The Prince of Pingyang's face darkened. Was Duoduo praising him or insulting him?
The Prince of Pingyang watched as Duoduo placed the silver needle she had just used back into the liquid to soak.
"I will have someone make a tube for your silver needles. When the time comes, you can put the liquid inside."
Duoduo's eyes lit up when she heard this. "That's a great idea."
The Prince of Pingyang thought for a moment. "It would be best to make it with an inner and outer layer."
Seeing Duoduo's confused expression, the Prince of Pingyang explained, "The procedures for entering the palace are very complicated."
"No one is allowed to bring weapons into the palace. Your silver needles might also be considered concealed weapons."
Duoduo looked surprised. "Then will they be confiscated?"
The Prince of Pingyang's face turned stern. "As long as I am here, no one will dare to take your things!"
The Prince of Pingyang's domineering words made Duoduo laugh happily. "Then what are you worried about, Father?"
"Just in case. Haven't I taught you that you can never be too careful when it comes to guarding against others?"
"Oh," Duoduo replied obediently.
"Then, Father, what about your wheelchair..." Duoduo remembered the silver wire that had shot out that day, which was incredibly tough yet extremely flexible.
"That has a hidden mechanism. Except for me and the person who made it, no one can tell."
"If you don't believe me, you can take a look." The Prince of Pingyang opened his hands, gesturing for Duoduo to observe it herself.
Duoduo squatted down and looked around.
Suddenly, she noticed a different spot on the armrest.
"Father, is it here?" she asked, pointing to the unusual spot.
"Yes! What you saw that day was just one of the concealed weapons, called the Golden Silk Rope."
"It is made of gold wire and thousand-year-old vine branches. Swords and spears cannot cut it, it is impervious to water and fire, and it is extremely light and flexible."
"By the way, I also had someone make a vest for both you and your mother using the same materials."
"When we set off, you will wear them under your clothes. They are invulnerable to swords and spears."
The Prince of Pingyang spoke casually, completely omitting the immense effort and money spent on them.
First of all, pinching the gold into wires of the right thickness was no easy task.
Furthermore, finding so many thousand-year-old vine branches consumed a vast amount of manpower and resources.
Finally, weaving these two materials into two vests was another arduous ordeal.
"Father, what about you? Do you not have one?" Duoduo noticed that the Prince of Pingyang only mentioned two vests.
"There weren't enough materials. Besides, I have many guards around me, so I won't need it."
"Only when you and your mother are out of danger can I focus on dealing with the enemy with peace of mind."
The Prince of Pingyang's words made Duoduo's eyes flicker.
"Father, when the time comes, I will help you!"
"I can already perform the boxing techniques Master Li taught me very skillfully."
"It's just that I'm still small and don't have enough strength, but Master said that taking on a grown man won't be a problem." Duoduo was very confident.
The Prince of Pingyang looked at Duoduo. "Remember, once we leave Xianyang, you must not reveal that you know martial arts."
"Every day, you just learn from the books with Li Jin."
"Or, learn some embroidery from your mother, and play games with Yingniang."
"If all else fails, you can study your medical prescriptions, but you absolutely cannot practice martial arts."
"Ah? But if I don't practice martial arts for a few days, I'll regress!" Duoduo looked reluctant.
"You just won't practice boxing techniques, but you can still practice the basics like the horse stance and running."
"Why?" Duoduo expressed her distress.
Practicing boxing every day had become a habit for her. If she didn't practice for a day, her whole body felt restless.
"Because the moment we step out of the manor, we might be watched."
"Only by making people think you are just a child can you catch them off guard and succeed at critical moments!"
The Prince of Pingyang's words suddenly reminded Duoduo of the content prompted by those golden words.
"Father, since we are leaving early, can we take a detour to the capital?"
A sharp glint flashed quickly through the Prince of Pingyang's eyes.
"Why say that all of a sudden?"
Duoduo unconsciously picked at her palm.
"Well, I heard Master Li say that reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles."
"I want to take this opportunity to walk around and see more before going to the capital, is that okay, Father?"
Duoduo looked at the Prince of Pingyang expectantly.
The Prince of Pingyang looked at Duoduo steadily for a while.
Suddenly, the corners of his lips curled up.
"Then tell me first, where do you want to take a detour to see?"
Duoduo rested her chin on her hand and thought for a moment.
"Father, you once said that the waterway is the fastest, so we can ultimately choose the waterway."
"And the closest place to Xianyang that has a waterway leading to the capital is Shuocheng."
"Father, why don't we play all the way to Shuocheng, and then take the waterway from Shuocheng to the capital."
As soon as Duoduo finished speaking, she suddenly felt a fierce aura pressing down on her.
She was very surprised and looked up at the Prince of Pingyang.
In just an instant, that pressure disappeared.
Duoduo saw the Prince of Pingyang looking at her, his eyes as deep as an ancient well.
Duoduo spoke very nervously, "Father, is my suggestion inappropriate?"
Duoduo was completely unaware that thousands of thoughts had already flashed through the Prince of Pingyang's mind at this moment.
Seeing Duoduo's deep unease, the Prince of Pingyang slowly shook his head.
"It's not that it's inappropriate, but I don't understand why you suddenly thought of taking a detour to Shuocheng?"
As the Prince of Pingyang said this, his eyes were full of inquiry.
"Duoduo, did you have a nightmare again?"
Duoduo felt a pain in the finger scratching her palm; a fingernail had suddenly snapped.
She didn't want to lie to the Prince of Pingyang, but her father had just said that secrets shouldn't be known by others.
Duoduo simply closed her eyes and nodded.
"Yes, I dreamed that someone ambushed us on our way to the capital, and you and Mother were both seriously injured."
"And because you were both injured, we were late entering the capital."
"Then, Grandfather appointed that person called Prince Ling as the Crown Prince!"
Duoduo finished in one breath and didn't dare to open her eyes.
The room was terrifyingly quiet.
Duoduo could even hear her own thump, thump, thump heartbeat.
Feeling a bit strange, Duoduo carefully opened her eyes, and she saw the Prince of Pingyang looking at her with a peculiar expression.
Duoduo was startled.
"Father, although things in dreams don't necessarily happen."
"But didn't you say that one can never be too careful when guarding against others?"
"I've calculated it. Even if we detour to Shuocheng and go straight up by waterway, it won't delay our arrival in the capital!"
The Prince of Pingyang twitched his fingers. "Oh? You even calculated it?"
Duoduo nodded. "Father, the dreams I have are very accurate!"
"I thought, is there any way to avoid it? Then, I went to look at the map, and finally found this optimal route."
"You found it yourself? You didn't ask Ling Yu and the others?"
