Lu Xingjian sneered, "Everyone else sends birthday gifts on the Emperor's birthday. But you, the Empress, pretend to be deaf and dumb, and don't give any thanks."
Of course, he wouldn't say that, to prevent the servants from making a mistake, he personally went through the mountain of birthday gifts.
In the end, none of them were gifts from her.
Su Wanwan said in a nonchalant tone, "When it was my birthday, you didn't give me a birthday gift either. I was just returning the favor."
She couldn't be bothered with these trivial matters, but now he's bringing them up.
Lu Xingjian raised an eyebrow, looked at her for a long while, and finally smiled brightly:
"I sent it, didn't you receive it?"
Su Wanwan's drowsiness had mostly dissipated, and she paused, "Where?"
"You don't even care about the colorful glass lamp that I made by hand."
"Really, no." Su Wanwan genuinely didn't remember.
She usually reciprocates with gifts given to her on her birthday.
Lu Xingjian was a little discouraged, and he spread his hands to gesture:
"Such a big lamp, it looks like a rabbit from this side and a tiger from that side, and it's signed by the old man Jintang."
Now that you mention it, Su Wanwan does have a vague recollection of it.
She did indeed have someone return the gift to appease her.
She and Lu Xingjian had many arguments because of the filament lamp issue.
When she celebrated her birthday, they were still in a cold war and hadn't seen each other for some time.
So when she saw this lamp, she disliked it very much and had it locked deep in the storeroom.
I never expected it was from him.
"Didn't you dislike filament lamps? Why did you send this?" Su Wanwan naturally refused to admit it was her oversight and changed the subject.
Lu Xingjian paused, his tone low and resentful, revealing a hint of grievance.
“That broken lamp caused a lot of trouble, and I really don’t like it. But since you like it, and I owe you a lamp, I should make one for you myself.”
"Who knew that the flirtatious glances were directed at a blind man."
Later, when Su Wanwan was poisoned, he no longer cared about the lamp.
Su Wanwan was unconvinced: "I liked that lamp only in that particular moment. Now that you've given it away, no matter how good the other lamps are, they're not the same as the original ones."
This statement is somewhat serious, reminiscent of the saying "Once you've seen the ocean, you can't be satisfied with a mere stream."
Lu Xingjian frowned; if they continued, they would bring up old grievances.
Maggie is a thorn in their side.
After a while, he reluctantly explained.
“When I came back with the lamp that day, you were nowhere to be seen, and there were Tatar assassins again.”
"Someone asked me for a lamp, and I just dismissed them. I'll send someone to find you right away."
"I didn't mean to give it to someone else. It's just a light, I really didn't expect you to mind so much."
Looking at his serious face, Su Wanwan couldn't tell if he was serious or not, so she just frowned and gave a faint "Oh".
He deliberately avoided using the name Maggie.
I don't know if it's because I genuinely don't care anymore, or because I care too much and don't want to mention it.
However, none of that matters.
She has a son, and she needs to wield enough power to reveal his identity and bring him to live with her.
Everything else is irrelevant.
Lu Xingjian lowered his head and nuzzled her face, his hands restlessly covering her slender waist.
His voice was low and suggestive: "You're not angry anymore?"
"I wasn't angry at all." Su Wanwan didn't want him to label her as petty.
"So what kind of birthday gift are you planning to give me?" Lu Xingjian lowered his head and kissed her lips, not intending to let the matter drop.
"Let me think about it." She really hadn't prepared any birthday gift for him.
He lacked nothing, and given her state of mind at the time, being so disappointed in him, she had no intention of preparing any gifts to please him.
Even now, unless he deliberately asks for it, she doesn't want to give him this gift again.
Everyone just needs to maintain a superficial harmony.
As for the rest, she neither wanted to put in any effort nor expected to gain anything.
Lu Xingjian, on the other hand, was in high spirits. His fatigue from the recent trip had vanished, and he kissed her while pulling her into his arms.
Why do I suddenly become energetic again as soon as I see you?
"Did you use some kind of seductive magic on me, like the kind of enchanting tricks you hear about in stories?"
Su Wanwan wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a reproachful look: "You just want to say that I am Su Daji, a nine-tailed fox spirit."
His eyes sparkled and shone brightly as he looked around.
Lu Xingjian's heart raced, and he tilted his head back to kiss her chin, his breathing becoming heavier and his voice hoarse and deep:
"Then I will be Di Xin, and I will dote on you, you vixen."
...
The next day, Madam Yang requested to enter the palace to see Su Wanwan.
"Your Majesty, please forgive this humble woman for disturbing you. It is truly unavoidable. My husband has been impeached again because of the matter of rotten chaff in the granaries of Guyuan, Ningxia, and other places. He has been arrested and imprisoned."
Su Wanwan suppressed the urge to yawn, somewhat surprised: "Why is this being brought up again?"
Because of this matter, she had previously sought out Liu Jin, and the two officials who had spoken out against the emperor were subsequently imprisoned.
Later, in order to control the boundaries of the border troops' investigation and to set an example for others, Lu Xingjian exposed two officials to the scorching sun for an entire day, almost killing them.
This is the third time this case has been rehashed.
Madam Yang said with great concern: "My husband refuses to give gifts to Liu Jin. Just two days ago, he had a big argument with Zhang Cai, one of Liu Jin's henchmen, on the street, calling him a member of the eunuch faction. I'm afraid he has offended someone."
Su Wanwan pursed her lips and lowered her eyes slightly.
Uncle Yang's insults were truly awful.
However, doing so would offend a large number of eunuchs, resulting in an overly broad impact.
Even Zhang Yong, Ma Yongcheng and others were indirectly offended.
Uncle Yang's aloof and arrogant attitude as a scholar was really a bit excessive.
Even she, the empress, treated those powerful eunuchs with great courtesy and dared not offend them.
"Why was Uncle Yang so impulsive?" she wondered.
A high-ranking official who could become the governor of Shaanxi and control the three border regions should not be such a reckless person.
Madam Yang was also completely bewildered, and guessed:
"Perhaps he used to admire Zhang Cai's character, but now that he sees him currying favor with the powerful and losing the integrity of a scholar, he got angry and spoke without thinking."
Su Wanwan had met Zhang Cai before, and he seemed to be a shrewd and calculating person.
An incredible thought flashed through her mind, and she awaited confirmation.
Su Wanwan didn't delay, leaving Madam Yang to wait while she went to the Imperial Study to find Lu Xingjian.
At the entrance of the Imperial Study, the heir of the Marquis of Wuding and Zhang Yong were waiting. They both bowed when they saw her coming.
Su Wanwan paused for a moment, then greeted him politely, "No need for formalities."
Since their parting at the palace garden, she and Zhang Yong had not spoken a word to each other.
Meng Yue said respectfully, "What a coincidence! His Majesty just sent me to invite Your Highness."
Su Wanwan was completely bewildered as she prepared to enter.
But I felt a gaze fall on me.
Her heart tightened slightly.
She was the one who acted abruptly in the palace garden last time. If Zhang Yong calms down and confronts her afterward, it will be very troublesome.
Behind the imperial desk, Lu Xingjian sat high on the throne, his face cold and gloomy.
A person was kneeling on the ground, with their hands tied behind their back and many injuries on their body.
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