It was cold outside the warm room, but warm inside.

Shang Changge's beautiful face was still flushed as she refused General Xiao's second kiss and began to speak:

"Although, Xiao Ji, I still have to be honest with you about something."

Xiao Ji: "Go ahead."

Unable to kiss Xiao Ji as she wished, she could only move her position downwards, her beautiful thin lips moving down.

Chin, neck, collarbone, stopping at the collarbone to gaze into the depths of the person's affectionate eyes, where emotions surge, then the eyes close in restraint.

His hot breath sprayed onto Shang Changge's fair and delicate skin, and his lips moved again, covering the woman's earlobe.

Shang Changge was used to General Xiao's persona of being a kissing and hugging maniac, and was completely unaffected except for enjoying the tingling and comfortable feeling:

"The first reason I won't have children for you is that I don't want to, and the second reason is that I'm infertile."

Sensing the pause in Xiao Ji's kiss, Shang Changge's habitual kneading of Xiao Ji's earlobe gradually slowed down.

"So Xiao Ji, it's not too late to regret it now."

"I'm sorry, maybe I should have told you from the beginning that I couldn't have children, instead of telling you that I wouldn't have children for you."

Actually, it's not entirely accurate to say she can't have children. To be more precise, she has a self-healing ability, so her body automatically prevents her from conceiving.

She didn't want to reveal her superpowers or explain the matter further, so she never brought it up.

Shang Changge: "I'm sorry."

He withdrew his hand, saying, "But my principles won't change. After we get married, I won't allow you to have any other women besides me."

If we grow old together, it means you'll never have children.

"Of course, there is another possibility: I don't accept betrayal, but I do accept parting amicably."

I can let go easily. If you change your mind and want the child later, you can be frank with me, and we can get a divorce…

Her red lips were sealed, and unlike before, this kiss carried a punitive nature.

After the kiss, Xiao Ji looked into Shang Changge's eyes and began to gleam with lust. He took the woman's soft hand and placed it in his most vulnerable spot.

His expression was more of aggrieved than resolute and solemn; his hoarse voice conveyed extreme sorrow.

"Does the princess only believe my determination not to have children if I castrate myself?"

Shang Changge: ...Well, there's no need for that.

Xiao Ji hugged Shang Changge tightly, continuing to feign grievance and pitifulness, much like a cunning wolf deliberately playing the victim to gain sympathy from his partner.

“If this is the only way to put the princess at ease, then I am willing to sacrifice myself. However, if I lose it, the princess cannot abandon her husband who has shared so much hardship with me…”

Shang Changge's lips twitched as she listened. What the hell is this husband who's been through thick and thin with her?

The heavy feeling of apology was unconsciously lifted by General Xiao's deliberately teasing words.

Listening to the nagging in her ear, she opened her arms and hugged the man's tall, strong body tightly, taking a deep breath:

"Xiao Ji, let's get married."

For a moment, the warm pavilion fell silent.

It was so quiet that we could clearly hear each other's rapidly beating hearts and the sound of the wind outside.

After a few breaths, Xiao Ji smiled.

He tightened his arms around her, wishing he could become one with her: "Your Majesty, I have finally waited for this day."

What he wanted was never to seize by trickery or force, but for his princess to do it willingly.

With a mature and steady voice and clear enunciation, he finished saying what he hadn't had a chance to say before:

"Princess, there is no need to apologize to me. It was our mutual agreement from the beginning that we did not want children."

What did my little rascal do wrong? My little rascal did nothing wrong. So there's no need to apologize, understand?

Shang Changge heard these words and felt her heart tremble with excitement.

Holding General Xiao, who seemed to have an infinite capacity for acceptance and affirmation, tightly, she pressed her lips to his earlobe and kissed him, revealing her true feelings:

"Xiao Ji, don't do this. It's easy for me to fall in love with you if you act like this."

The word "love" made Xiao Ji's heart tremble; greed is human nature.

He loosened his arms slightly, so that his beloved woman wouldn't feel uncomfortable from being held too tightly.

