Chapter 060: Mother's Birthday

July 15.
```htmlTo be honest, Liu Hanxi was still a bit nervous about meeting her husband, whom she had been married to for nearly six months but had never met, especially since she also felt guilty and anxious.
"He's not a good guy either!" Liu Hanxi once again steeled herself before setting off.```
Today, she changed into a palace dress in lotus pink and lilac, embroidered with apricot blossoms. Jing-niang styled her hair in a lily bun and inserted golden jingling hairpins on both sides. It was splendid yet elegant.
She responded to Noble Consort Hui's invitation early in the morning, so after having breakfast, she set off.
The Imperial Concubine Hui had been waiting early in the morning at the palace gate, of course, not for Liu Hanxi. But she saw Liu Hanxi first. The two decided to have a light meal at noon, and the Emperor would come to dinner in the evening, but they had no idea when Prince Zhen would return.
There are quite a few people who come to give gifts, but Huifei only kept them for tea and did not keep anyone for dinner, as she was solely focused on having a real reunion dinner with her husband and child, where no outsiders were present.
By the afternoon, taking advantage of the fatigue, he declined all guests.
After finishing the tasks in the front hall, Chu Tianyu was also worried about Concubine Hui and arrived early. Every year he sent gifts, and every year Concubine Hui received them without personally expressing her thanks, perhaps she no longer liked them. This year, however, he put in some effort, thanks to Liu Huanxi's early reminder.
Seeing him come, Liu Hanxi wisely retreated to the kitchen to make a birthday cake.
“What interesting thing did Xi'er bring you?” Chu Tianyu asked.
“This.” Empress Hui pointed at a row of nine cylindrical objects on the table.
“What is this used for?” Chu Tianyu picked it up to take a look, only knowing it was made of wood, painted with colorful lacquer, and decorated with gold, making it quite exquisite.
Empress Hui picked up one of them and gently twisted it, causing the wooden cylinder to rise and reveal a section of red paste.
Chu Tianyu shook his head, indicating that he still didn't know what it was.
Empress Hui picked up a small hand mirror made of bronze from the table, and applied the rising red balm to her lips.
“Lip balm?!” Chu Tianyu mimicked the way Empress Hui opened a tube, twisting it open to find a pink shade—so the colors varied.
“Xier made nine shades, saying they match the different colors of my clothes,” Empress Hui smiled and said.
“She is truly thoughtful; I wonder how much time she spent making this!” Chu Tianyu sat down beside Huifei and took out a delicate wooden box.
It looked like it contained jewelry or something similar. Huifei smiled; he might think that the gift most desired by women is jewelry. For the past ten years, on her birthday each year, it had basically been jewelry—either hairpins or bracelets, or at the very least, jade and gold ornaments. They were all nice things, but she didn't lack for them.
This year, at least the person has arrived, so it can be considered an improvement. The favored concubine thought this way, and thus had no high expectations as she opened the box to take a look.
As soon as she opened it, she was stunned and then her eyes turned red.
The box doesn't contain anything precious; it's just a box of walnuts.
Hui Fei knew that these were not ordinary walnuts; they were from the walnut tree where the two shared their feelings on the border.
“That day I was even hit on the head by a rotten walnut…” Chu Tianyu laughed as he touched his head, as if it still hurt. On that day, when he was hit, he looked up to see that he had leaned against a walnut tree, and he hurried to shield Hui Fei from the blow.
Lady Hui also laughed, recalling the time they had stolen walnuts from someone.
“It's just the right season, so I had someone fetch some. The old man is still alive and remembers us; he didn't want to take money and said we should come by ourselves next year and eat our fill.” Chu Tianyu took out a walnut, cracked it open, and held the meat up to Lady Hui's mouth.
Hui Fei bit into it and smiled, saying, "This is the best birthday gift I've ever received in my life."
"As long as you know, that's enough. Just don’t let Xi'er find out; she would get jealous," Chu Tianyu said as he pulled her closer.
