Crown Prince's Concubine [Completed]

C73. Kisses.

Chapter 73

After Concubine An's death, the people in the hunting ground were no longer in the mood for leisure. The Emperor ordered the return to the Imperial Palace and the preparations for Concubine An's funeral.

The Emperor and Empress, accompanied by the princes and princesses, returned to the palace. Li Wenjian and Zhao Heng took Li Nanxi to the Duke's Mansion to celebrate the old duke's birthday.

Sitting in the carriage, Li Nanxi leaned on Zhao Heng's lap and looked up at her. "For the old duke's birthday, what gift have you prepared?" She asked.

Zhao Heng was about to answer when Li Wenjian smoothly took over. "She doesn't need to prepare separately, I have prepared it," he said.

For the old duke's birthday, he naturally prepared a lavish gift, but since Zhao Heng was family, she didn't need to give one.

"That's a shame, the old duke won't be able to see your skills," Li Nanxi said happily, touching the velvet-covered hand warmer.

Zhao Heng smiled lightly.

In the evening, after several days of continuous snowfall, the snow finally stopped. The tiles were covered with thick white snow, and the melting snow dripped down the eaves and fell onto the luxurious carriage in front of the vermilion gate.

The attendants clearing the snow in front of the gate saw Li Wenjian's entourage and quickly leaned the brooms against the wall before hurrying inside to report.

In the main hall of the Duke's Mansion, Zhaoheng saw most of the duke's family members.

As she had expected, everyone in the Duke's Mansion was warm and gentle. She had not seen the duke during her previous rushed visit due to illness, but upon meeting him today, he was especially kind and friendly, holding her hand familiarly and speaking in a gentle tone.

"I knew you were a good child. No wonder Lang'er has been hiding you in the palace and not bringing you to see me," the old duke laughed.

Zhao Heng nodded towards Lian Zhou, who then presented a box to her.

Concealing a smile in her eyes, Zhao Heng opened the box with both hands and took out the crane cloak inside, presenting it to the old duke. "In the rush of time, I personally sewed this crane cloak for the old duke, wishing him good fortune, health, and longevity," she said.

The old duke unfolded the snow silk crane cloak, embroidered with the pattern of pine and crane, and edged with hundreds of tiny longevity characters in gold thread.

Despite his current status and access to rare treasures, the most precious gift was the thought behind it.

He couldn't stop smiling and said, "Zhao Heng, you have put in a lot of effort."

Zhao Heng said, "It's just that time was too rushed, so many places were not done meticulously enough. I hope you won't mind."

"I don't mind at all, I love it," the old duke said as he passed the cloak to a servant and instructed them to handle it carefully.

Meanwhile, Li Wenjian looked very puzzled.

He had seen her doing some small embroidery work in her free time before, some of which were the embroidered ribbons for that crane cloak, and some were hat brims adorned with fox fur.

Since he had never seen the finished products, he had thought they were small trinkets for Li Nanxi.

It turned out to be this magnificent crane cloak for the old duke.

The old duke, whose health was not good, couldn't sit for long and quickly showed signs of fatigue after a while.

Seeing his exhaustion, Zhao Heng stood up politely and said, "Old Duke, His Highness and I rushed back from the hunting ground and are a bit tired. We will come to pay our respects at Qingshan Residence later."