The carriage came to a halt in front of the Prince of Pingyang's estate.
"Princess, we have arrived."
The maidservant, Lüdou, pulled back the carriage curtain.
"Masters, please go first!" Duoduo stood up and made way.
Li Jin gestured for Master Zhang to go ahead. Master Zhang clasped his hands behind his back and was the first to step down from the carriage.
Li Jin smiled at Duoduo. "Princess, let's go."
Duoduo smiled back. "Mhm!"
Duoduo hopped down from the carriage. The Princess Consort of Pingyang and the others were already waiting at the estate's entrance.
Duoduo skipped over to them.
Seeing the servants unloading numerous items from the carriage into the estate, her mouth fell open.
"Mother, you bought this much?"
The Princess Consort nodded with a beaming smile.
"Yes, I saw that these fabrics were the latest fashion, so I wanted to buy them to make some summer clothes for you and your father."
Duoduo was puzzled.
"Mother, haven't you already made two?"
"How could two be enough? We need to prepare at least a dozen."
"Besides, it's a long journey ahead. Doing needlework on the road will be a good way to pass the time."
The Princess Consort explained gently.
"Ah? The scenery on the road is so beautiful. Wouldn't it be a waste if you just sit and embroider?"
Duoduo looked regretful.
"How could it be? I can embroider and enjoy the scenery at the same time."
"Alright, can you mother and daughter talk about this inside?"
Xu Jinxin walked over.
She rubbed her belly with a pained expression.
"I'm starving. Aren't you guys hungry?"
Shopping was incredibly draining; whatever little food was in her stomach had long been digested.
"Let's hurry inside then."
"Duoduo must be starving too, right?" The Princess Consort looked concerned.
Duoduo shook her head.
"I'm doing alright."
The Princess Consort noticed that the young boy Duoduo had bought was nowhere to be seen.
"Duoduo, I heard you bought a servant? Why don't I see him?"
The Princess Consort asked, seemingly casually.
Duoduo held her mother's hand, skipping along.
"Oh, his name is Shitou. I had him go buy some medicinal herbs for me!"
The Princess Consort looked tense.
"Medicinal herbs? Are you feeling unwell? Tell me!"
Duoduo quickly waved her hands.
"Mother, it's not that I'm unwell. I bought them for another purpose."
Hearing that Duoduo was fine and observing that she looked no different from usual, the Princess Consort felt relieved.
"You startled me. If you're fine, why buy medicinal herbs?"
"Well, I'm doing a... um, Master said it's an experiment!"
Duoduo explained to her mother.
Beside them, Xu Jinxin's interest was piqued. "Duoduo, what kind of experiment are you doing? Tell Auntie about it."
Duoduo blinked. "It's related to medicine. Do you know medicine too, Auntie?"
Xu Jinxin shook her head.
"I don't, but who knows, maybe I can give you some ideas!"
Hearing this, Duoduo looked thoughtful.
"Master Zhang and I want to find a way to make a person lose sensation."
"I want to soak silver needles in anesthetic powder and insert them into a person's meridians."
"I want to test whether the anesthetic powder on the needles can numb specific meridians."
"What I mean is, if I stick a needle into a hand, the hand can't move; if I stick it into a leg, the leg can't move!"
Worried that the Princess Consort and Xu Jinxin wouldn't understand, Duoduo deliberately explained a bit more.
"Isn't that just local anesthesia?" Xu Jinxin said nonchalantly.
"Anesthesia? Local?" Duoduo looked confused.
Xu Jinxin covered her mouth for a second.
Then, she smiled and explained, "Anesthesia means using anesthetic powder to numb a person."
"Local means exactly what you just said: numbing wherever you want to numb."
Duoduo blinked her big eyes.
"Aunt Xu, how can local anesthesia be achieved?"
Xu Jinxin hesitated for a moment.
"Probably by using silver needles. Aren't you about to do an experiment? Give it a try!"
Duoduo acutely sensed that Xu Jinxin had left something unsaid.
However, Duoduo merely blinked.
"Mhm, I will try."
Since Duoduo didn't press the matter, Xu Jinxin breathed a sigh of relief, though she also felt a faint sense of disappointment.
"Su Xian, I'll take Yingniang to find Li Jin. I'll come back to see you this afternoon."
Xu Jinxin escorted the Princess Consort and Duoduo to the backyard, but she did not go any further.
"Why don't you and your daughter eat with us today?"
The Princess Consort was reluctant to let her best friend leave.
"Never mind. Now that the Prince of Pingyang is back, my daughter and I won't stay and be lightbulbs!"
"You family members enjoy some quality time together, and we'll go back to get some rest."
Xu Jinxin teased with a grin.
Lightbulbs?
What was that?
Duoduo looked at Xu Jinxin with a face full of curiosity.
Xu Jinxin took Yingniang, bowed, and left. Duoduo watched their retreating figures without saying a word.
"Let's go, Yingniang will be over in the afternoon."
The Princess Consort took Duoduo's hand and walked back.
She thought Duoduo was sad to see Yingniang leave, so she tried to comfort her.
"Mother, what did Aunt Xu mean by 'lightbulbs' just now?"
Duoduo couldn't hold back and asked.
The Princess Consort pursed her lips and smiled.
"Well, I asked the exact same question before."
"Your Aunt Xu said that there is a place where they use electricity to create light."
"It emits light just like our candles, but it never runs out."
"Then what is electricity?"
"Where is that place? Can't we transport electricity here?"
"If we transport it here, wouldn't we also have an endless supply of electricity!"
Duoduo tilted her little head, her mind full of question marks.
The Princess Consort smiled and patted Duoduo's head.
"That is a very good question. You've even stumped me."
"I don't know either, but maybe your Aunt Xu knows."
"When she comes this afternoon, just ask her and you'll find out!"
Duoduo nodded.
"Okay, after I learn etiquette from Nanny Li this afternoon, I'll go look for Aunt Xu."
As the mother and daughter talked, they arrived at the dining hall.
The Prince of Pingyang was already waiting inside. The two hurriedly paid their respects.
"Your concubine/Your daughter greets Your Highness/Father!"
The Prince of Pingyang waved his hand, quietly observing them.
The Princess Consort led Duoduo to sit down at their seats.
The attending maidservants quickly brought over clean towels.
"Have you waited long, Your Highness? I was so absorbed in shopping today that I took a bit longer."
The Princess Consort looked apologetic.
Making the Prince of Pingyang wait on an empty stomach was her fault.
"Father, it was me who had matters to attend to that delayed our return to the estate. Don't blame Mother!"
Duoduo hurriedly explained.
The Prince of Pingyang looked at them without saying a word, then he lowered his eyes and picked up his chopsticks.
The Princess Consort and Duoduo didn't dare to speak, and the two also began to eat.
Except for the occasional clinking of chopsticks against bowls, the room was extremely quiet.
Duoduo's big eyes darted around.
She looked at the Princess Consort for a moment, then at the Prince of Pingyang.
Duoduo acutely sensed that her mother was very uneasy.
And her father seemed somewhat displeased.
Duoduo put down her chopsticks and pulled a small oil-paper parcel from her sleeve.
"Father, I ate a very delicious pastry today."
"I brought this back for you. Please have a taste!"
