Chapter 259 Birthday Gift
Shen Cong raised his eyebrows slightly.
Why should I give her a birthday gift?
It was clearly the little girl who promised to buy me something.
Erfeng was speechless.
"No way, is Your Highness really that stingy? It's someone's birthday, and they even sent a proper invitation to Your Highness."
"The prince can't possibly go carrying his head on his shoulders empty-handed, can he? That would be too humiliating."
Shen Cong narrowed his eyes slightly.
"What did you say? I'm stingy? It seems I've been giving you too much in monthly allowance."
Erfeng quickly slapped his mouth.
"Oh dear, look at my mouth! Of course Your Highness is not stingy; Your Highness is the most generous person in the world."
"So, Your Highness, you really aren't going to send Miss Ke'er a birthday gift?"
Shen Cong glanced at him.
"Are you bored? Snowhawk had an upset stomach yesterday, go get it..."
Erfeng instantly jumped outside the door.
"I still need to go to the Imperial Guard's office, so I'll be going now."
Before he could finish speaking, he had already disappeared.
Shen Cong's gaze fell on the post in his hand.
Unlike the small regular script used when choosing a princess's companion last time, the calligraphy on this copybook is in semi-cursive script, with continuous, light, and natural strokes.
However, it is also evident that the writer lacks wrist strength, resulting in a somewhat immature brushstroke.
Did she deliberately use a different font when writing the post for him to show that she knows more than one font?
Shen Cong's lips curved into a smile.
A birthday gift?
The next day was Li Nanke's ninth birthday.
Wang Tongyun arrived early, bringing with her a thank-you gift.
It is a box of pearls, each one full and round like the bright moon, with a crystal clear color and as pure as spring water.
This is much more valuable than the thank-you gift they sent to the Wang family yesterday.
Song Yi gestured for Li Nanke to decline.
Wang Tongyun winked at her and said with a smile, "This is not a thank-you gift from my family; it was sent by my aunt."
My aunt said that if it weren't for your scheme, she wouldn't have been able to successfully remove the spy that someone else had planted in her palace.
You don't know, that person was actually a palace maid sent in by my family. My aunt always thought she was trustworthy, but she never expected that she was someone else's spy.
If we hadn't caught her this time, she might have harmed my aunt at any time. Therefore, my aunt insisted on sending a thank-you gift to express her gratitude, and she asked me to tell you to accept it.
Since Consort Wang spoke so frankly and openly, it would be inappropriate for Li Nanke to refuse any longer, so he readily accepted the box of pearls.
Then, somewhat embarrassed, Wang Tongyun took out a small box and handed it to Li Nanke.
"I made this myself as a birthday gift for you."
Li Nanke opened the box, inside which was a jade hairpin.
The hairpin is made of warm, white jade, with a delicate texture like the moon. It feels slightly warm to the touch, and the entire hairpin is polished to be slender and smooth.
Only near the head of the hairpin are a few lightly carved cloud patterns, and cleverly, a curled-up kitten is carved on the head of the hairpin.
No bigger than a thumb, it resembles a fluffy snowball with rounded ears and slightly upturned tips, as if it is listening intently to the sounds around it.
Even the texture on the cat's face is meticulously depicted, appearing faintly visible. In the sunlight, the jade kitten is lifelike, charming and adorable.
Li Nanke was very surprised.
"Did you carve all of these?"
Wang Tongyun rubbed her hands together and nodded nervously.
"This is the first hairpin I've successfully carved, so don't complain that I didn't do a good job."
Li Nanke was deeply moved and reached out to hug Wang Tongyun.
"How could that be? This hairpin is so beautiful, so pretty and cute. It's the best birthday gift I've ever received."
She looked annoyed.
"It's a pity we're still too young to wear hairpins because we can only wear double buns. When I'm old enough to wear hairpins, I'll definitely wear the hairpin you gave me first."
Wang Tongyun's eyes lit up.
"Really? My sisters all think the hairpins I carve are weird, and my mother scolds me for not doing my proper job, but I just like them."
"Of course it's true, I like it very much."
Li Nanke nodded emphatically.
Wang Tongyun smiled happily and pulled her aside to whisper about the process of carving the jade hairpin.
Not long after, Princess Zhaokang also came out of the palace.
She gave Li Nanke a set of writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.
"My mother helped me choose it, saying that we could use it when we started studying."
Princess Zhaokang explained, her face flushed.
Li Nanke thanked her sincerely and then chatted with her and Wang Tongyun.
Although Zhao Kang was timid and cowardly, he had already met Li Nanke the day before and was already familiar with him. In addition, Wang Tongyun was straightforward, and the three of them chatted happily.
It wasn't until after lunch that Wang Tongyun and Princess Zhaokang reluctantly said goodbye.
Li Nanke received many gifts today, some from his grandmother, Madam He, and others from his parents.
Several familiar families, such as the Duke of Xinguo's mansion, also sent a gift.
She happily spent half the afternoon unpacking gifts in the house, arranging them one by one, and then asked Zisu to help register them.
It got dark quickly; she had told Song Yi that morning that she wanted to go to the night market.
Seeing that it was almost time, she took Nangong Qiang and Zisu out.
Hongqiao Night Market was the largest night market in Bianjing (Kaifeng).
As night fell, thousands of lanterns were lit throughout the market, illuminating the entire market as if it were daytime.
Li Nanke arranged to meet Shen Cong at 3:45 PM at the foot of Tingfeng Tower.
This is the place she chose after careful selection.
Although the night market is lively, most of the stalls are open-air or small teahouses.
Several larger restaurants were either places frequented by ghost markets or brothels, none of which were suitable for her.
Only Tingfeng Tower is said to have a shadow puppet show, which is said to be very exciting.
She arrived rather early, just past 5 PM, and instructed the coachman to stop the carriage under the big tree at the corner downstairs, intending to go to Tingfeng Tower first.
Just as I was about to get off the carriage, I suddenly saw Zisu outside dart into the carriage.
He lowered his voice and said, "Miss, the Marquis and the Second Young Master are outside."
Li Nanke lifted the carriage curtain and looked out, and sure enough, he saw the fleeting figures of Marquis Anping and Li Yao.
A thought crossed her mind, and she immediately bent down and climbed out of the carriage.
"Master Nangong, let's follow them."
Like a ghost, Nangong Qiang appeared in front of her in an instant, then picked up Li Nanke and quickly chased after her.
I followed Marquis Anping and Li Yao through the night market and saw them enter a two-story restaurant.
"Huanyue Residence?"
Li Nanke shook Nangong Qiang's hand.
"Master Nangong, let's go in quietly too."
Nangong Qiang paused slightly and released her hand.
"You can't go in. Find a safe place to wait. I'll go in and take a look."
As soon as she finished speaking, she disappeared.
Before Li Nanke could speak, he looked up and saw a woman from the second floor leaning out, her white shoulders painted with delicate plum blossoms, and gold bells jingling on her wrists.
So this was a brothel; no wonder Master Nangong wouldn't let her in.
Li Nanke turned around and saw Zisu chasing after him, panting.
He pulled her to hide under a big tree nearby. As soon as they stood still, they heard a sweet but angry voice coming from behind the tree.
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