"You knew? Did the Prince really throw the two of you into the water?" the Princess Consort of Pingyang asked, completely puzzled.
Given how much the Prince of Pingyang doted on Duoduo, such a thing was simply impossible.
"Mother, did you forget? I know how to swim," Duoduo reminded the Princess Consort of Pingyang.
Ever since Duoduo was scolded by the Prince of Pingyang for playing in the water at the estate last time, he had Ling Feng teach her how to swim.
Just now, the Prince of Pingyang had intentionally frightened Duoduo and the others.
His goal was to make sure they wouldn't easily go near the water's edge.
"Father clearly knew I can swim, but when he saw that I didn't surface, he still rescued us immediately."
"I saw that Father was so nervous his face turned pale."
"Father must have thought I was so terrified that I forgot how to swim."
Duoduo said, sticking her tongue out playfully.
"Actually, I wasn't scared at all."
"It was my sister and Father who were frightened."
Hearing this, the Princess Consort of Pingyang didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She gently gave Duoduo a smack on the bottom.
"You naughty girl! No wonder the Prince was angry enough to punish you! You've even led Yingniang astray!"
Hearing that Duoduo knew how to swim, Yingniang immediately felt relieved.
"Duoduo, so you know how to swim too!"
"Ah! No wonder there weren't even any bubbles after you fell into the water."
"People who can't swim will blow bubbles when they're drowning!"
"I was just too anxious, so I didn't notice!"
Yingniang smacked her own head, and Xu Jinxin hastily pulled her hand away.
"You're already not that bright, what if you knock yourself silly?"
Yingniang didn't mind her mother calling her silly; she just laughed cheerfully.
Lüdou walked in carrying a tray, on which sat two steaming bowls of medicine.
"The medicine is here. Come, one bowl for each of you. Drink it and hurry into bed to sweat it out."
The Princess Consort of Pingyang picked up one of the bowls and handed it to Xu Jinxin.
Duoduo and Yingniang exchanged a look of utter despair, pinched their noses, and downed the medicine in one gulp.
Then, the two of them were stuffed under the bedcovers.
Looking at Yingniang wrapped up like a cicada pupa, Duoduo giggled aloud.
Seeing Duoduo in the exact same state, Yingniang also started laughing.
Still feeling uneasy, the Princess Consort of Pingyang carefully instructed Lianxin.
"Make a trip to the front courtyard and find the Prince. Tell him that the Princess and Yingniang are both fine."
Lianxin nodded and quietly left.
Not long after drinking the medicine, the two began to sweat.
"Mother, can I come out? It's so hot!"
Duoduo felt covered in sweat.
"No! You can't come out while you're sweating. If the sweat recedes and the cold is trapped inside, you'll suffer terribly."
"You are a doctor yourself, you should understand this principle, right?"
The Princess Consort of Pingyang pressed down tightly on the blanket, not allowing Duoduo to move around.
Over there, Xu Jinxin was also pressing down firmly on the bedding, refusing to let Yingniang out.
After a good while, the Princess Consort of Pingyang touched Duoduo and, finding that she had stopped sweating, finally had the maids quickly dry her body and change her into a fresh, dry set of clothes.
At this moment, Lianxin returned, her expression looking extremely strange.
Seeing Lianxin's expression, the Princess Consort of Pingyang's heart skipped a beat.
"What is it? Is the Prince still angry?"
Lianxin shook her head.
"To reply to Your Highness, this servant relayed your message to the Prince."
"The Prince just gave a murmur of acknowledgment and didn't say anything else."
The Princess Consort of Pingyang breathed a sigh of relief.
"With that expression of yours, I thought you had been reprimanded by the Prince!"
"What was the Prince doing when you went?" the Princess Consort of Pingyang asked casually while watching Lüdou dress Duoduo.
Lianxin hesitated for a moment.
"The Prince was having the guards fill the pond with water."
The Princess Consort of Pingyang turned her head, thinking she had misheard.
"What did you say? Fill what with water?"
Lianxin replied with absolute certainty, "Fill the pond with water."
"Your Highness, you have no idea. The water in that massive pond in the garden is completely gone."
"The fish in the pond are just flopping around constantly."
"The Prince ordered the guards to carry water over to keep the fish alive for now."
"Gone? How could the water just disappear?" The Princess Consort of Pingyang looked shocked.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang didn't notice that Duoduo, who had just finished getting dressed, lowered her head with a very guilty conscience.
After she fell into the water earlier, she had just been about to tread water and surface.
As a result, a school of fish swam over and surrounded her.
She was very happy and reached out to touch them.
And in that split second, the water vanished!
She didn't know where the water went either!
Duoduo recalled how those fish were all scrambling to kiss her right hand.
Duoduo quietly opened her palm and looked at her right hand.
There wasn't anything special about her right hand, was there?
Why did those fish seem to like it so much?
Perhaps they just liked her petting them?
However, with a pond that big, how long would the guards have to carry water to fill it up?
Duoduo couldn't help but feel a little sympathetic toward the guards.
After tossing about all day, it was finally time for dinner.
Xu Jinxin took the physically and mentally exhausted Yingniang back home.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang took Duoduo by the hand and went to the flower hall to wait for the Prince of Pingyang to have dinner together.
Duoduo felt quite uneasy.
She was worried about what she should answer if her father asked where the water in the pond went later on.
When it was time to eat, the Prince of Pingyang came in, sitting in his wheelchair.
Duoduo and the Princess Consort of Pingyang hastily stood up to greet the Prince of Pingyang.
"Sit down, let's eat."
The Prince of Pingyang said nothing else and directly picked up his chopsticks.
Duoduo secretly glanced at the Prince of Pingyang.
The Prince of Pingyang was as expressionless as always; it was impossible to tell if he was happy or angry.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang shot Duoduo a look, signaling her to eat quickly.
Duoduo smiled at the Princess Consort of Pingyang, then buried her head and began to eat.
Before long, the Prince of Pingyang put down his chopsticks.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang and Duoduo quickly followed suit and put down their chopsticks.
The maids methodically cleared away the bowls and chopsticks, then served hot tea.
The Prince of Pingyang picked up his teacup, took the lid in his right hand, and gently skimmed the tea leaves.
Then, he blew on it and took a small sip.
Wanting to escape, Duoduo hopped down from her chair.
"Father, Mother, I'm going to do my exercises."
"Wait, I have something to ask you!" the Prince of Pingyang called out, stopping Duoduo.
Duoduo asked cautiously, "Father, can you wait until I finish my exercises to ask?"
"You taught me to be honest and keep my word. If I'm late, it means I'm not keeping my promise!"
"Men!" Following the Prince of Pingyang's command, a guard appeared at the door.
"Go tell Li Jin that tonight's exercises are canceled!"
"Yes, sir." The guard left.
Duoduo's eyes darted around. "Father, didn't you say that when practicing martial arts, one shouldn't fish for three days and dry the nets for two?"
"You also said that in doing things, perseverance is key!"
"By canceling my exercises tonight, aren't you going back on your word?"
The Prince of Pingyang stared fixedly at Duoduo and slowly put down the teacup in his hand.
