Xu Jinxin's eyes shifted thoughtfully.
"Su Xian, why don't you cultivate a hobby?"
The Princess Consort of Pingyang was a bit curious.
"A hobby? Cultivate? To do what?"
"It means learning a skill you are interested in, like painting, calligraphy, and so on."
"When you are bored, you can do things you like, and you won't feel bored anymore."
The Princess Consort of Pingyang smiled, "Isn't it the same when I do embroidery?"
Xu Jinxin shook her head, "Of course it's not the same!"
"A hobby is something you do to pass the time without feeling like it's tedious."
"On the contrary, you will find it extremely interesting and really enjoy doing it."
"Look at me, I love practicing martial arts. If you let me practice my punches all day, I can be so excited that I forget to eat or drink."
The Princess Consort of Pingyang looked thoughtful.
"But I don't have anything I like to learn."
"Besides, you've been practicing martial arts since you were a child."
"At my age, I definitely wouldn't be able to learn anything well."
The Princess Consort of Pingyang shook her head, rejecting Xu Jinxin's suggestion.
Xu Jinxin knew that the Princess Consort of Pingyang was not the same kind of person as her, so it was naturally difficult for her to accept it right away.
"I think it's never too late to start learning something."
"As long as you want to, you can learn slowly, and you will eventually succeed one day."
"Oh right, didn't you say before that you wanted to study medicine? You can totally continue learning it."
"Forget it, I don't want to torture myself."
Thinking of Duoduo's talent, the Princess Consort of Pingyang shook her head with a gentle smile.
Xu Jinxin's eyes shifted again.
"Su Xian, the Prince of Pingyang is so outstanding. Aren't you afraid that he might be taken away by someone one day?"
The Princess Consort of Pingyang was stunned.
She didn't understand why Xu Jinxin would suddenly bring Xiao Yi up.
Seeing the expression on the Princess Consort of Pingyang's face, Xu Jinxin continued to strike while the iron was hot.
"Think about it, outstanding people naturally want to be with other outstanding people."
"When the prince and the princess talk, you can't even get a word in, right?"
"If you don't become outstanding, one day an outstanding woman will come and snatch the prince away!"
Unable to persuade her best friend, Xu Jinxin had no choice but to bring out the Prince of Pingyang.
Because she knew that her best friend was a typical virtuous wife and loving mother, who considered her husband to be her whole world.
Sure enough, the Princess Consort of Pingyang hesitated.
"Could it be that you are willing to share the prince with other women?"
A trace of bitterness flashed across the Princess Consort of Pingyang's face.
"With my broken body, I am already unworthy of the prince..."
"Su Xian, don't belittle yourself! Besides, not being able to have children isn't entirely your fault!"
"Oh right, I heard from Li Jin that Duoduo is very talented in studying medicine, even better than Master Zhang."
"Is there a possibility that Duoduo could cure the prince?"
Thinking of that possibility, Xu Jinxin became very excited.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang's eyes lit up.
That's right!
If Duoduo could cure the prince, wouldn't that mean the prince wouldn't have to sit in a wheelchair anymore?
The moment the Princess Consort of Pingyang thought of that possibility, she suddenly felt full of hope.
At this moment, Lianxin returned, followed by Duoduo and Yingniang.
Seeing Duoduo coming over, the Princess Consort of Pingyang immediately stood up.
"Why did you come over? Are you feeling unwell?" The Princess Consort of Pingyang was a little nervous.
Duoduo smiled and curtsied to the Princess Consort of Pingyang and Xu Jinxin.
"Mother, my class is over!"
The Princess Consort of Pingyang looked at the water clock. "You finished learning so quickly?"
Duoduo nodded.
"Mhm! Momo said that biting off more than you can chew is no good."
"She has already taught me all of today's lessons!"
Xu Jinxin looked at the excited Yingniang in some surprise.
"Are you this happy that class is over?"
Yingniang shook her head.
"No, Mother, you don't know, Momo's lesson today was so interesting."
"Oh? How interesting was it? Tell me about it." Xu Jinxin encouraged Yingniang.
Yingniang immediately started talking.
Duoduo nestled beside the Princess Consort of Pingyang, occasionally adding a few words whenever Yingniang forgot a part.
"Yingniang is so amazing, you actually remembered all this content?"
Xu Jinxin was very surprised.
A proud expression appeared on Yingniang's face.
"Of course, I listened very carefully today!"
"Yes, Mother always said you are the best!" Xu Jinxin provided her daughter with plenty of emotional support.
Seeing the well-behaved Duoduo beside her, the Princess Consort of Pingyang patted Duoduo's head.
"Duoduo is also very amazing!" she praised.
Duoduo's eyes lit up, then curved into crescents as the dimples at the corners of her mouth deepened.
"Mother, you are also very amazing!"
Duoduo praised the Princess Consort of Pingyang in her sweet, milky voice.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk!" Xu Jinxin hugged her daughter, looking at the Princess Consort of Pingyang and Duoduo with feigned jealousy.
"We are not envious, we are also very amazing!"
Yingniang also hugged her mother, beaming with joy.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang was amused by her best friend's antics.
All four of them burst into laughter.
When they had laughed enough, Duoduo remembered something she had been thinking about for a long time.
"Auntie Xu, can I ask you a question?"
Xu Jinxin hugged Yingniang, smiling playfully. "Ask away, I will definitely tell you everything I know!"
"Auntie Xu, the other day you mentioned a lightbulb. What is a lightbulb?"
Xu Jinxin froze and glanced at the Princess Consort of Pingyang.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang smiled and nodded at her.
Xu Jinxin understood that Duoduo had already asked the Princess Consort of Pingyang about it.
She thought for a moment.
"A lightbulb is just like our candles, used for illumination."
"However, it doesn't need to be lit with fire; it relies on electricity to shine."
"It is very bright. A room this big can be illuminated by just one lightbulb."
"Moreover, it isn't afraid of the wind blowing it out, and you don't have to worry about it starting a fire!" Xu Jinxin explained.
"How does electricity shine? And why is it called a lightbulb?"
Duoduo was very curious; she couldn't imagine what a lightbulb was.
"It's called a lightbulb because its shape is like a bubble."
As Xu Jinxin spoke, she became interested and gestured for Baihe to prepare paper and a brush.
"I'll draw it for you to see." Xu Jinxin stood up.
Duoduo, the Princess Consort of Pingyang, and Yingniang all followed her curiously.
Xu Jinxin rolled out the paper, picked up the writing brush, and drew a sphere on it.
"A lightbulb looks like this. The back of it is connected to a wire."
"And the electricity is sent over from a power plant, providing an endless supply."
Duoduo's curiosity grew even greater.
"Then where does the electricity in the power plant come from?" she asked.
This question stumped Xu Jinxin.
Because she had never studied where the electricity in a power plant came from.
"This... Auntie Xu doesn't know either." Xu Jinxin said apologetically.
"Auntie Xu, where is that place? Can I go and see it?"
"If I can figure out where the electricity from the power plant comes from..."
"...then we could have a power plant too, and wouldn't we also have an endless supply of electricity?"
Duoduo was full of longing and anticipation.
After hearing Duoduo's words, Xu Jinxin fell into a rare silence.
