Deep Palace Pet Peach Blossom Flawless

Concubine Jiang stood up first. She bowed gracefully to the Emperor and the Empress Dowager before moving lightly to the center of the hall. The brush and ink had already been prepared and were being respectfully presented by a palace maid beside the scroll.

Lan Qingwu looked at the huge scroll and saw a huge word "Shou" written in a flamboyant style in the center of the top. The word was so majestic and powerful that it could be seen through the back of the paper. It was obvious that it was written by an emperor.

The most curious thing was the calligraphy of the character for "Shou." Civil and military officials discussed the calligraphy style at the banquet, wondering if it was a new way to write it. Lan Qingwu, however, noticed at a glance that the character wasn't fully written; only half of it was written vertically. While it was clearly a character for "Shou," something seemed off. This was a game of guessing characters Lan Qingwu and Yun Heng often played when they were at the border.

Lan Qingwu raised his head to look at the emperor above him, and Emperor Shenwu's gaze happened to be looking over at him. In just an instant, Lan Qingwu understood what the emperor meant. He wanted to complete the huge longevity character himself.

Lan Qingwu lowered his head slightly. Should he complete the longevity character as the emperor wished? That would be too much of a show. But if he didn't complete the longevity character, it wouldn't seem to reflect well on Empress Dowager Li, and it would cause trouble between him and the emperor.

In the blink of an eye, the three concubines had celebrated their birthdays. They simply followed the rules and wrote three small characters for longevity under the emperor's huge character for longevity, each with a different font.

After the three concubines, it was the three noble concubines, Sun Guipin, Yang Guipin, Liang Guipin, and Wen Guipin. They sat in their seats and stared at the huge longevity character with a frown on their faces. They always felt that this longevity character was a little strange, but they couldn't figure it out.

After the third noble concubine celebrated her birthday, Concubine Wen walked into the hall. After hesitating for a while, she finally wrote a beautiful Yan style character for longevity under the emperor's huge character. The concubines below couldn't help but exclaim in admiration: "This calligraphy still has to be from the best master in the literary world. Look at the longevity written by Concubine Wen, it's really beautiful!"

Emperor Shenwu and Empress Dowager Li were both at the top of the table. After Concubine Wen finished, a palace maid turned the scroll over for the Emperor and Empress Dowager to review. Emperor Shenwu remained calm, but Empress Dowager Li couldn't help but praise him, "Good! Good! Not bad!"

Lan Qingwu slowly stood up and walked to the front of the hall. She secretly looked up at the emperor again, only to see that Emperor Shenwu was staring at her with a deep and emotionless gaze. Lan Qingwu did not dare to go against the emperor's wishes. She ordered the palace maid holding a large brush to come forward. She picked up the brush with her bare hands, dipped it in ink, and wrote it in one go. The emperor's huge longevity character was finally completed by Lan Qingwu's hands.

The concubines, civil officials, and military officials in the palace fell silent for a moment. Concubine Wen's eyes widened in disbelief. Impossible! This was actually happening! She should have thought of this long ago! But how did Concubine Yi, the daughter of a military man, see through this? And how did she manage to blend in with the emperor's majestic calligraphy without a single flaw?

She had actually lost to a military commander's daughter in the very place where she was most proud and proud? Could it be that the emperor had informed Yu Yipin in advance? The more Wenpin thought about it, the more she felt that this was the case.

Concubine Jiang, Concubine Chen, and Concubine Wan all found it incredible. Lin Fangsheng, the Hanlin scholar known for his bookworm status among the civil and military officials, slapped his thigh and said, "So that's how it is! So that's how it is! I was wondering why this character for longevity was so unique! So that's how it is! I admire you so much! I truly admire you!"

The civil and military officials were discussing their thoughts. Empress Dowager Li was at the head of the table, confused. Two palace maids quickly turned the scroll. When Empress Dowager Li saw the huge, complete character for "longevity," she couldn't help but smile. "Concubine Yi has a new birthday! What a blessing!"

