Shitou lowered his head in deep shame.
"I am eight years old, and you, Princess, are only five. I don't want to be a burden to you."
"But you are already a burden to me!" Duoduo pointed out the reality bluntly.
"Father clearly said that you are under my management, so I have the responsibility to fulfill my duties."
"If Father finds out what you are doing right now, what would he think?"
Duoduo stood up. She finally understood her father's feelings.
It turned out that it was very difficult to communicate with someone whose mindset was not on the same page.
"Alright, I will say this one more time."
"If you want to stay, you must be of one mind with me."
"When you encounter difficulties or things you don't understand, you must come and ask me."
"Do not use your own way of thinking to make decisions for me!"
"If you cannot do this, I will go to Father myself and tell him that our agreement is void!"
Shitou knew that he was indeed in the wrong this time. He kept his head bowed.
"Yes, I will remember."
Duoduo packed up her silver needles. "I still have classes. I'm leaving first."
"Later, when Lüdou brings the food, you must eat it properly."
"Also, I will have someone inform the kitchen. For the next two days, you will go with them to eat in the main kitchen."
"As for digging up wild vegetables in the garden, you had better not embarrass me like that again!"
After finishing her words, Duoduo walked towards the door.
Halfway there, she turned her head back.
"You need to nurse your body back to health quickly. I will still need someone to run errands for me!"
Hearing this, Shitou raised his head, his eyes sparkling.
"Yes, as you command!"
Only then did Duoduo walk out on her short little legs.
Outside the door, the servants who had been eavesdropping quickly scattered to avoid her.
Duoduo looked at the servants who were now pretending to be very busy. She pursed her lips and said nothing.
Duoduo walked slowly towards the study, her mind pondering a question: how could she make money?
Misappropriating her monthly allowance was only a temporary measure.
She had to find a way to earn money as quickly as possible.
However, she was too young. What kind of avenues were available for her?
Duoduo thought about what she knew: only medicine and studying.
But being good at studying wouldn't allow her to take the imperial examinations to become the top scholar, nor could it be turned into silver.
Medicine? She was so little; if she tried to treat patients, no one would believe in her skills!
If only she could make some pastries to sell, just like Lüdou!
Duoduo sighed, but then a flash of inspiration struck her mind.
That's right! She could have Lüdou make some pastries, and then have Shitou go sell them.
When they earned silver, half would go to Lüdou, and the remaining half would cover Shitou's expenses.
Duoduo thought it over in her heart once more.
"It's feasible!" Duoduo nodded vigorously.
Having thought of a solution, Duoduo jumped up happily.
She skipped all the way back to the study, arriving just in time for her second class.
"Master, I want to try making some medicinal pills."
Master Zhang nodded in agreement to Duoduo's proposal.
Because he didn't have much left to teach Duoduo.
He had already taught her all of his most treasured knowledge.
What remained was for Duoduo to practice and explore on her own.
Although his medical skills were not exceptionally high, the foundation he had laid for Duoduo was solid enough.
With Duoduo's intelligence, no matter how profound the medical skills were, she could grasp them by analogy with a single glance.
Duoduo sorted and processed the medicinal herbs that Lüdou had bought back.
Those that needed to be ground were ground, those that needed to be chopped were chopped, and those that needed to be boiled with water were boiled. Yingniang was also on the side helping out.
Master Zhang reviewed the prescriptions Duoduo wrote and observed her pill-making process.
Whenever she occasionally did something wrong, Master Zhang would point it out.
After a busy half morning, Duoduo finally rolled out a few bottles of medicinal pills.
"Master, I want to test them." Duoduo's eyes were full of eagerness.
Master Zhang pushed the pills for strengthening the body and enhancing beauty to one side.
"There are no errors in these prescriptions, and the making process was flawless, so there is no need to test them."
Master Zhang took out the knockout powder and the poison that Duoduo had made.
"This is simple, watch."
As Master Zhang spoke, he scraped a tiny bit with his fingernail and quickly flicked it towards Yingniang.
Yingniang completely did not expect Master Zhang to use her to test the drug.
Although she reacted extremely fast and dodged a little, she was still hit.
Yingniang collapsed softly towards the ground. Master Zhang caught her and placed her on a chair.
Then, he looked at Duoduo.
"Go fetch a cup of tea and spray it on her; she will wake up."
Duoduo thought for a moment, "Master, how long does this powder last?"
Master Zhang looked at the sleeping Yingniang and pondered briefly.
"Based on the dosage just now, it should last for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea."
A cup of tea's time? That was a bit short.
Duoduo looked at Master Zhang, "Master, can we wait for her to wake up on her own?"
Master Zhang nodded, "Of course we can."
It just so happened that he also wanted to see how effective the pills made by the Princess were.
"Then what about these?" Duoduo looked at the poison she had made for the first time, wanting to test it immediately.
Master Zhang stroked his beard, "This is easy to handle. Wait here!"
After Master Zhang finished speaking, he walked out.
Duoduo sat obediently on her chair, waiting for the master to return.
Soon, Master Zhang returned.
In his hand, he carried a small wooden box.
Duoduo looked at the box in Master Zhang's hand with a face full of curiosity, "Master, aren't we going to test the poison?"
A look of pride appeared on Master Zhang's face.
"Princess, what I have in here is a treasured treasure from the bottom of my trunk!"
Master Zhang placed the box on the table. Hearing that it was a treasure, Duoduo immediately became interested and leaned in closer.
Master Zhang hurriedly moved the box closer to himself.
"Princess, be careful! The thing inside is no ordinary creature."
"The thing inside is highly venomous. If you are bitten by it, even the Great Golden Immortal couldn't save you!"
Hearing this, Duoduo was frightened and moved a bit further away from the box.
"Master, since it is already venomous, what is the use of feeding it poison?"
Master Zhang stroked his beard, looking mysterious.
"You don't know about this, do you? What this little thing likes to eat most is poison."
"The more toxic the medicine, the more it likes to eat it. It won't even glance at mildly toxic medicine."
Duoduo blinked her eyes. Was it that magical?
"Princess, be careful. I am going to open the box now," Master Zhang instructed uneasily.
Duoduo nodded and moved even further away.
Master Zhang opened the box and threw the pill Duoduo made inside.
Duoduo was very curious. She wanted to see if the venomous creature inside would actually eat the pill she made.
She carefully poked her head out towards the box.
Inside the box, a golden frog sat motionless.
"Wow! It's so pretty!" Duoduo fell in love with it at first sight.
Master Zhang looked proud, "Of course. This is something I obtained by chance!"
Duoduo saw that the golden frog, upon hearing her voice, turned its head towards her.
