Hua Manman got more and more adept at sewing, and she quickly finished one of the socks.

Beaming, she handed the sock to Jin Ling’er for inspection.

Jin Ling’er took the sock, and after one glance, she fell silent.

Hua Manman asked, her eyes wide with anticipation.

"Why aren’t you saying anything? Is there something wrong with it?"

Jin Ling’er took a deep breath and asked a profound question: "Pardon me, but where’s the opening?"

At first glance, the sock seemed fine. But upon closer inspection, one would discover it had no opening at all.

It was sewn shut from top to bottom.

There was simply no place to put a foot in.

Hua Manman was startled.

’Oh no, I got too into it just now and accidentally sewed too much.’

She hastily grabbed the scissors. "I’ll just undo the stitches."

The sight of her with the scissors terrified Jin Ling’er, who cried out, "Let me do it!"

Unfortunately, she was a step too late.

Hua Manman had already made her move. She tried to use the tip of the scissors to snip the silk thread, but she misjudged the angle and accidentally poked a hole in the sock.

Her movements immediately froze, and she looked at Jin Ling’er helplessly.

Jin Ling’er covered her eyes in agony.

Hua Manman asked cautiously, "If I give the Prince a single sock, do you think he’ll mind?"

Jin Ling’er took a deep breath and offered a more practical suggestion.

"Why don’t you alter it again? Turn it into a pouch."

Hua Manman’s eyes lit up. "That’s right, I can turn it into a pouch!"

This time, Jin Ling’er didn’t dare to relax for even a second.

She stared at Princess Consort Zhao from beginning to end, not even daring to blink, terrified that the Princess Consort would ruin it again.

By the time the sun was about to set, Hua Manman had finally succeeded in making a pouch.

It was a green pouch, with a bare surface and no embroidery whatsoever.

If you looked closely, you could even see the loose threads on the outside.

But Hua Manman was already very satisfied.

This was the first pouch she had ever successfully made in her entire life.

Her heart swelled with a sense of accomplishment.

Jin Ling’er’s feelings, however, were complicated.

Looking at the jubilant Princess Consort Zhao, she couldn’t help but remind her.

"You must not tell the Prince that you originally intended to make him a cloak."

The leap from a cloak to a pouch was just too great.

Hua Manman didn’t want anyone to know about her history of failures either, so she nodded in agreement. "Mm."

The two of them cleaned up the mess.

Hua Manman wanted to have Jin Ling’er and her younger brother stay for dinner.

Jin Ling’er politely declined. "The road is difficult at night. I need to get my brother home as soon as possible."

Hua Manman couldn’t insist and could only respect her wishes.

To thank Jin Ling’er for her help, Hua Manman had someone prepare some food and other necessities for her to take back with her.

Jin Ling’er thanked Princess Consort Zhao profusely before leaving with her brother.

Li Ji noticed that Hua Manman was exceptionally happy tonight.

As she sat at the vanity taking down her hair, she was even humming a cheerful little tune.

Li Ji asked, "Did something good happen to you today?"

Hua Manman deliberately kept him in suspense. "I’m not telling you."

At that moment, her back was to Li Ji, so he couldn’t see her eyes and naturally couldn’t read her thoughts.

Li Ji grew even more curious.

After Hua Manman had washed up and was settled in bed, Li Ji leaned over and asked again.

"What wonderful thing happened to you? Tell me so I can be happy too."

Hua Manman said smugly, "You guess."

’She wasn’t about to tell that jerk she’d prepared a birthday present for him!’

Realization dawned on Li Ji. The gift she had been preparing for him was finished.

He remembered the cuts Hua Manman had gotten while sewing, so he immediately grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand up to examine it carefully.

Sure enough, he found several new little cuts on her fingertips.

Li Ji frowned. "Didn’t I tell you not to do any needlework?"

Hua Manman struggled to pull her hand back and defended herself in a small voice.

"These aren’t from needlework. I pricked myself on some thorns while picking flowers."

Li Ji was so exasperated he laughed.

"You’ve really gotten bold, haven’t you? Daring to lie to me now?"

Hua Manman resentfully shut her mouth, not daring to spout any more nonsense.

Li Ji sat up, retrieved some ointment to apply for her, and scolded her in a low voice.

"Your fingers are all cut up, and you still dared to get them wet."

Hua Manman didn’t think such minor cuts were anything to worry about, but she didn’t dare refute Prince Zhao’s words and could only obediently admit her mistake.

"I was wrong."

After applying the medicine, Li Ji gave her wrist a firm but gentle bite.

The bite made Hua Manman’s fingertips tremble.

She instinctively tried to pull back. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

But Li Ji held her forearm fast, not letting go.

He raised his head, looked at the disobedient little thing before him, and threatened coolly.

"If you dare to disobey me again, I’ll eat you up."

He meant he would truly devour her, not just take a symbolic bite.

Hua Manman naturally understood his meaning, and her little face instantly flushed crimson.

She was utterly mortified.

Two days later, it was Prince Zhao’s eighteenth birthday.

According to Li Ji’s wishes, he planned to spend his birthday at the estate.

He didn’t have many relatives anyway, so just setting up a couple of symbolic tables at the estate would be enough to mark the occasion.

Who would have thought the Emperor would send a messenger with a verbal decree?

The Emperor had prepared a birthday banquet for Prince Zhao at the palace and ordered Prince Zhao to attend with his consort.

Left with no choice, Li Ji left the estate with Hua Manman early in the morning.

Since the hosts were leaving, Feihua Zhenren, as a guest, couldn’t very well overstay his welcome at the estate.

So, Feihua Zhenren also followed Prince Zhao and his wife to the Capital City.

Inside the carriage, Hua Manman brought out the gift she had prepared, placing it before Prince Zhao with a beaming smile.

"This is the birthday gift I prepared for you. See if you like it?"

Li Ji looked at the large, exquisitely crafted box before him, knowing it must contain the cloak.

But to make Manman happy, Li Ji pretended to know nothing and asked in surprise.

"When did you prepare a gift for me? I had no idea."

Hua Manman lifted her chin and said with a smug smile, "I prepared it in secret. You’ll never guess what I got you."

Li Ji stroked the box in front of him, the corners of his mouth lifting uncontrollably.

"Such a big box. The thing inside must not be small."

Hua Manman’s eyes curved into crescents as she smiled. "Why don’t you open it and see?"

Li Ji didn’t stand on ceremony any longer and lifted his hands to open the brocade box.

Only to find another box inside.

He opened it again, and there was still another box inside.

A bad premonition had already started to form in Li Ji’s heart.

He looked up at Hua Manman.

Hua Manman was still looking smug, thinking that Prince Zhao surely had no idea what was inside the innermost box.

Now Li Ji’s curiosity was thoroughly piqued.

He opened one box after another.

Each box was smaller than the last.

By the time he got to the last one, he found it was smaller than his palm.

A box this tiny could never possibly hold a cloak.

Li Ji opened it and found a small, bright green pouch lying quietly inside.