Shen Tang didn't answer right away.
She merely looked at Wei Lou suspiciously.
"Why do you ask, Lord Marquis?"
Wei Lou said, "The Virtuous Lord has been in low spirits lately."
Wei Lou truly couldn't think of anything that could make her so unhappy. The Gongxi Clan provided her with a steady stream of abundant resources, along with nearly two thousand elite troops who followed her blindly. Her own strength let her run roughshod over everyone here. Not one of the prisoners she'd captured wasn't afraid of her, and the common folk under her rule all went about their lives as she pleased.
What did she have to be unhappy about?
Shen Tang pointed at herself. "In low spirits? Me?"
Wei Lou's eyes said it all.
If he hadn't meant Shen Tang, why would he bother asking?
Shen Tang said, "...I haven't been in a bad mood lately."
Wei Lou gave a derisive laugh. "Is that so?"
Shen Tang said, "..."
She looked away and waved a hand. "All right, all right, I admit I've been a little down, but isn't that normal? Nobody's a yellow sponge, bursting with enthusiasm for life every single day. How could anyone be grinning all the time? Isn't it perfectly normal for your mood to go up and down a little?"
Shen Tang didn't give her own emotions much thought.
An adult woman's mood was affected by her biology every month; the only difference was how much. The moon waxed and waned, and the body had its own joys and sorrows. Ups and downs were perfectly normal. But her answer didn't convince Wei Lou. "The Virtuous Lord is in low spirits because she's lonely."
She had no idea what that yellow sponge was, either.
But she could understand the general idea.
Shen Tang glanced