Lu Liangwei paused, then smiled and asked, “Would you dare to eat what I’ve eaten halfway?”

The others were about to reply when they suddenly felt an icy gaze sweep over them.

They shuddered in unison. “No, Your Highness.” With that, they took to their heels and fled the room.

Lu Liangwei arched an eyebrow and turned back to her cake, only to find the plate abruptly dragged away from her.

“Too full?” Long Yang glanced at her.

Lu Liangwei shook her head. “Not at all.” In a flash, she pulled the plate back to herself, dug out a spoonful of cake, and shoved it into her mouth.

Long Yang looked at her a little sullenly. “You made that cake for me. Why did you share it with them?”

Startled, Lu Liangwei swallowed her mouthful of cake and said innocently, “I thought you didn’t like sweet foods. Besides, birthday cakes are meant to be shared with others.”

“Not next time. I barely had enough before you shared it with them,” Long Yang said accusingly.

Lu Liangwei chuckled in amusement. “All right.” She then scooped a spoonful of cake and lifted it to his lips. “Open your mouth, Your Majesty.”

Long Yang did as he was told.

Seeing that he genuinely liked it, Lu Liangwei ended up feeding him the rest of the cake.

As a pregnant woman, she was not supposed to indulge in too many sweet foods. She had tasted all kinds of cakes back in the modern era—the cake she had baked today was actually downright plain in comparison—so she did not see cakes as some kind of rare luxury.

After they had bathed and gotten into bed, Long Yang took Lu Liangwei’s arm, placed it in his lap, and kneaded her muscles gently.

Lu Liangwei was taken aback—so the Emperor had found out, after all.

Long Yang felt a dull ache in his heart for her. “Don’t do such exhausting work anymore.”

Lu Liangwei leaned against him and said softly, “The work itself is actually not that tiring. It’s just that I’ve gotten more delicate since I got pregnant, and things have also become a bit inconvenient.”

She had had no idea what to give the Emperor—a person who had everything in the world—for his birthday, so she had ended up baking a cake.

Besides, compared to the gift he had given her on her birthday, this cake was hardly worth mentioning.

She fished out a wooden doll from a box at the head of the bed.

The doll resembled a girl, carved in her image. Clearly, the person who had sculpted this wooden doll had put a lot of effort into it.

Every chip and hack represented the sincerity of its maker.

It was the Emperor’s gift to her on her birthday.

That night, when the heat of their fervor was at its most extreme, the Emperor had suddenly given this to her.

She was very fond of it and would take it out to admire it every day.

“When you’re free, make me another doll in your image. Then I can place them side by side.”

Long Yang let out a low chuckle. “Silly girl, is something like that enough to make you happy? Can’t you tell that I’d given it to you in haste?” He had been unsatisfied with how this wooden doll had turned out, but he had had too little time to produce a better one, so he had reluctantly presented it to her on her birthday.

However, she liked it, much to his relief.

“As long as it’s from you, I’ll like it.” Lu Liangwei did not expose his lie and hugged the palm-sized wooden doll to her chest contentedly. “When you’re free, remember to make one that looks like you for me. You know what—make that my birthday gift next year! My next birthday is a year away, so you can take your time.”

“Very well,” Long Yang promised her and continued massaging her until her soreness was somewhat alleviated, before lying down with her in his arms.

…

Currently in the Li Mansion.

Madam Li tossed and turned sleeplessly in bed, the events that had taken place in the palace during the day replaying in her head, bitterness filling her heart.

Agitated by her movements, Li Wei growled, “Are you going to sleep or not?”

Madam Li snapped, “How can you even allow yourself to sleep? Tong’er’s your daughter too! Aren’t you worried about her future at all?”