Nanny Li immediately curtsied. "Please give your orders, Your Highness."
"Nanny, go to the storehouse, take one of my dowry items, and have the steward help sell it."
"Then, have him buy some top-quality bird's nest to bring back."
Nanny Li nodded.
"This old servant will go right away. However, didn't the manor just buy some bird's nest?"
Princess Consort Ling smiled radiantly.
"Those are not of premium quality; we will keep them for ourselves to eat."
"Since Funing can help the Prince, we must certainly prepare top-grade goods for her."
Nanny Li understood at once.
"Yes, this old servant will go handle it immediately."
Nanny Li left. Princess Consort Ling picked up the teacup beside her and took a slow, leisurely sip.
Having figured out the crucial point, she was no longer angry.
Anyway, no matter what, everything in the Ling Prince's Manor belonged to her children.
Song Shuyu returned to Chunhua Residence feeling quite smug.
First, she took a stroll around the courtyard and ordered a maid to pluck two beautiful flowers to take back and arrange in a vase.
Before she had even walked two laps, Song Shuyu grew tired.
She went back inside her room.
With no one to supervise her, she could do whatever she wanted.
If she wanted to eat, she ate.
If she wanted to sleep, she slept; if she wanted to zone out, she zoned out.
The entire day passed quickly.
However, after just a few days, Song Shuyu began to feel bored.
A life of eating, sleeping, and eating again was as plain as water.
The maid who served her spoke very little.
Song Shuyu sometimes suspected that this maid was deaf.
Feeling utterly bored, Song Shuyu began to think about her biological younger sister, Duoduo.
She wondered how that jinx was doing.
"Achoo!"
Duoduo let out a loud sneeze.
"Did the Princess catch a chill while sleeping last night?"
Lüluo, who was serving by her side, immediately became a little nervous.
Duoduo sniffled.
"It's nothing, my nose just feels a bit itchy."
"Princess, we should go back. If the Princess Consort finds out that this servant brought you here, she will definitely be very angry!"
Today, after waking up from her afternoon nap, Duoduo felt bored, so she took Lüluo to wander around.
The estate was huge. As Duoduo strolled around, she spotted a stream.
"Lüluo, do you think there are fish in this water?"
Lüluo sized it up.
"To answer the Princess, fish are generally only found in deeper areas."
"Deeper areas?" Duoduo was puzzled.
"That means downstream of this stream, where it pools into a pond," Lüluo immediately explained.
"Then let's go take a look!"
Duoduo immediately ran downstream along the flow of the creek.
"Princess, slow down!"
Lüluo was frightened and hurriedly chased after her.
The master and servant ran for a while and, sure enough, saw a pond.
"Lüluo, there really is a pond here!"
Duoduo was very pleasantly surprised.
This pond was formed because the winding path caused the stream's water to gather here.
Duoduo cautiously approached the edge of the pond and peered into the water.
Lüluo hurriedly grabbed Duoduo.
"Princess, be careful! It will be troublesome if you fall in."
Duoduo crouched down and looked closely into the pond.
"Hey, Lüluo, there really are fish in here!"
Duoduo saw a dark fish poking its head slightly out of the water.
Lüluo saw it too.
"Princess, if you want to eat fish, we can just have Guard Ling go buy some later."
"The fish in this pond are very hard to catch."
Lüluo wanted to persuade Duoduo to leave.
Duoduo, of course, was unwilling.
"I want to catch a fish and take it back! Father has been working hard lately, this will be perfect to nourish his body!"
After speaking, Duoduo nodded very seriously.
"Lüluo, help me think of a way. How can we catch a fish?"
Lüluo stamped her feet in anxiety.
"Princess, let's go back!"
Duoduo looked at Lüluo with a serious face. "If you don't help me, I'll figure out a way myself."
Saying that, Duoduo went to take off her shoes.
"Princess, what are you trying to do?"
Lüluo hurriedly grabbed Duoduo's hands.
"Go down and catch fish," Duoduo said, looking as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Princess, this pond looks very deep at a glance. You absolutely cannot!"
Lüluo held onto Duoduo tightly, refusing to let her get into the water.
Duoduo rolled her eyes thoughtfully.
"Lüluo, I won't go into the water, but you have to think of a way. I must catch a fish today."
Lüluo nodded hastily.
"This servant will think of a way, but you absolutely must not go into the water."
"Okay," Duoduo nodded.
Lüluo let go of Duoduo and looked around.
Then, she ran a short distance away and brought back a tree branch.
She rubbed one end of the branch against the ground to sharpen it.
Duoduo watched Lüluo's every move with great curiosity.
"Lüluo, what are you doing?"
"Miss, this servant is making a harpoon to spear the fish."
Lüluo answered while her hands kept working without pause.
Duoduo crouched by the pond, resting her chin in her hands, and watched Lüluo make the harpoon.
Duoduo casually turned her head and saw a very large fish swimming around in the water right next to her.
She wanted to call Lüluo but was worried she would scare the fish away.
Duoduo's eyes darted around.
She peeked at Lüluo, who was concentrating on making the tool and wasn't paying attention to her.
Duoduo slowly lowered her hands into the water.
She prepared to catch the fish while it was off guard.
As soon as Duoduo's hands entered the water, the fish flicked its tail and jumped straight into her arms.
Duoduo was startled.
She held the fish, not daring to move.
"Lüluo, come quickly!" Duoduo could only call for help.
Hearing Duoduo's cry for help, Lüluo was so frightened that she dropped the stick and ran over.
When she saw the fish in Duoduo's arms, her face filled with surprise.
"Miss, where did this fish come from?"
"It jumped up all by itself."
Duoduo struggled to hand the fish over to Lüluo.
Lüluo found it very heavy to hold.
"Princess, let's go back quickly! Your clothes are all wet."
"It will be troublesome if you catch a cold and fall ill later."
Duoduo nodded.
"Then let's hurry back!"
Lüluo held the fish tightly. The fish lay calmly in her arms, not thrashing about at all.
The two finally managed to walk back to the courtyard, only to bump into Lianxin, whom Princess Consort of Pingyang had called to search for them.
Seeing Duoduo covered in mud and Lüluo holding a large fish in her arms, Lianxin instantly became furious.
"You wretched girl, you actually took the Princess to catch fish?"
"Watch me report this to the Princess Consort so she can punish you severely!"
As Lianxin spoke, she jabbed her finger at Lüluo's forehead.
Duoduo hurriedly held Lianxin back.
"It's not Lüluo's fault, I was the one who wanted to catch fish!"
Seeing Lüluo keeping her head down without arguing back, Lianxin pulled Duoduo toward the house.
"Princess, let this servant take you to change your clothes, lest the Princess Consort sees and worries."
"Okay."
Duoduo obediently followed Lianxin away.
Lüluo didn't know what to do, so she could only stand there holding the fish, waiting in place.
"Huh, why are you standing here? Where is the Princess? Didn't they say she came back?"
The voice of Princess Consort of Pingyang came from behind Lüluo.
Frightened, Lüluo turned around with the fish in her arms and knelt before Princess Consort of Pingyang.
"This servant greets the Princess Consort!"
Seeing the large fish in Lüluo's arms, Princess Consort of Pingyang froze in shock.
