After being reborn, the empress only wanted to seduce the emperor and seize the empress's posit

Chapter 29 Birthday
Before they knew it, it was Lu Jingning's seventeenth birthday.

"Congratulations on your birthday, Your Highness! May everything go well for you!"

Xia'er led several palace servants to congratulate Lu Jingning on his birthday.

Lu Jingning's face broke into a bright smile, his eyes sparkling with joy: "Reward!"

Everyone now had a heavy reward in their hands.

Chun'er walked over gracefully, steadily carrying a steaming bowl of longevity noodles: "My lady, of course you have to eat a bowl of longevity noodles on your birthday!"

Lu Jingning looked at the bowl of longevity noodles on the table, parted her lips slightly, and smiled as she placed a silver ingot in Chun'er's hand: "Take this and buy something you like."

Chun'er accepted the gift with great joy, her face beaming with sincere blessings: "Thank you for your generous gift, Your Highness. May Your Highness enjoy peace, health, and longevity every year."

As the head of the palace, Consort Shu also hurriedly sent Dieyi to deliver her birthday gift.

"Congratulations on Consort Lu's birthday! My lady specially sent me to deliver a gift."

Lu Jingning quickly instructed Chun'er to accept the gift, saying, "Please thank Consort Shu on my behalf."

Dieyi curtsied and said with a smile, "This servant will certainly convey your words to my mistress. This servant will not disturb you any longer, this servant takes her leave."

After saying this, Dieyi bowed and withdrew.

Yangxindian

Xiao Jingheng always remembered Lu Jingning's birthday. He put down the memorials he was almost finished reviewing, took a sip of tea, and then instructed, "Eunuch Zhao, send the two sets of clothes that I had carefully sewn a few days ago to Chengqian Palace, and tell Zhaozhao to wait for me."

"Yes, Your Majesty, please rest assured, this servant will go immediately." Upon hearing this, Eunuch Zhao immediately bowed and accepted the order, walking steadily towards the Imperial Wardrobe.

Not long after Eunuch Zhao left, Xiao Jingheng summoned Zhou Shuo, the commander of the Imperial Guards.

Upon hearing Xiao Jingheng's voice, Zhou Shuo immediately stepped forward.

Xiao Jingheng's gaze was piercing as he asked authoritatively, "Zhou Shuo, how are the matters I asked you to prepare progressing?"

Zhou Shuo stood tall and straight, kneeling on one knee with his hands clasped in a fist, his eyes shining with determination: "Your Majesty, everything is ready. I have selected the best of my trusted men. They are agile and loyal, and will surely protect Your Majesty and Consort Lu."

As he spoke, he gently raised his head, his eyes revealing an undeniable confidence.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingheng's lips curled into a satisfied smile, and he nodded slightly, his eyes sparkling with approval: "That's good. Remember, this matter must not be spread, understand?"

"Yes, Your Majesty understands," Zhou Shuo replied with certainty.

"Let's go down and make some preparations."

"Yes, Your Majesty"

On the other side, the head maid of the Imperial Wardrobe saw Eunuch Zhao arrive and immediately stepped forward to fawn over him, saying, "Isn't this Eunuch Zhao? What brings you here today?"

Eunuch Zhao fiddled with his whisk and chuckled, "Your Majesty, I've come to fetch Consort Lu's clothes."

"Eunuch Zhao's arrival is perfectly timed. We just finished this morning. It was personally ordered by the Emperor, and everyone is being very careful."

After she finished speaking, the head maid immediately ordered several palace maids to bring it over.

"Be careful," the head maid couldn't help but instruct.

Eunuch Zhao instructed the two young eunuchs behind him to take it, and said to the head maid, "Excellent, His Majesty will surely be delighted when he finds out."

"Respectfully seeing off Eunuch Zhao"

After passing through the winding palace corridors, Eunuch Zhao soon arrived in front of Chengqian Palace.

When Lu Jingning saw Eunuch Zhao arrive, she knew that the Emperor had come to deliver her birthday gift.