Emperor Shenwu was also delighted: "Mother, Concubine Yi understands my heart best! I wanted to personally celebrate this grand birthday for you to show my filial piety, but Concubine Yi got there first!"

Empress Dowager Li couldn't help but smile again, and she had been laughing non-stop today.

Lan Qingwu, who had already returned to his seat, hurriedly stood up and saluted again. Concubine Wen suppressed her rising anger and jealousy. Did she understand the emperor's heart best? Had she gotten there first? The emperor was so partial, he informed Concubine Yi in advance. Who knew how long Concubine Yi had practiced privately before she could write such a decent handwriting?

Afterwards, the concubines in the six palaces, royal relatives, and civil and military officials all added longevity characters for Empress Dowager Yushou. In the end, the scroll was filled with longevity characters, which meant that Empress Dowager Yushou would have a long and blessed life and be healthy and peaceful!

The birthday banquet that followed was another celebration with singing and dancing, clinking glasses, and drinking happily. Prince Ding even made Queen Mother Li laugh at the banquet.

Prince Kang, seated at the men's table, drank one glass after another, his eyes shrouded in a deep haze. He had previously been imprisoned in the Imperial Clan House. Although he had no worries about food and drink, he was still treated like a prisoner. Should he ask Prince Ding to plead for mercy again? Princess Kang didn't even glance at him, only focusing on her own food.

The Holy Birthday Festival is different from the Longevity Festival. Only on this day is the whole country celebrating. After lunch, Emperor Shenwu arranged for Empress Dowager Li to watch plays, acrobatic performances and other performances. In the evening, fireworks were set off, making the whole day lively.

Lan Qingwu felt very tired after a day of work and didn't know how others managed to hold on. She lay on the bed, half asleep and half awake when she felt someone hugging her. She buried herself in that familiar embrace without any hesitation.

Before dawn, Lan Qingwu was awakened by the Emperor Shenwu. She opened her eyes drowsily and said, "Your Majesty?"

Emperor Shenwu stroked Lan Qingwu's cheek and asked, "Are you exhausted?"

Lan Qingwu regained consciousness and shook his head gently, then hesitated and asked, "Your Majesty, did you deliberately let Ruo Ruo write?"

Emperor Shenwu chuckled: "I just remembered that weakly wrote half a word to tease me."

"So, Your Majesty, are you going to take revenge?"

"Yes, revenge is not over yet." After saying that, Emperor Shenwu pressed Lan Qingwu under him and leaned over to kiss her lips. Lan Qingwu endured the emperor's crazy actions and gradually became confused and lost.

When the emperor stood up, he whispered in the ear of the comatose Lan Qingwu: "Ruoruo, in two days, I will take you out of the palace to go shopping."

Lan Qingwu heard it vaguely while he was asleep, but when he woke up, he didn't know whether it was true or not.

The more Concubine Wen thought about it, the angrier she became. "Didn't you say Concubine Yi was nothing special? Your Majesty, why did you do this?"

One day, Concubine Wen finally intercepted the emperor's dragon chariot.

Emperor Shenwu came out of the Cining Palace and was about to return to the Qianzheng Palace when he heard Concubine Wen's greeting. He opened his eyes, which were closed for rest, and said nonchalantly, "What's the matter?"

Wenpin, who was kneeling on the ground, raised her head slightly and said, "Your Majesty, the Third Princess hasn't seen her father for a long time. Can you go and see her?"

However, Emperor Shenwu thought that the baby, who was just born not long ago, should be taken care of by the palace servants. He had his own schedule for taking care of the princes and princesses, and he was not used to having it interrupted by any concubine.

"I'll go when I have time."

Wenpin looked at the emperor's angular face and knew that this was just a perfunctory excuse. She felt a chill in her heart: "Your Majesty, I saw that your writing of the word 'longevity' is unique and I am itching to learn how to write it myself. I would like to ask you to teach me, or - I can also ask Yipin for advice."