Sensing that he might still be in a bad mood, Lingchen sent the servants away and asked Ah Zhen to prepare some refreshments for both of them. Then, slowly, she walked over to her husband and sat opposite him. Lingchen picked up an unused cup and poured some water for herself while quietly observing Lu Wei's mood.

She was clueless about how she should approach Lu Wei after she saw the way he scolded the ministers. In the end, the couple stayed in each others' company silently. Ah Zhen appeared at the door with a tray of refreshment after a while. Lingchen took the tray before she instructed Ah Zhen not to let anyone come to bother them.

Lingchen poured some tea and looked at the man, sitting at the opposite of her. His brow was still furrowed. His anger has not gone disappeared. Lingchen put the tea in front of him and said, "You're angry?"

Lu Wei snorted at her question. "Were you not?"

Lingchen poured the tea into her cup and took a small sip to moistened her throat. "Well, I do understand their concern," she said lazily.

Her words made him turned around with his face black, "I will never consider that suggestion."

Lingchen smiled. She had long known his stand regarding this matter. Not too long ago, Lu Wei had suggested this marriage because he did not want to take in any consorts. He saw the way his mother suffered in the harem and did not wish to see anything like it again.

"We won't," she agreed. "Besides, you and my father have an agreement."

Before the two of them were married, Lu Wei and the Retired Emperor signed an agreement. Although it was Lu Wei who suggested the marriage and put Qian Rong as the wedding gift, the Retired Emperor was still worried that someone might use this chance to harm his daughter.

To protect her daughter, the Retired Emperor suggested this secret agreement where if either of Lu Wei or Lingchen relations.h.i.+p with another, then the wedding will be dissolved, and the one who had a relations.h.i.+p with another will have to hand over their power. In reality, the Retired Emperor was afraid that if Lu Wei had a child with another, the others would use that chance to ousted his daughter.

The Retired Emperor was surprised when Lu Wei signed the agreement without hesitation. However, Lingchen had her doubt. It was no secret that Lu Wei wanted a free life away from the palace. If he wanted to break away from his position, Lu Wei could sleep with any woman and pushed the responsibilities to her before he fled and lived the way he wanted.

Surprisingly, after almost a year, Lu Wei had stayed with her. It doesn't seem like he had any intention to betray her, even when others tempted him to do so. 

After being around Lu Wei for so long, Lingchen thought that if Lu Wei were serious, he would make a great Emperor. Although Lu Wei might appear playful at times, he would often give out good input during critical times. He can be reliable.

"You don't seem displeased with their suggestion to take in consorts," Lu Wei stared at her sharply.

Lingchen raised her head and met his gaze. Her brow furrowed when she saw the unfathomable look in his eyes. "Weren't you the one who said not to care much about what others thought about you? Didn't you say that living like that was too tiring?"

Lu Wei looked away from her. He indeed said something like that to her before.

"What provokes your anger?"

In fact, he was not sure why he was angry. Was it because the ministers thought that he was not capable? Or was it because of their suggestions to reestablish a harem?

Seeing that Lu Wei doesn't reply to her, Lingchen took her time to savor the sweet cakes in front of her. Her lips curved up as the sweet taste spread in her mouth. When she saw that his expression had not changed, Lingchen thought that she really could not understand what was on his mind.

"The two of us, we have never discussed a child, have we?" Lingchen spoke again. "Although the ministers have gone overboard to mention consorts, I do think that their worry was not baseless. This country cannot survive without a successor."

"Are you suggesting that we should consider taking in consorts?" Lu Wei sneered.

Lingchen studied his expression before she said, "Lu Wei, you can be a.s.sured. Although we do not get together because we love each other, I never have any intention to be unfaithful. But we cannot ignore the fact that we both will need a successor."

Hearing her a.s.surance, the crease between his eyebrow gradually disappeared.

"The physician had examined us both and a.s.sured that there was no problem with either of us," Lingchen said and smiled. "But this matter of conceiving is not up to us. It's heaven's will."

The first few months after they were married, Lingchen was worried that she was not pregnant. As a woman, how can she not anxious? Because of that, she had asked Mingyue to check on her body. Lingchen was concerned that she might be infertile after suffering from the cold poison for so long.

However, Mingyue had a.s.sured that there was nothing wrong with her body. It took her a few months to console herself. In the end, it was Chief Ye who coaxed her to be patient and let nature take its course. Lingchen could still remember that strange smile on Chief Ye's face as she said those words.

 "Are you saying that I should try harder?"

Lingchen watched him speechlessly. "Is that all you can think about?" Her eyes widened when he suddenly approached her. She closed her eyes and felt his hands patting on her hair. When she looked up again, Lu Wei had a teasing smile on his face.

Her anger rose. Just as she was about to speak again, his lips landed on her forehead briefly. She looked at him in dumbfounded as he continued to smile at her.

"Alright, alright, don't be angry. I know. We'll leave everything to fate."

Lingchen narrowed her eyes. Why does it feel like their roles have reserved? "Who's angry? Weren't you the one who got angered after the minister's mindless suggestion."

Lu Wei nodded. "You're right. The ministers can be mindless sometimes. How did they get into position with their brain?"

Lingchen felt the corner of her lips started to twitch. She decided to ignore Lu Wei's sudden change of att.i.tude and said, "Lu Wei, let's make an agreement with me."

He looked at her with a serious expression and answered, "What is it?"

"Hear me out before you comment on it. This country will need a successor. However, both of us are against the idea of taking in consorts. Right now, we decided to leave everything to fate." She watched him nodded and took a deep breath. "If we still can't have a child of our own after five years, let's consider adopting a child. We will nurture him to be our successor. If the ministers mentioned anything about an heir, we would tell them we intend to stabilize the nation first."

Lu Wei frowned. He thought about her proposal for a long time before he replied, "Good."