Chapter 607: Let Me Hear You Call Me Husband
Chapter 607: Chapter 607: Let Me Hear You Call Me Husband
Shen Ningning’s eyes widened in astonishment. Seeing the Shopkeeper about to wrap up the clothes, she slapped the table and quietly chided Mo Lingwei, "What are you doing!"
Mo Lingwei hadn’t yet processed what was happening. "I’m buying you clothes."
Shen Ningning’s pretty eyes widened. "Do we have that kind of money?"
Mo Lingwei was about to answer confidently that they did, but Shen Ningning quickly added, "Do we have it *right now*? Think about it!"
Mo Lingwei suddenly fell silent.
He looked down at the coarse clothes he was wearing.
’Right,’ he remembered. ’I’m the poor scholar, Fang Huan, now.’
’A man less well-off than his "wife," Ren Liuyue.’
Mo Lingwei’s stern face darkened. "Never mind, Shopkeeper. I don’t have the silver."
The Shopkeeper’s smile faltered. She glanced at Shen Ningning, then back at Mo Lingwei.
"Sir, it’s actually much cheaper if you buy them as a set. They’re excellent quality for the price. Besides, both the color and style truly suit your wife."
Mo Lingwei pursed his thin lips and said nothing.
He looked for all the world like a henpecked husband.
The Shopkeeper turned to persuade Shen Ningning. "Ma’am, please, take another look. You won’t find a more affordable silk shop than mine for fifty li around. You absolutely won’t regret buying it!"
Shen Ningning smiled gracefully. "That won’t be necessary, Shopkeeper. Thank you for your enthusiasm, but we really don’t have that much silver. Please just wrap up these two pieces for me. We won’t take the others."
The Shopkeeper didn’t believe a word of it.
’The air about this newlywed couple just screamed that they came from a wealthy family.’
But since they had said as much, there was nothing more she could say.
As Mo Lingwei and Shen Ningning left, the Shopkeeper leaned against the doorway and teased with a smile, "This husband really listens to his wife! I wish you two a long and happy life together. Come back and buy more clothes when you have the time."
Back in the carriage, Mo Lingwei was, unsurprisingly, treated to a lecture from Shen Ningning.
"Brother, we agreed to impersonate Ren Liuyue and Fang Huan. You can’t be so careless from now on. If Governor Ren sees through our act, it will be difficult for us to proceed."
Mo Lingwei pursed his lips. He held out his hand and looked at her, saying nothing.
Shen Ningning arched a brow. "What’s this for?"
"Do I need to have my palm struck? To help me remember my lesson? I haven’t had much contact with scholars from the outside, but I’ve vaguely heard they all strike their students’ palms," Mo Lingwei said faintly, a look of resignation in his sharp eyes.
Shen Ningning’s pretty face had been quite serious, but at his words, she let out a snort of laughter.
"Strike your palm? Even if someone was getting disciplined, it would be the scholar striking an unruly student. What reason would I have to strike you?"
Mo Lingwei crossed his arms and asked thoughtfully, "Are you sure we need to start acting as Fang Huan and Ren Liuyue now? We haven’t even entered Ling Mountain City yet."
"We’re already approaching the lands of Ling Mountain City. If someone who knows Governor Ren sees us, it will be hard to explain later. So, of course, we must start being careful now."
As she spoke, Shen Ningning began to tidy the clothes they had just bought, placing them in the bundle Ren Liuyue had given them.
Mo Lingwei’s voice suddenly came from beside her.
"Then you should try calling me ’husband’ and let me hear it."
Shen Ningning froze, turning to him with a blush. "There’s no rush. I’ll call you that when we get to the Ren Mansion. Besides, there’s no one else here. Who would I be saying it for?"
"For me to hear," Mo Lingwei replied without missing a beat. "Besides, weren’t you the one who said we have to start getting used to it now? Otherwise, when we get to the Ren Mansion, you’ll call me ’Brother’ out of habit. If someone hears that, what will they think of us?"
