Respecting his daughter's wishes, Prime Minister Lu didn't throw a grand celebration for Lu Yinxi's birthday this time. He only sent out two invitations.
One was for Feng Wan, who had visited the mansion a few days ago, and the other was for the second daughter, Lu Yinqian, who was already married.
Lu Yinqian was getting closer to her due date. Lady Lu wanted to spare her daughter the trouble of traveling back and forth, but Lu Yinqian flat - out refused.
"During Father's birthday, you said my pregnancy was unstable and didn't let me come. Now, it's my little sister's birthday, and you still won't let me return. Do you no longer consider me a member of the Lu family?"
According to the maidservant who relayed the message, the princess of the heir apparent had almost thrown a tantrum on the ground when she said this, which made the heir apparent frantically call her "my dear aunt".
As Lu Yinqian's mother, Lady Lu knew her daughter's nature well. In the end, she had no choice but to compromise helplessly, "Come, come, I'll let her come!"
If Lu Yinqian was coming, the heir apparent would surely accompany her, and his younger sister, Xu Siyan, might also come along. Counting them all, there would be a few more guests than originally planned.
But it didn't matter. The prime minister's mansion could surely afford to entertain a few more guests.
With the guests confirmed, the next thing was to arrange the dishes and seating. Fortunately, the number of guests wasn't large, so Lady Lu didn't have to worry too much about it.
On the day of the birthday, Lu Yinxi, served by Hongmei and Hongrui, rarely wore a gorgeous dress. The tassels with silver threads hanging from her waist made her slender waist look even more delicate, making it hard for people to look away.
"Miss looks so beautiful today!"
"Of course. The dress is beautiful too!" Hongrui added from behind.
Hearing this, the joy on the young girl's face faded a bit.
A few days ago, someone had sent word that he might not be able to come today due to business. But she still personally prepared an invitation and asked Hongmei to deliver it to him. Maybe he would come after finishing his business?
Just as she was thinking this, the maid's urging came from beside her ear, "Miss, all the guests have arrived."
Hongmei responded and deftly inserted the last hairpin into Lu Yinxi's hair.
When she reached the front courtyard, the young girl greeted all the guests one by one. Before everyone could take their seats, a voice suddenly broke in from outside the door.
"On the birthday of the prime minister's daughter, why didn't Prime Minister Lu invite this king?"
Everyone turned their heads in unison. There stood a man approaching with a powerful aura. Who else could it be but the Regent King?
Behind him was the doorman, looking extremely embarrassed. It was obvious that he hadn't been able to stop the king.
Prime Minister Lu waved his hand, signaling the doorman to step back, and then casually walked to Lady Lu's side, shielding her behind him.
This was the first time Lady Lu had seen Shang Mozheng in many years.
If she had seen this face a while ago, she would surely have gone crazy. But now, with her daughter by her side and her husband protecting her, she was no longer the Su Wanru of the past.
Seeing the group of people look at him as if facing a great enemy, Shang Mozheng pretended not to notice. He turned to Lu Yinxi gently and said, "This king heard that it's Miss Fourth's birthday today. I wonder if I can come here to ask for a cup of wine?"
Sensing her mother's body stiffen slightly, the young girl patted her reassuringly and replied with a slight smile, "It's an honor for this subject's daughter that the Regent King could come to my birthday."
"That's good," Shang Mozheng said without any hesitation as he strode to the main seat and sat down. Then he continued, "This king has specially prepared a gift today. I hope Miss Fourth won't refuse it."
Although it was a gift, Lu Yinxi could clearly sense a hint of coercion. Her intuition told her that she shouldn't accept this gift.
She was about to speak when someone spoke even faster.
It was her father.
"The king's kindness is appreciated, but Xi'er is just a young girl. Your presence alone is already the greatest grace. How could she dare to accept your gift?"
"Prime Minister Lu, don't be in a hurry to refuse. This king hasn't even said what the gift is yet."
The father - daughter pair exchanged a glance and默契ly didn't respond, but Shang Mozheng continued on his own.
"Prime Minister Lu must know that this king likes Miss Fourth very much. I'm here today to recognize her as my adopted daughter."
"Such a generous gift. I wonder if Miss Fourth likes it?"
Like your head! Lu Yinxi couldn't help but curse in her heart. But if you want to die in my hands sooner, I might just like it!
Thinking of this, the young girl suddenly hesitated.
If she could become the Regent King's adopted daughter, wouldn't she be able to enter and leave the Regent King's mansion easily in the future? Then she would have more opportunities to get close to Shang Mozheng. Wouldn't it be easy to kill him then? And it might not even arouse others' suspicion.
To be honest, Lu Yinxi was tempted!
As long as she agreed!
"My nephew was wondering why I couldn't find Uncle in the palace. I didn't expect you to be here."
Once again, they heard the voice but didn't see the person. This time, a hint of joy appeared on the young girl's face and in her eyes.
Shang Luoshu was here!
Seeing the familiar figure, Lu Wenhan was like a drowning man grabbing a life - saving straw. He quickly bowed and said, "Greetings to His Highness, the King of Jing!"
When the others saw this, they immediately bowed as well.
In this way, Shang Mozheng's "gift" from before was conveniently sidestepped.
The Regent King had mentioned recognizing Lu Yinxi as his adopted daughter more than once. If they refused again this time, Lu Wenhan was really afraid that he might do something extreme.
So Shang Luoshu's appearance was truly a perfect way out for him.
"Everyone, there's no need to be so formal. It's this king who came uninvited today. I've offended everyone."
"Your Highness is being too polite. Please take your seat!"
Saying this, Prime Minister Lu quickly led Shang Luoshu to the secondary seat and then invited the others to sit down. He was completely trying to divert the topic from before.
But obviously, Shang Mozheng wouldn't let him get away with it.
Since he had become the Regent King and taken control of the court, he had thought that everything was under his control. Ascending the throne was just a matter of time. But now, he was starting to feel unsure.
First, there was the case of Fang Qinhu. Zhu Chengjie's death forced the troops under his command to go underground. Then there was the fraud in the imperial examination, and most recently, the incident with Kong Ren.
Things that could have been easily resolved had now become extremely difficult and even required a significant price.
Shang Mozheng could clearly feel that something was slipping out of his control.
Tracing the origin, all these things started to happen after that girl returned to the capital.
The fortune - telling of Kongshi back then seemed to be slowly coming true.
Was he really going to die at her hands in the future?
Realizing this, a trace of regret welled up in Shang Mozheng's heart. He shouldn't have been soft - hearted back then and let her live to return to the capital!
"This king's congratulatory gift from before. Miss Fourth still hasn't accepted it."
The sudden return of the topic made everyone's hearts skip a beat.
Silence spread around them, and everyone didn't even dare to breathe too loudly.
Suddenly, someone slammed their chopsticks on the table.
Lu Yinxi made up her mind. She might as well just agree. Anyway, she wouldn't be the one at a loss.
She had already prepared what to say and was just waiting to speak.
But this time, once again, someone interrupted her.
"If Uncle's gift is to recognize Xi'er as your adopted daughter, then this nephew thinks your gift might not be given out."