Gan Qiongying was clutching a black strap in her hand. Inside the car was a wooden box containing specially made shoes, crafted overtime to fit Li Hua's dimensions and working style.
She came back so late just to wait for these shoes. The old shopkeeper was initially reluctant, but after being pressured by Gan Qiongying, his attitude suddenly changed. Perhaps it was because he had discovered that Gan Qiongying was not a vicious person after spending the past two days with her, and that she was especially respectful to people. Therefore, the old shopkeeper put more effort into making things for her.
The design is also extremely beautiful, with a black and white color scheme and a touch of silver embroidery on the edges. It not only makes a great gift, but it's also easy to match with clothes.
Gan Qiongying didn't have an hourglass in her car, so she didn't know the exact time. But based on her past experience of staying up late scrolling through her phone, she figured the moon must be at 11 or 12 o'clock by now.
With Li Hua's birthday almost over, Gan Qiongying felt a little guilty. She got off the carriage, grabbed Li Hua's hand, and uttered "Happy Birthday" but the words caught in her throat. She swallowed them back down after a few turns of her tongue.
No, we can't be so hasty!
However, Gan Qiongying was also incredibly excited for tonight; she longed to see Li Hua truly able to walk normally.
Gan Qiongying felt she couldn't wait a moment longer; she couldn't even wait the short distance from the main gate to the main courtyard.
She held onto Li Hua tightly and said to him, "Come with me to the carriage!"
Then she turned around and pulled Li Hua into the carriage.
Li Hua was puzzled, but he kept smiling. As long as Gan Qiongying was back, he felt that it didn't matter whether the two of them ate or drank. As long as she was back, that was enough, even if there was less than an hour left for the two of them tonight.
He obeyed Gan Qiongying without asking any questions, and climbed into the carriage with her, leaving a group of maids standing beside the carriage, looking at each other in bewilderment, wondering why the two masters were rushing to the carriage in the middle of the night instead of going back to the courtyard to rest.
Only Manyue had a "I'm the only one sober in a world of drunks" look on her face, because she had been following Gan Qiongying the whole time and knew that the princess was going to prepare a birthday gift for her husband tonight, and that the two of them must be in the carriage opening the gift right now.
The gift was wrapped in beautiful flowers, and the princess had carried it with her all the way.
How childish! Why not just go back inside and open the gifts? Like two impatient little kids.
Gan Qiongying hurriedly pulled Li Hua into the carriage. Without any further beating around the bush, she directly took the wooden box tied with colorful ribbons, placed it on Li Hua's lap, and half-squatted inside the carriage. She said to Li Hua from bottom to top, "Happy birthday! May you be as handsome and healthy every day from now on as you are at this moment."
"This is a birthday gift I prepared for you. I apologize for not being able to return as soon as we agreed."
Gan Qiongying actually wanted to say "God of Wealth," but she changed it to "Prince Consort" before she could finish.
Li Hua lowered her head and looked at the wooden box on her lap, unable to react for a long time.
The smile on his face froze, as if he had suffered a great calamity; for a long while, his expression remained blank and vacant.
He kept looking down at the box and then up at Gan Qiongying, repeating this action countless times, before finally speaking in a hoarse voice: "How did you know?"
How can I find out his birthday? How can I secretly prepare a birthday gift for him?
However, Li Hua quickly figured it out. It must have been the sweetheart by his side who leaked the information. That girl had been by his side for so many years, practically watching her grow up. She had only been in the princess's residence for a few months, and she was already practically becoming the princess's woman.
Gan Qiongying was still smiling as she looked at Li Hua, but Li Hua curled his lips into a smile that looked more like a grimace.
Li Hua said in a nonchalant tone, "I didn't mean to tell you, what's so great about celebrating your birthday..."
But when he opened his mouth, he realized that his feigned ease sounded like a trembling sob.
He gritted his teeth so hard that he bit his cheek in his panic, and blood instantly filled the air. But the pain made him barely hold back his tears.
"Take a look inside," Gan Qiongying said. "I've been preparing for many days, and I think you'll definitely like it!"
After Gan Qiongying finished speaking, she paused and then said, "Ahem... if you don't like this gift, I actually prepared something else."
She also prepared a brush for Li Hua. Gan Qiongying spent more than three thousand taels of silver. That brush had been on display in the best shop in the city for three years, but no one could afford it.
It's said to be made from tiger fur, and has undergone a special soaking process to achieve a perfect balance of coarseness and stiffness. It's quite a gimmick, but Gan Qiongying doesn't know if it's actually effective. However, it's colorful and flashy, and quite pretty.
Li Hua writes a lot of words every day. If the shoes don't satisfy Li Hua, at least give her a pen. When Li Hua uses it, she will think of her and remember how good she was to her, hehehehehe.
When Li Hua heard Gan Qiongying say this, he slowly shook his head. There were many words stuck in his throat, but they were all stuck together, making it impossible for him to breathe, and he couldn't utter a single word.
He wanted to tell Gan Qiongying that he never celebrated his birthday, that he was a person who was abandoned from birth, and that his birthday had no meaning.
But Li Hua just lowered his head, staring intently at the gift on his lap. He felt as if the box weighed a ton. His hands trembled as he touched the colorful ribbon tied to it, but he couldn't bear to damage it.
"Open it! Stop touching that flower, hurry up and open it!" Gan Qiongying urged Li Hua, watching him keep touching the flower, making her face flush.
She tied this flower the whole way, but she wasn't very good at it. She took it apart and reattached it many times before finally managing to tie it properly with the help of the full moon. The petals were still a little crooked.
Li Hua lowered his eyes, not daring to look at Gan Qiongying, because his eyes were already misty with tears, which made Li Hua feel ashamed.
He was a grown man... It wouldn't have mattered in the past, but he wanted Gan Qiongying to understand his true feelings and to rely on him.
He wanted to show some masculinity in front of her, but if he accidentally cried in front of her, Gan Qiongying would definitely think he was weak and incompetent.
After all, no man in this world sheds tears easily.
Therefore, Li Hua gritted his teeth, biting down on his mangled cheeks, using the blood and pain to force back his tears, but his eyes were eerily red.
Urged on by Gan Qiongying, he finally unwrapped the flower, slowly opened the wooden box, and saw a pair of boots inside.
Li Hua suddenly looked up at the roof of the carriage, actually trying to hold back her tears.
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