Shangguan Ning had once gone to Jing Zhongxiu and spoke with him for a long time.

  She had said that Jing Yichen was also a human and needed encouragement, especially from his father. She also said that Jing Yichen had taken a step forward in their father and son relationship and that he, as the father, should not stay behind.

  Jing Zhongxiu had never thought about this before. After hearing what Shangguan Ning said, he was taken aback. Therefore, he changed the way he spoke to his boy, today.

  When Jing Yichen returned to the room, Shangguan Ning was making the bed, dressed in dark cotton pajamas.

  To make their weekly stay here convenient, Huang Lihan had asked his servants to buy some extra sets of blankets and pajamas that suited the guests.

  Jing Yichen held his wife from behind and kissed gently on her silken hair.

  Shangguan Ning put down the pillow and turned to face him with a smile. “What did you talk to dad for so long? ”


  Jing Yichen picked her up and carried her to the bed. Then he laid down with her and took her into his arms. He placed his hands upon her waist, rubbing it gently.

  “We talked about quite a lot of things. Dad rarely talks so much but he was a bit different today. Did you say something to him?”


  He knew what Jing Zhongxiu was like. For the first time in more than 30 years, he had changed his style. So Jing Yichen assumed that some external forces must have influenced him.

  And Shangguan Ning was the only one who could have possibly persuaded him.

  Shangguan Ning had spoken with Jing Zhongxiu ages ago and almost forgot about it. She wondered for a moment and then remembered that she had shared many ideas with Jing Zhongxiu.

  “I have told dad many things, which one are you referring to?”


  Jing Yichen laughed as he pinched her nose and said lovingly, “So you did talk with dad. No wonder he has changed so much. Why didn’t I marry you earlier to spare myself so much suffering? I used to suspect that I was intellectually impaired, because he was never satisfied with whatever I did. So I had to study very hard. After I met Mu Qing, I realized that I was a genius. It was only because dad had set too high a standard for me that I felt so dumb!”


  Poor Mu Qing. He was also a genius in medicine but was shadowed just because he had run into another genius who was capable of anything.

  Shangguan Ning couldn’t help but laugh. She put her head on Jing Yichen’s arm and said, “Is it good to speak so highly of yourself in this way? I am not an intelligent woman. Are you trying to show off in front of me? Seems that dad educated you in the right way, otherwise you would have become too conceited and proud.”


  Jing Yichen kissed her forehead and showed a gentle and indulgent expression. “It is okay if you are not that smart. I can support you. All you need to do is to eat and sleep and dress beautifully. I can handle the rest and you don’t need to worry about a thing.”


  He didn’t mention about love in these lines, but he expressed the deepest love from a man to a woman. Shangguan Ning felt moved.

  After she married Jing Yichen, her life had experienced tremendous changes. She had become a beautiful swan from an ugly duckling and she, who used to be an unloved Cinderella, was now the happiest princess.

  This man loved her to the bones and indulged her endlessly. She had turned into a spoiled wife.

  She looked up and dropped a quick kiss on Jing Yichen’s lips and moved away fast. She said happily, “I also want to be smart. You can be intelligent but you can be too tired from it sometimes. I can be your supplementary brain when that happens.”


  “Oh, then you must start to eat walnuts as meals, because even though I am too tired to be smart, I may still be smarter than you.”


  “Ha, how dare you look down on me!” Shangguan Ning snorted and then pinched his waist. Jing Yichen let out an exaggerated cry of pain.

  “Wife, have you noticed that my waist is getting fatter these days?” Jing Yichen asked with a serious face.

  Shangguan Ning felt his waist in bewilderment and asked in surprise. “Really? But you exercise every day. You shouldn’t have got fatter!”


  “True, I do exercise every day, but that is for the fat. But I can also get bloated because someone keeps pinching me…… that would be hard to fight!”


  Shangguan Ning finally realized what he meant. She pinched again on his waist oscillating between anger and laughter. “Do you want a bigger waist?”


  Jing Yichen chuckled as he took her in arms again. He held her hands so she couldn’t pinch him any more. Then he told Shangguan Ning about the wedding.

  “Our wedding will take place in a small town in the UK. This is a tradition of Family Jing and it will be a solemn one. It may not be so romantic due to the site restriction. Do you have any other place in mind where you want to hold it? If so, we can get married again in that place, or if you like many places, we can get married many times, as many as you want.”


  Shangguan Ning chuckled and said, “I don’t want to get married so many times. It is exhausting. There is no need for such complications. I like small towns of the UK and it will be great to have the wedding there. It is very special if all generations of Family Jing have gotten married there. Seems that our parents got married there too, so we have to get married in the same place as they did. It will be great.”


  “Let’s get married once. If you ever want one more wedding, we can plan it out. We have such a long life ahead of us.”


  As they were talking, Shangguan Ning suddenly thought of the gold-like wine Jing Zhongxiu got from Grandpa Mu – they hadn’t drank it yet.

  She got up from the bed and went to fetch the wine from the living room.

  “Let’s try this immortal drug!”


  Jing Yichen laughed after hearing the name of the wine.

  It was such a vulgar name.

  Even Golden Wine would have sounded better.

  Jing Yichen took the bottle and opened it after much efforts.

  As the lid was removed, a scent filled up the entire room. It was not the smell of wine but of a fragrant drug.

  When the couple smelled it, they suddenly felt relaxed.

  Shangguan Ning exchanged a look with Jing Yichen and they were both shocked.