Chapter 28: The Empress Dowager’s Birthday (II) Hua Ling smiled without the slightest concern and said, “Don’t be ridiculous. You saw how awkward things are between Mu Yelei and me. He doesn’t like me at all, so I doubt he’ll take me with him. I might as well spare myself the trouble.”
“Whether he likes you is one thing; attending the Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet is another. Even if he dislikes you, you must attend this banquet. That is the rule. Surely, as Prime Minister, he won’t be the first to break it?” Jin Junxi’s voice was rarely so stern, and his solemn manner rather surprised Hua Ling.
“All right, then. If he takes me, I’ll naturally go. Satisfied now, you old housekeeper? You really do meddle in quite a lot,” Hua Ling said with a helpless smile.
Only then did Jin Junxi nod in satisfaction. “What gift do you plan to give? Do you want me to prepare one for you?” Jin Junxi asked quite naturally. If Mu Yelei did not like her, did not cherish her, then he would make his move and steal her away. He truly liked this woman. She was the kind who first stunned people with her beauty, and after one got to know her more deeply, drew them in with her intelligence and kindness. Her charm made one involuntarily want to get closer to her.
“No need. I’ll prepare it myself,” Hua Ling said with a smile. She did not want to casually accept someone else’s charity. A single gift was still something she could afford.
“Very well. If there’s anything you need help with, just say the word,” Jin Junxi said.
“Thank you for your kindness, but I don’t think there will be,” Hua Ling still refused. Jin Junxi’s enthusiasm was somewhat beyond her expectations, and in her heart she was quite grateful.
Hua Ling’s repeated refusal was within Jin Junxi’s expectations. She was a strong woman and would not easily beg others for help. This only made him admire her all the more.
“If there’s nothing else, I should take my leave. After I return, I’ll study this four-piece set carefully. I believe it won’t be long before it makes a stunning debut. When the response is good, you’ll have to prepare more follow-up products for me,” Jin Junxi said with a smile, turning to walk outside.
“Don’t worry, I definitely won’t disappoint you. There are still plenty of interesting things in my head that I haven’t brought out yet. This is only the vanguard, meant to scout out the market. If it really proves popular, I think you’ll become very busy,” Hua Ling said with a light laugh, following behind him to see him out, all the way to the entrance of Yinlü Pavilion, where she waved him goodbye.
Watching his figure grow farther and farther away, Hua Ling laughed softly. He truly was a warmhearted prince. As far as she knew, princes in ancient times all seemed rather arrogant, but this Jin Junxi was an exception. Just right for becoming her partner. If he really were an arrogant sort, she wouldn’t even bother with him.
“He’s already gone so far, yet you’re still watching. Reluctant to part with him?”
Hua Ling was startled by the sudden sound of Mu Yelei’s voice. She turned around to look at him and said, “Why did you suddenly speak up and scare me like that? Are you a ghost? You don’t even make a sound when you walk.”
Unexpectedly, Mu Yelei did not take issue with her rudeness. Instead, he asked again, “What was he holding?”
Hearing him ask this, Hua Ling grew curious instead and said, “What wind is blowing today, to actually blow Your Exalted Prime Minister to my little shrine? I remember you never come here.”
Listening to Hua Ling’s somewhat mocking words, Mu Yelei’s already icy face became even more forbidding. He said coldly, “I only came to tell you that the day after tomorrow is the Empress Dowager’s birthday. You are to attend. As for whom you associate with, I won’t concern myself with that at all.” With that, he flicked his sleeves and left, leaving behind a somewhat bewildered Hua Ling. What was that supposed to mean?
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