"To answer the Princess, His Highness wakes up every day at the hour of Mao."
"His Highness's health is the same as usual. Princess, please begin."
Ling Feng respectfully gestured to Duoduo.
Duoduo walked to the designated spot and began her horse stance.
"Princess, it is still for the duration of one incense stick."
Ling Feng lit a stick of incense and placed it into the incense burner.
Duoduo nodded.
At the end of the hour of Mao, Duoduo finally finished her morning practice and hurriedly ran into the house.
"Lüluo, where are the things I left on the table?"
As soon as Duoduo entered the room, she started looking for her things.
"Princess, this servant put them in the chest." Lüluo pointed to a large chest on the floor.
"Those are gifts I want to give away, quickly take them out for me."
Hearing this, Lüluo hurriedly opened the chest and took out the two items inside.
Duoduo took the items and immediately ran outside.
"Princess, wait for this servant."
Lüluo hurriedly chased after her.
An incense stick's time later, Duoduo came skipping back.
In her hand, she held a small sword, waving it around continuously.
"Duoduo, come quickly."
At the entrance of the courtyard, the Prince's estate carriage was parked.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang was at the window, waving at Duoduo.
Duoduo hurriedly ran over and climbed into the carriage.
"Are we setting off now?" Duoduo asked as soon as she got in.
The Prince of Pingyang glanced at her.
"Didn't we say yesterday that we would set off at the hour of Chen? You are late."
Duoduo stuck out her tongue.
"Father, I was exchanging gifts with them, so I was delayed for a bit."
The Princess Consort of Pingyang pulled Duoduo into her arms with an amused smile.
"Your Highness, Duoduo embroidered a pouch for that girl."
"And she gave a brush pen to that boy."
Duoduo pulled a pretty stone out of her pouch.
"This is Daya's return gift to me. It's her most precious treasure!"
"Erdan said that normally, Sister Daya wouldn't even let him take a look at it."
Then, Duoduo raised the sword in her hand.
"This is what Erdan gave me! Daya said Erdan usually refuses to let go of it."
"But Erdan gave it to me!"
The Princess Consort of Pingyang glanced at the stone. "This stone is quite pretty."
Duoduo nodded. "I think so too."
Sitting opposite them, the Prince of Pingyang took a look. It was just a stone.
Children's preferences were always hard to understand.
However, upon seeing the sword in Duoduo's hand, he reached out.
"Let Father have a look."
Duoduo pinched the sword and handed it to the Prince of Pingyang.
"Father, you must be careful, you can't break Erdan's toy!"
The Prince of Pingyang took it and shot Duoduo a sideways glance.
"What? It's just a plaything, and you're afraid I'll break it?"
Duoduo nodded.
"These two items are Sister Daya and Erdan's favorite things."
"When I come next time, I still have to return them."
Surprise flashed in the Prince of Pingyang's eyes.
"Haven't they already given them to you? Why do you want to return them?"
"Father, didn't you say? A gentleman does not take what others cherish."
"These two items are their absolute favorites, so that's why I have to return them!"
Duoduo spoke as if it were a matter of course.
"Then you shouldn't have accepted them just now. Returning them is just doing something unnecessary, isn't it?"
"But I gave them gifts, and they gave me gifts in return, isn't that courtesy demanding reciprocity?"
"I accepted their return gifts, and they were very happy."
"When I return the things to them next time, they will definitely be even happier!"
The Prince of Pingyang shook his head.
He couldn't understand a child's way of thinking.
However, this was Duoduo's own way of handling things.
As long as it wasn't too misguided, he wouldn't interfere.
The Prince of Pingyang turned the sword in his hand over and over.
It was a small sword, only the size of a palm.
What caught the Prince of Pingyang's attention was its material.
It was a sword made of iron ore.
If it were sharpened, it would be extremely sharp.
Another reason was that a sword this small definitely wasn't forged in a regular blacksmith's shop.
"Do you know how Erdan got this sword?"
The Prince of Pingyang handed the sword back to Duoduo.
Duoduo took it and swung it a couple of times.
"Erdan said Grandpa Wang made it for him in his spare time."
The Prince of Pingyang was startled.
"You mean to say, this sword was made by Wang Changsheng? His grandfather is a blacksmith?"
Duoduo tilted her head.
"Blacksmith?"
The Prince of Pingyang lifted the carriage curtain. Ling Feng, who was riding alongside the carriage, immediately approached.
"Your Highness."
"Send someone to Wang Changsheng's house and bring him here."
"Yes, this subordinate will ride over."
After speaking, Ling Feng spurred his horse and galloped away.
Duoduo looked confused.
"Father, what are you calling Grandpa Wang over for? Aren't we going back?"
The Prince of Pingyang lowered the curtain.
"Father has a little matter to attend to; we will leave a bit later."
Hearing that the Prince of Pingyang had matters to attend to, Duoduo obediently leaned against the Princess Consort and played with the toy in her hand.
The Prince of Pingyang looked at the sword in Duoduo's hand, lost in thought.
A short while later, the sound of horse hooves came from the distance.
Ling Feng had returned.
Ling Feng dismounted, and Wang Changsheng also slid off the horse's back.
He ran to the front of the carriage and knelt.
"Commoner Wang Changsheng pays his respects to Your Highness."
The Prince of Pingyang took the sword from Duoduo's hand and pushed his wheelchair out.
"Wang Changsheng, do you recognize this item?"
Wang Changsheng tremblingly raised his head to look, and he saw the object in the Prince of Pingyang's hand.
Wang Changsheng was terrified. He kowtowed heavily to the Prince of Pingyang, his head thumping against the ground.
"Your Highness, this commoner took this piece of scrap material that the estate manager had discarded."
"This commoner truly did not know where the estate manager and the others transported these things from."
"This commoner knows his mistake; I shouldn't have taken things from the estate. This commoner knows his wrong! Please forgive me, Your Highness!"
A few days ago, the Prince of Pingyang had executed the estate manager and several others for privately forging weapons.
The memory was still fresh in Wang Changsheng's mind.
He didn't know how his grandson's favorite thing ended up with the Prince.
However, he took all the blame upon himself so that he could protect his grandson.
The Prince of Pingyang examined the toy.
"I heard that you forged this?"
Wang Changsheng had a bitter expression.
"To answer Your Highness, this commoner's ancestors were blacksmiths, so I know a little bit."
"Then why didn't the estate manager ask you to help back then?"
"To answer Your Highness, this commoner is old and his limbs are no longer nimble."
"What about your son? Why didn't he go either?" The Prince of Pingyang, holding the sword, casually performed a sword flourish.
Wang Changsheng trembled in fear.
"Because the estate manager snatched this commoner's daughter, and my family swore to the death that we wouldn't consent."
"The estate manager broke my son's hand before finally letting him go."
The Prince of Pingyang's movements stopped.
"The craftsmanship of this sword is quite good. This Prince has taken a liking to it. Are you willing to work for this Prince?"
Wang Changsheng, lying prostrate on the ground, thought he was hearing things.
He secretly raised his head, only to see the Prince of Pingyang staring right at him.
Terrified, Wang Changsheng immediately buried his head again.
"Your Highness, this commoner is old, and my son's hand is ruined. I beg Your Highness to spare my family!"
The Prince of Pingyang frowned.
"Wang Changsheng, do you know the consequences of playing tricks on this Prince?"
