After the meal, the palace servants removed the leftover soup and cold meat and served a plate of desserts, including golden osmanthus persimmon cakes, walnut cheese, long spring rolls, chrysanthemum bergamot pastry, and a seasonal fruit platter.

Of course, these were just inspiration; the real dessert was a double-layered fruit cream cake carried in by two eunuchs.

Taoti calculated that many people would come today, so she made the cake very big, and the ingredients used were very substantial, whether it was the cream or the fruit.

"Wow, Crown Princess Sister-in-law, this is the birthday cake you mentioned! It's so big!"

"There are a lot of fruits on it, red and green, so pretty, but what are those white things, powdered sugar?"

The fifth prince and the sixth princess were amazed by such a big "cake". They opened their eyes wide and moved towards the table curiously.

Tao Ti smiled and said, "This white thing is cream, sweet and soft. You will know what it tastes like after you try it later."

Gu Zhihong whispered to Gu Minglan, "Sister, this pastry is really rare. It's the first time I've seen it in my life."

"Let alone you, I think even His Majesty has seen it for the first time." Gu Minglan swallowed his saliva and stared at the cake. "I don't know what it tastes like, but it looks so good, so it should be delicious too."

Tao Ti took a wide-edged fruit knife, walked to Pei Yan, and looked at him with a bright smile, "Your Highness, let's cut the cake!"

Pei Yan looked at the knife and asked, "Let me cut it?"

Tao Ti nodded and blinked, "Well, the first cut of the birthday cake must be made by the birthday star."

Emperor Zhaokang, who had been very quiet, suddenly interrupted, "Prince, today is your birthday, please cut it quickly."

Pei Yan turned his head to look at Emperor Zhaokang, and saw him cough lightly. He glanced at Xiaowu and Xiaoliu who were staring at the cake with their mouths open, and added, "Look at these two greedy cats. If you keep dawdling, they will drool all over the floor."

Princess Jingyang smiled. She never thought that her always cold and stern brother would be greedy and push the cake onto the children. She suppressed her smile and urged softly, "Yan'er, share the cake quickly."

Seeing everyone's expectant eyes focused on him, Pei Yan did not delay any longer, took the knife and walked to the cake -

The cake was double-layered, with a thick layer of white cream on the top and various fruits on the surface, including cherries, hawthorns, oranges, grapes, and autumn pears, which were particularly bright and attractive. In the middle of the cake, there were six big characters "Happy Birthday, Your Highness", and a round, smiling face-like pattern was drawn below, which looked quite cute.

Tao Ti originally wanted to write "Husband, happy birthday" on the cake, but thinking that so many people would be watching, she decided to be reserved and low-key, so she changed "husband" to "Your Highness".

As for blowing candles and singing birthday songs, they seemed a bit weird for these ancient people, so she skipped the process.

At this moment, she stood aside, watching Pei Yan cutting the cake with a smile in her eyes.

Pei Yan wore a red brocade robe today, with a black belt inlaid with white jade, and his figure was tall and straight. This color of robe made his skin look even whiter and his face looked like a jade crown. He was extremely beautiful, but not feminine, with deep eyebrows and sharp and tough lines on his profile.

Tao Timan was thinking, my husband is so handsome, even when he cuts the cake he looks so handsome!

Such a handsome man is mine, I really got a great deal!

Pei Yan first cut a piece of cake and handed it to Emperor Zhaokang, and then cut another piece and handed it to Princess Jingyang.

He cut the third portion and handed it to Taoti himself, "Ati, here you go."

"Ah, you eat it, I'll cut it myself..."

Pei Yan's dark eyes were deep, and he looked at her stubbornly and firmly, "No, this one is only for you."

Tao Ti thought that there was still so much cake left, so why bother about exclusiveness. But when she saw that he had brought the plate to her, she took it and said, "Why don't you cut a piece and try it? This cake took me the whole morning to make. See if it suits your taste."

Pei Yan saw her take it and smiled gently, "Okay."

Tao Ti sat down with the cake. When she was about to use a spoon, she suddenly found that her cake was very big, with a lot of cream and fruits, and there were words on it, which were the words "Your Highness".

She stared at the two words for a moment, and suddenly remembered what Pei Yan had just said.

This one is just for you.

So, he gave her "His Highness" and gave her himself...is that what you mean?

This guess made Tao Ti's cheeks hot.

She subconsciously raised her eyes to look at Pei Yan, but unexpectedly he was also looking at her.

When Pei Yan saw her expression, he knew that she understood what he meant. She raised her thin lips slightly and smiled like the breeze and bright moon.

Ahhhh I'm going to die.

Tao Ti felt her heart beating faster, so she lowered her head and pretended to eat the cake.

But his mind was filled with Pei Yan's gentle smile just now.

