of twelve or thirteen.

It was for the purpose of learning more about... that sort of thing.

But Xie Suzhi himself was a man of great self-control, so it was only natural that the two sons he raised had no penchant for chasing women.

It wasn’t just the three of them, father and sons; even Xu Jingxi was the same.

Shen Siyi looked at them with a sigh. "Your sister is indeed tired, but not for the reason you think. She and the Crown Prince are busy figuring out how to give the Emperor an Imperial Grandson. Do you understand what I’m saying now?"

Xie Mingxu suddenly froze. ’It hit me. How could I have forgotten? I’ve heard stories about the bridal chamber and the nuptial night before.’

’But I just can’t bring myself to think of Shen Ningning and Mo Lingwei that way. In my mind, they’re both still just eight or nine-year-old kids!’

In reality, however, Shen Ningning was over seventeen, and Mo Lingwei was over twenty.

Seeing that Xie Mingxu had caught on, Shen Siyi said gently, "So, think about it. If you stay and keep insisting on seeing her, won’t that make things awkward for Ningning?"

"Besides, a new bride has a lot to attend to. Don’t cause any more trouble. Let’s go home."

This time, Xie Mingxu didn’t protest. He simply fell in line obediently behind his mother.

Xie Ming’an, however, still looked completely lost. He looked at Xie Mingxu. "Big Brother, you get it? I don’t. What exactly are they so busy with?"

Xie Mingxu shot him a look. "Honestly," he said, his tone heavy, "even if you’ve never experienced something, you must have at least heard about it. The wedding night! Use your head and think about what that means!"

With that, he and Shen Siyi quickened their pace and left the palace, their figures receding into the distance.

Xie Ming’an stood rooted to the spot, scratching his head in deep thought. "The wedding night... Big Brother, Mother, wait for me! Explain it better! What does the wedding night have to do with me? And what in the world does it have to do with our sister being tired?"

He had been training as a forensic doctor since he was a child, spending his days with corpses. Later, he joined the Ministry of Justice, studying under the former Minister of the Ministry of Justice. His life revolved around his work; all day he investigated cases, and all night he mulled over their details.

Xie Ming’an was even more of a blockhead than Xie Mingxu.

Not long after they left, the doors to the main courtyard where Shen Ningning was staying finally opened.

Attending palace maids filed in, carrying trays with basins and toiletries for washing up.

Shen Ningning’s jet-black hair cascaded past her cheek, falling softly over her chest. Her cream-colored nightgown only served to accentuate the rosy blush on her cheeks.

She sat before the mirror, letting the palace maids attend to her hair and makeup. Not far away, Mo Lingwei changed his clothes behind a screen, occasionally glancing over at Shen Ningning.

’Even after holding her and watching her all night, I feel as if I could never get enough of the sight.’

But Shen Ningning’s eyes, catching a reflection in the mirror, drifted to a corner of the bed.

The mahogany dragon-and-phoenix bed she shared with Mo Lingwei was exquisitely carved and quite wide, but Shen Ningning distinctly remembered that no matter how she lay last night, it had felt cramped.

Mo Lingwei had been constantly pressed against her side, against her body.

She watched as the palace maids cleared away the rumpled bedding, the disheveled sheets, and one mysteriously torn pillow.

Shen Ningning’s cheeks burned, and her earlobes turned the color of cherries.

Mo Lingwei’s voice came from behind the screen. "My wife, could you come and help me?"

Shen Ningning snapped out of her reverie. "What is it?"

Mo Lingwei pointed to his sash. "I want you to tie it for me."

The attendant helping him was a young palace maid, so out of a sense of propriety, Mo Lingwei asked Shen Ningning to help instead.

Shen Ningning rounded the screen, an intricately patterned sash inlaid with crimson and violet gems in her hands. "I’ve never dressed anyone before," she muttered, trying to figure it out.

She was mid-sentence when Mo Lingwei suddenly pulled her into his embrace.

Shen Ningning froze. Mo Lingwei’s hot breath ghosted across her ear, just as it had the night before.

Even though they had done the most intimate things imaginable last night, she couldn’t stop her face from flushing.

"W-what are you doing..." she stammered, her voice delicate and faint.

"It’s never enough. What am I to do?"

"What’s not enough?"

"What do you think?" His counter-question was accompanied by a soft, meaningful chuckle.

He didn’t explain, but Shen Ningning understood instantly.

Blushing, she quickly pushed Mo Lingwei away and turned her back to him. "Stop fooling around," she stammered, flustered and embarrassed. "Don’t we... don’t we still have to pay our respects to Father Emperor?"

’It’s so embarrassing.’ Shen Ningning had heard that they were supposed to pay their respects to the Emperor by serving him tea first thing in the morning.

And yet, here she was, having slept in this late!

’It’s mostly Mo Lingwei’s fault. Every time I started to wake up, he would pull me back into his arms. After our... entanglement, we would both be exhausted and naturally fall back asleep together.’

But every time Shen Ningning tried to get out of bed, he would just pull her back.

’Shen Ningning suspected Mo Lingwei must have his own Immortal Realm. Otherwise, where did all his boundless energy come from?’

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