Duoduo blinked her eyes. "I bought it from Li Jiangyu, Father. Is this very valuable?"
Li Jiangyu? Who is that?
"The ship's captain!" Li Jin explained. "Is this a luminous pearl? I've heard they are worth a thousand pieces of gold!"
Xiao Yi nodded. "Yes! For a luminous pearl of this size, saying it's worth ten thousand pieces of gold wouldn't be an exaggeration."
Li Jin couldn't help but widen his eyes. "Your Highness, how much silver do you guess the Princess spent on it?"
Seeing Li Jin's expression, Xiao Yi looked back at the luminous pearl in his hand.
"A thousand taels?"
This amount should be the maximum denomination the Princess Consort of Pingyang could have given Duoduo.
Li Jin shook his head. "Your Highness, you definitely won't be able to guess! Even I couldn't guess it!"
Li Jin simply blurted out the answer.
"The Princess spent fifty taels of silver and bought a chest of pearls this big." Li Jin gestured to show the size of the chest.
"This was just one of the stones inside, or so the captain said."
Xiao Yi raised an eyebrow.
Did Duoduo stumble upon a hidden treasure?
Xiao Yi looked at Duoduo. She was furrowing her brows, remaining silent.
"What's wrong?" Xiao Yi asked.
"Father, was fifty taels too little?"
Mildly surprised, Xiao Yi placed the luminous pearl back into Duoduo's hands.
"Who set the price?"
"Li Jiangyu, the captain, set it," Duoduo explained.
"Did he explain the reason for this price?" Xiao Yi asked again.
Duoduo nodded.
"Yes, he said he originally wanted to use these pearls as gifts to build connections."
"He also said that by taking fifty taels, he was actually making a profit."
Duoduo recounted Li Jiangyu's words.
"Then what are you conflicted about?" Xiao Yi asked calmly.
"He didn't know the true value of this pearl. What if he finds out..." Duoduo felt very guilty.
"A person's knowledge determines the reward they can reap."
"Therefore, fifty taels is exactly the reward he deserves."
"But I could have told him that this pearl is priceless," Duoduo reasoned.
"So what? We are all still on his ship."
"If you told him, are you certain he would be grateful to you?"
"I have taught you, never assume good intentions when judging anyone."
"The malice of human nature is always beyond your imagination!"
Xiao Yi's tone turned serious as he spoke.
Duoduo pursed her lips. "I'm sorry, I was wrong!"
"Yun Xiao!" Xiao Yi called out toward the door, and Yun Xiao walked in.
"Take forty taels of silver to the captain and retrieve the pearls the Princess bought."
Yun Xiao was slightly taken aback. "Yes, sir."
Yun Xiao withdrew.
Holding the luminous pearl, Duoduo said, "Father, I will go see Mother first."
Seeing Xiao Yi nod, Duoduo curtsied and took her leave.
Li Jin sat down to the side.
"The Princess is kind-hearted; this is her blessing," Li Jin defended Duoduo.
Xiao Yi lifted his eyelids and cast a glance at Li Jin.
"Kind-hearted people do not necessarily meet good ends!"
Li Jin opened his mouth to speak but ultimately just sighed.
He actually knew that Xiao Yi was right; he just couldn't bear to see Duoduo unhappy.
After stepping out, Duoduo did not return to her cabin immediately. She looked at the luminous pearl in her hand.
In the light, the luminous pearl reverted to its dull, grayish appearance.
Duoduo squeezed it in her palm and told herself, "Yes, it is just an ordinary bead!"
She squeezed it so tightly that her palm ached.
She slid open the cabin door, a smile blooming on her face. "Mother, I'm back!"
Inside the room, Lianxin, looking pale, was carrying a basin of water and walking toward the bed with unsteady steps.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang lay on the bed, her face equally pale.
"Mother, what's wrong?"
Duoduo hurriedly ran to the bedside to check on the Princess Consort's condition.
Su Xian heard Duoduo's voice and turned her head weakly.
"Duoduo, go outside and play. The smell in the room isn't good."
Duoduo quickly understood.
"Mother, are you seasick?"
"Blegh!"
Su Xian hurriedly rolled over, leaning her upper body off the bed to vomit into a spittoon by the bedside.
Unfortunately, she only threw up water.
"Your Highness, have a sip of water." Lianxin handed over the hot tea she was holding.
Su Xian waved her hand. "Lianxin, you are also unwell. Go and rest. I'm fine; I just need to lie down for a bit."
Duoduo took out her silver needles from her robes.
"Don't be afraid, Mother. I'll give you a couple of acupuncture needles, and you'll be fine!"
Duoduo swiftly took out the needles and applied them to the acupoints on Su Xian's hand.
Sure enough, once the needles were in, the nausea in Su Xian's chest eased significantly.
Su Xian looked at Duoduo with gratification. "Duoduo, thank goodness you know medicine! Otherwise, Mother would have suffered to death!"
Duoduo pursed her lips. "I won't let Mother suffer."
Duoduo took out a small bottle, extracted a pill from it, and popped it into Su Xian's mouth.
"Mother, keep it in your mouth. Once the pill dissolves, you will be completely fine."
Duoduo poured out another pill and handed it to Lianxin.
"You too."
Lianxin was pleasantly surprised. She hastily took it with both hands, knelt down, and kowtowed to Duoduo.
"This servant thanks the Princess. Could I trouble the Princess for one more? Baihe is also seasick."
"In fact, she is even more seasick than Her Highness!"
No wonder Baihe was nowhere to be seen!
"I will go give her acupuncture first, and then she can take the pill. That will work best."
"You can still walk, so just taking the pill is enough for you."
"Wait a moment, let me check on Mother first."
Duoduo removed the needles and then checked Su Xian's pulse again.
The pulse indicated that she had improved a lot.
"Mother, once you feel better in a bit, go sit by the window and look at the scenery outside."
"Continuing to lie in bed will only make you dizzier."
Su Xian nodded. "Alright, Mother understands. Off you go."
Duoduo followed Lianxin to the room where Baihe was resting. Baihe was hugging a basin, vomiting her guts out.
"Lianxin, you... blegh... why did you bring the Princess here... blegh, hurry and get out..."
Seeing Duoduo, Baihe forcefully suppressed her nausea and hurriedly gestured for the two of them to leave.
Smelling the odor in the room, Lianxin also started to feel nauseous and wanted to throw up.
She quickly popped the pill Duoduo had given her into her mouth and opened the window for some fresh air.
Then, she cleaned up the mess Baihe had vomited.
"Princess, it is done." Lianxin pressed Baihe back down onto the bed.
"The Princess heard you were seasick and came to give you acupuncture, so just lie still!"
Duoduo did not waste words. She applied two needles to Baihe, checked her pulse, and finally gave her a pill as well.
Baihe immediately knelt down before Duoduo.
"This servant thanks the Princess for your great kindness! This servant will definitely repay you!"
Duoduo waved her hand. "You are all veterans who follow Mother. As long as you serve Mother well in the future, that is enough!"
"Alright, rest well for a bit. When you aren't feeling as sick, walk around. Lying down will just make you dizzier."
After saying this, Duoduo left, her mind occupied with thoughts of Yingniang.
She wondered if her sister and Aunt Xu were also seasick.