She swallowed her saliva helplessly and screamed madly in her heart: They had already had sex, so why was she unable to resist when he smiled?

Looking at the word "Your Highness" squeezed out of cherry jam, Tao Ti blushed and said: If you laugh again, I will eat you.

In the end, she ate the cake cleanly.

She felt that today's cake was particularly sweet. It tasted sweet in her mouth and even sweeter in her heart.

The other people in the palace also liked the soft and dense texture of the cake. The fifth prince and the sixth princess ate it with big mouthfuls, their lips were covered with cream, and they kept saying, "It's delicious, so delicious!"

Qinghe also loves sweets, so she held the plate and savored it slowly.

Seeing that she liked it, Xu Guangji walked slowly to her and gave her most of his cake.

Qing He was slightly stunned, and stared at him with his dark and bright eyes, "......?"

Xu Guangji's handsome face was a little shy, and he said softly, "If you like it, eat more..." As if he was afraid that Qinghe would be polite to him, he hurriedly said, "I don't like sweet food."

Qing He suppressed her smile, blinked her watery eyes, and asked, "Last time I gave you candied lotus seeds, you said you liked sweet things the most, why don't you like them now? It shows that you don't speak the truth."

When Xu Guangji heard this, he hurriedly explained, "Ah, no, I'm not lying to you... I'm..."

Qing He, "What are you?"

Xu Guangji said, "If you want me to eat sweet, I will eat sweet; if you want me to eat salty, I will eat salty; anyway, whatever you like, I like. Whatever you want to eat, I will give it to you."

This fool.

Qing He finally laughed, "I was just joking with you."

Xu Guangji was stunned for a moment, but when he came to his senses he was not angry. Seeing Qinghe smile, he also smiled.

Seeing his sister and Xu Qilang being so affectionate, Young Master Xie glanced at his cake and subconsciously looked at Xu Wenchan.

Xu Wenchan, who was enjoying a delicious meal, said: Something is wrong?

When she looked up, she saw Young Master Xie walking towards her. Her heart skipped a beat and she didn't know if she had a brain seizure or what, but she picked up the cake and went around behind the pillar.

Young Master Xie, "......?"

Princess Jingyang was talking to Concubine Xu, and the younger ones were chatting in twos and threes. The atmosphere in the palace became quite relaxed.

After Emperor Zhaokang finished eating the plate of milky cake in his hand, he stood up and walked towards Pei Yan, patting him on the shoulder, "Yan'er, accompany me to the side hall for a cup of tea."

Pei Yan lowered his eyes and replied softly, "Yes."

Seeing Pei Yan being called out by Emperor Zhaokang, Tao Ti couldn't help but follow him. Xu Wenchan comforted him, "Today is the Crown Prince's birthday. I guess His Majesty wants to encourage His Majesty."

Tao Ti came back to her senses and hummed softly.

After Xu Wenchan finished eating the cake, he wiped the corners of his mouth with a handkerchief with satisfaction, his eyes sparkling, "Ati, this cake tastes really good. I think we can consider selling this in a milk tea shop. A cup of milk tea with a piece of cake like this is really amazing! What do you think?"

Gu Minglan, who was sitting diagonally opposite and a heavy milk tea lover, looked up suddenly, "Milk tea? Where is the milk tea?"

Xu Wenchan: "..."

Taoti, "..."

Gu Zhihong looked embarrassed and bumped his sister's elbow. "My cousin's wife is discussing business with Miss Xu." He lowered his voice and complained, "Sister, you are still drinking milk tea. Haven't you noticed that your waist has become thicker recently?"

Gu Minglan gave him a sharp look and said, "Your skin is itchy, right?"

Gu Zhihong: I can’t afford to offend you. I’ll leave.

Xu Wenchan continued to talk to Tao Ti about selling cakes, and the two chatted for a long time.

Finally, Tao Ti stared at Xu Wenchan thoughtfully.

Xu Wenchan was puzzled. "Why are you looking at me like that? Am I fat again?"

Tao Ti shook her head, glanced at Young Master Xie not far away, and whispered in Xu Wenchan's ear, "A Chan, you actually have feelings for the Young Master, right?"

Xu Wenchan panicked for a moment and quickly denied it, "No way."

"Eyes can't lie. We are good sisters, why are you hiding this from me?"

"I, I'm not..."

"Hmm?" Tao Ti raised her eyebrows and waited for her to explain.

Xu Wenchan blushed and hesitated for a long time. Finally, he lowered his eyelashes and muttered helplessly, "There is a huge difference between him and me..."

He looks pure and elegant, like the moon in the sky or the flower in the water.

As for her, ever since she came to Chang'an, she had been laughed at, ridiculed, and excluded by the noble ladies. They laughed at her dark skin, her fatness, her vulgarity, and her lack of knowledge in the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.

In the city of Chang'an, where noble ladies are as beautiful as flowers, what is she? An ugly duckling who accidentally wandered into a flock of swans?

