Chapter 59
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“You’re early today?”
Lily greeted So Dongbaek with a bright smile, barely able to hide her delight at her husband’s earlier-than-usual return. Dongbaek, smiling back, thrust the pile of packages she was carrying straight into Lily’s arms.
“Look what I brought, My lady.”
“What’s all this, My lord?”
Lily asked with wide eyes as the bundle of gifts tumbled into her arms. The presents that had filled Dongbaek’s arms were almost too heavy for Lily to hold. Dongbaek took back half of the gifts she had handed over and grinned.
“Happy birthday. These are gifts from my subordinates to you.”
Lily’s already wide eyes grew even larger. She couldn’t believe it was already April 7th. She had been so lost in the sweet dream of a newlywed life that she hadn’t noticed time passing.
Each day was both busy and sweet. Every day she learned writing from Dongbaek’s mother, embroidered Dongbaek’s official robes, practiced calligraphy, recited poetry, and played the zither.
All of these were Lily’s own efforts to become a woman worthy of Dongbaek. After spending such busy days, Dongbaek, who had been even busier with official duties, would return and share affectionate attention.
They would have dinner together, chatting about the day’s events, and afterward walk in the rear garden together—they were already known as Luoyang’s most loving couple.
Although Dongbaek had never properly given Lily even a light kiss, just being together always made Lily’s heart flutter. Dongbaek never let Lily sleep alone and always held her close, worried she might be cold.
Even today, hadn’t Dongbaek remembered her birthday? The bright smile wouldn’t leave Lily’s face.
“Did you come home early because it’s my birthday?”
“Of course. I couldn’t stay at work all day on my wife’s one special day of the year.”
See, what a caring husband.
Despite the weight of the gifts in her arms, Lily’s steps were light.
“What are these gifts? Why are your subordinates giving me birthday presents?”
Lily chirped like a may warbler. Dongbaek answered with a somewhat embarrassed yet proud smile.
“When I finished work early to leave early today, they must have noticed something was up. They didn’t do anything for my birthday, but to think they’d prepare such generous gifts for my wife’s birthday. It seems you’re quite popular among the troops.”
Dongbaek’s teasing made Lily widen her eyes as she retorted playfully,
“There’s a saying that to catch a general, shoot their horse, right? Maybe it’s something like that? Besides, all sorts of precious things were delivered to your office and home on your birthday. Maybe they had prepared gifts then too but were too shy to give them. My birthday… well, there’s no need to worry about that.”
Lily’s eyes curved gracefully. There was a hint of loneliness in her final words, likely because there had been no contact from her birth father.
Dongbaek, quick to notice this, also felt bitter. She briefly pondered how to comfort Lily, but since Lily hadn’t directly mentioned it, Dongbaek casually changed the subject.
“One of my subordinates prepared some sweets. I tried some, and they were incredible. I know you like sweet things, so that worked out well. With so many gifts, it’ll be fun to open them all.”
“How could you open my gifts first! And you tasted them first? We should have tried them together!”
Catching Dongbaek’s intention, Lily played along, pretending to be angry. If Dongbaek didn’t want her to be sad about her father, then she wouldn’t be.
Seeing Lily’s forced brightness, Dongbaek felt bitter. That stubborn old man. Despite their relationship having the Emperor’s approval, he still treated Dongbaek like an unworthy rogue. While Dongbaek didn’t care about being scorned herself, she couldn’t stand how Dan Liang treated his only daughter—once the apple of his eye—as if she were a traitor.
Whenever they met at the imperial palace, Dan Liang would glare at her with burning eyes. Not only that, but he still seemed to associate with He Jin. More accurately, it was closer to Dan Liang begging He Jin. Dan Liang would bow and plead with He Jin, who was displeased about the broken engagement. Though Dongbaek didn’t know exactly what words passed between them, the sight wasn’t particularly pleasant.
“I’ve already told Elder Hwang to prepare a feast for tonight. You can look forward to it.”
At Dongbaek’s words, Lily’s eyes curved like crescent moons. The warm spring breeze slipped through the gaps, tickling between them.
Entering the room, Dongbaek set the gifts down on the table. Looking at them all together, they made quite a pile. Lily began opening each gift with an excited heart.
