Although they said they were congratulating Huangfu Yuer on her birthday, from beginning to end, the three of them were still reminiscing about the past. "They talked about childhood and childhood, and there were two of them. While they talked about youth, they talked about the flowers they saw every day when they were still young. They talked about people that Bai Qianzhang wasn't familiar with, such as the late emperor and the late empress, the Monarch Huangfu, the master of the west wing, Yuchi Wenyu...
Princess Chu, who was supposed to eat a cow, felt a little... Not a taste.
Her husband was sitting across from her, and when she looked up, he could see her. He would usually treat her to a meal with a big pile of food on his plate. He would even personally feed it to her and look at her affectionately with a doting gaze. Actually, he didn't put on a straight face or say any bad words to her. It was just that this slight difference made her world feel as if it was completely different from before.
The bitterness in her heart continued. It seemed that she wouldn't be able to continue eating this meal.
The crown prince sensed her presence and called out to her, "What? Are the meals here not to Princess Hua-Yang's liking?"
Bai Qianfan gave a perfunctory smile, "I ate something here, so I'm not hungry." In the light, Morong Gan seemed to be looking at her.
Bai Qianfan immediately looked over, her eyes meeting eyes. There was grievance and resentment, but his eyes were calm, she picked up a set of chopsticks and placed it on her plate, "You don't eat it, you have to eat it even if you are the child in your stomach."
At that moment, Bai Qianfan felt so wronged that she was about to cry. In his heart, there was only a child, was there no more her? Can't you see how wronged she is?
The laurel lightly poked her in the back. Before coming here, she urged her to be more proactive and not lose her face.
Bai Qianfan forced a smile, "Thank you, Your Highness."
"You're welcome."
The Crown Prince said, "Third Brother, give tonight's birthday a bowl of food. You know what Pearl likes to eat."
Morong Gan followed his instructions and put a pair of chopsticks inside Huangfu Zhuer's plate, "You loved to eat this when you were young, don't you know if your taste has changed?"
Huangfu Zhuer's smile was like a flower, "I am a person who reminisced about old times. I used to like to eat what I liked to eat before, but now I still like to eat.
The crown prince laughed, "Not only do I remember, third brother also remember that when we grew up together, there were some things that cannot be forgotten even if we don't have to memorize them intentionally. Just like how I always remember Wenyu's superb archery skills, his third brother always got the first place in every year's competition, but his mount was always suppressed by Wenyu. One year when third brother was not convinced, Wenyu was unwilling to compete, and the two of them even got into a fight."
"He shot me with an arrow, and Pearl blocked it." Morong Gan looked at Huangfu Zhuer, "I didn't expect you to be so brave back then."
"I was afraid that he would shoot you, so I rushed up without thinking too much."
"Fortunately, Zhu'er blocked it, otherwise, the arrow would have pierced your chest. If not for Royal Father's pleas, Wenyu would have been beaten to death by his father."
Huangfu Zhuer laughed and said, "Amongst the lot of you, Big Brother Wenyu's temper is the most impulsive, he fought with Third Brother the most."
Bai Qianfan had thought that since Morong Gan had helped her with the food, she would more or less take care of her a little. Unexpectedly, with just one word from the crown prince, they continued to reminisce about the past. However, when she heard this, she more or less understood that Huangfu Zhuer had saved his life before.
"At that time, everyone was terrified, and called for the royal physician to treat us," The crown prince narrowed his eyes and recalled, "There was a barb on the arrow, and when we pulled the arrow out, Pearl was in so much pain that she couldn't even cry out anymore. We were all standing outside, and Wenyu had slapped himself, while third brother's face was pale and trembling continuously, I was also extremely scared, and Little Six was wiping his tears on the side." He paused, then suddenly laughed, "He must be old. Now that I think about it, I can clearly remember the details."
"If Crown Prince Brother gets old, then I won't miss this birthdate of mine." Huangfu Zhuer said in displeasure: "Crown Prince Brother is in the prime of spring and autumn, you are not allowed to say such words, but for me, after the birthday, I will be one year older, but it doesn't matter."
"Pearl will never be old in the eyes of her brothers." The Crown Prince raised his glass and said, "Come, third brother and I will toast you. You will always be young and beautiful."
"Thank you Crown Prince Brother, Third Brother," Huangfu Zhuer lifted her wine cup and took a sip. She did not drink much, but the thin scent of alcohol still emanated from her body, and her eyes were watery as it carried a hint of haziness. The rouge on her face became even more beautiful, and in Bai Qianfan's eyes, it looked like she had never been enchanting before.
She touched her own face. Recently, she had grown a lot. Now that she no longer had a pointy oval face and had become a bun face, coupled with her listless eyes, she looked even more stupid.
The longer she stayed with Huangfu Zhuer, the more she felt ashamed of herself. She was almost a mother now, but she still couldn't learn how to be dignified and refined. Fortunately, Morong Gan didn't hate her and was willing to let her off, but compared to the truth occasionally, she was still very disappointed.
Seeing that the crown prince had already filled up Morong Gan's wine cup, she suddenly spoke out, "My prince, drink less, you have drank too much already."
Morong Gan was about to hold up his wine cup, but upon hearing this, he couldn't help but be startled, and looked at her.
The Crown Prince laughed, "Princess, please be at ease. Third Brother's alcohol capacity is very good. This wine will not get drunk."
"Didn't you get drunk last time?" Bai Qianfan smiled, and said in a fawning tone, "My prince, drink less, getting drunk will only harm your health."
Morong Gan did not utter a word, lowering his eyebrows as though he was thinking about something, Huangfu Zhuer laughed: "It's my birthday, wangfei, do not ruin the mood, it's rare for us to get together, if you want to drink, you can drink to your heart's content."
Bai Qianfan did not reply, she only stared at Morong Gan, and her heart suddenly skipped a beat. After a while, Morong Gan raised his hand and slowly held onto the cup, the small jade wine cup turned a few rounds in his hands, and in the end, he put it down, and laughed: "That's enough, we don't drink, let's drink tea."
"That's fine too," the Crown Prince laughed, "I don't have anything else here, but I do have some good tea. It's rare for it to be so neat and tidy, let me make some tea for everyone."
Morong Gan and Huangfu Zhuer followed him to the side room. Bai Qianfan also stood up and was lightly pinched by Yue Gui on his arm, giving her an encouraging look.
Bai Qianfan took a deep breath, nodded to her, and followed her.
The crown prince himself had prepared a tea set. Huangfu Zhuer helped out by the side, while Morong Gan stood by the Bogu shelf with his hands hanging down to look at the antique porcelain shelves.
Bai Qianfan walked over gently and stood next to him. Without saying a word, she pressed a finger into his palm under her wide sleeves. Previously, she had caused him to become angry without a reason, but once she did that to him, he would quietly hold her hand and smile at her.
But today, that hand was unmoved. It indifferently hung there, and didn't hold her hand.