Hearing the voice of the Princess Consort of Pingyang, the steward subconsciously rolled away.
The dagger missed its mark, and the steward scrambled away, rolling and crawling in his haste.
"Nanny Ni, and the rest of you, you may all go back."
"You all did very well today. Each of you will be rewarded with an extra month's allowance."
"You can collect it from Lianxin later."
"Thank you, Your Highness!"
Nanny Ni and the other older maidservants all knelt down to kowtow and thank the Princess Consort of Pingyang before leaving in high spirits.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang gave Lianxin a meaningful look, and Lianxin quickly walked out.
"Why did you stop me?" Xu Jinxin was very confused.
"Jinxin, what brings you here so suddenly? Come, sit down."
The Princess Consort of Pingyang stood up and affectionately pulled the displeased Xu Jinxin over.
Following the Princess Consort of Pingyang's gentle pull, Xu Jinxin sat down on a chair.
"That steward just now, why did you let him escape?"
"Someone who betrays their master like that deserves to die!"
"You can't let him go out of womanly benevolence; he will become a huge disaster in the future!"
Xu Jinxin knew that her close friend had a soft and gentle nature and was simply too good-tempered.
For a servant to dare assassinate their master, such a person wouldn't be wronged even if they were sliced into a thousand pieces.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang waved her hand, and all the servants attending in the room retreated.
"Jinxin, listen to me,"
the Princess Consort of Pingyang explained softly.
"His Highness found out that there is someone behind this steward."
"However, His Highness has never been able to find out exactly who that person is."
"So His Highness wanted me to find a way to force the steward away, making him seek help from the person backing him."
"Then why aren't you hurrying to send someone after him!" Xu Jinxin stood up.
"Someone is already following him."
The Princess Consort of Pingyang pulled Xu Jinxin back down to sit.
"So this was all a trap you set up. You really scared me to death just now."
Xu Jinxin patted her chest.
Just now, when she saw the steward thrusting his dagger toward the Princess Consort of Pingyang, Xu Jinxin felt her blood freeze in her veins for a moment.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang smiled apologetically.
"I didn't expect him to have a dagger on him either."
"I originally just wanted to force him to flee. I never imagined he would actually try to kill me."
"Thanks to you just now, Jinxin. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known how to keep the act going."
The Princess Consort of Pingyang held Xu Jinxin's hands with a face full of gratitude.
"Your reaction just now was pretty good! Though I have to admit, it really took me by surprise!"
Xu Jinxin's words made the Princess Consort of Pingyang blush.
"This is all thanks to Duoduo."
"How is this related to your daughter again?" Xu Jinxin teased.
"Duoduo said that my health is poor and I should exercise more."
"She had me learn along with the guards, but then His Highness found out about it."
"So His Highness personally taught me boxing techniques and even taught me a few emergency self-defense moves."
"How was it? I was pretty impressive just now, wasn't I?"
The Princess Consort of Pingyang completely forgot that after kicking out her leg earlier, her entire leg had turned to jelly.
"Impressive! You say it's all thanks to Duoduo, but you really mean it's all thanks to your Prince, right?"
Xu Jinxin looked at the Princess Consort of Pingyang with a teasing half-smile.
"Not at all."
"If Duoduo hadn't pestered me to learn martial arts, how could I have agreed?"
"If I hadn't agreed, how would His Highness have ended up personally teaching me later?"
"If His Highness hadn't taught me those moves, I might have actually been killed by the steward just now!"
As the Princess Consort of Pingyang spoke, lingering fear crept into her heart.
At first, when Duoduo advised her, she didn't take it very seriously.
It was only later, when the Prince of Pingyang personally taught her, that she developed some interest.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang never expected that merely listening to Duoduo's words would turn out to be her lifesaver!
"I told you a long time ago to practice martial arts, but you wouldn't listen."
"If you had listened to me earlier, you could have slapped that steward to death just now!"
Xu Jinxin said, unconvinced.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang smiled good-naturedly.
"Yes, I know, you're the best, Jinxin!"
"Mother, am I good too?"
Duoduo ran in from outside the door, pulling Yingniang along.
"Little Duoduo, eavesdropping on adults is impolite!"
Xu Jinxin teased Duoduo.
"Auntie Xu, we weren't eavesdropping!"
"We were listening openly and honestly!"
Duoduo blinked her big, watery eyes.
Xu Jinxin couldn't help but pinch Duoduo's cheek.
"Oh my, Duoduo, you are so cute like this!"
"Whatever a cute person says is right, isn't that so, Yingniang?"
Yingniang nodded.
"Mother, you are right!"
Duoduo also nodded.
"Alright, Auntie Xu and big sister are also very cute, so what you say is also right!"
Xu Jinxin couldn't help but burst into laughter.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang also couldn't help but smile warmly.
Duoduo followed suit, revealing a bright and radiant smile.
"Shouldn't you two be in class? Why did you run over to find us?"
"We finished our class. The teacher told us to rest a while before starting again."
"So we ran over to take a look, and we'll go back in a bit!"
Duoduo and Yingniang snuggled into their respective mothers' embraces, their faces full of happiness.
"Mother, I just saw the steward running outside with all his might. Did something happen?"
Duoduo had come over specifically because she noticed the steward acting unusually and felt worried.
"Your mother was so fierce just now!"
Xu Jinxin teased with a smile.
"Jinxin, Duoduo is still a child!" The Princess Consort of Pingyang didn't want Duoduo to worry.
"Duoduo, you and Yingniang hurry back to class. Everything is fine here with Mother."
"There's nothing going on with the steward either; Mother has already sent someone to look into it."
Duoduo tilted her head and looked at the Princess Consort of Pingyang suspiciously.
"Mother, if something is wrong, you have to tell me! You can't keep it from me!"
"Alright! Mother is an adult, you don't need to worry." The Princess Consort of Pingyang comforted Duoduo.
"That's right, little Duoduo, your auntie is here for everything!"
Prompted by the Princess Consort of Pingyang continuously winking at her, Xu Jinxin also offered comfort.
"If little children worry too much, they won't grow tall!"
Duoduo widened her eyes.
"Auntie Xu, that's not right!"
"Growing tall has nothing to do with worrying. It only has to do with eating and sleeping."
Xu Jinxin looked at Duoduo in slight surprise.
The last time she saw Duoduo, she felt that the child was extremely timid and sensitive.
No matter what she did, she was always timid.
The sound of her voice was timid.
Even her smile was timid.
But now, she actually widened her eyes and retorted against her.
It seemed that it wasn't just her best friend who had changed.
This child had changed as well.
Xu Jinxin's interest was immediately piqued.
"How am I wrong? If you worry too much, won't you eat poorly and sleep poorly?"
"And if you eat poorly and sleep poorly, won't that make you not grow tall?"
Duoduo tilted her head, thinking seriously.
Finally, Duoduo nodded.
"Auntie Xu, what you just said is right. I was wrong."
Xu Jinxin was so amused she couldn't close her mouth from smiling.
"What if I told you that I was just talking nonsense just now?"
