Li Yue Shu abandoned the idea of singing a birthday song.
With many people waiting outside, and it being just the two of them celebrating a birthday, she felt singing would be somewhat awkward.
Fortunately, Qin Mo Yuan wasn't focused on that. After sincerely making a wish, he blew out the candles.
Li Yue Shu immediately handed him a spoon, while she eagerly held another.
Who could understand the sudden craving for dessert in the middle of the night!
Qin Mo Yuan didn't miss her swallowing action, a smile appearing in his eyes.
He took the spoon and gently scooped a portion.
The taste was sweet and fragrant, its soft and delicate texture far superior to any cake he had ever eaten.
He pushed the cake forward, "A Shu, you try it too."
Li Yue Shu, of course, did not decline.
A spoonful of cream entered her mouth, and indeed, it was very sweet!
Qin Mo Yuan watched her with smiling eyes and also scooped a spoonful of cream.
But he only scooped a tiny bit, as if he had just dipped his finger in some cream.
Only after Li Yue Shu was feeling quite full did he finish the remaining cake, not even leaving the cream on the plate.
Li Yue Shu leaned back in her chair, comfortably rubbing her full little stomach, her languid posture resembling a contented cat.
"Pfft—"
Qin Mo Yuan couldn't help but laugh.
Li Yue Shu looked up at him, "What are you laughing at?"
Qin Mo Yuan put down his spoon and looked at her with a smile, "A Shu, where is my birthday gift?"
Things had progressed to this point, he didn't mind being a bit shameless anymore.
Li Yue Shu's mouth twitched, but she made no move.
She had actually prepared a gift, but seeing the congratulatory gifts sent from the palace that day, she felt hers was too shabby to present.
She pointed to the plate on the table, "Here, this is the gift I prepared myself, full of sincerity, and you ate it all clean."
Qin Mo Yuan: "..."
It seemed he wasn't the one who ate the most, was he?
Li Yue Shu also seemed to recall that she had eaten more, and awkwardly touched her nose, "Well... I heard you never celebrated birthdays, so I didn't prepare much."
Although he had guessed the reason, Qin Mo Yuan still felt a small pang of disappointment.
He looked at Li Yue Shu, and after a moment of silence, suddenly asked, "A Shu, do you know why I never celebrated my birthday?"
Li Yue Shu's heart skipped a beat, but she didn't reply.
She vaguely guessed that what Qin Mo Yuan was about to say might be the greatest pain of his life.
Qin Mo Yuan stood up and took out a painting from a hidden compartment in the bookshelf.
As the scroll was unrolled, a woman of exquisite beauty appeared on the paper.
The woman bore a strong resemblance to Qin Mo Yuan. She looked to be in her thirties, and her dignified and noble aura seemed to emanate from the painting.
However, a lingering sorrow was etched between her brows.
"This is my birth mother. She gave me my name."
Qin Mo Yuan suddenly spoke, his expression an unreadable mix of emotions. "She said I was the greatest stain on her life, an abyss she could never escape, and that I should never have been born."
The words, spoken with a flatness devoid of any emotion, struck Li Yue Shu's heart like a hammer.
She couldn't understand what could have happened for a mother to say such things to her own child.
Li Yue Shu opened her mouth, but found herself unable to utter a single word.
Qin Mo Yuan sat down beside her, his gaze fixed on the portrait on the table. His deep eyes seemed to hold every emotion, yet lacked any trace of hatred.
"When she was pregnant with me, she deliberately hit the table, took abortion pills, and even jumped into a river in the dead of winter, nearly freezing herself to death. But I still survived."
Each word was like a nail, piercing Li Yue Shu's heart again and again.
She couldn't imagine how Qin Mo Yuan would feel knowing that his own mother had gone to such lengths to end his life.
Before her mind could even process it, Li Yue Shu's hand reached out and clasped his.
She opened her mouth, but asked nothing.
She knew she didn't need to ask anything, because what Qin Mo Yuan needed now was a listener.
Qin Mo Yuan lowered his eyes to her hand holding his, and a slight curve formed on his lips. "A Shu, are you pitying me?"
Li Yue Shu instinctively wanted to retort, but seeing the deep-seated hurt hidden in his eyes, the words on her tongue softened. "Since you came into this world, you belong to yourself. Even your birth mother has no right to decide your life."
Li Yue Shu glanced at the portrait on the table, wanting to say more, but ultimately remained silent.
Though this woman did not deserve to be called a mother, Qin Mo Yuan still kept her portrait, and referred to her as his birth mother, proving that he still cared for her in his heart.
Qin Mo Yuan knew Li Yue Shu's character well and was not surprised by her words, but his heart still felt warm.
Why was his A Shu so wonderful, like a little sun?
Over the years, Qin Mo Yuan had come to accept those events. However, when he occasionally brought them up, a sense of sadness would still surface.
But at this moment, the suppressed feelings in his heart seemed to completely dissipate because of the person before him.
He couldn't help but tighten his grip on her soft hand. "Actually, I've come to understand over the years. Perhaps she didn't hate me, but rather that she didn't even know who my biological father was."
Li Yue Shu was astonished.
Was he not an imperial son of the late emperor?
Qin Mo Yuan smiled faintly and began to recount a secret that even those within the royal family dared not easily discuss. "My birth mother had no powerful family to support her, but her beauty kept her favor in the harem for a long time. Moreover, she gave birth to my elder brother, making her a mortal enemy to many women in the harem."
"Endless conspiracies and schemes were targeted at her. Despite her utmost caution, she eventually fell into a trap and was caught in bed with someone."
This sort of tactic, though cliché, was highly effective.
Qin Mo Yuan's jaw tightened. "For women in the harem, such an incident would result in a death sentence. But because of her beauty, the late emperor relented and merely confined her to the cold palace, silencing everyone involved."
"However, two months later, she was discovered to be pregnant with me..."
After a brief pause, Qin Mo Yuan spoke again. "The irony is, the night before she was caught in adultery, it was the Emperor who visited her. So even she didn't know whose child I was."
He said it with a tone of mockery, but it caused Li Yue Shu's heart to ache with a thousand tiny pricks.
So that was why his birth mother had tried so desperately to abort the child.
Li Yue Shu felt the coolness in the hand she held.
She understood that once a heavy stone was lifted from one's heart, only by completely venting would the pain lessen.
So she softly asked, "And then?"
Since the child was born, the matter surely wouldn't have ended there.
Qin Mo Yuan's thin lips moved, "After I was born, the late emperor ordered the imperial physicians to perform a blood test to verify kinship. The result showed that I was not his son."
"Blood tests are baseless and unreliable!" Li Yue Shu quickly said, her voice tinged with urgency.
Qin Mo Yuan looked up at her and suddenly smiled. "I know. You told me so in Hong Ning City, and I remember everything."
It was just unfortunate that back then, no one could have proven it for him.