Duoduo scratched the palm of her hand.
"I want to ask, have you found that monk?"
Xiao Yi's gaze scrutinized Duoduo. "Is this it?"
Duoduo nodded.
"My original purpose for coming here was exactly this."
"Oh? Original purpose? Did you hear what Ling Yu just said?"
Duoduo nodded, "I heard it."
"Since you heard it, then go."
Xiao Yi looked at Duoduo expressionlessly.
Duoduo hesitated for a moment, but still mustered the courage to ask.
"Father, Shitou came back, didn't he?"
"This medicinal herb on your desk is the medicine I asked Shitou to buy. I can smell it!"
Duoduo pointed at the herbs on the side table.
Xiao Yi had already lowered his head, and upon hearing Duoduo's words, he didn't even look up.
"Yes, but I gave him back his deed of sale."
"The Prince's estate isn't a place just anyone can enter!"
"Enough, you should go to your class!"
"Take your herbs with you when you leave!"
Duoduo bit her lip.
"Father, why won't you take him in?"
"His family is poor, and we are only keeping him for a year."
"He's just one person, he won't eat that much."
"If it really comes down to it, can't I support him with my monthly allowance?"
Duoduo didn't notice that the more she spoke, the darker Xiao Yi's face became.
Ling Yu, who was standing to the side, saw Xiao Yi's expression and hurriedly picked up the herbs.
"Princess, let your subordinate escort you out."
"If you are late now, Nanny Li will punish you!"
"No! I'm not leaving!"
Duoduo stubbornly refused to move.
"Shitou is a servant I bought. Father, you cannot drive him away without my permission!"
Xiao Yi put down the official document in his hand and waved at Ling Yu.
Ling Yu opened his mouth, but ultimately walked out and closed the door.
Xiao Yi looked at Duoduo coldly. "Are you saying I have no right to make decisions?"
Duoduo didn't back down at all.
"Yes! He is my person, and only I have the right to decide whether he stays or leaves."
"Father, you said that if a master cannot even protect their own people, how can they command respect?"
Xiao Yi leaned back against his chair.
"Your person? Are you using the words I taught you to gag me?"
"Your daughter wouldn't dare. I am merely stating the facts!"
"Didn't you teach me, Father? That I must learn to stick to what I believe is right!"
Duoduo looked at Xiao Yi with a persistent gaze.
Xiao Yi looked at Duoduo's stubborn little face and rubbed his fingers together.
"Since you are so insistent, I can promise you and let him enter the estate."
"Thank you, Father!" Duoduo happily bowed to Xiao Yi.
Xiao Yi raised his hand, stopping Duoduo.
"Don't be in a hurry. I haven't finished speaking."
"If you want him to enter the estate, we must first make a three-point agreement."
Duoduo only wanted her father to agree, so she nodded vigorously.
"Alright! You say it!"
"First, since you say he is a servant you bought, you will pay his monthly wages yourself."
"Second, you will bear the responsibility for any trouble he causes!"
"Also, you will be responsible for his daily expenses, including clothes for all four seasons and all other fees."
"All these expenses cannot be taken from the estate's accounts."
"Furthermore, you must hand in an account book at the end of every month detailing exactly where your monthly allowance was spent."
"If I ever find out that you are using your own allowance to subsidize him."
"I will have a human trafficker take him away, and then it won't just be a matter of one year!"
"By the way, subsidies from your mother are not allowed either! Help from others is also forbidden!"
"If I find out, the outcome will be exactly the same!"
"You must think this through clearly!"
When the Prince of Pingyang said the last sentence, he sat up straight.
Duoduo hadn't expected her father to make such demands.
She wasn't allowed to use her monthly allowance, yet she had to pay Shitou silver. Where was she supposed to get the money?
This was her father's disguised way of refusing to let Shitou enter the estate.
Duoduo unconsciously bit her lip.
Xiao Yi didn't speak; he waited patiently for Duoduo's answer.
Duoduo looked at her father, determination flashing in her eyes.
"Alright! I agree!"
Astonishment flashed through Xiao Yi's eyes.
"Have you really thought this through? Where will you get the money to support him?"
Duoduo looked resolute.
"That is my business, Father need not worry!"
The corners of Xiao Yi's lips curled up, revealing a faint smile.
"Very well, since you agree, let's put it in writing."
As Xiao Yi spoke, he took a pen and paper from the side and quickly wrote out an agreement.
"Sign it!"
Xiao Yi wrote his own name first, then pushed the paper toward Duoduo.
Duoduo walked over to the desk and carefully read the contents of the paper.
"Father, we need to add another clause."
"What do you want to add?" An imperceptible smile appeared in Xiao Yi's eyes.
"My servant is my responsibility. Therefore, neither Father nor anyone else is allowed to interfere with or bully him."
"Also, as long as I fulfill my end, you cannot drive him away!"
Duoduo proposed her own thoughts.
Xiao Yi raised his pen and added what Duoduo had proposed.
"Is there anything else? If not, then sign."
Duoduo tilted her head and thought for a moment; it seemed there was nothing else.
She took the pen from her father's hand and signed her name.
"Ling Yu, go and bring him in!" Xiao Yi carefully placed the agreement to the side.
"Yes." Ling Yu went out.
Xiao Yi looked at Duoduo. "I forgot to remind you, the first thing a servant does upon entering the estate is change into servant's clothing."
"After all, he is someone who goes in and out of the Prince's estate, and he cannot cause the estate to lose face!"
"Seeing as you are unprepared, the estate will temporarily provide them."
"However, after three days, you must hand over the money."
"A servant boy requires four outfits per season, totaling sixteen pieces."
"As for his living quarters, the estate will provide them, but you also need to prepare his bedding and such."
"If you wish, the estate can advance these for you, and in three days, you will pay for it all together."
"For his three daily meals, he will eat with the estate's servants, and I will have someone settle the bill with you once a month..."
Duoduo stared at Xiao Yi's face. She felt that every time her father opened his mouth, it meant a sum of silver.
Her father just wanted her to regret it, change her mind, and send Shitou away.
She absolutely would not!
Shitou was led in by Ling Yu, and he knelt down as soon as he entered.
"Letting you in does not mean this Prince has accepted you."
"Since the Princess bought you, from now on, you are the Princess's servant."
"In order to keep you, the Princess made a three-point agreement with this Prince."
"All your food, clothing, and living expenses will be borne by the Princess herself."
"If you cause trouble or do anything detrimental to the Princess of the estate, the Princess will bear joint responsibility, and you will be sold off!"
"Think it through clearly, do you still wish to stay?"
