By the time the dinner began, her eyes had returned to normal.
"You may withdraw," Si Junlin ordered.
Su Wan'er looked at him in surprise. "Wait!" She first stopped Qingcao and the others, then whispered to Si Junlin, "If they leave, who will serve me? I don't even have the strength to hold chopsticks right now."
Si Junlin held down her hand, then turned to Qingcao and the others and said, "You may go first. If we need anything later, we'll call you."
As he said this, he made a little gesture to Qingcao.
Qingcao immediately understood that the master wanted to create an opportunity to be alone with the emperor. Of course, as maids, they should help the master achieve this.
Qingcao gave a look to the maids around, then led them out of the pavilion.
"How can I eat now that they've left?" Su Wan'er glared at Si Junlin.
After a busy afternoon, her hands were so sore that she couldn't even lift them, let alone hold chopsticks to pick up food.
Si Junlin gave her a look as if she were an idiot. "Aren't I here? What? Do you think I can't serve someone well at dinner?"
Su Wan'er looked at Si Junlin in a shocked expression, stunned. "What... what did you say?" She wondered if she was having an illusion from being too tired.
"Come, open your mouth," Si Junlin said. To confirm that Su Wan'er had heard correctly, he personally picked up a meatball and put it in front of her mouth.
Looking into Si Junlin's gentle eyes, Su Wan'er always felt that his face looked so strange at this moment. Such a tender look would never appear on Si Junlin's face...
"What? Don't you like it?" Si Junlin continued gently.
"No, no," Su Wan'er waved her hands quickly and slowly opened her mouth to take the meatball in.
Because the meatball was too big, Su Wan'er's mouth was bulging. She looked so cute. Si Junlin reached out his hand and pressed her bulging cheek.
"Mm-mm?" Su Wan'er asked in confusion.
"Nothing. Keep eating. Just tell me what you want to eat. After all, you've been helping me, so it's only right for me to take care of you," he said just to make Su Wan'er feel at ease being served by him.
Su Wan'er just shook her head after hearing this and said to him, "You don't have to be so polite. Actually, this matter also concerns my own reputation. It's only natural for me to help you."
However, although she said so, when Si Junlin put the food in front of her mouth again, she could open her mouth without hesitation and eat the dish.
Si Junlin kept feeding Su Wan'er without stopping.
Since it was his first time serving someone, the feeding speed was a bit too fast. Su Wan'er quickly raised her hand to stop him. Otherwise, she would surely be stuffed to death.
After the meal, Si Junlin learned how to serve someone, and Su Wan'er finally finished the extremely nerve - wracking dinner.
After making sure that Su Wan'er was really full, Si Junlin started to feed himself.
Su Wan'er actually wanted to remind him that these were the chopsticks he had used to feed her. But seeing him eating with relish, she didn't have the heart to dampen his enthusiasm and could only keep silent.
After digestion, Su Wan'er continued to repair the embroidered handkerchief, while Si Junlin reviewed memorials.
Of course, as always, this scene couldn't be seen by outsiders.
Finally, three days before the birthday banquet, the embroidered handkerchief was finally repaired. The rest was Si Junlin's job.
While Si Junlin was embroidering the remaining parts, Su Wan'er just fell asleep. She slept for a whole day and night to recover.
To avoid her being too tired, Si Junlin took the initiative to handle the memorials.
At this moment, Si Junlin was really extremely busy.
Finally, the banquet arrived. Besides inviting all the ministers, the harem also prepared a banquet for the Empress Dowager.
Everyone took their seats according to their status. After a round of singing and dancing, it was time for presenting gifts.
As the queen, Si Junlin... Su Wan'er naturally had to present her first embroidered work.
With a wave of his hand, Qingcao and Hongmei slowly pulled open the canvas, revealing the pattern of pine trees and cranes symbolizing longevity, as well as the character "Shou" (longevity) placed in the center.
"Your servant and the emperor have jointly made a picture of pine trees and cranes for the birthday of the mother. May the mother be as blessed as the boundless sea and as long - lived as the southern mountains," Si Junlin bowed to the Empress Dowager.
He said the last few words in the capacity of a son.
It was a pity that only he himself knew this. After hearing his words, the Empress Dowager just sneered and waved her hand, asking the eunuch beside her to take it.
There was no praise or comment.
Si Junlin could feel those gloating looks from behind.
This time, he finally fully understood how Su Wan'er had felt back then.
Seeing the gift he had prepared whole - heartedly being treated like trash and thrown aside, anyone would feel bad.
However, at this moment and in this situation, all he could do was silently return to his seat.
Su Wan'er reached out her hand and patted his arm comfortingly.
Si Junlin smiled at her, indicating that he was okay.
Their interaction looked extremely ambiguous in the eyes of outsiders, especially since there had been a rumor in the palace recently that the emperor's attitude towards the queen had taken a 180 - degree turn...
Concubine Mei was so angry that her fingers almost tore the handkerchief in her hand.
"Concubine Mei?" The puzzled voice of the Empress Dowager came.
Only then did Concubine Mei react. She quickly asked the maid to hold the gift and step forward to the Empress Dowager.
After saluting, Concubine Mei asked the personal maid to open the box, revealing a whole piece of stone inside.
What was different about this stone was that its shape and color made it look more like a large piece of streaky pork.
"What is this..." The concubines present all showed surprised expressions.
Su Wan'er was also slightly surprised. Wasn't this an extremely rare meat - shaped stone? She had seen such a thing at her second uncle's house, but that one was only the size of a piece of braised pork, far smaller than the one in Concubine Mei's hand.
"This thing is called a meat - shaped stone. It was a gift from my mother. Today, your servant will present it to the Empress Dowager to wish her good fortune and a long life," Concubine Mei said respectfully.
The Empress Dowager took a look, ordered the little eunuch to bring it to her, wrapped it in a handkerchief, and played with it carefully.
"This little thing is really unique. Although it's a stone, its shape is exactly the same as streaky pork," she said with emotion while looking at it. Then she asked the little eunuch to put it away and looked up at Concubine Mei.
"You've really put your heart into it, child. You've actually found such an interesting thing."