```htmlConcubine Hui laughed like a young girl, as if she had returned to that day.
“Feng'er, is he not here yet?” Chu Tianyu couldn't help but furrow his brows.
“He’s probably caught up with something and will be late. Shall we wait for him to eat together as a family? If you’re hungry, I can get you something to eat,” Concubine Hui said awkwardly, looking at Chu Tianyu.```
“Okay, today you are the boss; whatever you say goes.” Chu Tianyu quickly agreed, fearing she might get upset.
Until it got dark, they didn't see anyone.
To avoid boredom, Liu Hanxi had more lights set up in the courtyard and hung watermelons on the tree, letting everyone take turns blindfolded to hit the watermelons for fun.
At the very beginning, there was a eunuch who waved a stick for a long time, but in the end, his eyes went blurry, and he ran off to one side without realizing it. While swinging the stick, he ended up heading into the flower bushes, which caused everyone to burst into laughter.
Chu Tianyu and Concubine Hui were enjoying the breeze in the corridor and couldn't help but laugh. Chu Tianyu promised ten taels of silver; whoever hits it wins, which made everyone even more enthusiastic.
His personal guard considered himself quite skilled in martial arts and wanted to cheat. He tossed the watermelon up, attempting to rely on his hearing to locate it, but was seen through by Liu Huanxi. She quietly stepped forward and steadied the watermelon, leaving the guard just as disoriented as the others.
“Xi'er, don't laugh at others; you should give it a try too!” Chu Tianyu called out.
Liuhanshi then went up to give it a try. She blindfolded herself, and to move in a straight line, she extended her arm to touch the ground with a stick, using her toes to find the stick, and slowly moved forward step by step.
You can't say it's not good; although it's not very straightforward, it's much better than others. Seeing that the person was about to pass the watermelon, the servant panicked and hurriedly called to stop.
“Ah! We're almost there!” Liu Huanxi quickly stopped and swung the stick, but still managed to hit nothing. She tried to take a few more steps forward, but unexpectedly tripped over her own skirt and was about to fall when someone in front caught her.
柳寒兮撞进那人的怀里，就听大家都先是安静下来，接着是一声声：“拜见瑨王殿下。”
“Are you okay?” the Prince Yan asked gently.
Liuhannxi heard this voice, dropped the stick in her hand to the ground, and then clenched her fist. She pushed Wang Zhen aside, took a step back, raised her head, and removed the cloth covering her eyes.
The person in front of me, so unfamiliar yet so familiar.
The one before me is dressed in scarlet finery, wearing a golden crown and adorned with purple tassels and a qilin jade, truly as the world says, a prince of extraordinary presence.
But the usually cold and stern expression now held much more warmth, with a glimmer of joy rippling in the deep pools of his eyes.
Liuhuanxi, however, was different, her face showing sorrow and astonishment.
“Xi'er,” he called again.
Liu Hanxi had not answered; she was still reeling from shock. Until behind her, Huifei called out, "Feng'er is back."
"You are... the Prince of Zhen... Chu Qingfeng..." Liu Hanxi gritted her teeth and asked word by word.
“Xi'er... I... am.” Hua Qingkong wanted to reach out and hold her hand.
Liuhanshi chuckled softly and took a step back.
She said with a smile, “Chu Qingfeng, haha, Hua Qingkong, haha.” She shook her head.
Hui Fei wanted to walk over, but was held back by Chu Tianyu, who wanted the two to talk for a while.
However, Liu Hanxi took a step back, and with a sweep of her skirt, she knelt heavily on the ground, paying great respect to Hua Qingkong and loudly proclaimed: "Your servant! Salutes! Your Highness, the King of Zhen!"
When she lifted her face again, it was already tear-streaked, her teeth clenched tightly.
She hated deception the most. Her mother, a dancer, gave up her original family and career for her father, only to be deceived by him, ending up with nothing and living in despair.
Hua Qingkong has already touched her bottom line.