"Since that is the case, I will give you two days."
"Go back and properly hand over the tasks you currently have."
"First thing on the morning of the third day, return to serve in the Princess's room."
"The vacant position of the head maid by her side has always been reserved for you."
Lüdou looked up in slight surprise.
Did the Princess Consort of Pingyang know for sure that she would return to Duoduo's side?
Seeing the smile on the Princess Consort's face, Lüdou hurriedly lowered her head.
"Yes, this servant thanks Your Highness, and thanks the Princess!"
Lüdou kowtowed to her masters and retreated.
Her mind was a bit of a mess.
She didn't know how she should explain this to her master when she returned.
Back then, her master had advised her to leave the Princess so that the Princess could grow up better.
But now, she was going back on her word, agreeing to the Princess Consort's request to return to the Princess's side.
Lüdou didn't know whether her decision was right or wrong.
However, the moment she heard that Duoduo might have to face Song Shuyu, she became anxious.
If the Princess went up against Song Shuyu, she would definitely lose.
She absolutely could not let the Princess be hurt again!
At this thought, Lüdou hurried toward the kitchen.
Meanwhile, Duoduo was curtsying to the Princess Consort of Pingyang.
"Your daughter thanks you, Mother."
The Princess Consort looked at Duoduo with a beaming smile. "Didn't Lüdou already thank me? What are you thanking me for?"
Duoduo bashfully threw herself into the Princess Consort's arms.
"Mother, I just want to thank you!"
"Alright, alright! Mother accepts your thanks!"
"Are you really that happy that Lüdou is returning to your side?"
"You should have told Mother earlier, and Mother would have transferred her back long ago."
The Princess Consort hugged Duoduo.
Duoduo shook her head.
"Right now is just perfect."
Duoduo had later learned the reason why Lüdou left her.
Now, both she and Lüdou had grown up.
So, right now was just perfect.
"Alright, if you say it's perfect, then it's perfect."
"By the way, how are the maids in your room doing with making the embroidered pouches?"
The Princess Consort had wanted to see the craftsmanship of the girls around Duoduo, so she had Baihe take some over for them to work on.
Duoduo nodded.
"They are all working on it. Lüyi has great skills; she makes them the fastest and has done the most."
"Lüluo's skills are poor, so I didn't have her do it."
Duoduo said with a giggle, looking at Lüluo by the door.
Lüluo wished the ground would open up and swallow her.
The Princess Consort glanced toward the door.
She saw the cloth bundle in Lüluo's hands, took a brief look, and thought nothing of it.
"Alright, go back and change your clothes, then come over to have lunch with Mother."
Seeing that it was almost noon, the Princess Consort instructed.
Duoduo's dress had some carmine red stains on it.
Because she had been picking flowers, the hem of her skirt was also stained with mud.
Looking down and seeing the mud on her shoes, Duoduo stuck out her tongue playfully.
"Mother, then I'll take my leave for a bit!"
Duoduo skipped and ran out.
Duoduo returned to her own room, and Lüluo followed her in.
"Princess, where should I put this?"
All the way here, Lüluo had been holding it tightly, not daring to relax for a single moment.
Now that they had finally arrived, Lüluo hurried to find a place to set it down.
"Put it under the pillow," Duoduo said, pointing toward the bed.
"Huh?"
Lüluo's mouth dropped open.
"What's wrong? I told you to hide it under the pillow."
Duoduo thought Lüluo hadn't heard clearly.
Lüluo leaned in close to Duoduo.
"Princess, what exactly is this thing that you want to put under your pillow?"
"Don't worry about what it is. If I tell you to put it there, just do it!"
Duoduo ordered with a straight face.
"What's the matter?" Lüyi and Lüzhu, who had been embroidering pouches in the side room, hurried over.
Lüluo was at a loss for what to do.
"The Princess told me to put this under the pillow."
"You do exactly as the Princess commands! If you don't, do you want to be beaten with a plank?"
Lüyi took the cloth bundle from Lüluo's hands.
The heavy feel of it made Lüyi somewhat surprised.
However, she didn't ask anything and simply placed the bundle securely under the pillow.
"Listen well, you three!" Duoduo said with a stern face.
"Without my permission, no one is allowed to move this bundle!"
"Also, no one is allowed to open it out of curiosity!"
"If I find out, I will definitely not keep you by my side any longer!"
Duoduo kept her little face stern as she looked at the three maids in front of her.
"Yes, Princess, your servants obey!"
Lüyi took the lead and knelt, and Lüzhu and Lüluo hurriedly followed suit.
"Alright, Lüyi and Lüzhu, go back to your work. Lüluo, bring me a change of clothes."
Duoduo waved her little hand.
The three maids kept their heads bowed, stood up, and went about their respective tasks.
Duoduo was very satisfied.
Her father had said, if you doubt someone, do not use them; if you use someone, do not doubt them.
If she had already made it this clear and someone still tried to peek, she would absolutely show no mercy!
After eating with the Princess Consort of Pingyang, Duoduo returned to her room for a nap.
She quietly checked the cloth bundle; there were no signs of it having been opened.
Duoduo happily rested her head on the pig-slaughtering knife and had a wonderful sleep.
She no longer had to worry about dreaming of her sister.
Over in Feng City, Song Shuyu's cheek had swelled up inexplicably.
She didn't understand what was wrong with her.
Song Shuyu vaguely remembered dreaming about that jinx, Duoduo.
Could it be that the jinx had passed her bad luck onto her?
"The Princess's face looks like it was slapped by someone."
"Exactly, the mark on her face looks exactly like a handprint."
"But that slap mark looks like a child's hand."
"Shh, could it have been done by the Princess?"
Song Shuyu heard the maids whispering outside the window.
Princess?
Wasn't she the Princess?
She slapped her own face?
How could that be!
What a joke! She wasn't stupid!
Song Shuyu was fuming with anger.
"I'm not talking about Princess Funing, I mean that one..."
The person outside seemed to cover her mouth and lower her voice.
Song Shuyu moved closer to the window, trying to hear who had hit her.
"Do you have a death wish? How dare you suspect the Princess?"
"I'm not talking to you anymore. I don't want to become a wrongfully killed ghost alongside you."
"Hey! I was just saying, why bring up dying?"
Outside, the footsteps of the two maids gradually faded away.
Song Shuyu covered her face and walked over to the bronze mirror.
Through the blurry surface of the mirror, she saw that the slap mark on her face really was quite small.
She placed her own hand over it to compare.
It did indeed look a lot like her own palm.
But it was absolutely impossible that she had hit herself.
Princess?
The maid just now was definitely not talking about her.
In the Ling Prince's Manor, she wasn't the only Princess!
Song Shuyu absentmindedly chewed on her fingernail, starting to ponder.
There were only two princesses around her age.
Both of them were unfriendly to her.
To be precise, all the children in the Ling Prince's Manor were unfriendly to her.
Song Shuyu bit down hard on her finger.
She remembered what her grandmother had taught her: the crying child gets the milk.
Song Shuyu quickly messed up her hair and rubbed her swollen cheek a few times.
Covering her face, she ran toward the front courtyard.
