After the meal was finished, the palace servants took away the leftovers and served a plate of desserts, including Jingui persimmon cake, walnut cheese, periwinkle rolls, chrysanthemum bergamot cake, and a seasonal fruit platter.
Of course, these are just throwing bricks and jade, the real big dessert is a double-layer fruit cream cake brought in by two eunuchs together.
Tao Ti calculated that there would be many people coming today, so the cake was made very big, whether it was cream or fruit, the ingredients were very solid.
"Wow, sister-in-law of the princess, this is the birthday cake you mentioned! It's so big!"
"There are a lot of fruits on it, the red, green and green ones are so beautiful, but what are those white ones, powdered sugar?"
The fifth prince and sixth princess were shocked by such a big "pastry", their eyes widened, and they moved to the table curiously.
Tao Ti smiled and said, "This white one is cream, sweet and soft, you will know what it tastes like after you taste it."
Gu Zhihong whispered to Gu Minglan, "Sister, this pastry is really rare, it's the first time I've seen it when I grow up."
"Don't talk about you, I think it's the first time seeing even Your Majesty." Gu Minglan swallowed, staring at the cake and straightened, "I don't know what it tastes like, it looks so good, it should be very good Let's eat."
Tao Ti took a wide-brimmed fruit knife, walked to Pei Yan, looked at him with a bright smile, "Your Highness, let's cut the cake!"
Pei Yan looked at the knife, "Shall I cut it?"
Tao Ti nodded and blinked her eyes, "Well, the first cut of the birthday cake must be cut by the birthday star."
Emperor Zhaokang, who had been very quiet all this time, also interrupted abruptly, "Prince, today is your birthday, please cut it quickly."
Pei Yan turned his head to look at Emperor Zhaokang, and saw Emperor Zhaokang cough lightly, and out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Xiaowuxiaoliu, who was staring at the cake with his mouth open, and added, "Look at these two greedy cats. Yes, if you dawdle any longer, both of them will drool all over the floor."
Princess Jingyang curled her lips and smiled. She never expected that the emperor, who is always cold and majestic, would have a greedy day and would push the children. She suppressed her smile, and urged softly, "Yan'er, share the cake."
Seeing that everyone's eyes were focused on him in anticipation, Pei Yan didn't delay any longer, took the knife and walked to the cake—
The cake has two layers, with a thick layer of white cream on the surface. The surface is covered with various fruits, including cherries, hawthorns, oranges, grapes, and autumn pears. The decorations are particularly bright and attractive. And in the middle of the cake, there are six big characters "Happy Birthday, Your Highness", and a small round pattern like a smiling face is drawn underneath, which looks quite cute.
Tao Ti originally wanted to write "Husband, happy birthday" on the cake, but thinking of so many people watching, she was more reserved and low-key, so she changed "Husband" to "Your Highness".
As for blowing out candles, singing birthday songs, and so on, for this group of ancients, it was a bit strange, so she also saved it.
At this moment, she stood on one side, watching Pei Yan cut the cake with a smile in her eyes.
Today Pei Yan wore a set of vermilion brocade robes and a black belt inlaid with white jade around his waist. His figure was tall and slender. The robe of this color made his skin fairer, like a crown jade. He is extremely beautiful, but not feminine, with deep brows, and sharp and tough side features.
Tao Ti's mind was full of thoughts, my husband is so good-looking, even a cake can be cut so good-looking!
Such a good-looking man is mine, I really took advantage of it!
Pei Yan first cut a cake and handed it to Emperor Zhaokang, and then cut a cake and handed it to Princess Jingyang.
He cut the third copy and handed it to Tao Ti himself, "Ah Ti, here it is."
"Ah, eat it, I'll cut it myself..."
Pei Yan's black eyes were deep, and she looked at her persistently and firmly, "No, this is only for you."
Tao Tixin said that there are still so many cakes left, why should they be exclusive or not. But seeing that he brought all the plates in front of me, he took them, "Then you should hurry up and try a piece, this cake took me a whole morning to see if it suits your taste."
Seeing her take it, Pei Yan smiled gently, "Okay."
Tao Ti sat down with the cake, and when she was about to take a spoon, she suddenly found that the cake she had was very big, with a lot of cream, and a lot of fruit, and there was a word on it, which was the word "His Royal Highness".
She stared at these two words for a moment, then suddenly remembered what Pei Yan said just now.
This one is for you alone.
So, he gave her "His Royal Highness", gave her himself... Is that what he meant
This guess made Tao Ti's cheeks suddenly warm up.
She subconsciously raised her eyes to look at Pei Yan, but unexpectedly he was also looking at her.
Seeing her expression, Pei Yan knew that she understood what he meant, her thin lips were slightly lifted, and her smile was like a breeze and a bright moon.
Ahhh I'm dying.
