Chapter Twenty-Nine
On Li Heng's birthday, Gu Leyao and the young prince behaved perfectly normally during breakfast and lunch.
Gu Leyao pretended not to know about the birthday, and the little prince studied diligently with Li Heng, unusually without causing any trouble.
Li Heng didn't remember until noon that it was his birthday, but he hadn't celebrated his birthday since his leg was crippled.
Li Heng thought that it wasn't his birthday this year, so it didn't seem like a big deal and he put the matter out of his mind.
When evening came, the young prince finished his studies and clamored to go play with Gu Leyao.
Seeing that there were no major mistakes in his studies, Li Heng nodded in agreement, lit a glass palace lantern, and sat by the window to read.
In the cold winter, his room was rather stuffy because of the heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove), so he often had to open the windows to let in fresh air.
He asked Li Qi to boil a pot of hot water for him, and he took some fresh tea leaves, intending to brew tea for himself.
The tea is Junshan Silver Needle, with a refreshing taste and a sweet aftertaste. Drinking it in this icy and snowy landscape has a unique charm.
Li Heng was engrossed in the book in his hands, a book about battlefield affairs.
The battlefield is never just a contest between the two sides, but also a contest between the political forces behind the scenes.
As a general, one must not only be able to lead troops into battle, but also be able to balance and discern the relative strengths and weaknesses of the enemy. Although Li Heng was injured and unable to return to the battlefield, he persisted in reading for many years and refused to slack off.
He was reading a crucial part when suddenly the candle in the room went out.
Li Heng gripped the book tightly, his eyes sharpening. His fingers found a hard object near the wheelchair, and he swerved to move the wheelchair behind the door, lurking in the darkness like a tiger waiting to pounce.
Gu Leyao opened the door and shouted, "Aheng, happy birthday!"
The next moment, the blade was already pressed against her neck.
Chun Tao's little rabbit lantern fell to the ground. The little prince came in with a bright red lantern, looking around.
The red candlelight flickered, piercing the darkness.
Gu Leyao saw the bloodthirsty gesture on Li Heng's face, and Li Heng saw the smile on Gu Leyao's face. Both of them were stunned. After a moment, the knife in Li Heng's hand fell back into his palm.
Gu Leyao felt the blade leave her neck, and the terrifying feeling of being controlled by someone else also left. Only then did she realize that she had asked someone to turn off the lights earlier, which might have frightened Li Heng. She held Li Heng's hand and said, "Aheng, I'm sorry, I didn't think that much about it."
Li Heng squeezed Gu Leyao's hand tightly. "I overreacted."
The little prince picked up the rabbit lantern from the ground, dusted it off, and handed it back to Chun Tao. "Sister Chun Tao, how can you be so timid! You dropped the lantern on the ground! Look at me, I'm only five years old, and I'm not scared at all."
Actually, the young prince didn't see Li Heng's expression because he was too short. Chun Tao saw the bloodlust in Li Heng's eyes, which is why she dropped the lantern in fear.
Gu Leyao pretended that nothing had happened and clapped her hands.
Li Qi, Li Jiu, Li Shi, and Lvliu arrived, and everyone sang "Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You..."
This was the result of Gu Leyao's impromptu training. Fortunately, the birthday song was simple and easy to understand, and the group learned it after listening to it twice.
A short while later, the housekeeper and the cook appeared before Li Heng with a huge cake.
Twenty-six candles were stuck on the large cake, and the candlelight flickered as the cake was moved.
Li Heng saw the huge, fluffy, and soft-looking giant pastry, topped with a ring of honeydew melon and a ring of bright red strawberries. He remembered that the strawberries should have been ripened by spring peaches.
Colorful lanterns lit up in various parts of Li Heng's courtyard. The lanterns were of different styles, some looking delicate and cute, and others looking very luxurious. These seemed to be Chong'er's private collection. There was a silver eight-treasure glass lantern that was a tribute from the Southern Yue Kingdom, as well as rabbit lanterns and crab lanterns made by the palace master. These lanterns were all Chong'er's favorite items.
Like a little rabbit, the young prince darted up to Li Heng, raised his head, and shouted, "Uncle, happy birthday!"
Chun Tao, dressed in festive red, bowed like an adult and said, "Happy birthday, Your Highness!"
After Chuntao left, the others in the courtyard also came up to wish Li Heng a happy birthday.
The steward finally stepped forward and wished her a happy birthday. He smiled and scratched the back of his head, a little embarrassed as the veteran spoke softly. "That day, Her Highness the Princess and I were looking at the account books when I suddenly remembered many years ago, when we were at the border, you only ate a few sweet potatoes on your birthday. I casually mentioned it. I didn't expect Her Highness the Princess to take it to heart. Her Highness the Princess is a good woman. You should live a good life with her."
The butler spoke the last sentence very softly, and Li Heng nodded slightly after hearing it.
The steward was relieved; their prince was a man of his word, and once he made a promise, it was for life.
Gu Leyao pushed Li Heng in front of the big cake, "On your birthday, you can make three wishes and then blow out the candles. I've heard that wishes made on your birthday are very likely to come true!"
Gu Leyao said loudly, "We can all make a wish, and then blow out the candles together. I hope our wishes will all come true."
