Transmigrated As My Former Uncle's Sweetheart

It was no wonder that Long Yang was the Emperor. His actions were so elegant and pleasing to the eye, even when just having a meal of noodles.

It was as if he were feasting on fine nectar and delicious wine, not a mere bowl of noodles.

Such nobility and elegance, with no loss of dignity.

Lu Liangwei’s gaze drifted down, involuntarily alighting on Long Yang’s slender fingers holding the chopsticks and on the hand holding those chopsticks…

Lu Liangwei pulled herself together and immediately suppressed any interest in continuing to size him up further. Instead, she began to feel somewhat frustrated and unsettled.

She had just used that pair of chopsticks. Even though they had only touched her lips slightly, she still had used them, after all.

Lu Liangwei’s mind was a little confused by this.

However, her thoughts shifted, and she remembered that when they had first met, she had given the Emperor mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. The memory helped in forcing her to calm down.

She wanted to return to her seat, but without the Emperor’s permission, she did not dare withdraw on her own accord.

She stood anxiously next to the imperial throne, hoping that the Emperor would quickly finish his meal so she could return to her place without further delay.

As for the noodles, Long Yang had actually finished half the bowl, stopping only when the pain in his body had lessened.

He lifted his head only to notice the entire hall of officials and subordinates staring at him.

He set the chopsticks down, and the corners of his mouth curved up slightly. Indicating the soup bowl in front of him, he commented, “Second Miss Lu’s culinary skills are indeed incredible. Even though this is a bowl of ordinary longevity noodles, but they tasted like the noodles my Royal Grandmother used to make for me when I was younger.”

As he said this, he gave an emotional sigh, as if yearning for something. Only after that did he turn toward Lu Liangwei and commend her, “Second Miss Lu, this birthday gift of yours is indeed one of a kind. I like it very much.”

The Emperor’s single comment about liking Lu Liangwei’s present startled the entire hall of officials and subordinates into showing shocked expressions on their faces.

Earlier, when the Crown Prince had presented the Emperor with the folding fan inscribed with the words of the great scholar Mo Chen, the Emperor had said he liked it. Now, with a mere bowl of longevity noodles, this Second Miss Lu had managed to get the Emperor to say the words, “I like it very much.”

Everyone in the hall was astonished and in shock. They could not help giving Lu Liangwei a few more glances.

Everyone had fully expected her to be chastised and ostracized by the Emperor, but she had instead managed to earn his praise.

At that moment, everyone’s opinion of Lu Liangwei changed slightly.

What method had Lu Liangwei used?

In her heart, though, Lu Liangwei felt this praise was irrelevant.

However, she did not really dare to express this thought outwardly and instead had to pretend to be surprised and delighted.

She quickly bowed. “Your humble servant is the one who did not know my place when presenting this gift. I am thankful that Your Majesty did not reject it!”

Long Yang’s gaze lingered on her for a while, after which the corners of his mouth quirked up very slightly. “I am very happy with Second Miss Lu’s birthday gift. Zhao Qian, as a reward, bestow upon Second Miss Lu that string of pearls that the Southern Seas recently presented to us as a tribute.”

Zhao Qian was astonished. He had truly not expected that Second Miss Lu’s ordinary bowl of noodles would earn his master’s praise along with such a valuable gift.

This string of pearls was no ordinary string of pearls. They could not be purchased in any of the markets, and there was only one string of such pearls in the entire Great Shang Kingdom. It was not difficult to imagine how rare and valuable they were!

“Yes, your servant will retrieve them immediately.” Zhao Qian suppressed the astonishment he felt and immediately hurried to carry out his orders.

All those present in the hall were already thoroughly shocked when they heard the Emperor praising Lu Liangwei. However, they had never expected the Emperor to bestow upon Lu Liangwei the Southern Seas’ tribute of pearls.

At that moment, the expressions on the faces of everyone in the hall were truly splendid to behold.

This was especially so for the womenfolk. They were filled with envy and jealousy.

What sort of dumb luck did Lu Liangwei possess?

Not only had she earned the Emperor’s fulsome words of praise, but she had also been rewarded with an exceptionally valuable treasure.

They had wanted to see Lu Liangwei becoming the joke of the day, but instead, Lu Liangwei had ended up receiving a generous reward from the Emperor.

Long Chi and Lu Yunshuang were shocked as well.

They knew better than anyone how rare and valuable that string of tribute pearls from the Southern Seas was.

Lu Yunshuang had been present when the ambassador from the Southern Seas had presented the tribute. Even though she only managed to glimpse the pearls from afar, she had really fallen for them.

She had started plotting, thinking about when she would be able to get her hands on those pearls. However, before she had even been able to think of a plan, Lu Liangwei had beaten her to the punch and snatched them from her.

Furthermore, Lu Liangwei had done nothing at all except present a shabby bowl of noodles, and now…

The Emperor had liked the folding fan with Mo Chen’s calligraphy that had been presented by the Crown Prince, yet he had not bestowed anything upon him. Yet one wretched bowl of noodles from Lu Liangwei and the Emperor not only commended her but had also bestowed the valuable Southern Seas pearls upon her.

No matter how Lu Yunshuang thought about it, how could she reconcile herself with this?

If Lu Liangwei had not suddenly presented her gift, the Emperor might have given that string of Southern Seas pearls to the Crown Prince after the banquet.

If the pearls had been gifted to the Crown Prince, he would definitely have given them to her in turn, but now…

Lu Yunshuang’s eyes narrowed. The jealousy and hate she felt towards Lu Liangwei intensified even further.