Shen Ningning lowered her pretty eyes and mumbled, "Fang Huan is a little older than Ren Liuyue, so it wouldn’t be wrong to call him brother."
Leaning against the carriage wall, Mo Lingwei let out a TSK. "It seems your strict standards only apply to me."
Seeing him close his eyes to rest, Shen Ningning opened her mouth, took a long moment to mentally prepare herself, then called out in a tiny voice, "Husband."
Mo Lingwei’s sharp eyes snapped open, a hint of a smile deep within them.
"What was that? I couldn’t hear you."
"Husband!" Shen Ningning clenched her little fists. Her round earlobes were bright pink; it was clear she was terribly embarrassed.
Mo Lingwei casually tapped his folding fan. He savored the word for a moment before saying, "It lacks feeling."
Shen Ningning’s eyes widened. "Don’t push it! I said it. What more feeling do you want?"
"Didn’t you hear Ren Liuyue calling for Fang Huan last night? Her voice was filled with anxiety and worry. Her cries of ’husband’ were heartbreaking."
"That’s because they’re a real husband and wife!"
"We’re about to be, too. If you hadn’t run away, we would already be proceeding with our engagement." Mo Lingwei pressed his lips together, his dark eyes sharp and bright beneath his sculpted brows.
His words left Shen Ningning speechless.
’She was in the wrong on this matter.’
"Husband." This time when she spoke, her tone was tinged with grievance. A smile Mo Lingwei couldn’t suppress touched the corners of his lips.
He reached out and took her fingertips in his hand. "Your husband is here, and I’ll be good to you for the rest of our lives."
Shen Ningning glared at him, snatching her hand away. She turned to the side and pretended to straighten her clothes, trying to calm her flustered anger.
"Stop fooling around. Ren Liuyue told me about her family members before. I need to test you to see if you remember."
Mo Lingwei was in high spirits, but his face remained placid. He toyed with his folding fan, his tone lazy. "There’s nothing to forget. Ren Pengyi’s second wife bore him three daughters and one son. The second daughter is already married, the third and fourth are having marriages arranged for them, and Ren Pengyi’s youngest son just turned twelve. In terms of seniority among the daughters, Ren Liuyue is the eldest."
Shen Ningning nodded. She remembered that while Ren Liuyue was talking, Mo Lingwei had been off to the side, asking Fang Huan about daily matters. She hadn’t expected him to have secretly memorized everything Ren Liuyue said as well.
"Although Ren Liuyue is technically the eldest daughter, I heard her say that when her mother married into the family, Governor Ren was already keeping a mistress. In fact, that mistress became pregnant before his first wife. The one who’s already married, Ren Er, is actually half a year older than Ren Liuyue."
Shen Ningning said, growing indignant, "No wonder the first wife died of depression. She was probably furious enough to die when she learned the truth. The books are right when they say men have always been fickle."
Mo Lingwei interjected, "But I’m not like that. And I will never let you suffer such a grievance."
A bashful look flickered in Shen Ningning’s eyes. She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and mumbled, "I was talking about Governor Ren. What are you thinking about?"
They traveled for another half a day, and by afternoon, the carriage finally entered Ling Mountain City.
Shen Ningning deliberately lifted the curtain to look. The soldiers inspecting people at the city gate were extremely strict. She looked up and saw the city walls were heavily garrisoned. Crossbowmen had their arrows aimed at the queue of people entering the city below.
It was as if they were prepared for battle at a moment’s notice.
She couldn’t help but feel puzzled and asked Mo Lingwei in a low voice, "What are they guarding against? The people entering the city from this road are all common folk. Is there a need for such caution?"
Mo Lingwei had already keenly sensed that something was amiss.
His thin lips curved into a faint, cold smile. "It seems this isn’t the only thing Governor Ren is hiding from the Capital City."
Their voices trailed off. Soon, it was their carriage’s turn.