Chapter 130 Celebrating a Birthday

When they returned to the Prime Minister's residence after bidding farewell to Hua Yingxiong, it was almost dark.

Baozi was dozing off on my shoulder. When I returned to Tongmeng Pavilion, Rouge was nowhere to be found, not even a maid or guard. I couldn't help but be secretly surprised.

I pushed open the door and stared blankly at the man in the purple robe sitting in the room.

The room was lit by candlelight, the flickering light warm and bright.

The man in the bright purple robe sat in the room, resting his chin on his hand, looking at me.

"Your Majesty seems quite surprised," Cao Cao said with a slight smile.

"Daddy!" Baozi, who had been dozing on my shoulder, immediately perked up and raised his little head when he heard Cao Cao's voice.

"Chong'er." Cao Cao stood up, walked up to me, called out "Chong'er" but looked at me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, snapping out of my daze and raising my eyebrows.

"Today is my Chong'er's birthday." Cao Cao took the steamed bun out of my arms.

“Daddy…” Baozi’s obsidian-like eyes sparkled as he hugged Cao Cao’s neck like a puppy, his eyes filled with adoration.

"You still remember?" I asked, pursing my lips.

"Let's go." Holding a steamed bun in one hand, Cao Cao grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the door.

"Where are we going?" I asked, looking completely bewildered as he dragged me out of Tongmeng Pavilion.

Outside the gate, the moonlight was bright. Cao Cao, holding a steamed bun in one hand and leading me by the other, walked out of the Prime Minister's residence.

"Where are you going so late?!" I tried to shake off his hand in annoyance, but suddenly froze.

As they left the Prime Minister's residence, they found the road bustling with people. When Hua Yingxiong and the others returned, there were hardly any people on the road. How could so many people suddenly appear?

Moreover, this was more than 1,800 years ago, when the streets would be deserted once night fell, but today it is unusually lively.

Passersby carried lanterns, and various vendors hawked their wares along the street.

Cao Cao smiled and held a steamed bun in one hand and pulled me along with the other, weaving through the crowd.

"It's Chong'er's birthday. I originally planned to hold a banquet at the manor, but I know you wouldn't like such a lively event," Cao Cao's voice rang in my ears. "How about this?"

A father and daughter walked towards us. The little girl was being held in her father's arms, and he was holding a rattle drum. Her little face was full of smiles.

I was so engrossed in watching it that I became quite lost in thought.

I felt a pang of envy; in my memory, I had never experienced such a warm embrace.

I turned my head to look at Cao Cao, and he was also turning to look at me.

Baozi nestled obediently in Cao Cao's arms, his face flushed and his bright black eyes looking at his father.

"Envious?" Cao Cao suddenly leaned close to my ear and chuckled, "If you think I'm good enough, I can hug you like this too."

I was stunned for a moment, and then my face turned red to the roots of my ears.

Baozi blinked, covered her mouth, and chuckled mischievously.

I was about to glare at him when my foot slipped, and with a scream of pain, I found myself sprawled on the ground, looking rather unseemly.

"Mom!" Baozi exclaimed nervously.

Cao Cao laughed and reached out to pull me up.

I stood up, but a sharp pain shot through my left foot, and I twisted my ankle before falling back to the ground.

A crowd had gathered around me, all staring at me in surprise. I was so embarrassed that I wished I could disappear into a hole in the ground.

Suddenly, I felt a lightness in my body, which startled me. I realized that Cao Cao had lifted me up by the waist. Instinctively, I quickly and involuntarily hugged him tightly, afraid that I would fall.

Cao Cao chuckled softly, "If you want me to hold you, my wife can just give the order. Why use this self-inflicted injury ruse?"

So... I was carried by Cao Cao through the streets, my face flushed, while Baozi followed along with a grin.

"I'm sorry to trouble Chong'er." Cao Cao winked and smiled.

Baozi just chuckled.

Leaning against Cao Cao's chest, I was momentarily dazed.

"What are you looking at?" Cao Cao looked down at me.

I turned my head away, my heartbeat slightly off-beat.

"Stop running," Cao Cao suddenly said.

I stared at him blankly.

"Wouldn't it be nice to just stay quietly in my arms like this?" He smiled at me.

I stared at him, unable to look away.

"You can't escape. I will chase you down to the ends of the earth."

"What if it's at the ends of the earth?" I casually glanced at the heartstrings on my wrist and smiled.

"Whether you go to heaven or hell, you can't escape," Cao Cao said with his usual smirk, his eyes full of arrogance.

"What if it's a place you can never go to?" For some reason, I looked at him almost stubbornly.

Cao Cao frowned slightly, then burst into laughter, "Is there any place in this world that I can't go?"

The man laughed loudly, as if he could look down on the world, so arrogant.

Such an arrogant man...

I smiled silently, watching Baozi run around playing and frolicking.

"You are mine, and you will be mine forever," Cao Cao whispered in my ear, asserting his ownership.

Do you love me?

The moonlight was just as bright, the stars were just as numerous, and I leaned against him, asking the same question.

He tightened his grip on me slightly, and I couldn't help but frown; it hurt a little.

"If I don't answer, are you going to keep running away?" His voice, slightly icy, reached my ears.

My heart also fell into a cold.

A chill ran through my body.

He couldn't bring himself to say those three simple words.

What he needs is a woman, and one of many women.

But I need a lover, someone who can give me lots and lots of love.

Because love... is something I've never received in my entire life.

I don't want to be just his mistress, I don't want to be a pitiful woman who spends her whole life looking up to her husband. It has nothing to do with a woman's self-esteem, it's just that... I need a complete love, not a love that is fragmented and can never be certain.