Li Heng subconsciously closed his eyes as Gu Leyao had instructed, and silently made a wish in his heart.
He dared not ask too much of Heaven, for he feared that if he asked for too much, Heaven would not grant his wishes.
Gu Leyao made a wish, and after making it, she said loudly, "After making a wish, you can blow out the candles!"
Gu Leyao blew out the candles with Li Heng, and they all went out.
Gu Leyao divided the cake into many pieces, and specially reserved a piece full of strawberries for Li Heng. "Try this, it's really delicious! I'll have the housekeeper distribute the rest of the cake to the others, so everyone can share in your joy."
The butler first gave the young prince a piece of strawberry cake that he wanted to eat, and then cut a very large piece of cake for Chun Tao, which was covered with lots of cream, as Chun Tao loved cream the most.
Seeing that everyone was happy, Gu Leyao looked down and asked Li Heng, "What wishes did you make?"
Li Heng lowered his head and remained silent.
Gu Leyao knew he was an introverted person, so she didn't pressure him. Unexpectedly, after a while, she heard Li Heng say, "I hope that Leyao will be by my side for every birthday in the future."
Gu Leyao blinked and laughed heartily, "I will definitely always be by your side from now on."
Li Heng then asked her what she wished for, and Gu Leyao replied, "Wishes won't come true if I tell you."
Li Heng anxiously reached for her hand, "Then why are you asking me? Won't your wish not come true?"
Seeing that Li Heng was angry because of her teasing, Gu Leyao leaned close to Li Heng's ear and said, "I was just joking with you, don't be angry, don't be angry."
She said softly, "I hope Li Heng will always be happy, peaceful, joyful, healthy, and successful."
When Li Heng went to see Gu Leyao, Gu Leyao stopped looking at him.
Li Heng remembered his twenty-sixth birthday for a long time. Everyone was very happy that day; it was an excellent birthday for him.
*
As the year drew to a close, Gu Leyao received a letter from the Empress, in which she asked her to bring the Crown Prince back to her maternal home for a banquet.
In the past, Her Majesty the Empress would personally bring the young Crown Prince to the family banquet, but this year Her Majesty the Empress is pregnant with twins and her body is heavy and she is unable to move around easily, so she can only ask Gu Leyao to bring the young Crown Prince to the banquet.
This wasn't a big deal. Gu Leyao discussed it with the young prince, and he quickly agreed.
The young prince was quite happy. If he went to the banquet, he wouldn't have to go to class, so of course he wanted to go!
Actually, he didn't hate going to class, but he felt a strange sense of relief when he skipped class. Whenever he didn't have to go to class, the little prince felt very relaxed!
The young prince once thought he was a bad child, and he secretly told Gu Leyao about this feeling.
Gu Leyao empathized with him and said, "That's right. People who go to school hate going to class, and people who work hate going to work. It's only natural. Don't blame yourself too much."
After hearing Gu Leyao's words, the little prince turned back into a happy child.
On the day of the banquet at the young prince's maternal grandfather's house, Gu Leyao and the young prince boarded the carriage early in the morning.
The Empress's letter instructed Gu Leyao to take the young prince to meet his maternal grandparents, uncles, and aunts.
Since Her Majesty the Empress had given her instructions, Gu Leyao naturally had to listen to her. Before dawn, she woke up the little prince and had Qingxi change his clothes. She then half-carried the little prince onto the carriage.
The Empress's family was the Duke of Anguo's mansion. The Empress and the Emperor had known each other since childhood and had a deep affection for each other. After marrying into the royal family, she was the sole favorite in the harem. Therefore, the Duke of Anguo's mansion was both a powerful maternal relative and a noble family, with an extraordinary background.
When Gu Leyao and the young prince got off the carriage, they saw a black gate with red nails, which looked majestic and solemn.
The young prince had visited the Duke of Anguo's residence before and had some impression of it.
Since the Crown Prince and Princess arrived together, the people from the Duke of Anguo's mansion came out to greet them, and the people from the Duke of Anguo's mansion paid their respects first.
The young prince repeatedly said, "No need for formalities," and Gu Leyao returned the greetings to everyone. After exchanging a few pleasantries, the group headed to the Duke's residence together.
Duke Anguo and his wife held the little prince and kissed him for a long time. Because of his mother, the little prince was also very close to his maternal grandparents.
Seeing the close interaction between the grandmother and granddaughter, Gu Leyao felt it was inappropriate to disturb their intimate moment, so she told everyone that she would take Chun Tao out for a stroll.
At this time, people gathered in twos and threes outside. The noble families in the capital considered themselves noble and always spoke in soft voices, rarely raising their voices.
Gu Leyao didn't know anyone, so she could only take Chuntao around. She didn't want others to flatter him.
She knew in her heart that most of these people were just flattering her to her face but cursing her behind her back, and she felt that such interactions were meaningless.
As they walked into a secluded spot, Gu Leyao suddenly spotted a familiar figure – it was none other than Gu Baozhu, whom she hadn't seen in a long time.
Gu Baozhu walked briskly ahead, taking small steps. A refined-looking man caught up behind her, calling softly, "Baozhu, Baozhu, don't go!"
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