Baihe hurriedly stepped forward and scolded Lüluo, "Why haven't you taken this to the kitchen yet? Why did you bring it here?"
Lüluo knelt on the ground and begged for mercy.
"Spare me, Your Highness. I didn't mean to frighten you."
"The Princess caught this fish. She said she wanted to nourish the bodies of the Prince and Your Highness."
Hearing Lüluo's words, the Princess Consort of Pingyang's face darkened.
"You actually took the Princess out to catch fish?"
"I didn't! The Princess didn't catch this fish! No, wait, this fish was..."
In her panic, Lüluo began to stutter.
The more she tried to explain, the more nervous she became; and the more nervous she became, the less she could explain.
Baihe stepped forward and poked Lüluo's forehead.
"What do you mean 'was' or 'wasn't'! With a fish this big, you still want to make excuses!"
Lüluo was so frightened that her tears instantly began to flow.
"Mother!"
Duoduo, having changed into fresh clothes, ran over like a joyful butterfly.
"Slow down!" The Princess Consort of Pingyang opened her arms toward Duoduo.
Duoduo threw herself into the Princess Consort of Pingyang's embrace.
"Huh? Lüluo, why are you crying?"
Duoduo was a little curious.
"Get up," the Princess Consort of Pingyang ordered lightly.
Sniffling, Lüluo stood up.
Seeing the fish in Lüluo's arms, Duoduo happily said to the Princess Consort of Pingyang,
"Mother, look! I caught a fish! Isn't it big?"
"Can we have the kitchen make fish soup for us tonight?"
"Granny Wang said fish soup is the best for nourishing the body."
The Princess Consort of Pingyang took Duoduo's small hand and first inspected her from head to toe.
When she found nothing wrong with Duoduo, she finally felt relieved.
"Why did you run off to catch fish by yourself? If you want to eat fish, just tell the kitchen, and they will naturally prepare it."
"What if you fell in while running near the water?"
"The servants attending to you are incompetent and should be punished!"
Duoduo blinked.
She seemed to understand why Lüluo had been crying just now.
Duoduo gave the Princess Consort of Pingyang an embarrassed smile.
"Mother, actually, I lied just now!"
A look of confusion appeared on the Princess Consort of Pingyang's face.
"This fish jumped into my arms all by itself. I didn't catch it!"
Duoduo pointed at the fish and confessed.
Naturally, the Princess Consort of Pingyang did not believe her.
"Mother knows your heart aches for your maid, but when servants fail in their duties, they must be punished!"
"Considering this is her first offense, she will be punished with five strikes to the palm!"
Lüluo, who had been standing anxiously to the side, was no longer afraid.
Five palm strikes were something she could endure.
But Duoduo was very stubborn.
"Mother, this fish really did jump into my arms all by itself!"
"Alright, alright! It jumped up. Mother believes you."
Duoduo stared fixedly at the Princess Consort of Pingyang; she could hear the perfunctoriness in her mother's words.
She pursed her lips, wanting to cry.
Crying is the behavior of the weak; it is not a way to solve problems.
The Prince of Pingyang's words suddenly rang in her ears.
Duoduo sniffled hard.
She ran in front of Lüluo. "Lüluo, put the fish into the pond!"
Lüluo looked bewildered. "Princess, why?"
"Why are you asking? I order you to go quickly!" Duoduo glared at her.
The courtyard where the estate manager lived had a small pond right in the garden.
Inside were some beautiful koi fish.
Frightened, Lüluo dashed to the pond and released the fish into it.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang did not stop her.
She simply thought it was a child getting angry and throwing a tantrum.
Just as she was about to console Duoduo, she saw Duoduo also run to the pond and reach out her hands toward the water.
Worried that Duoduo might fall in, the Princess Consort of Pingyang quickly walked over.
"Splash!"
Along with the sound of splashing water, the fish from earlier leaped up and jumped into Duoduo's arms once again.
Duoduo struggled to hold it and smiled radiantly at the Princess Consort of Pingyang.
"Mother, this is exactly how it jumped in!"
Not only was the Princess Consort of Pingyang stunned, but even Baihe and Lüluo stood frozen in place.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang was extremely surprised.
She took a closer look; it was indeed the same fish from just now.
It was just an ordinary black carp, with nothing unusual about it.
Seeing that Duoduo's freshly changed clothes were wet again, Lüluo hurriedly took the fish from her.
Baihe walked over. "Could it be that this fish has become a spirit?"
"Did it recognize our Princess as its master, and that's why it jumped into her arms?"
There had long been such sayings in folklore.
It was said that once various creatures and plants grew old enough, they could become spirits.
Tree spirits, flower spirits, rat spirits—the tales varied.
Holding the fish, Lüluo trembled in fear and almost dropped it onto the ground.
Duoduo, however, was very curious.
She stepped forward and poked the fish's head with her finger.
"You're just a fish, how are you a spirit? I'm going to eat you!"
The fish lay motionless in Lüluo's arms.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang inexplicably found it somewhat amusing.
"Duoduo, if it really has become a spirit and we eat it, it will be sad."
"Why don't we just keep it in the pond?"
Duoduo tilted her head in thought.
Suddenly, seeing the fish in the pond, she had an idea.
She squatted down, placed her hands into the pond, and reached out again.
Ripples of water spread outward in circles.
Not far away, the koi fish began swishing their tails and swam over rapidly.
"Ah! Your Highness, look!"
Baihe couldn't help but exclaim.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang watched as the koi in the water were about to swim right in front of them.
She pulled Duoduo up in one swift motion.
The fastest-swimming koi flicked its tail and leaped into midair.
"Smack!"
It fell back into the pond.
The other koi seemed frightened and all swam away at once.
"Keep your mouths shut about what happened today!"
"If I hear any rumors regarding this matter, I will definitely sell the two of you to a brothel!"
The Princess Consort of Pingyang's tone was extremely sharp.
Baihe and Lüluo knelt down in terror.
"We would not dare!"
"Lüluo, put this fish in the pond, and the two of you may leave!"
The Princess Consort of Pingyang waved her hand at the two.
Lüluo placed the fish in the pond and retreated with Baihe.
Duoduo looked at the fish in the water with a face full of regret.
"Mother, I went through so much trouble to bring this back. Are we really not going to eat it?"
The Princess Consort of Pingyang had not yet recovered from the shock of what had just happened.
"Come, Mother will take you to change your clothes."
Duoduo looked at the clothes she had just changed into, now wet again, and embarrassedly stuck out her tongue.
She obediently let the Princess Consort of Pingyang lead her toward the room.
After walking for a while, the Princess Consort of Pingyang regained her senses somewhat.
"Duoduo, regarding what you just did, who else knows about it?"
Duoduo curiously tilted her head.
"About what?"
The Princess Consort of Pingyang gestured with her hands, "Just... that."
Duoduo suddenly understood.
"I only found out about it today too!"
"Mother, next time we want to eat fish, we won't have to worry!"
"If I just put my hands in the pond, I can naturally catch fish!"
The Princess Consort of Pingyang hurriedly covered Duoduo's mouth.
"You must not speak nonsense!"
Duoduo had a look of complete incomprehension.
