Master Zhang felt a bit awkward, so he deliberately put on a stern face.
"Why would I, your master, tease you? Do you want it or not? If you don't, then forget it!"
As Master Zhang spoke, he made a show of pulling his hand back.
"No! I want it!"
Duoduo hurriedly reached out and grabbed the flower pot, completely missing the smile hiding in Master Zhang's eyes.
Holding the pot, Duoduo inspected it from all angles.
To call the plant inside a mere branch would not be an exaggeration at all.
Moreover, even as a branch, it had already begun to wither.
"Master, what did it originally look like?" Duoduo asked, full of curiosity.
Master Zhang stroked his beard.
"Lush and full of leaves, of course. What else could it look like?"
"Oh, right, it can bloom. If it ever flowers, you must tell me."
Duoduo was a little surprised. "It can bloom?"
Master Zhang nodded. "Of course it can. However, its flowers are very small and extremely rare. I have only been fortunate enough to see them once."
"It's a pity it didn't bear fruit, otherwise I wouldn't treasure it so much!"
"But it's about to die!" Duoduo mercilessly exposed Master Zhang's lie.
Master Zhang's eyes widened in a glare.
"I have taken meticulous care of it! Look, out of all the plants here, it is the only one that ended up like this!"
Duoduo pointed at another plant not far away. "That one is dying too!"
Master Zhang turned to look, and a look of absolute heartache crossed his face.
"That is a top-grade thousand-year-old ginseng. It was never suited for artificial cultivation to begin with."
"I just couldn't bear to part with it. Otherwise, I would have turned it into medicine long ago."
Duoduo's eyes darted around as an idea formed.
"Master, why don't you give that one to me too!"
Master Zhang jumped to the side, protectively shielding the ginseng with both hands.
"Absolutely not! This is a treasure among treasures! It can save lives!"
Duoduo blinked.
"I can save it!"
Duoduo's certain tone made Master Zhang pause for a moment, but then he shook his head vigorously.
"I won't fall for that! Don't even think about tricking me out of it!"
Duoduo let out a deep sigh.
"So everything Master said was a lie."
Master Zhang looked at Duoduo warily. "When did I ever lie to you, Princess?"
Duoduo lowered her head, looking at the flower pot in her hands.
"I know now. Master, when you said what's yours is mine, you were lying to me!"
"Don't worry, I don't want it anymore. I'll even give this one back to you."
With her head bowed, Duoduo placed the flower pot on a nearby shelf.
Then, keeping her head down, she began to walk out, looking incredibly dejected.
Duoduo's tiny figure looked so lonely and desolate.
She walked very slowly, step by step, as if her heart had been completely broken.
Master Zhang noticed that the Princess's shoulders were slightly trembling.
Was the Princess crying?
An inexplicable sense of panic rose in Master Zhang's heart.
He looked at Duoduo's retreating back, and then down at the ginseng in his arms.
"Alright, alright, your master was just teasing you!"
"I already said that what's mine is yours. Just take it!" Master Zhang hardened his heart and turned his back.
Duoduo, who had been dragging her feet, instantly whipped her head around.
Because Master Zhang couldn't bear to face it, he kept his back to Duoduo. Naturally, he didn't see that her face was full of brilliant smiles, without a single tear in sight.
Beaming, Duoduo dashed over and swiftly scooped the ginseng seedling into her arms.
After a moment's thought, she used her other hand to grab the bare branch seedling as well, hugging both to her chest.
"Master, you promised to give them to me, you can't go back on your word now!"
Without looking back, Master Zhang waved his hand.
"I won't! Hurry up and take them! Otherwise, I really might regret it in a moment!"
Holding the two pots, Duoduo felt completely satisfied.
"Don't worry, Master, I will repay you!"
After saying that, Duoduo bowed to Master Zhang's back and skipped away happily.
Only when Duoduo's footsteps faded away did Master Zhang finally beat his chest and stamp his feet in frustration.
Why couldn't he have just stuck to teaching his lessons? Why did he have to bring the Princess here?
Now he had lost two treasures all at once!
His heart ached so much it was killing him!
As Duoduo ran out with the flower pots, she bumped into Lüdou.
"Princess, this servant's hand is already healed."
Lüdou reached out her hand to show Duoduo.
She reached out to take the pots from Duoduo. Duoduo hesitated for a second before handing the pot with the bare branch to Lüdou.
"How long did it take to heal?" Duoduo asked casually.
"It took a bit longer than last night, more than the time it takes an incense stick to burn."
"Princess, what is this plant? It looks like it's about to die!"
Lüdou looked curiously at the bare plant in her hands.
"These are Master's treasures. I had a really hard time getting them from him, so you absolutely cannot throw them away!"
The moment Duoduo thought of Master Zhang's expression just now, her eyes curved into happy crescents.
Lüdou did not understand. How could this bare thing be a treasure?
However, Master Zhang always did things a bit strangely, so Lüdou didn't dare ask too many questions.
The two returned to the courtyard, and Duoduo specifically placed the pots on the windowsill of her own room.
Previously, the pots Duoduo had brought back all came to life, and they were now overflowing with blooming flowers.
"Princess, you brought back two more pots? There's barely any room left on this windowsill."
Lüyi walked over to help.
Duoduo looked at the flowers on the windowsill and waved her little hand grandly.
"See which ones you like and divide them amongst yourselves!"
"But don't touch these two!" Duoduo pointed at the ones she had just brought back.
"Really? This servant has been eyeing them for a long time," Lüyi teased.
"Of course it's true. When have I ever lied to you?" Duoduo took a sip of water.
Lüzhu and Lüluo both ran in. "Princess, do all these flowers really belong to us now?"
"Yes! Each of you take a few pots and clear some space here. I need to put these down."
"Thank you, Princess!" The maids happily bowed to Duoduo and carried away their favorite flowers.
Once there was no one left in the room, Duoduo gently stroked the two plants with her little hands.
"I will heal you! You both need to grow up nicely, understand?"
As Duoduo stroked them, golden light in the air draped over the two plants like a small blanket.
The plants greedily absorbed the golden light.
In the blink of an eye, tiny buds began to sprout on the bare branch.
Meanwhile, the previously drooping ginseng seedling straightened its stem.
Its leaves swayed gently toward Duoduo.
Duoduo lightly touched its leaves. "Do you want some water? Wait a moment!"
Just as she said that, she felt a wet sensation in her palm, and the soil in the pot became moist.
Huh?
Duoduo looked at her palm with curiosity.
There wasn't a single drop of water on her palm.
Where did the water just now come from?
Duoduo's eyes darted around, and she placed her hand over the other flower pot.
She waited for quite a while, but no water flowed out.
Very curiously, Duoduo brought her hand in front of her eyes again. Her palm was dry. It seemed that what happened earlier must have been her imagination.
Thinking of this, Duoduo skipped away to find some water for the flowers.
When Duoduo returned with the water and stood before the pots again, she was completely stunned.
