"Thank you, Doctor. Lüluo, please see the doctor out."
Lüdou smiled at Duoduo.
"This servant told you I was fine, but you insisted on having the doctor make a trip."
Li Da's wife thought the herbal medicine taken earlier had taken effect, so she didn't think much of it.
After all, no matter what, she would never suspect Duoduo.
"Then this old woman will go back to work in the kitchen."
The kitchen was busy, and Li Da's wife couldn't slack off.
Lüdou smiled at Li Da's wife.
"Master, I can go back to work tomorrow."
Li Da's wife gave her a look. "I've already asked the steward for a leave of absence for you."
"Come back to work only when your body is fully recovered. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, it won't be good."
Lüdou lowered her head. "Yes, Master."
Li Da's wife bowed to Duoduo and left.
Duoduo reached out and took off the wet handkerchief from Lüdou's forehead.
Lüdou hurriedly took it. "It's already dirty. This servant will wash it clean before returning it to you."
Duoduo showed Lüdou a row of small white teeth.
"Lüdou, are you still being polite with me?"
Lüdou folded the handkerchief and put it aside.
"Princess, didn't you go to the estate with the Prince and Princess Consort? Why are you in the manor?"
Duoduo chuckled happily.
"Lüdou, are you confused from the fever?"
"I've been out for days, and I've already come back to the manor!"
Lüdou suddenly realized.
"No wonder no one came back to this room today."
"I was just saying, I thought they were worried about catching it, so they were avoiding me..."
Lüdou suddenly shut her mouth, and then she gave Duoduo a gentle smile.
"Princess, was the estate fun? I heard you even made a kite?"
Sure enough, Duoduo's attention was diverted.
"It was fun!"
"Lüdou, let me tell you, my kite was so pretty! Mother made it for me with her own hands!"
Duoduo described the kite with lively gestures as she spoke.
Then, she also talked about the little friends she made at the estate, Daya and Erdan.
"Lüdou, Daya took me to dig bamboo shoots. It turns out bamboo is just what bamboo shoots look like when they grow up!"
"Oh right, we also went up the mountain to pick mushrooms and wild vegetables. It was so much fun!"
"Erdan took me to dig up ant nests, and there were so many little white eggs inside."
"It turns out little ants, just like little chicks and ducklings, all come out of eggs."
Duoduo chattered away, vividly recounting her life at the estate to Lüdou.
"Lüdou, the days at the estate are so similar to when we were in the backyard of the Song manor!"
"Well, not exactly similar. I wouldn't go hungry, and I wouldn't be bullied by anyone!"
Duoduo tilted her head, recalling the past.
It seemed she could no longer clearly remember the days at the Song manor.
The only remaining memory was the carefree days she shared with Lüdou back then.
Lüdou grasped Duoduo's hand.
"Princess, just forget about the past."
"People always have to learn to grow up. We will only be happy if we look forward."
Duoduo nodded happily.
"That's right! It must be because I am so very happy now that I can't remember the past!"
Lüdou nodded, very pleased.
"Yes! Princess, just forget all the past days and people."
"Master said that living well in the present is the most correct thing to do."
Duoduo blinked.
"Lüdou, a while ago, I kept dreaming about my older sister."
Lüdou nervously gripped Duoduo's hand.
"The Eldest Miss? Why would you dream about her?"
Duoduo shook her head in confusion.
"I don't know either. Anyway, in the dream, she was in a magnificent mansion."
"Inside, there were many, many people."
"There was also a very strange man who looked somewhat similar to my current father."
"I heard my sister call that person Father."
Lüdou lowered her head and pondered for a moment.
"Princess, the elders say that dreams are the opposite of reality."
"This servant remembers that before we left, I heard the Old Madam was planning to take the Eldest Miss to seek refuge with the Second Master."
"So, the Eldest Miss was probably calling him Uncle. You must have misheard."
"Also, this servant heard the cooks say that the Second Master is just an advisor in the government office."
"Therefore, no matter how nice the Second Master's mansion is, it couldn't possibly be considered magnificent."
Duoduo tilted her head; she felt that what Lüdou said seemed to make sense.
"Princess, do you dream of the Eldest Miss often?"
Duoduo thought for a moment and shook her head.
"No, just occasionally."
Lüdou breathed a sigh of relief.
In the kitchen, she had listened to the cooks gossiping about all sorts of things.
Among them were many bizarre and fantastical stories.
One of them was that two people with connected minds could swap identities through dreams.
They could even borrow each other's luck.
Thinking of this, Lüdou's grip on Duoduo's hand suddenly tightened.
No!
She had to go ask that cook and see if there was any way to sever connected dreams!
Duoduo felt the pain in her hand.
"Lüdou, what's wrong?"
Only then did Lüdou realize she was hurting Duoduo. She hurriedly let go and forced a smile.
"It's nothing, I just thought of something."
"Thought of what?" Duoduo was very curious.
Because just now, Lüdou's expression had been extremely tense and panicked.
"Um, I just thought about how I've been sick for a few days and haven't finished the tasks Master assigned me, so I'm worried about being scolded."
Lüdou casually made up an excuse to brush Duoduo off.
"It doesn't matter! Didn't Li Da's wife just say to let you rest well before doing any work?"
Lüdou nodded.
"Princess, if you dream... if you dream of the Eldest Miss again, you must let this servant know."
Duoduo tilted her head, her face full of confusion.
"Why?"
Lüdou bit her lip.
"This servant heard that what you think about during the day, you will dream about at night."
"If you dream of the Eldest Miss, it must be because you are thinking of the past."
"So, if you come and talk to this servant, you can forget about the past unhappiness."
Duoduo thought about it.
Was that so?
However, coming over to talk with Lüdou wasn't a bad idea either.
"Okay! I'll remember!"
Duoduo happily agreed.
"Alright, Princess, you should head back first. The air here isn't good, be careful not to catch my sickness."
"Taking medicine is miserable, and aren't you the most afraid of drinking medicine?"
"This servant is fine now, so you don't need to worry. Hurry back!"
Lüdou saw Lüluo constantly peeking in from outside the door.
Duoduo stood up and reached out to touch Lüdou's forehead.
She then touched her own forehead.
After that, she nodded like a little adult.
"Mhm, you really don't have a fever anymore."
"Then I'll go back first. I'll come see you again tomorrow!"
Duoduo waved her hand at Lüdou and skipped away with Lüluo.
Lüdou sat on her bed, lost in thought for a while.
Her gaze fell on the handkerchief Duoduo had left behind.
Lüdou struggled to change her clothes, got out of bed, and slowly shuffled her way toward the main kitchen.
