Ji Lingxue had already ridden her horse a hundred meters away. She turned around and smiled at him, "Your Highness, it's a beautiful day today, with bright sunshine and fresh air. It's very suitable for picking flowers and appreciating them. I won't disturb your mood of picking flowers." After that, she rode away on her horse, leaving Xiao Yichen standing in the wind with the flowers in his hand.
Xiao Yichen: Ji Lingxue, are you taking revenge
An Ge in the dark shrank his neck. You can offend anyone in this world but you must not offend a woman. Look at what happened to him. It's really pitiful.
Xiao Yichen looked up at the sky, threw the flowers in his hand back, and shouted to his secret guards, "Go and find me a horse!" Just wait and see how he goes back to deal with Ji Lingxue and restore his status as a husband.
The secret guard responded and quickly disappeared from the spot. Xiao Yichen waited there. A quarter of an hour passed, an hour passed, and two hours passed, but the secret guard still didn't come back.
Xiao Yichen's secret guard said bitterly: "My Lord, it's not that I'm slow, I was ambushed by the princess's secret guard and am still hanging on the tree..."
The next day, Xiao Yichen came back covered in morning dew. He had been waiting for the secret guard to come back yesterday, so he guessed that something must have happened. He spent some time finding the secret guard, and then used his lightness skills to return under the stars.
Xiao Yichen returned to his room angrily to take a shower and wash up. In the blink of an eye, it was dawn and Ji Yuqing and Zi Su were already standing there at the door.
No one is allowed to enter Xiao Yichen's bedroom without permission, not even the princess herself, so Ji Yuqing and Zi Su waited at the door with birthday gifts early in the morning, just to give Xiao Yichen a surprise.
Xiao Yichen actually fell asleep leaning against the wooden barrel. If he hadn't been woken up by the cold water, he would have probably slept for a while longer.
After getting out of the bathtub and putting on a snow-white robe, he opened the door and was stunned, "Zi Su, Qing'er, how long have you been standing here?"
Ji Yuqing smiled and shook her head, saying, "Good morning, Your Majesty. I was afraid of disturbing your sleep, so I stood outside the door and waited for a while. This is my birthday gift to Your Majesty. Happy birthday, Your Majesty!"
Xiao Yichen's depressed mood was relieved a lot. He was so angry with Ji Lingxue that he almost shortened his life by a year. He almost forgot about the birthday gift today.
Zi Su knelt down and saluted. She was a concubine, no different from a slave, so she performed the same salutation as a slave. "Your Highness, this is the robe I made for you. I wish you a happy birthday and all your wishes come true."
Xiao Yichen nodded and waved his hand, saying: "Come in and help me change clothes." Xiao Yichen never let anyone help him change clothes, but today was an exception.
After putting on his clothes and shoes, Xiao Yichen turned around and praised, "Zi Su's embroidery skills are getting better and better. From now on, I will let you make my clothes..." After a pause, he took Ji Yuqing's hand and said, "Qing'er, the boots you made fit me very well. I like them. Come on, you two will have dinner with me."
Xiao Yichen brought Zi Su and Ji Yuqing to the flower hall, but the table in the flower hall was empty, without any breakfast.
Ji Yuqing hurriedly scolded the maids guarding the flower hall, "What are you doing? Where is the prince's breakfast? Why hasn't it been prepared yet?"
The two maids knelt on the ground with a plop and pleaded, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty. Today, I went to the kitchen to get breakfast. The cook in charge of Your Majesty's meals is on leave today. I heard that the princess granted her leave. Now the princess is in the kitchen..."
When Xiao Yichen heard this, his anger subsided a little. Ji Lingxue still had a conscience. After offending him, she knew to appease him with delicious food.
Xiao Yichen sat down carelessly, waved his hand, and asked Zi Su and Ji Yuqing to sit on his left and right, deliberately leaving no seat for Ji Lingxue. He planned to punish Ji Lingxue a little to let her know that if she didn't please him, there would be other women around him who would please her.
In a blink of an eye, a quarter of an hour passed and the dining table was still empty.
Xiao Yichen sent a maid to check the kitchen, but the maid never came back.
In the blink of an eye, half an hour passed. Ji Yuqing held her rumbling stomach and said, "My Lord, why hasn't my sister prepared breakfast yet? It's been so long."
Xiao Yichen's patience was exhausted, and he stood up to question the culprit. The next moment, Mo Xiang came over holding a big longevity peach, shocking everyone.
Ji Yuqing blinked, "Oh my god, am I seeing right? That's a longevity peach!"
Zi Su said, "There's nothing wrong with giving birthday peaches."
Xiao Yichen's mouth twitched, "Why do I feel like I'm celebrating my 70th birthday?"
According to the local custom, when an elderly person has a birthday, his children will give him longevity peaches to wish him health, longevity and happiness. In the old days, people believed that eating longevity peaches would make the elderly younger and live longer.
Why do peaches play such an important role in birthday celebrations? This may be related to people's belief in peach trees and the legend of the Queen Mother of the West. The "Shenyijing" records: "In the east, there is a tree that is fifty feet high and is called peach. Its fruit is three feet and three inches in diameter. If you eat it with the kernel, it will prolong your life."
Mo Xiang saw Xiao Yichen's unpredictable expression from afar, and her heart trembled. She was so worried that the prince would throw her out with both her and the peach...
Mo Xiang: Master, you can’t cheat me!
In this tense atmosphere, Ji Lingxue, who had disappeared all morning, came out, holding a bowl of longevity noodles and smiling, "My Lord, happy birthday!"