Yet, he traps people in a different, absolutely possessive manner, directly confronting and stating his own greed: "I'll do it this way."

A warm kiss landed on Shang Changge's soft lips, his usually cold and sculpted brow softening: "Wait for my little rascal to love me. And, I love you."

Shang Changge's heart trembled even more violently. Not knowing how to respond, she simply returned the favor with a deep kiss, a kiss that Xiao Ji particularly liked.

The two did not stay in the warm pavilion for long. Before they could even drink a cup of tea, they left hand in hand and boarded a carriage.

Xiao Ji had just left home to visit his uncle and aunt, who were Xiao Yanzhen and Xiao Xizhi's parents.

Since you're planning to get married,

Shang Changge felt it was necessary for her to visit Xiao Ji's family.

The coachman drove the carriage smoothly and slowly. When visiting an elder for the first time, one must bring a gift.

Therefore, the carriage is now heading towards the Princess's residence, not Uncle Xiao Ji's house.

Inside the carriage.

Xiao Ji had a smile on his lips, or rather, General Xiao's smile hadn't faded since he heard his princess Xiao Ji say, "Let's get married."

He held Shang Changge's hand tightly, their fingers intertwined, and offered his opinion on bringing a gift:

"Actually, it's not necessary."

Shang Changge was struggling to find a gift when she heard this and glared at General Xiao, saying, "You don't understand, so don't speak."

General Xiao wasn't angry at being silenced. Instead, he put his arm around Shang Changge's waist, lifted her up, and placed her on his lap.

With a smile that didn't change, she nestled against Shang Changge's shoulder, snuggling close and apologizing.

"Alright, alright, I won't say anything. Whatever Madam says goes, and I'll do whatever I want."

Shang Changge still felt awkward about being addressed as "Madam," but she felt she shouldn't spoil the mood like last time.

Silently, she pursed her lips, trying to swallow back the words "Be normal" that were about to come out of her mouth.

The general's residence was not far from the princess's residence, and they arrived quickly.

Choosing a gift for elders was a first for Shang Changge, like a young woman getting married.

He personally went to the vault and searched high and low until he was completely stumped, but still couldn't find anything he wanted. In the end, he pinned his hopes on the head steward.

The head steward lived up to his reputation, quickly selecting suitable gifts and having the maids wrap them up and load them onto the carriage.

The carriages were specially used to carry gifts, and there were five carriages fully loaded.

Shang Changge made an exaggerated remark.

The head steward replied that the princess's residence and the royal family could not be without a certain level of formality, and added that the five carriages as a gift were already quite modest.

Shang Changge: ...Fine, she doesn't understand these things either. Since she doesn't understand, learning to shut up is also a kind of self-cultivation.

About 15 minutes later, at Uncle Xiao Ji's house.

Before setting off to return to the princess's residence, Xiao Ji sent someone to inform him.

So when the two arrived, Uncle Xiao Ji, also known as Xiao Ting, was waiting at the door with his whole family for a long time.

Shang Changge and Xiao Ji alighted from the carriage, and Xiao Ting led his entire family to pay their respects to them.

"We, your humble servants, pay our respects to Princess Anguo and the General."

Although they are blood relatives, there is a distinction between superiors and inferiors, so etiquette cannot be abandoned.

Shang Changge looks at Xiao Ji, and Xiao Ji looks at Shang Changge.

Shang Changge: ...

According to the hierarchy, she should indeed ask others to stand up, but she didn't know if it was polite to directly call someone's uncle "uncle," since they weren't married yet.

But right now, it's even more impolite than having the whole family constantly bowing to each other, so we might as well just go for it.

Shang Changge stepped forward and made a gesture of support to Xiao Ting, trying to appear calm as she opened her mouth:

"Uncle and Aunt, please rise."

...

The winter wind swept past, carrying a few withered leaves that seemed to have come from nowhere; the area in front of the Xiao family's gate was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Shang Changge: ...It seems she's not very polite.