She smiled and pretended not to care, but she was the only one who knew how could she not care? People are all made of flesh and blood, and she was not strong at all.

Before she made a friend named Tao Ti, she had cried in her quilt many times in the middle of the night.

Now, a handsome and elegant gentleman suddenly appeared and said he liked her? This feeling was like being hit by a pie. She always felt that it was an unreal dream.

She instinctively had to escape because she was afraid that others would laugh at her - "A toad wants to eat swan flesh? Are you worthy? Look in the mirror!"

After hearing Xu Wenchan's answer, Tao Ti also understood.

It turns out to be inferiority complex.

She pursed her lips and sighed inwardly. This seemed a little difficult to deal with.

At the same time, in the side hall.

Li Gui served two cups of fragrant jasmine tea and left with a group of palace maids.

Emperor Zhaokang ate a lot today, and his stomach was a little full. He lazily leaned on the couch, squinted his eyes and sighed, "Your cooking skills as the Crown Princess are still quite commendable...but there is a bowl of longevity noodles missing. How come she missed even this when she organized your birthday banquet?"

Pei Yan said, "Ati said that we should have cake for lunch and she would cook longevity noodles for me in the evening."

Emperor Zhaokang choked, and a hint of embarrassment flashed across his serious face, "Oh, so that's it."

He picked up the teacup and brought it to his mouth, about to drink it, when he suddenly said, "Your mother...she once cooked a bowl of longevity noodles for me."

Yuanyuan is not good at cooking. The noodles were a little mushy and salty, and the eggs were fried black.

She was about to throw it away, but he stopped her and ate it up cleanly as if it were a treasure, without leaving even a drop of soup.

Yuanyuan just watched him eat quietly. Under the dim candlelight, her pretty face no longer had the coldness of the past. He seemed to see some tenderness in it.

"That bowl of noodles is the best noodles I have ever eaten in my life." Emperor Zhaokang stroked the wall of the cup and returned to reality from his memories. The smile in his eyes was replaced by boundless loneliness.

Pei Yan lowered his eyes calmly, not knowing how to respond.

He even wondered whether this was true or just his father's imagination.

After a moment of silence, Emperor Zhaokang changed the subject and talked about the Gu family, "I just saw the two children from your uncle's family. I didn't expect that they have grown up so big in the blink of an eye..."

After hearing about the Gu family, Pei Yan became cautious and said in a gentle voice, "Yes, cousin Minglan got married and divorced three years ago, and Hong is about to come of age."

Emperor Zhaokang nodded and said, "In the past, the Queen Mother loved her niece, Sister Lan, the most. If that incident had not happened and the Gu family had stayed in Chang'an, I would have arranged a good marriage for Sister Lan."

Pei Yan pursed his lips and said nothing.

Emperor Zhaokang was also silent for a while. The sunlight outside the window became a little weaker and shone in through the slatted window.

The emperor is lonely. He has many things to say, but no one to share them with.

Standing above the crowd, he felt very empty inside.

He wanted to talk to his son, but as an old emperor, was he going to complain to the future emperor? Was he going to show his vulnerable side? He couldn't do it.

After a long silence, Emperor Zhaokang finished drinking half a cup of tea and straightened up. "Yan'er, Xu Wenhe said that your body will be able to recover after another half a year of recuperation."

Pei Yan nodded, "Yes, Mr. Xu is a great doctor, and it is thanks to you, father, for taking the trouble to find him for me."

Emperor Zhaokang said slowly, "Now that you are well, you can take the throne of the crown prince. Yan'er, you should know that for all these years, you have always been the only crown prince in my heart."

Hearing this, Pei Yan stood up from the couch and saluted respectfully to Emperor Zhaokang, "I am grateful for your respect, father, and I will not let you down."

Emperor Zhaokang leaned outward, reached out and held Pei Yan's hand, narrowed his eyes, and said earnestly, "I know that you have been wronged over the years. But if you want to be a good emperor who will go down in history, you should think twice before making certain decisions..."

Pei Yan's heart suddenly sank. He tightened his lips and said in a low voice, "Thank you for your teachings, Father. But——"

He held Emperor Zhaokang's hand and said, "I will think twice before doing anything, but others may not be so cautious. I am afraid that it will hurt your father's feelings."

Emperor Zhaokang's eyes were full of understanding. He wanted to say something, but then he felt tired.

He frowned, pulled his hand out of Pei Yan's, leaned back on the pillow, and pinched his eyebrows.

Pei Yan whispered, "Father is tired. I will arrange a sedan chair to take you back to Zichen Palace to rest."

Emperor Zhaokang did not refuse, and Pei Yan turned and left.

Listening to the footsteps gradually fading away, Emperor Zhaokang closed his eyes and finally let out a long sigh.