Su Xian's heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly shielded Duoduo behind her.
"Your Highness, the child already knows she was wrong!"
"The child was also terribly frightened just now. Can we just let this matter go?"
Xiao Yi raised his eyes. This was the first time his wife had disobeyed his orders like this.
Xiao Yi pursed his lips. "You go out first!"
Seeing that Xiao Yi's expression was not good, Su Xian was extremely worried about Duoduo.
Duoduo was also frightened by her father's stern tone.
Duoduo tightly gripped her mother's sleeve, not wanting Su Xian to leave.
Seeing Duoduo like this, the maternal love in Su Xian's heart reached its peak.
She simply hugged Duoduo and knelt down before Xiao Yi.
"Duoduo is still young. If she made a mistake, it is because I, as her mother, did not teach her well."
"If Your Highness wants to punish someone, then punish me. I will definitely discipline her strictly later so that she won't make the same mistake again."
Xiao Yi looked at the large and small figures kneeling before him, a strange look flashing in his eyes.
Duoduo tilted her head, staring blankly at her mother.
She had never thought that one day, someone would stand in front of her and protect her!
"Mother?" Duoduo called out softly.
"Quick! Apologize to your father!" Su Xian anxiously pulled at Duoduo.
Seeing Su Xian's anxious appearance, Duoduo obediently followed her words.
"Father, your daughter was wrong!"
Xiao Yi actually smiled, the corners of his lips curling up.
"Not bad, good attitude! Then tell me, where did you go wrong?"
"Quick, tell your father that you will never go near the water again! And that you will never go to dangerous places again!" Su Xian instructed Duoduo.
Duoduo hesitated a little. She saw the smile on her father's lips.
"Duoduo, hurry up and say it! Promise your father that you will never do it again!"
In the end, Duoduo did not follow Su Xian's words. "Mother, I know how to swim!"
Su Xian didn't expect Duoduo to actually contradict her.
Su Xian froze for a moment, then leaned in close to Duoduo and explained in a low voice.
"Apologize first. We can talk about it after your father is no longer angry."
The smile on Xiao Yi's lips grew wider.
Did his wife think he couldn't hear?
"Duoduo, tell your mother, where did you go wrong today?" Xiao Yi stopped beating around the bush with Duoduo.
Duoduo raised her head. "Your daughter doesn't know."
Su Xian saw the smile on Xiao Yi's face disappear.
She raised her hand and ruthlessly slapped Duoduo's bottom.
"You child, your father is doing this for your own good. How can you speak to your father like this!"
Su Xian's slap seemed to fall fiercely, but when it actually landed on Duoduo's bottom, it was as light as dusting off ash.
However, Duoduo was stunned by the slap.
This was the first time Su Xian had hit her since she arrived at the prince's manor!
Growing up, Duoduo had been beaten many times.
The kind of physical beating that caused agonizing pain was etched into Duoduo's memory.
Just the mention of being beaten made Duoduo afraid to her very bones.
She had seen maids lose their lives from being beaten.
There were also maids who were beaten black and blue, confined to their beds for months, unable to get up.
Duoduo had also experienced such things.
If it hadn't been for the golden light healing her wounds, Duoduo would definitely have perished long ago.
Even with the golden light's healing, the physical suffering was still irreplaceable and very real.
A slap like Su Xian's was something Duoduo was experiencing for the first time.
As soon as Su Xian delivered the slap, she regretted it.
When she saw Duoduo staring blankly at her, her heart ached so much that her tears began to fall like rain.
Su Xian pulled Duoduo into her arms. "I'm sorry, did Mother hurt you?"
Duoduo smelled the familiar scent of Su Xian and finally snapped back to reality.
"Mother, it doesn't hurt!"
Duoduo reached out to wipe her mother's tears.
"Mother, don't cry, your daughter doesn't hurt."
Hearing Duoduo's words, Su Xian's tears fell even harder.
Xiao Yi massaged his forehead.
Earlier by the river, because there were too many people and he was sitting in a wheelchair.
Therefore, Xiao Yi hadn't seen exactly what had happened.
However, when he saw Li Jin carrying a soaking wet and seemingly unconscious Duoduo ashore...
Xiao Yi's heart had nearly stopped from the fright.
Although Xiao Yi knew that Duoduo could swim, he still couldn't suppress his worry.
After all, Duoduo was only four years old; she was still just a child.
He had originally wanted to ask Duoduo how exactly she fell into the water.
If Duoduo had been trying to save someone, Xiao Yi was prepared to give her a lesson.
But his wife thought he was going to punish Duoduo and even became protective.
She had only given the child a light slap, and while the child didn't cry, the wife was crying a river.
"Both of you, get up. Isn't the ground cold?"
"Duoduo just fell into the water. What if she catches a cold and gets sick?"
In the end, Xiao Yi chose to compromise.
Hearing the word sick, Su Xian hurriedly wiped her tears and pulled Duoduo up to stand.
"Hurry up and thank your father," Su Xian said, wiping her eyes.
Duoduo looked at Xiao Yi nervously. "Thank you, Father."
Xiao Yi saw Su Xian protecting Duoduo in her arms like a mother hen.
He gave Duoduo a deep look. "Just now, thanks to Li Jin saving you and bringing you ashore, you should go and thank him."
Duoduo nodded obediently.
"Okay, I will go right now."
"Your Highness, I will accompany Duoduo," Su Xian said, before leading Duoduo away.
Xiao Yi couldn't help but laugh despite himself. In the end, he had become the bad guy!
In another room, Xu Jinxin was drying Li Jin's hair.
"Thank goodness you saw Duoduo, otherwise, who knows how worried Su Xian would have been?"
"And that bridge too, how could it suddenly collapse halfway?"
Li Jin touched the cheek of the worried-looking Yingniang. "Father is fine, go and play."
Yingniang nodded. At that moment, there was a knock on the door.
"Sister! Mother and I are here!" Duoduo's voice came from outside the door.
Li Jin hurriedly stood up and went behind the folding screen.
Xu Jinxin walked over and opened the door.
"Why have you two come over? Duoduo, are you alright?"
Duoduo revealed a well-behaved smile.
"Aunt Xu, I'm fine!"
Yingniang poked her head out from behind Xu Jinxin.
"Duoduo, how did you fall into the water today? Don't you know how to swim?"
Duoduo blinked her eyes.
"I forgot!"
Xu Jinxin rubbed Duoduo's head. "Duoduo must have been terrified at the time, right?"
"Your mother was so frightened that her tears kept falling. Don't run around wildly next time."
"If anything happened to you, what would your mother do? Wouldn't the prince's manor be flooded by her tears!"
Xu Jinxin teased Su Xian.
A blush flew across Su Xian's face.
"How could it be as exaggerated as you say? It's not a flood, how could it submerge the manor?"
Su Xian defended herself with a red face.
"By the way, is Master Li here? We came over to thank him for saving Duoduo."
Xu Jinxin answered with a smile, "What is there to thank? It was only right for him to save someone."
"Furthermore, he is also Duoduo's teacher."
At this time, Li Jin, having tidied himself up, walked out from inside the room.
His gaze collided with Duoduo's.