Tao Ti only felt her heart beating faster, she hurriedly lowered her head, pretending to eat cake.
But Pei Yan's mind was full of that gentle smile just now.
She swallowed in disbelief, screaming crazily in her heart: Even though both of them have had sex before, why is it that she still can't resist when he smiles!
Looking at the word "Your Highness" squeezed out with cherry sauce again, Tao Ti blushed: If you laugh again, I will eat you.
In the end, the cake was eaten up by her.
She felt that today's cake was extraordinarily sweet, it tasted sweeter in her mouth, and sweeter in her heart.
Everyone else in the hall also fell in love with the soft and dense taste of the cake. The fifth prince and the sixth princess ate it with big mouthfuls, their mouths covered with cream, and they kept chanting, "It's delicious, it's so delicious. Already!"
Qinghe also loves sweets, so she slowly tasted them with a plate.
Seeing that she liked to eat, Xu Guangji walked up to her slowly, and gave her more than half of his cake.
Qinghe was slightly stunned, staring at him with black and watery eyes, "...?"
Xu Guangji's handsome face was a little shy, and he said softly, "You like to eat, eat more..." As if afraid that Qinghe would be polite to him, he hurriedly said, "I don't like sweet things."
Qinghe held back her smile, blinked Shuiling's eyes, and asked, "Last time I gave you candied lotus seeds, and you said you like sweet ones the most, why don't you like them now? It can be seen that you don't have sweets in your mouth. Truth."
When Xu Guangji heard this, he nervously 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'll eat sweet; if you want me to eat salty, I'll eat salty; anyway, I'll like whatever you like. Whatever you want, I'll give it to you eat."
The fool.
Qing He finally laughed, "I'm just kidding you."
Xu Guangji was taken aback for a moment, but he didn't get angry when he realized it. When he saw Qinghe smiling, he laughed too.
Seeing the deep affection between his sister and Xu Qilang, Grandpa Xie glanced at his cake, and subconsciously went to Xu Wenchan.
Xu Wenchan, who was eating happily: Something's wrong
As soon as she raised her eyes, she saw that Mr. Xie was about to walk towards her, her heart skipped a beat, she didn't know if she was in a twitch or something, picked up the cake, and went around behind the pillar.
Xie Xiaogong, "...?"
Princess Jingyang and Concubine Xu Gui were talking, and the juniors were chatting in twos and threes, and the atmosphere in the hall was much more relaxed.
After Emperor Zhaokang finished eating the plate of milk-flavored cake in his hand, he got up and walked towards Pei Yan, and patted 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 following her gaze, Xu Wenchan comforted, "Today is His Highness the Crown Prince's birthday, I guess His Majesty wants to encourage His Highness."
Tao Ti came back to her senses and hummed lightly.
After Xu Wenchan finished eating the cake, he wiped the corners of his mouth with a satisfied handkerchief, his eyes sparkling, "Ah Ti, this cake tastes really good. I think we can consider buying this in a milk tea shop." , a cup of milk tea, paired with a piece of cake like this, it's amazing! What do you think?"
A serious milk tea lover, Gu Minglan who was sitting diagonally across from him suddenly raised his head, "Milk tea? How can there be milk tea?"
Xu Wenchan, "..."
Tao Ti, "..."
Gu Zhihong looked embarrassed, and bumped his sister's elbow, "It's my cousin who is talking about business with Miss Xu." He said in a low voice, "Sister, you still drink milk tea, don't you? Did you notice that your waist has gotten thicker recently?"
Gu Minglan gave him a sharp look, "Your skin is itchy, isn't it?"
Gu Zhihong: I can't afford to offend you, so I leave.
Xu Wenchan continued to talk to Tao Ti about selling cakes, and the two chatted a lot.
In the end, Tao Ti stared at Xu Wenchan thoughtfully.
Xu Wenchan was puzzled, "Why are you looking at me like this? Am I getting fat again?"
Tao Ti shook her head, glanced lightly at Young Master Xie who was not far away, and whispered to Xu Wenchan's ear, "A Chan, actually, do you have feelings for Young Master Xie?"
Xu Wenchan panicked all of a sudden, and quickly denied, "No way."
"Eyes can't deceive people. We are good sisters, why don't you hide it from me?"
"I, I'm not..."
"Huh?" Tao Ti raised her eyebrows, waiting for her to explain.
Xu Wenchan blushed, hesitated for a long while, and finally lowered his eyelashes, muttering a little helplessly, "There is too much difference between me and him..."
His appearance is dusty and elegant, like the moon in the sky, flowers in the water.
As for her, since she came to Chang'an, she has been ridiculed, ridiculed, and excluded by the noble ladies of the aristocratic family. They laughed at her dark skin, fat, vulgarity, and her incompetence in piano, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
In the city of Chang'an where noble girls are like flowers, what is she? An ugly duckling who strayed into a flock of swans
She was smiling and pretending not to care, but only she knew, how could she not care? People's hearts are fleshy, and she is not strong at all.