Eunuch Zhao still held some influence with the Emperor; bringing him to one's side would be like adding wings to a tiger. Lu Jingning took out some silver and personally handed it to Eunuch Zhao: "Please share in the good fortune, Eunuch."

Eunuch Zhao accepted the gift without showing any emotion and ordered someone to present the gift prepared by Xiao Jingheng: "Noble Lady Lu, this is a birthday gift personally prepared by His Majesty."

Lu Jingning opened the box on top, inside was a dazzling and gorgeous dress, embroidered with intricate and exquisite patterns that shimmered in the sunlight.

"What a beautiful dress!" Lu Jingning couldn't help but exclaim.

Seeing that Lu Jingning was very happy, Eunuch Zhao continued, "His Majesty said you should wait at Chengqian Palace; he will come later."

"Father-in-law, you've worked hard."

"This servant will now return to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to report back," said Eunuch Zhao with a hint of respect.

Lu Jingning instructed, "Please take your time, sir. Chun'er will see you off."

After saying that, she gently raised her hand, gesturing for Xia'er to come over and examine the gift box together.

Xia'er cleverly stepped forward, and Lu Jingning gently stroked the dazzling gown in his hand, his eyes sparkling with surprise.

Seeing that her mistress liked it very much, Xia'er suggested, "My mistress, would you like to see what's in the box below?"

"it is good"

Xia'er carefully opened the box below, and inside was a seemingly ordinary dress.

Lu Jingning was a little puzzled and reached out to gently touch the pattern on it.

She discovered that although the patterns were simple, they were elegant, with fine stitches, and every stitch and thread revealed the exquisite craftsmanship of the Imperial Clothing Bureau.

"My lady, this dress seems to have a fragrance," Xia'er suddenly noticed a faint scent.

Lu Jingning gently picked up the dress, brought it close to his nose, and could almost smell the faint fragrance of silk threads: "Truly..."

Xia'er said with envy, "The Emperor really dotes on you, even your birthday gift is so thoughtful."

Lu Jingning wore a gentle smile, her gaze still fixed on the dress in her hands, as if she could see Xiao Jingheng's shadow in it.

Just then, Chun'er came skipping back, her face beaming with joy: "My lady, I've already seen Eunuch Zhao off. He even thanked me for my reward."

As she spoke, Chun'er even imitated Eunuch Zhao bowing and thanking him, looking adorably naive.

The phrase "You little rascal" made Lu Jingning and Xia'er burst into laughter.

When Eunuch Zhao returned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, his steps were light and his face was adorned with a fawning smile.

"This servant greets Your Majesty."

Upon hearing Eunuch Zhao's voice, Xiao Jingheng gently put down his pen, his voice mild yet carrying an undeniable authority: "What did Consort Lu say?"

Eunuch Zhao stepped forward, bowed, and said with a fawning look in his eyes, "Your Majesty, Consort Lu was delighted with the gifts, especially the dress that Your Majesty personally selected. She absolutely loves it and says that Your Majesty is very thoughtful and dotes on her."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingheng's lips curled into a smug smile, his eyes gleaming with rare excitement. He said softly, "I'm going to leave the palace today."

Upon hearing this, Eunuch Zhao was so surprised he almost lost his composure, his eyes widening in disbelief: "Ah? Your Majesty, how can this be? It's too dangerous..."

Xiao Jingheng glanced at him, his eyes filled with a mixture of mockery and warning, and said, "I'm leaving the palace today. You stay here in the Hall of Mental Cultivation and don't let anyone know I'm leaving. Otherwise, your head will be..."

Eunuch Zhao stiffened, a bead of sweat forming on his forehead. He quickly knelt even lower, his voice trembling slightly yet unusually firm: "Yes, Your Majesty, this servant obeys. If anyone inquires about the Emperor's whereabouts, this servant will say that the Emperor went to Chengqian Palace."

After he finished speaking, he secretly glanced up and saw that Xiao Jingheng's expression had softened, which put his mind at ease.

(End of this chapter)