Master Zhang held out his hand to Duoduo without hesitation, which only made her suspicious.
She knew of Master Zhang's medical skills.
If the master had eaten something to alter his pulse, would she be able to feel it?
Seeing that Duoduo didn't move, Master Zhang reached his hand out a little further toward her.
"Please check my pulse, Princess."
Duoduo hesitated for a moment before reaching out to feel Master Zhang's pulse.
The pulse was indeed strong and vigorous, unlike the one she had felt before.
Frowning, Duoduo switched to his other hand.
Master Zhang looked incredibly smug. "How is it? Is it just like a young man's?"
Duoduo withdrew her hand and looked at him suspiciously.
"Master, did you take some kind of medicine?"
Master Zhang quickly waved his hand. "I never eat that kind of random rubbish."
Duoduo's face was full of disbelief.
Never eat it? Yeah, right!
Who would eat poison for fun when they had nothing better to do?
"I can only give you one pill, and if you want to taste it, you have to do it right in front of me!"
Master Zhang knew Duoduo was worried about his health, and he felt a little touched in his heart.
However, he put on a displeased expression.
"Half! At least half!"
Seeing Duoduo turn around to leave, he hastily explained.
"I will taste one right in front of you, and I'll just keep the rest!"
Duoduo stopped in her tracks and turned her head to look at Master Zhang.
"Master, do you mean what you say?"
Seeing Duoduo's expression, Master Zhang immediately knew he had a chance.
He deliberately kept a straight face. "A gentleman's word, once spoken, cannot be chased down even by a team of four horses!"
Duoduo thought about it for a moment, then turned and walked back.
She poured half of the pills from the bottle onto a piece of paper.
Then, she counted them one by one.
"Master, there are exactly fifteen pills here. If you eat one, there will be fourteen left."
Duoduo then poured some red pills from another bottle.
"I will also give you fifteen of these antidotes."
Master Zhang looked at the bright red pills, feeling very pleased.
"Give me two more. What if they go bad?"
Duoduo looked up at Master Zhang. "You think it's too few? Then I'll just take them back and give you only one."
"Anyway, you just said you were only going to keep the rest of the medicine."
Master Zhang hurried over, grabbed all the pills in one swoop, carefully wrapped them up, and tucked them into his sleeve.
"Honestly, how can you go back on your word! We agreed on fifteen, so fifteen it is!"
Duoduo pursed her lips with a serious expression and stared at Master Zhang.
"I will do spot checks on where your pills are going at any time! And I'll check your pulse at any time, too!"
Hearing Duoduo's slightly threatening words, Master Zhang changed the subject.
"Your Highness, Princess Consort, I am feeling quite hungry, so I will take my leave to eat."
Master Zhang cupped his hands in a salute and slipped away as fast as his legs could carry him.
"Master, you have to call me when you take the medicine!" Duoduo reminded him, still feeling uneasy.
Master Zhang walked even faster.
Xiao Yi looked thoughtfully at the pills in Duoduo's hand. Sensing her father's gaze, Duoduo quickly put the medicine away.
Seeing this, the Princess Consort of Pingyang quickly smoothed things over.
"Are you hungry, Your Highness? The meal has already been served."
Xiao Yi nodded and turned his wheelchair around. The Princess Consort noticed that Duoduo seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
After the meal, Duoduo was the first to ask to leave.
She had important things to do right away.
As soon as Duoduo walked out of the study, Lüdou came up to greet her.
"Princess, are you going back for a nap?"
Duoduo shook her head.
"Lüdou, I want to discuss something with you."
Lüdou looked a bit confused. "Princess, please give your orders!"
Duoduo pulled Lüdou over to a deserted spot.
"Lüdou, I remember you saying that you've finished your apprenticeship in making pastries?"
Lüdou was dazed for a moment, not understanding why Duoduo was suddenly asking about this.
Lüdou nodded.
"Princess, that is what my master said."
"Princess, do you want to eat the pastries I make? I'll go make some for you right now!"
"No! Lüdou, I want to partner with you to make money!"
Lüdou was completely baffled.
"Partner with me to make money? Princess, do you want to buy something? I'll go back and fetch the silver right now."
Ever since Lüdou had returned, Duoduo had given all her silver to Lüdou to manage.
Lüdou naturally knew how much silver Duoduo had; Duoduo was certainly not lacking in money.
Duoduo quickly waved her hands.
"Lüdou, let me finish." She grabbed hold of Lüdou.
"It's like this. I want you to make pastries, and then we'll have Shitou take them out to sell."
"Half of the silver we earn will go to you, and I'll use the other half to cover Shitou's expenses."
"Lüdou, are you willing to do this?"
Duoduo looked at Lüdou expectantly. This was the fastest way to make money she could think of right now.
Lüdou nodded.
"If it can help you, Princess, I am naturally willing."
"It's just, why do you have to be the one to pay for Shitou's expenses, Princess?"
Hearing Lüdou agree, Duoduo immediately broke into a smile.
She pulled Lüdou along as she ran toward the main kitchen.
"I'll explain the specific reasons to you in detail later."
"Come on, let's hurry up and make them now, and then have Shitou take them out to exchange for silver!"
Hearing this, Lüdou's interest was immediately piqued.
When she first learned how to make pastries from Li Da's wife, her goal had been to open a pastry shop.
Unfortunately, her wish could no longer be realized.
However, now that there was another opportunity to turn her craft into silver, Lüdou was very eager to try.
Because Duoduo and Xiao Yi had made a three-point pact, she had Lüdou pay silver to Li Da's wife for the flour, oil, and sugar she took from the main kitchen.
Li Da's wife initially declined and didn't want to accept the money. It was perfectly normal for a kitchen to be missing a little bit of this or that.
Secondly, as long as Duoduo was the Princess, she could freely use anything in the royal estate.
But Duoduo insisted on paying.
"Business is business. I'm taking these out to make money."
"In case my father finds out, it will be easier for you to explain."
Hearing this, Li Da's wife stopped declining.
Lüdou immediately rolled up her sleeves and started kneading the dough to prepare the pastries.
"Lüdou, do you need my help?" Duoduo paced back and forth beside her in excitement.
Li Da's wife quickly tried to dissuade her. "Princess, the kitchen is messy. Why don't you go play outside? I can help Lüdou here."
Lüdou nodded.
"Yes, Princess. Or perhaps you should go back and take a nap?"
Duoduo waved her hand. "I can't sleep. I'll just stay here and watch you make them!"
This was the first time Duoduo had come up with a way to make money, and she was absolutely not going back to sleep.
She wanted to stay right here and personally witness the pastries coming fresh out of the oven.
Once the pastries were done, she would have Shitou take them out to sell.
Hehe! Then she would be making money!
Oh right, she still needed to come up with a name for the pastries!
What should they be called? Staring at Lüdou kneading the dough, Duoduo fell deep into thought.
When Lüdou looked up, she saw Duoduo staring at her with a distant look in her eyes.
She quickly called out, "Princess? Are you feeling sleepy?"
Duoduo snapped back to reality. She had suddenly thought of a truly wonderful name.
