Hearing this, Lüdou felt a bit disappointed.
It turned out that her pastries were able to sell for three taels of silver only because of Shitou.
She carefully looked at Duoduo and noticed a smile on her face.
Only then did she realize that Shitou was telling the truth.
Although she was disappointed in her heart, she was also quite content.
After all, this was the first time she had earned silver through her own craftsmanship.
Unaware of what Lüdou was thinking, Duoduo smiled and nodded.
"That makes sense. You may rise, Shitou."
"Yes, thank you, Princess." Shitou respectfully got up from the ground.
Looking at the silver on the table, Duoduo asked Lüdou.
"Lüdou, how much silver did you pay for Shitou's meals?"
"To answer the Princess, this servant gave one hundred copper coins. We agreed to deduct his daily meals from it, and when it runs out, I'll pay more."
"And how much silver is needed for Shitou's clothes?" Duoduo continued to ask.
"To answer the Princess, the young male servants in the manor receive two sets of clothes for each of the four seasons, which comes to a total of one tael of silver."
Hearing this, Duoduo immediately felt that they were still earning too little silver.
"These three taels of silver were a reward given to Shitou, so they still belong to Shitou."
"Of the remaining three-plus taels, after deducting the cost paid to the kitchen and Shitou's meals, there are over two taels left."
"These loose copper coins will be used to buy more flour and such."
As Duoduo spoke, she divided the copper coins into several piles.
"Of the remaining two taels of silver, Lüdou, you take one tael, and the other tael will cover Shitou's expenses."
After finishing the division, Duoduo clapped her hands happily.
Seeing that neither Shitou nor Lüdou moved, she found it very strange.
"I'm done dividing it! Why aren't you taking it? Do you expect me to hand it to you?"
Lüdou bit her lip. "Princess, what about you?"
Duoduo looked puzzled. "Me? What about me?"
"We agreed that this business is a partnership between the two of us. You haven't taken your share yet."
Duoduo nodded. "Right, you get one tael, and I get one tael."
"It's just that my tael is being kept to cover Shitou's expenses."
"Here, Shitou, this is your reward silver. Hurry and take it!"
Shitou hurriedly waved his hands. "Princess, I don't want it!"
Worried that Duoduo might misunderstand, Shitou quickly explained.
"This silver was earned by selling the pastries, so it should belong to you and Sister Lüdou."
Lüdou quickly shook her head. "I don't want it."
Watching the two of them push the money back and forth, Duoduo's eyes curved into a smile.
Seeing Duoduo's smiling eyes, Shitou suddenly gathered his courage to make a suggestion.
"Princess, this humble one has a proposal."
Duoduo nodded with a smile. "Speak."
"Let's just not divide the silver today. Tomorrow, Sister Lüdou can work hard and make some more."
"I will take them out to sell again, and then we can see how much we can make in total."
"Wait until tomorrow, we will pool all the silver together to use as starting capital for when we go to the capital."
"By then, if the Princess has a better business you want to do, won't we already have the capital?"
Shitou's words won Lüdou's approval.
Duoduo pondered for a moment and also nodded.
"Shitou's suggestion is not bad. However, I promised my father that I wouldn't use my monthly allowance, so we must first take out the copper coins that were advanced."
"That is only proper." Both Shitou and Lüdou agreed.
"Also, Lüdou, didn't you say that once you made money, you wanted to honor your master first?"
"Moreover, you are the main force in this matter. So, this one tael of silver is your compensation. Take it."
"The rest of the silver will all be saved up as capital for our future business."
Shitou nodded. Anyway, what was his belonged to the Princess.
Lüdou bit her lip. She stepped forward and picked out one hundred copper coins from the pile on the table.
"Princess, my master's kindness to this servant is as heavy as a mountain. It is because of my master that this servant has the ability to earn money. Therefore, these one hundred copper coins are my tribute to my master."
"As for the rest, keep it all as capital." Lüdou was worried that Duoduo would be unhappy.
"This servant is the Princess's maid, so naturally, everything belongs to the Princess."
"If the Princess insists that this servant take this one tael of silver, it means you don't treat this servant as one of your own!"
Duoduo watched as both Shitou and Lüdou acted as if they couldn't get far enough away from the silver. She let out a long sigh like a little adult.
"You two fools, you don't even know to take money when it's offered!"
Lüdou revealed a smile. "Following the Princess, this servant lacks neither food nor clothing. What would I do with silver?"
Duoduo rested her chin in her hands. "You could save it for your dowry."
Lüdou's face instantly flushed red.
"Princess, this servant will go find a box to store this silver separately."
Finding an excuse, Lüdou walked away.
Duoduo swung her little feet and looked at Shitou.
"Go eat your meal, and when you're done, go back and rest early."
"Oh right, when you go out tomorrow, find some time to visit your home."
"We are setting off tomorrow night, so you should go back and say goodbye to your mother and grandmother."
"Yes, this humble one will remember."
Leaving aside Shitou happily going off to eat, Duoduo looked at the silver on the table, her eyes sparkling.
There truly is a house of gold in books; it turns out that learning things really can help one earn silver.
Although the ones who put in the physical effort this time were Lüdou and Shitou, she was the one who planned it all!
Duoduo finally understood the principle her father had spoken of: learning how to use people is basic common sense for those in power.
It turned out that to achieve a goal, one didn't necessarily have to do it personally to succeed.
Duoduo committed this principle to her heart.
The next morning, the manor visibly began to bustle with activity.
Duoduo's lessons had officially ended yesterday.
Lüdou went to the main kitchen early in the morning to make pastries, while Duoduo directed Lüyi and the other maids to start packing the things they needed to take with them.
Xiao Yi had instructed that, apart from frequently used items, they should try to bring as little else as possible.
"Pack one or two of my usual items. I'm going out for a bit, but I'll be right back."
Duoduo suddenly remembered something. After instructing the maids, she left the room.
She arrived outside Master Zhang's room and knocked on the door.
"Master, it's me!" Duoduo called out.
Inside the room, Master Zhang, who had been hesitating about whether to test the medicine, heard Duoduo's voice and immediately shoved the pill into his mouth.
"Come in!"
He only had time to reply with that one phrase before he felt a sudden, agonizing pain all over his body.
A pain like being bitten by thousands of ants seeped out from his bone marrow, making him wish he could die on the spot.
Duoduo pushed the door open and skipped inside.
"Master, I've come to check your medicine... Master, you've already eaten it?"
Seeing Master Zhang spit out a mouthful of black blood, Duoduo was stunned with fright for a moment.
"Where is the antidote? Master! The antidote!"
Master Zhang only had time to look toward the table. Duoduo hurriedly grabbed the antidote and stuffed it into his mouth.
Then, she checked Master Zhang's pulse.
Duoduo had accidentally discovered that the golden light surrounding her could dissolve in water.
Therefore, when she made the antidote this time, she used water mixed with that golden light.
