After spending most of the day on the road, the group finally returned to the prince's manor.
Princess Consort Pingyang smiled.
"You don't realize it until you leave, but going out on a trip really makes you appreciate that there is no place like home."
Duoduo chuckled happily.
"Mother, can I go find Lüdou?"
"I want to show her the gifts I received."
Princess Consort Pingyang knew how close Duoduo and Lüdou were.
"Alright, but don't stay too long. Your father might come looking for you in a bit."
"Okay, Mother, I'll be back soon!"
With that, Duoduo ran out cheerfully.
Princess Consort Pingyang shook her head.
If Nanny Li saw this, she would start nagging again.
After this trip to the estate, Duoduo had thrown all her etiquette out the window.
Thinking that Duoduo was still young, Princess Consort Pingyang didn't want to restrict her too much.
Besides, in the countryside, who was there to show off such strict rules to anyway?
Well, now they had to start all over again.
At this moment, Duoduo was happily running toward the main kitchen.
With the masters of the manor back, the main kitchen was bustling.
Some were boiling water, some were making pastries, and others were starting to prepare the ingredients for dinner.
In any case, no one dared to rest.
Duoduo approached the door, stood on her tiptoes, and peeked inside.
However, being so small, she couldn't see anything but the tall stoves.
"Princess, what are you doing here?"
A voice came from behind Duoduo.
Duoduo turned around and saw that it was Lüdou's master, Li Da's wife.
"I came to find Lüdou. Li Da's wife, can you ask her to come out for a moment?"
Li Da's wife cast a sidelong glance at the people in the kitchen, who didn't dare to make a sound.
"Princess, Lüdou is sick and didn't come to work."
Duoduo immediately grew anxious.
"Li Da's wife, where is Lüdou?"
Li Da's wife bowed slightly, "This old servant will take you there."
"Yes! Let's go quickly."
Duoduo urged Li Da's wife to hurry.
Li Da's wife led Duoduo toward the place where Lüdou lived.
Following behind Li Da's wife, Duoduo entered the large communal sleeping quarters for the maids.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Before they even entered the room, a loud bout of coughing could be heard from inside.
"Lüdou!"
Duoduo lifted the door curtain and ran inside.
On the bed behind the door, Lüdou was wrapped in a quilt, her face flushed red with fever.
Hearing Duoduo's voice, she hastily covered her mouth and turned her face away.
"Princess, don't come closer... cough, cough, cough... be careful not to catch it."
Li Da's wife stepped in front of Duoduo, "Princess, please stand behind me."
Duoduo pushed Li Da's wife aside, "Lüdou, have you seen a doctor?"
Watching Lüdou cough incessantly, Li Da's wife hurriedly explained.
"The servants in the manor don't have the right to call for a doctor. We just find some herbal medicine to take on our own and leave it at that."
"No, Li Da's wife, go fetch a doctor immediately."
"If anyone asks, just say that I am unwell."
Li Da's wife hesitated for a moment before turning around and walking out.
She truly did like this girl, Lüdou.
She was diligent, obedient, highly perceptive, and showed great respect to her as her master.
Anyone's heart would ache for a child like this.
Seeing Li Da's wife leave, Duoduo looked around the room.
The areas against the walls in this room were all built into large communal beds, leaving only an aisle in the middle for walking.
Due to poor ventilation, there was a strange smell in the room.
Lüdou's bed was near the door, which was slightly better.
However, since it was the entrance, wind would blow in whenever the curtain was lifted.
Seeing Lüdou's fever-flushed face, Duoduo ran out.
Soon, she ran back, holding a dripping wet handkerchief in both hands.
She couldn't find a basin, so she just soaked the handkerchief she carried with her.
She climbed onto Lüdou's bed and placed the wet handkerchief on Lüdou's forehead.
In the past, when she was sick, this was exactly what Lüdou had done for her.
The coolness on her forehead made Lüdou feel extremely comfortable.
She opened her eyes with difficulty and looked at Duoduo.
"Princess, why are you here?"
Duoduo grabbed Lüdou's hand.
"I missed you, so I came to see you."
"How did you get sick?"
Lüdou gave a weak smile.
"Princess, everyone gets sick sometimes."
Duoduo felt terrible in her heart.
"Lüdou, I will study medicine hard. From now on, you won't have to be afraid of getting sick."
Lüdou smiled. She felt that seeing Duoduo had made her body feel much better.
What Lüdou couldn't see was that a lot of golden light was slowly seeping into her body through Duoduo's hand.
"Princess, you don't need to put so much pressure on yourself. You are still young, and studying medicine is very hard."
Duoduo shook her head.
"I'm not afraid of hardship!"
"Lüdou, you must get well soon."
"You promised to make pastries for me, and you haven't fulfilled that yet."
Lüdou felt as if she had recovered significantly, and she sat up.
"Princess, I can make pastries on my own now."
"Master said that in a few days, she will teach me her most prized skills, and then I will have learned everything."
Duoduo looked surprised.
"So fast! Lüdou, you are amazing!"
"Does that mean you can make whatever I want to eat?"
Lüdou nodded.
"Master said that if the pastries I make can pass the test of the Prince and Princess Consort, I can be considered to have graduated."
Duoduo looked full of admiration, "Lüdou, you are so awesome!"
"Then I need to work hard when I get back too! You have already graduated, when will I be able to graduate?"
Duoduo felt a little worried. Her medical studies were currently just at the stage of memorizing the names of various medicinal herbs.
Lüdou patted the back of Duoduo's hand.
"You can't rush studying medicine. It's a matter of life and death."
Duoduo nodded.
"Yes, that's what the teacher said too."
As the two were talking, the curtain was lifted from the outside.
"Princess!"
Lüluo ran in looking anxious, followed by Li Da's wife and a white-bearded old man.
"Princess, where do you feel unwell? Hurry and come back with this servant."
As Lüluo spoke, she prepared to carry Duoduo away on her back.
Duoduo waved her hand at Lüluo.
"It's not me, it's Lüdou."
Hearing the name "Lüdou", Lüluo froze for a moment.
Duoduo looked at the white-bearded old man, "Please take a look at her quickly."
Hearing Lüluo call out the word "Princess" just now, the old man hurriedly bowed.
"This old man will check the young lady's pulse right away."
The old man assumed that the person lying on the bed was also a young lady of the manor.
Although he couldn't understand why a young lady of the manor would live in such a poor place.
The old man checked Lüdou's pulse, a look of surprise appearing on his face.
"This young lady caught a cold, but she has almost completely recovered."
"Illness comes like a falling mountain, but goes like pulling silk. It cannot be rushed."
"Don't catch a chill, and boil some brown sugar water to drink. She will be fully cured very soon."
Duoduo looked at the doctor suspiciously, "You don't need to prescribe any medicine? But she was coughing very badly."
The doctor pointed at Lüdou, "She is no longer coughing, so of course there is no need for medicine. All medicines are somewhat toxic, which is not good for the body anyway."
Only then did Duoduo and Li Da's wife realize that not only was Lüdou no longer coughing, but her fever-flushed red face was no longer red.
Duoduo looked at Li Da's wife and Lüdou with a guilty conscience and gave a soft cough.
