Mo Lingxi straightened his posture, "What does my wife want to tell me?"
He had a premonition that this was something very important to him.
Sheng Lengshuang composed herself and said unhurriedly, "After my mother told me last time, I thought about it."
Mo Lingxi's heart leaped into his throat. He swallowed, "What is my wife's decision?"
He desperately hoped it was a good decision.
Sheng Lengshuang could see his nervousness and said softly, "Let's try dating."
Dating? Try dating?
Mo Lingxi's head was filled with question marks. He was a little confused, "Wife, what is dating?"
Sheng Lengshuang explained the meaning of dating, "Simply put, it's like an assessment of you. If you pass, we'll get engaged. If you don't pass..."
"There will be no failing!" Mo Lingxi cut her off, laughing. It was rare enough that his wife had agreed to try dating him; how could he possibly fail?
Even if he truly failed, he would find a way to pass.
Sheng Lengshuang glanced at him sideways, "Whether you pass or not is up to me. If you can't accept this, you don't have to agree."
In the first place, she didn't necessarily need to remarry; she just didn't want to make her parents difficult.
How could Mo Lingxi dare to say he couldn't accept this? Besides, he didn't feel there was anything wrong with it. "No, no, I can accept it. It's just, wife, could you tell me a little about what I should do during this dating period?"
He didn't understand this dating very well and was afraid of doing something wrong that would displease his wife.
Sheng Lengshuang simply said, "Think about it yourself," and then closed her eyes to rest.
Mo Lingxi scratched his head and quietly stayed by her side, contemplating the matter. The good thing was that at least his wife had softened her stance and wasn't as stubbornly refusing reconciliation as before.
He believed that as long as he worked a little harder, he would surely win the beauty's heart.
...
Yangxin Hall, Side Hall.
Zi Cheng saw Mo Lingxi walk in with a radiant expression and knew that something good had happened to him. He raised an eyebrow and teased, "Uncle, has Xiao Sheng finally agreed to reconcile with you?"
Mo Lingxi glanced at the envoy from Nan Jin Dynasty seated below and bowed to Zi Cheng, "Sort of, but there's still a big step to go."
Zi Cheng was very surprised, "Congratulations, Uncle. I suppose it won't be long before I can drink to your wedding."
He paused and then added, "I need to prepare a congratulatory gift in advance. If it's not ready, Uncle will definitely not allow me to attend the wedding."
Mo Lingxi sat in the seat next to him, his thin lips curving slightly, "It's good that Your Majesty knows."
Zi Cheng suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. As expected of his uncle. "Uncle, the newly arrived envoy from Nan Jin Dynasty says they want to have a good talk with our Dong Jin Dynasty. I recall that several envoys from Nan Jin Dynasty are still imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice's dungeons, right?"
Mo Lingxi naturally understood his intention and followed his lead, "There are indeed several envoys from Nan Jin Dynasty still imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice's dungeons. These envoys from Nan Jin Dynasty are living quite well; they are still alive."
The envoy from Nan Jin Dynasty: "..." In some ways, being alive was indeed living well. But in other ways, it was worse than death.
Zi Cheng smiled and said, "Why don't we bring those Nan Jin Dynasty envoys over, so they can meet their countrymen and perhaps have something to say."
The chief eunuch received the order and went to the Ministry of Justice to bring the Nan Dynasty envoys.
"Your Majesty Wenzong," an envoy from Nan Jin Dynasty stood up and bowed, "We are here to discuss peaceful coexistence with your esteemed country."
Zi Cheng was extremely surprised, "Discuss what? This is truly a rare matter. Didn't your Nan Jin Dynasty want to go to war with our Dong Jin Dynasty? Our Dong Jin Dynasty has already amassed troops and is ready to fight at any moment."
The envoys were quite startled and repeatedly stated that there was no such thing and they did not want war. Most importantly, if war were to break out, Nan Jin Dynasty might not be able to defeat Dong Jin Dynasty, which had two undefeated generals.
"Your Majesty Wenzong, we are sincerely seeking peace."
Zi Cheng was even more surprised, "But I heard that within your Nan Jin Dynasty, there are voices clamoring for war, and they even said they would teach our Dong Jin Dynasty a lesson?"
The envoys shook their heads like rattles, repeatedly saying there was no such thing. They attributed it to those arrogant and self-righteous individuals who wanted to curry favor with His Majesty by such means, thinking they could easily conquer Dong Jin Dynasty.
If Dong Jin Dynasty were so easy to conquer, the three kingdoms wouldn't have remained inactive during Dong Jin Dynasty's period of internal strife.
Which of the three kingdoms did not fear King Ming Rui and General Sheng?
Seeing this, Zi Cheng scoffed. To put it bluntly, Nan Jin Dynasty was a bully that preyed on the weak and feared the strong, and it was also trying to be the hegemon, causing trouble.
"Your Nan Jin Dynasty should really learn from the other two countries and see how well they conduct themselves."
The envoys complained bitterly. They also felt that the other two countries were doing a very good job, but His Majesty had not listened to them in the first place.
Initially, His Majesty was misled by treacherous officials and thought he could easily conquer Dong Jin Dynasty, even aspiring to be the hegemon and ordering the Ministry of War to prepare troops and provisions.
However, when His Majesty learned that Dong Jin Dynasty had amassed troops on the border, ready to fight at any moment, he immediately backed down. He even executed several court officials who had instigated the war, publicly claiming it was the Ministry of War's recklessness.
He pushed all the blame away cleanly.
Truly befitting His Majesty's style.
Zi Cheng said no more and chatted quietly with Mo Lingxi, waiting for the chief eunuch to bring the individuals from the dungeon.
When these envoys were brought over, they immediately embraced their colleagues and wept bitterly. They had finally waited for people to rescue them.
Some of the colleagues didn't know whether to talk or to pity themselves. Seeing the state of these individuals, they could imagine what treatment they would receive upon returning to their country.
This mission was already life-threatening, but they dared not disobey His Majesty's decree.
"You all talk amongst yourselves first." With that, Zi Cheng and Mo Lingxi left the side hall.
Some colleagues, unable to bear it, had to speak.
"Your families have already been executed by His Majesty. His Majesty believes it is your fault that things have turned out this way."
"You must bear your grief, but at least you are alive."
These individuals had already anticipated such a situation. When they were imprisoned, they had already guessed that His Majesty would not spare their families.
But hearing it truly, they felt a deep chill.
"To think that I risked my life for Nan Jin Dynasty and did so much, only for my family to be executed. How cruel His Majesty is."
"My grandson was just born, and His Majesty did not spare him either. For whom am I truly loyal?"
Some colleagues felt the same, especially after seeing how Your Majesty Wenzong of Dong Jin Dynasty treated his court officials and people. This feeling was even more profound.
Dong Jin Dynasty, which had just emerged from internal strife not long ago, had already recovered its prosperity, even reaching a higher level. Even the other two countries were willing to befriend Dong Jin Dynasty.
However, Nan Jin Dynasty was continuously declining, yet His Majesty still believed that Nan Jin Dynasty was progressing under his leadership.
If this continued, Nan Jin Dynasty would be annexed by the other three kingdoms.