"They bloomed! They bloomed!"
"So beautiful!"
Several maidservants couldn't help but exclaim.
Duoduo also opened her little mouth wide, "They really are so pretty!"
She reached out her small hand and patted the other flower pots.
"You all have to work hard too!"
The flowers in the pots swayed gently in the morning breeze.
It was as if they were responding to Duoduo's words.
"Oh, Princess, your hands are no longer swollen!"
Lüluo was the first to notice.
Duoduo waved her little hands.
"Yeah, they aren't swollen! It's all thanks to you!"
"Oh my, it's getting late, I need to hurry to the master's place!"
Duoduo turned around and ran outside.
Because she had cloth bags tied to her legs, Duoduo was late today.
Li Jin looked at Duoduo, who was sweating profusely from anxiety, but he showed no mercy.
"Princess, you are late!"
"According to the rules, your punishment is to run three laps."
"Yes!" Duoduo knew it was her own fault for getting delayed by looking at the flowers.
"Duoduo, I'll accompany you!"
Yingniang chased after her.
Li Jin also joined them in running laps.
Outside the study, Ling Feng was pacing around anxiously.
Normally at this hour, the Prince of Pingyang would have been up long ago.
However, today it was already past the Mao hour, and there was still no movement inside.
Ling Feng didn't dare to knock and disturb him.
Just when he was beside himself with anxiety, he saw Duoduo running laps in the courtyard.
Ling Feng walked over and bowed to Duoduo.
"Your subordinate greets the Princess!"
Duoduo was running out of breath, and she weakly waved her hand at Ling Feng.
However, Ling Feng did not step out of the way.
Duoduo had no choice but to stop.
"Ling Feng, you're blocking my run!"
Ling Feng cupped his hands and bowed, "Please forgive me, Princess. Your subordinate has a matter to trouble you with."
Duoduo tilted her head.
"What is it? How can I help you?"
"To reply to the Princess, today, His Highness instructed that we need to visit the estate."
"But His Highness still hasn't gotten up at this hour."
"Your subordinate is worried that something might have happened to His Highness. Please, Princess, help me by going inside to check."
Duoduo looked puzzled.
"Ling Feng, you can go in and check on Father yourself. I still have to run!"
A hint of bitterness appeared on Ling Feng's face.
"Princess, you might not know, but your subordinate doesn't know if he did something wrong."
"His Highness no longer allows me to get close to him."
"Furthermore, His Highness forbids us from entering his room casually without his permission."
"Usually, we can only go in when His Highness wakes up and calls for us."
"Today, His Highness said we would set off early in the morning. Logically, he should be up by now."
"But your subordinate hasn't heard a single sound."
"That's why I came to ask for your help, Princess."
Hearing Ling Feng say this, Duoduo immediately became anxious.
"Then I will go take a look."
Ling Feng opened the door for Duoduo, and she went inside.
"Father?"
Duoduo called out softly.
Inside the room, no one answered.
Duoduo looked toward the bed and saw the Prince of Pingyang lying there with his eyes closed.
"Father!"
Duoduo ran to the bedside, stood on her tiptoes, and used her finger to check the Prince of Pingyang's breathing.
When Duoduo felt the breath on her hand, she let out a long sigh of relief.
Duoduo then touched the Prince of Pingyang's cheek and the back of his hand; both were warm.
It seemed Father was just asleep.
Duoduo gently pushed the Prince of Pingyang.
"Father! Wake up! Father?"
The Prince of Pingyang on the bed instantly opened his eyes. Sensing someone beside him, he sat up at once.
Then, with lightning speed, he raised his hand, preparing to strangle Duoduo.
Terrified, Duoduo squatted down and dodged it.
The Prince of Pingyang grabbed empty air and froze.
Duoduo had dodged so quickly just now that the Prince of Pingyang hadn't seen clearly who it was.
Therefore, he rolled out of bed and kicked toward Duoduo.
Duoduo hastily hugged the Prince of Pingyang's thigh.
"Father, it's me!"
The Prince of Pingyang hurriedly stopped his momentum and lifted Duoduo up.
"Duoduo? Why are you in my room?"
Duoduo stared blankly at the Prince of Pingyang.
"Father, your legs..."
The Prince of Pingyang hurriedly covered Duoduo's mouth.
"Shh!"
The Prince of Pingyang made a gesture.
Duoduo blinked, indicating that she understood.
The Prince of Pingyang let go of his hand.
"How did you get in? Aren't you supposed to be exercising with Li Jin?"
"Ling Feng asked me to come!" Duoduo blinked.
"He said you mentioned going to the estate today."
"But it's past the time and you still haven't gotten up."
"He was worried about you, but he didn't dare to come in, so he asked me to come inside and check."
"Father, why are you sleeping in too?"
Duoduo's eyes flashed with the excitement of catching her father making a mistake.
A trace of unease flashed across the Prince of Pingyang's face.
Ever since his legs recovered, he hadn't allowed the guards near his room.
Including Ling Feng.
Even for the night guards, the Prince of Pingyang had ordered that no one could enter the room without his summons.
Last night, the Prince of Pingyang tied the cloth bags to his legs.
He followed Li Jin's method and did some adaptation exercises first.
His legs had only recently recovered.
After tying on the cloth bags, he could hardly move his steps.
He had to push the wheelchair and, relying on its support, barely managed to walk a few laps around the room.
Once he had adapted slightly, the Prince of Pingyang forced himself to do some more training.
Since his body had been paralyzed, he had eaten very little in order not to trouble others.
Therefore, the Prince of Pingyang's body was very weak.
Just this simple training pushed his body to the extreme limit of exhaustion.
Causing him to sleep all the way until now.
Thinking of this, the Prince of Pingyang lay back down on the bed.
Duoduo stroked the Prince of Pingyang's forehead with a worried look.
"Father, are you feeling unwell somewhere? Should I have Ling Feng fetch a doctor?"
The Prince of Pingyang looked at Duoduo.
"How are your studies going with Master Zhang?"
Duoduo blinked her big eyes.
"Master Zhang said that I have already memorized the things in the books."
"Starting today, he will teach me acupuncture."
Duoduo thought of something, and a hint of confusion appeared in her eyes.
"Father, is Master Zhang really a doctor?"
The Prince of Pingyang's eyes flickered.
"Why? Is something wrong?"
Duoduo tilted her head.
"Master Zhang taught me how to identify poisons, and he said he would also teach me how to make poisons!"
"Aren't doctors supposed to treat illnesses and save people? Why make poison? Isn't that harming people?"
The Prince of Pingyang looked at Duoduo.
"Since ancient times, medicine and poison have been of the same family. If you encounter a poisoned patient, you can only save them if you know what poison they were given."
Duoduo suddenly understood.
"So that's how it is! I understand now, I will definitely study hard with the master!"
Having figured it out, the smile on Duoduo's face brightened.
"Right, Father, your... when did they recover?"
Duoduo lowered her voice and pointed at the Prince of Pingyang's legs.
The Prince of Pingyang's fingers twitched slightly.
"They haven't completely recovered yet. You must not tell anyone!"
The Prince of Pingyang felt that his tone was too sharp, so he softened it.
"This is a secret between the two of us. Can you keep it a secret for Father?"