"What are you thinking about?" Cao Cao's voice rang in my ears.

I snapped out of my reverie and smiled faintly, "Let's go back to the manor, Baozi must be tired."

I'm a little tired too.

Baozi ran and jumped all the way, in high spirits. Cao Cao carried me all the way back to the mansion and headed straight for Tongmeng Pavilion.

"Mom, you didn't give me any presents!" Baozi snuggled up to me playfully, her beautiful eyes sparkling like stars in the sky.

That brat has shamelessly started exploiting his mother! He's truly a worthy son...

"What do you want?" I asked generously, patting his little head.

"Anything is fine?" Baozi said with a smile, looking just like his fox father.

"Hmm." I nodded, figuring he couldn't come up with anything fancy.

"I want Daddy and Mommy to sleep together!" Baozi cheered.

My lips began to twitch, and cold sweat started to trickle down my forehead.

Who gave birth to this little fox...?

Cao Cao sat down with a smile and patted Baozi's head.

"You traitorous brat!" I got up to punch him.

Baozi giggled and ran away, but I twisted my ankle and couldn't even stand up. I sat back down in my original spot with a dark face.

"Rouge, take Chong'er to rest," Cao Cao instructed, seemingly in a good mood.

Yanzhi, who was standing to the side, glanced at me helplessly, then led Baozi away.

I sat on the tatami mat, glaring angrily at Cao, who had a completely innocent look on his face.

He sat down beside me and reached out to take off my shoes. I flinched slightly, but he wouldn't let go, pulling so hard that I winced in pain.

I peeked over and saw that my ankle was indeed swollen high, so I couldn't help but grimace again.

His long, slender hands held my ankles and kneaded them.

"Ah...it hurts, it hurts..." I cried out.

"Shh," Cao Cao said softly, but the force in his hand did not lessen at all.

"Shh! It's not you who's in pain!" I started to wail. The pain in my ankle had made me throw even the last bit of fear I had of Cao Cao to the winds.

"Bear with it, it'll feel better soon." Cao Cao said, his thin lips slightly parted, as he continued to rub my ankle.

"Be gentle...be gentle!" I screamed.

A slight noise suddenly came from outside the door.

"Beautiful sister... what are Father and Mother doing in there?" Baozi's furtive voice came from the doorway.

"Heavens...Young Master, what are you doing here? Let's go..." Rouge whispered.

"What are Dad and Mom doing? Mom is crying so pitifully... Will Dad bully Mom?" Baozi continued to ask furtively.

"Hey, young master, hurry up and go! You're still young, you'll understand in time..."

“But Mother’s cries were so pitiful…” Baozi continued, unwilling to give up.

"Don't you want a little sister?" Rouge finally relented.

"Uh-huh."

"They're making you a little sister..." Rouge's voice was already trembling, and I could almost imagine Rouge being driven crazy by the steamed buns.

The sounds outside the door finally stopped.

I blinked, and suddenly realized the seriousness of the issue that Yan Yan and Baozi had just been discussing... They had misunderstood me...

"Hey! You guys..." I was about to call out to them when Cao Cao suddenly increased the force in his hand.

So, I disregarded everything else and continued my wailing.

Cao Cao raised his lips slightly, and I even suspected he was doing it on purpose...

But as he increased the pressure on my foot, the pain gradually subsided.

In the candlelight, he lowered his head slightly, the candlelight softening the lines of his face, and in a daze, I even had a warm illusion.

I have to admit, he was flawless, so gentle and meticulous, so powerful, no wonder he was so successful in love.

I kept reminding myself not to fall for him easily, I kept reminding myself not to forget his identity... not to forget my own situation...

When his lips touched mine, I was momentarily stunned, blinked, and stared at him blankly.

This is truly zero distance.

His eyes were also looking at me, completely dark.

“You…” I blinked, feeling his eyelashes entangle with mine.

"Shh." His lips gently touched mine.

"What are you doing..."

“Chong’er said he wants a little sister as a birthday present next year…” Cao Cao chuckled softly.

That steamed bun...

My head suddenly went blank, and I was lost in thought again...

Why "again"...?

When I woke up the next day, he was no longer beside me. Only Baozi was lying on the edge of the bed, blinking his big eyes and looking at me curiously.

"Mom, did Dad bully you?" Baozi asked with concern.

I rolled my eyes at him, that heartless steamed bun.

"Mommy, why did Daddy bite you?" Baozi climbed onto the bed on all fours, blinked her eyes, tilted her little head, and asked.

My lips started to twitch.

"Mommy, will you give me a little sister?" Baozi snuggled into my arms, smiling ingratiatingly.

"Who said that?!" I glared at him.

“That’s what Dad said!” Baozi answered earnestly.

I squinted at Baozi and asked, "What did Cao Mengde say to you?"

Baozi started looking around nervously, his big eyes darting here and there, but he didn't dare to look at me.

"What did Cao Cao say?" I pinched Baozi's cheek, grinned, and asked.

"Dad said... if I can get Mom to let Dad into the room, Dad will give me a little sister as a birthday present..." Baozi finished speaking in one breath, then immediately covered her mouth nervously and stared at me with her big, bright eyes.

I was both amused and exasperated.

"But...where is the little sister?" Seeing that I didn't lose my temper, Baozi asked persistently.

"Ask your dad for it!" I grinned through my teeth, my eyes flashing with malice.

Baozi screamed and "squeaked" as she jumped off the bed and quickly fled the room.

I was left alone in the room, so angry that my eyebrows were trembling.

Beside her, Rouge covered her mouth and laughed.

I rolled my eyes at her, annoyed.