From one package emerged a well-worn carving of mandarin ducks, from another came a wooden jewelry box. There was also a box of sweets from Yue Jin. Rather than being expensive, each gift carried the sincere feelings of its giver.
Since Lily was a young girl, many of the gifts were fresh and dainty, which seemed to suit her taste quite well. A bright smile formed on her lips.
Seeing Lily’s joy, Dongbaek also became excited. Then she remembered there was another gift in her sleeve.
“This is from Jin Jin, who asked me to give it to you.”
When Lily opened Jin Jin’s package, a small flash of light momentarily caught her eye. It was a silver comb—though not particularly intricate, it had lovely simple patterns. The fine teeth of the comb gleamed with a pure white light.
“That fellow must have really stretched himself.”
Dongbaek chuckled wryly. Knowing exactly how much Jin Jin earned from his position, this seemed a bit excessive. But it would be awkward to refuse a gift already received. With a bitter smile, Dongbaek advised Lily.
“Since it seems like a gift that was obtained with much effort, please treasure it.”
Lily nodded with a bright smile. Although she was a precious only daughter who must have had all sorts of valuable things, she seemed quite pleased with it.
As Dongbaek helped tidy up the gifts, she suggested,
“Let’s have dinner in the rear garden. The weather has warmed up, so it won’t be chilly even in the evening. Dining while looking at the fully bloomed peach blossoms will create a lovely atmosphere.”
“Yes!”
Lily answered brightly and cheerfully. The peach trees in the rear garden were newly planted by Dongbaek when they married, specifically for Lily who particularly loved peach blossoms.
Though her father’s undiminished anger weighed on her mind, Dongbaek’s thoughtfulness covered that concern.
“I’m looking forward to dinner. It’s my first time dining in the rear garden… I must be the happiest woman alive to spend a birthday like this.”
Lily blushed shyly and twirled around as if dancing. Her skirt fluttered with her bird-like, light movements.
“It’s nothing special. Didn’t I promise, as your husband, to let you do whatever your heart desires?”
Dongbaek said with a slight smile. Lily fell into Dongbaek’s arms, burying her face in her embrace.
“And it’s those very words of yours, My lord, that make me so happy.”
Lily murmured softly and burst into laughter. Happiness dripped from her every laugh.
Seeing Lily like this made Dongbaek a bit flustered. If she had known Lily would be this happy, she would have done more things like this regularly. Come to think of it, she couldn’t quite remember when they last went out together. While Lily got along well enough with her mother-in-law, Geum Danyo, she must have hesitated to ask for more attention.
Dongbaek should have taken better care of this, but she seemed to have been a bit negligent lately due to being busy… Dongbaek reproached herself.
But by the standards of this era, Dongbaek was already an exceptionally romantic partner. Despite Dongbaek’s rather rigid and austere nature, her standard of events, familiar with the abundant modern lifestyle, was incomparable to this era’s customs.
“There’s still time until dinner, would you like to get some fresh air?”
Dongbaek asked Lily. But the answer was a foregone conclusion. Lily’s face lit up with joy, her smile as bright as the sun.
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After riding out on horseback to get some air, evening time had arrived. Perhaps excited from the rare outing, Lily’s cheeks were flushed pink.
“Did you enjoy it?”
“It was fun! It’s amazing how the world changes so quickly when riding a horse… And seeing things from a higher perspective than usual made everything feel so new!”
Lily chattered away, her words tumbling out as she nestled against Dongbaek’s side. Dongbaek couldn’t help the fond smile that lingered on her lips. Lily’s response had far exceeded her expectations, making her own satisfaction soar.
“You seemed to enjoy it quite a bit. How about learning horseback riding?”
“Me? Horseback riding?”
“You seemed to like it, and with the world being so unpredictable these days, it might be good to pick it up as a skill. Who knows? If we ever need to flee together, it’ll come in handy.”
Dongbaek teased with a mischievous wink, the tear mole under her left eye catching the light.
Lily burst into a clear, melodic laugh, unable to hold it in. Her voice rang like bells.
“Shouldn’t you say you’ll protect me instead of making plans to run away?”
“Hey, what’s so funny about running away?”
Their playful bickering drew the attention of passing bystanders, who couldn’t help but smile at the fresh and lively young couple.
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Thank you for reading! ♡