Before making Tao Ti a friend, she hid in the quilt and cried many times in the middle of the night.
Now suddenly a handsome and comfortable nobleman appears and says he likes her? This feeling was really the same as being hit by a pie, she always felt it was an unreal dream.
She had to escape instinctively, she was afraid that others would laugh at her—"Does the toad want to eat swan meat too? Are you worthy? Look in the mirror!"
Tao Ti also understood when she heard Xu Wenchan's answer.
It turned out to be inferiority complex.
She pursed her lips and sighed inwardly, it seemed a bit difficult to handle.
At the same time, the side hall.
Li Gui offered two cups of fragrant jasmine sparrow tea, and then led all the palace people back.
Emperor Zhaokang ate a lot today, and his stomach was a little full. He leaned lazily on the couch, narrowed his eyes and sighed, "Your concubine's cooking skills are still very good... just missing a bowl of longevity noodles. She organized your birthday party, why did she miss this?"
Pei Yan said, "Ah Ti said, eat cake at noon, and she cooks longevity noodles for me at night."
Emperor Zhaokang choked, and a look of embarrassment flashed across his serious face, "Oh, so."
He picked up the teacup and brought it to his mouth. When he wanted to drink it, he suddenly said, "Your mother... she also cooked a bowl of longevity noodles for me before."
Yuan Yuan is not good at cooking, the bowl of noodles was a bit mushy and salty, and the fried eggs were burnt black.
She was about to throw it away, but he stopped her, and as if she had found a treasure, she ate it clean without leaving a drop of noodle soup.
Yuan Yuan watched him eat quietly, under the dim candlelight, her delicate face was not as cold as before, he seemed to see a bit of tenderness.
"That bowl of noodles is the best I've ever eaten in my life." Emperor Zhaokang rubbed the cup wall, returning to reality from the memory, the smile in his eyes was replaced by boundless loneliness.
Pei Yan lowered his eyes calmly, not knowing how to answer.
He even doubted whether it was real or his father's imagination.
After a while of silence, Emperor Zhaokang changed the subject and talked about the Gu family, "I just saw the two children of your uncle's family, and I didn't expect them to grow so big in a blink of an eye..."
Hearing about the Gu family, Pei Yan became more cautious, and said in a gentle voice, "Yes, cousin Ming Lan got married and divorced three years ago, Brother Hong is about to reach the crown."
Emperor Zhaokang nodded, "My ex-mother loved my niece the most. If that hadn't happened, and the Gu family still stayed in Chang'an, I would definitely point out a good marriage to Sister Lan."
Pei Yan pursed her lips and remained silent.
Emperor Zhaokang was also silent for a while, the sunlight outside the window weakened a bit and shone in through the window.
The emperor is lonely. He has many things to say to others, but no one to share them with.
Standing on the top of ten thousand people, his heart was very empty.
He wanted to tell his son, but in front of a future emperor, should an old emperor complain and show his frail side? He can't do it.
After a long silence, Emperor Zhaokang drank half a cup of tea and straightened his body, "Yan'er, Xu Wenhe said that your body will recover after half a year of recuperation."
Pei Yan nodded, "Yes, old Mr. Xu has excellent medical skills, and it is also thanks to Father, you took the trouble to find him for my son."
Emperor Zhaokang said unhurriedly, "When you are in good health, the crown prince can go to jail. Yan'er, you should know that for so many years, you have always been the only crown prince in my heart."
Hearing this, Pei Yan got up from the long couch, and respectfully bowed to Emperor Zhaokang, "I am grateful to my father, and I will definitely not disappoint my father."
Emperor Zhaokang leaned out, stretched out his hand to hold Pei Yan's hand, squinted his black eyes, and said earnestly, "I know that you have been wronged all these years. But if you want to be a good emperor who will go down in history, you have to do something Think twice before making these decisions..."
Pei Yan's heart sank suddenly, the corners of his mouth tightened, and he said in a solemn voice, "Thank you for your teaching, father. But—"
He held Emperor Zhaokang's hand instead, "I will think twice before doing things, but others may not be so cautious, I'm afraid it will hurt the heart of my father."
Emperor Zhaokang's eyes were deep, and he wanted to say something, but he felt tired again.
He frowned, took his hand out of Pei Yan's, leaned back on the soft pillow, and pinched the center of his brow.
Pei Yan said in a low voice, "Father is tired, and my son arranged a sedan chair to send Father back to Zichen Palace to rest."
Emperor Zhaokang didn't refuse, Pei Yan turned around and went out.
Hearing the sound of footsteps gradually going away, Emperor Zhaokang closed his eyes, and finally let out a long sigh.