The Prince of Pingyang looked at the golden hairpin in the box. "No, this is indeed for you."
Duoduo's little face fell. "This is jewelry. How is it a hidden weapon?"
"Besides, I want a hidden weapon with mechanisms, not this kind of jewelry that can't even prick someone to death!"
Duoduo pouted and put the box back on the table.
The Prince of Pingyang pondered for a moment, then reached out and took the golden hairpin out of the box.
"Watch closely. I will only show you how it works once."
Hearing the Prince of Pingyang say this, Duoduo hurriedly focused her gaze on his hands.
She saw the Prince of Pingyang take the hairpin and twist it somewhere, causing it to instantly split apart.
Then, he swiftly pieced and connected the two ends together. A miniature crossbow appeared in the palm of the Prince of Pingyang's hand.
He placed a very fine needle on it and gently pulled the trigger.
The needle shot into the opposite wall and disappeared.
Duoduo ran over in surprise and searched carefully.
"Father, that's amazing! It actually shot right into the wall!"
Suppressing her excitement, Duoduo ran back and whispered.
"Do you still think it's just an ordinary golden hairpin?" the Prince of Pingyang asked, holding the crossbow.
Duoduo shook her head, beaming with joy.
"No! Father, who made this? They are so amazing!"
After the Prince of Pingyang spoke, Duoduo took the crossbow and, following the steps from earlier, restored it to the shape of a golden hairpin.
Then, she disassembled it and reassembled it back into a crossbow.
"Mhm, I understand now. Disassembling it from here makes it turn into this much faster!"
Duoduo had discovered a quicker method.
Holding the golden hairpin, she rapidly disassembled and assembled it in her hands, turning it into the crossbow.
She loaded a needle onto it and pulled the trigger. The needle shot into the opposite wall.
A satisfied look appeared in the Prince of Pingyang's eyes.
"Not bad. As for this needle, you can have Master Zhang teach you how to soak it in a lethal poison that kills upon drawing blood."
"When the time comes, this needle will become a deadly weapon!"
Duoduo's highly excited expression froze.
"Father, wouldn't that kill someone?"
The Prince of Pingyang looked at Duoduo's uneasy expression, somewhat understanding how she felt.
"This is just kept in case of emergencies."
"When real danger arises, it's either you die or they perish! What will you choose?"
The Prince of Pingyang didn't force Duoduo; he only pointed it out and left it at that.
Hearing this, Duoduo looked thoughtful.
"Alright, you've had a long day. Go back and rest early."
The Prince of Pingyang saw that it was getting late.
"Okay."
Duoduo reassembled the crossbow back into the shape of a golden hairpin and put it back in the box.
"Then I'll head back first! Father, you should rest early too."
Duoduo curtsied to the Prince of Pingyang and prepared to leave.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
"Your Highness, the guard who went to Fengcheng has returned." The person speaking outside the door was Ling Yu.
The Prince of Pingyang's gaze sharpened. "Let him in!"
"Duoduo, you stay and listen too," the Prince of Pingyang instructed.
"Yes, Father."
Duoduo had originally planned to do just that. She had been about to find an excuse when she heard the Prince of Pingyang's words.
Duoduo walked to the side and sat down.
The door opened, and Ling Yu walked in with the guard.
As soon as the two entered, they bowed to the Prince of Pingyang and Duoduo.
"Dispense with the formalities! Rise. Tell me, what is the situation?"
The Prince of Pingyang got straight to the point.
Originally, the Prince of Pingyang had arranged for Ling Yu to go to Fengcheng.
However, right before departure, the Prince of Pingyang received a message via carrier pigeon about other matters that required Ling Yu's attention.
Therefore, this guard was later arranged to rush to Fengcheng.
The guard stood up, carefully took out a piece of yellow talisman paper from his chest, and presented it to the Prince of Pingyang with both hands.
"Your Highness, this is the Princess's birth characters."
The Prince of Pingyang took it, and Duoduo also ran over curiously to look.
On this paper, just as she had seen in her dream, her birth characters were written.
Below them was a talisman symbol she couldn't understand.
"Father, this is it!" Duoduo said happily.
The Prince of Pingyang glanced at Duoduo and put down the paper.
"What did the abbot say? Did he just give it to you so readily?"
The guard looked at Duoduo and hesitated for a moment.
"Speak!" the Prince of Pingyang shouted coldly.
"Yes!" The guard lowered his head and recounted the entire process in detail.
"Your subordinate found that temple and asked about the past matters concerning Old Madam Song and the young lady of the Song family, but the abbot wouldn't say a word."
"Finally, your subordinate directly stated my purpose, expressing that no matter what, I had to bring back the Princess's birth characters!"
"The abbot was very surprised. He chanted 'Amitabha' and then took your subordinate to that main hall."
"Then, the abbot gave the talisman paper to your subordinate."
"The abbot said that this talisman does no harm to the Princess."
"On the contrary, it will protect the Princess's consciousness from being disturbed."
"The abbot said that this talisman paper must be well protected. It will only bring benefits to the Princess and no harm!"
"He also said that the person with these birth characters is a person of great fortune!"
"If this person is well protected, they will surely overcome adversity and enjoy boundless future blessings!"
After the guard finished speaking, he lowered his head.
A strange glint flashed in the Prince of Pingyang's eyes.
He looked at Duoduo beside him, only to see her standing there in a daze.
"You are dismissed."
The Prince of Pingyang waved his hand, letting Ling Yu take the man out.
After Ling Yu closed the door, the Prince of Pingyang gently patted Duoduo's head.
"What are you confused about?"
Duoduo raised her bewildered eyes and looked at the Prince of Pingyang.
"Why is what he said different from what they told me?"
The Prince of Pingyang's eyes flickered. "How is it different?"
Duoduo looked completely lost.
"They said an eminent monk read my fortune and that I am a jinx!"
"They also said I cursed my maternal grandmother to death, and if my grandmother wasn't lucky enough, I would have cursed her to death too!"
"The maidservant who used to serve me died too!"
"Even a maidservant who was just passing by outside the courtyard accidentally fell into a pond and drowned when she went back."
"Some maidservants just took one look at me, and ended up either spraining their ankles or hitting their heads..."
Duoduo's voice grew lower and lower, and she bowed her head.
By the end, Duoduo's voice carried a heavy, tearful tone.
The Prince of Pingyang suddenly felt an intense wave of discomfort in his heart.
He reached out his hand and hovered it over Duoduo's head.
Suddenly, he pulled his hand back.
"Raise your head!" the Prince of Pingyang scolded Duoduo coldly.
Duoduo was so frightened that she shuddered. The Prince of Pingyang's hand couldn't help but clench into a fist.
"Raise your head!" This time, the Prince of Pingyang's voice was not as stern as before.
Duoduo tremblingly raised her head, tears swirling in her large eyes.
It looked as though the tears were about to spill over, trembling precariously on her eyelashes.
The Prince of Pingyang's heart felt as if it had been fiercely gripped by something.
