Lüdou suppressed the surprise in her heart.
"We can ask Nanny Ni about this. She tends to the flowers and plants, so she definitely knows where to buy them."
Duoduo nodded and stood up.
"Lüdou, go find Nanny Ni quietly tomorrow."
"Just tell her, tell her..." Duoduo paused.
"Just tell her that I like them, want to keep them for fun, and have her get some for me."
"Oh, right, tell her not to spread the word. If it leaks out, she'll be punished with the paddle!"
Duoduo deliberately kept a straight face.
Lüdou lowered her head. "Yes."
Duoduo stretched. "I'm sleepy, time for bed!"
Lüdou helped Duoduo wash up and get into bed.
As Lüdou tucked her in, she suddenly remembered something.
"Princess, do you still dream of... do you still have nightmares?"
Duoduo lay in bed and let out a big yawn.
"Not anymore! Ever since I got the knife you found, I haven't had them at all."
"Thank you, Lüdou."
Duoduo said, closing her eyes.
"It's what this servant ought to do," Lüdou said, but seeing Duoduo fall asleep in a second, she immediately shut her mouth.
Lüdou stood up and quietly blew out the candles, leaving only one by the bedside in case Duoduo needed to get up in the night.
She spread her bedding on the footstool and lay down.
A dreamless night.
At the beginning of the Maoshi hour, Lüdou carefully sat up.
She first quickly put away her bedding, then went out to tidy up for a while, and came back holding a washbasin.
Lüdou placed the basin on the washstand and walked to the bed.
"Princess, it's time to get up!"
On the bed, Duoduo shrank down and hid under the covers.
"I want to sleep a little longer," came Duoduo's muffled voice from under the blanket.
Lüdou pulled up the bed curtains and hooked them in place.
"Princess, it is the Maoshi hour. If you go late, Master Li will punish you again!"
Saying this, Lüdou gently lifted a corner of the blanket and dug Duoduo out.
Duoduo kept her eyes closed and yawned.
"Lüdou, tell me, how nice would it be if I could just sleep until I naturally woke up!"
Lüluo came in, also yawning.
"Princess, you are at the age where you're growing, you should rest more. You went to bed too late last night."
Duoduo lifted her eyelids and glanced at Lüluo.
"Are you alright now?"
Lüluo froze for a moment. "What is the Princess asking about? Of course this servant is fine."
Lüluo suddenly remembered something, and her sleepiness vanished from fright.
"Princess, you being so sleepy, could it be because the poison hasn't fully dissipated yet?"
Duoduo smiled at Lüluo and playfully raised her finger.
"Here, look!"
She wiggled her finger, and Lüluo immediately let out a long sigh of relief.
"Princess, you scared this servant to death! I thought your fingers still couldn't move!"
Duoduo got dressed, hopped out of bed, and skipped over to wash up.
Once Duoduo had eaten breakfast and gone to her morning practice, Lüdou and Lüluo could rest.
Lüluo yawned, "Lüdou, let's go back and catch up on sleep."
Lüdou shook her head.
"You go ahead, I still have some things to do and need to go out."
Lüluo muttered, "If you're not sleeping, I'll go back and sleep."
Lüdou went to the greenhouse, found Nanny Ni, and took out the plant they had dug up last night.
When Nanny Ni saw it, she was terrified.
"Miss Lüdou, where was this found?"
"This humble servant remembers digging them all up, why are there still some in the manor?"
Looking at Nanny Ni's expression, Lüdou knew she wasn't lying.
"Where are the ones that were dug up?"
Nanny Ni hurriedly waved her hands. "They were all thrown away! This is poisonous, the Princess Consort ordered them all to be disposed of!"
Lüdou pondered for a moment.
"Where were the ones you dug up thrown?"
Nanny Ni was a little surprised. She looked up and saw Lüdou staring at her.
Nanny Ni hesitated for a moment.
"Miss Lüdou, why are you asking this?"
"Do you still not believe this humble servant? I truly had people throw them out!"
Lüdou mimicked Duoduo's straight face.
"You say you threw them all away, so how do you explain this?"
"Yesterday, the Princess saw this by the flowerbed. If it weren't for that maid Lüluo accidentally touching it and getting poisoned..."
"Tell me, if the Princess had touched this, what would the consequences be?"
"If the Princess Consort finds out that you didn't take care of it, but instead lied to your masters, tell me, what will your fate be!"
Nanny Ni was frightened by Lüdou's words.
"This humble servant swears to heaven, I had them all dug up! All the flowers that were dug up, I had people throw them onto the mountain outside the city!"
Lüdou's eyes flickered.
Outside the city? That far?
"Alright, I'll go take a look later. If you're lying, I will definitely report it to the Princess Consort!"
After saying this, Lüdou took the plant away again.
Nanny Ni was terrified, and she hurried to double-check.
She had clearly had people dig them all up, why were there still some in the manor?
It must be those old maids slacking off and not finishing the job!
They were really going to be the death of her!
Lüdou found an excuse and left the manor.
She hired a carriage, went out of the city, and found the plants Nanny Ni had ordered thrown away.
Lüdou packed a few plants into a cloth bundle and took the carriage back to the manor.
The gate guards saw the bundle in Lüdou's hands and demanded to open it for inspection.
"These are medicinal herbs requested by the Princess. If you delay the Princess's important matters, beware of the paddle!"
Using Duoduo's name, Lüdou smoothly entered the manor.
Lüdou carefully hid the bundle and then went to find Duoduo.
At this moment, Duoduo had already started learning medicine with Master Zhang.
Lüdou could only stand outside the door and wait.
Meanwhile, the guards reported Lüdou's unusual behavior to Ling Yu, who immediately reported it to the Prince of Pingyang.
"A bundle? Medicinal herbs?"
The Prince of Pingyang waved his hand. "It's fine, let her be."
Ling Yu was a bit worried. "Your Highness, what if that maid is using the Princess's name to smuggle other things in?"
The Prince of Pingyang pondered for a moment. "Find someone to keep an eye on her, don't alert her."
"Yes." Ling Yu hurried away.
Half an hour later, Duoduo finally finished her class.
Lüdou walked in, bowed to Duoduo, and then leaned in close to her.
"Princess, this servant brought the things back."
Hearing this, Duoduo looked surprised.
"You brought them back?"
Lüdou nodded.
"This servant figured that the fewer people who know about this, the better."
"So, after I got Nanny Ni to tell me where they were thrown, this servant went out of the city and brought some back."
Duoduo thought for a second. "Wait for me here."
Duoduo ran over to Master Zhang.
"Master, I want to take a leave of absence for the next class."
Master Zhang slowly looked at Duoduo.
"Princess, are you feeling unwell?"
Duoduo shook her head.
"No."
"Then why do you want to take a leave?"
Duoduo blinked.
"I think I found a way to anesthetize the meridians."
Master Zhang stood up in surprise. "Is what the Princess says true?"
Duoduo shook her head again. "I'm not sure. I need to find someone to test it on."
Master Zhang held out his hand without hesitation. "Then test it on me!"
Duoduo's eyes widened. "Master, that thing is poisonous!"