Xiao Yichen's face was dark at the moment. It was understandable that Ji Lingxue gave him longevity noodles, but what was the meaning of giving him longevity peaches? Was it a disguised way of saying that he was old
Pointing at the birthday peach, Xiao Yichen gritted his teeth and said, "You worked hard all morning just to make this for me?"
Ji Lingxue blinked, "Yes, this is the new cake I learned to make. It came from Dayan. It's delicious. Your Highness, have you ever eaten cake?"
Xiao Yichen took a deep breath and told himself not to be angry. After hearing Ji Lingxue say the word cake, his anger subsided by half.
Xiao Yichen asked: "What cake?" It was obviously a birthday peach.
Ji Lingxue put down her bowl and chopsticks, stretched out a finger to dip it on the longevity peach, smeared the white cream on Xiao Yichen's face, and said with a smile, "This is called cream. I have been learning it for a long time and finally succeeded. I am sorry to have kept you waiting for a long time, Your Highness." As she spoke, she giggled.
Xiao Yichen stretched out his fingers to wipe off the cream on his cheek and put it in his mouth to taste it. Half of his remaining anger was extinguished.
Xiao Yichen: Since this cake is quite delicious, I will forgive you for leaving me behind yesterday.
Ji Yuqing blinked and saw that Xiao Yichen's brows were relaxed and he looked like he was enjoying the birthday peach. She felt itchy in her heart and wanted to taste the birthday peach herself.
Xiao Yichen coughed and said, "Why are you all standing? Sit down and eat together..."
Ji Lingxue winked at Mo Xiang, and her eyes seemed to say: What do you think? This princess said that the prince will not be angry.
Mo Xiang: Princess, I am really worried about you.
The birthday peach cake was served on the table, and Zi Su and Ji Yuqing looked at each other.
Ji Lingxue handed a knife to Xiao Yichen and said, "Today is the birthday boy, so I'll leave this birthday peach to you, Prince."
Xiao Yichen took the knife and swung it. Ji Yuqing felt a chill on her cheek. She raised her hand to wipe it. It was fruit juice that splashed on her face.
Xiao Yichen put away the knife. There was a piece of cream cake on each of the empty plates in front of him, and the big birthday peach in the middle had its top cut off, revealing a center full of fruits: apple slices, grapes, and oranges, arranged in a beautiful pattern.
Zi Su opened her mouth in surprise, while Ji Yuqing looked jealous.
Xiao Yichen looked at Ji Lingxue and said, "This gift from the princess is very thoughtful. I like it very much."
Ji Yuqing felt lost. She originally thought that her gift was the warmest. Her winter boots were soft and her belt was made of the finest silk, but it was still not as good as Ji Lingxue's birthday peach.
Ji Lingxue pushed the longevity noodles in front of Xiao Yichen and said, "Your Highness, this is the longevity noodles I made especially for you. One bowl, one noodle. You can't finish it all."
Xiao Yichen smiled and nodded, picked up his chopsticks and started eating noodles, complaining in his heart: Why is this noodle so long...
After breakfast, Xiao Yichen took out three red envelopes as rewards, and Ji Lingxue took the biggest one.
Ji Yuqing took the thicker one. She walked to Ji Lingxue and said with a smile, "Sister is really smart. She was able to make such a special birthday peach cake to please the prince."
Ji Lingxue smiled, "My sister's hands are more skillful than mine. The belt on the prince is made of extraordinary material. It's obvious that a lot of thought went into it."
As the two women were complimenting each other, Xiao Yichen suddenly took off his boots and said, "These shoes... why are they so uncomfortable..."
Ji Yuqing was startled and turned to look at Xiao Yichen, only to see him holding the boot in one hand and reaching inside with the other. After a moment, he took out a small paper figure.
Ji Yuqing's face turned pale. She quickly walked to Xiao Yichen, picked up the paper figure and said, "Step on the villain, step on the princess... Your Majesty, how could this piece of paper be in the shoes I made? Your Majesty, you have to believe me, I didn't put this paper figure there... Someone must be trying to frame me..."
Ji Yuqing felt more and more aggrieved as she spoke, tears falling down her face. She grabbed Xiao Yichen's sleeve and begged.
"Ji Yuqing, why are you doing this?" Xiao Yichen looked unhappy. The witchcraft he hated the most actually happened to him. Ever since Ji Yuqing stole the map of the palace, he became more and more disgusted with Ji Yuqing.
Xiao Yichen pulled out his sleeve that was being pulled by Ji Yuqing and asked, "You have always been jealous of Xue'er, haven't you? But why do you use these means to curse her? She is your sister and my princess?"
"I didn't, Your Majesty..." Ji Yuqing's eyes were filled with tears.
Xiao Yichen ordered, "Come here, ask the concubine to go to the ancestral hall to reflect on her mistakes and copy the female precepts a hundred times. She is not allowed to come out until she has finished writing!"
Ji Yuqing turned around and glared at Zi Su fiercely. Was she framing her? Why hadn't she noticed this woman's thoughts before
Ji Yuqing was taken away, and Zi Su trembled with fear at the look in Ji Yuqing's eyes just now.
Ji Lingxue just watched without saying a word.
Xiao Yichen burned the paper figurine in front of Ji Lingxue, took Ji Lingxue's hand and said, "Xue'er, I will not let anyone bully you again."
Ji Lingxue smiled and showed a big heart, "Your Highness, calm down. If you don't believe these, then nothing will happen. I don't care about them."
Xiao Yichen embraced Ji Lingxue in his arms, "Xue'er, I will protect you!"
(End of this chapter)