"Wouldn't that make Prince Pingyang's Mansion lose face? My Lord, it was my negligence today that allowed Prince Ling to seize the opportunity."
"Tomorrow, when we enter the palace to meet His Majesty, we definitely cannot embarrass you again!"
Seeing Su Xian's self-blaming expression, Xiao Yi shook his head faintly.
"What is the use of face? Can it feed us?"
"There is no need to prepare anything else. Just do as I said. Do not wear any other jewelry, just wear this jade pendant!"
Seeing that her father was still insisting, Duoduo tugged at Su Xian's sleeve.
"Mother, listen to Father. He definitely has his reasons!"
Su Xian had no other choice. She was always the kind of person who listened to whatever her husband said.
The carriage stopped in front of a courtyard mansion.
Yunxiao pushed the wheelchair down from the carriage, and Duoduo pulled Su Xian down as well.
The mansion was not large, just a standard courtyard with three enclosures.
Duoduo looked up at the plaque above the door: Prince Pingyang's Mansion.
The servants of the mansion were kneeling neatly at the door, paying their respects to their masters.
"You may all rise."
Xiao Yi signaled Yunxiao to push the wheelchair into the mansion.
Duoduo took Yingniang by the hand, while Su Xian and Xu Jinxin walked together as they headed back to the inner courtyard.
Meanwhile, Xiao Yi, Li Jin, and the others went to the outer study.
Now that they had arrived in the capital, they had to be prepared for battle.
After a brief rest, Lüdou and Shitou took their waist tags and left the mansion.
They had tasks to carry out.
It was not until before the gates were locked for the night that the two returned.
Duoduo had been waiting for them. Seeing them finally return, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"How did it go?" Duoduo asked impatiently.
"This servant went to ask around. I heard that Princess Consort Ling took Song Shuyu straight to the Embroidery Pavilion and bought her a complete set of head ornaments."
"She also spent a heavy sum to have several fashionable dresses made for her."
"Even Princess Consort Ling's own biological daughter did not receive such treatment."
After Lüdou finished speaking, she picked up the tea next to her and drank it in one gulp.
"Eldest Miss... Princess Funing is truly too favored!" Lüdou sighed endlessly.
Duoduo blinked and did not reply. She looked at Shitou.
"What about you? What did you find out?"
"This servant found out that the Heir of Prince Ling and Princess Anning are very dissatisfied with Song Shuyu."
"Along the way, they have already had many conflicts."
"Song Shuyu cried and complained to Prince Ling, and Prince Ling harshly scolded the Heir and Princess Anning."
Princess Anning?
Duoduo remembered the roster of names her father had given her.
Princess Anning was the daughter of Princess Consort Ling, and a person who had always received endless doting.
It seemed that her favor had now been snatched away by Song Shuyu.
"Is there anything else?" Duoduo asked.
"This servant heard that Princess Consort Ling specially hired an expert dancer to teach Song Shuyu how to dance."
"They say that the current Emperor loves watching singing and dancing the most!" Lüdou was a little worried.
Her own Princess didn't know how to sing or dance at all!
"Yes, this servant also heard that the other princes are all preparing to let their own families take the top spot at the Emperor's birthday banquet."
Duoduo's eyes flashed.
"Which princes have entered the capital?"
Shitou's face showed a look of shame.
"This servant only managed to find out about the Second Prince and the Third Prince."
"However, I heard that the Third Prince was injured and had to be carried into his mansion."
Duoduo pondered for a moment.
"Shitou, tomorrow you will continue to go out and gather information."
"Lüdou, give an ingot of silver to Shitou."
"Shitou, I heard Father say that there is a place in the capital that specializes in selling information."
"You ask around first. If it really doesn't work out, spending silver to get information is also fine."
"Yes," Shitou complied.
"Alright, you have worked hard today. Hurry up and go eat."
"I had the main kitchen save some food for you. Lüdou, after you finish eating, you don't need to come over to serve me."
"Tomorrow, we have to enter the palace to meet His Majesty. Get a good rest, so you can accompany me into the palace."
"Yes."
Lüdou could not help but feel nervous.
She had never been into the palace before. When the time came, she absolutely could not make any mistakes and embarrass the Princess!
She hurried to eat her meal so she could go and ask Nanny Li for some advice.
Seeing that both of them had gone out, Duoduo finally sat down.
As Prince Ling's official wife, Princess Consort Ling's status was definitely different.
Her children should be the people with the highest status in Prince Ling's Mansion.
Now that Song Shuyu had stolen the affection meant for her son and daughter, Princess Consort Ling would definitely not let the matter rest.
Duoduo blinked her eyes.
It seemed that to deal with Song Shuyu, she had gained another potential ally.
Her father had once said that the enemy of an enemy is a friend.
In that case, that Princess Anning was also a very good candidate for an alliance.
However, whether she could actually form an alliance with this person would only be known after meeting her tomorrow.
Today, Duoduo hadn't even caught a glimpse of Princess Anning's face.
This was enough to show that Princess Consort Ling was very strict in raising her daughter.
"Duoduo, what are you thinking about? Your little face is all scrunched up."
Xu Jinxin walked in and saw Duoduo resting her chin on her hands in a serious daze.
Su Xian walked over and touched Duoduo's forehead.
"Are you nervous about entering the palace tomorrow?"
Duoduo nodded honestly.
"Mother, I have never been to the palace before. Is the palace very scary?"
Xu Jinxin covered her mouth and laughed.
"The palace isn't scary. What's scary is the human heart!"
Su Xian gently patted Xu Jinxin's arm.
"Don't be afraid! Tomorrow when we enter the palace, we will go see the Empress Dowager first, and then go pay our respects to His Majesty."
"The Empress Dowager?"
Duoduo quickly recalled the information about the Empress Dowager in her head.
The current Empress Dowager was not the Emperor's biological mother.
After the Emperor ascended the throne, the Empress Dowager devoted herself to Buddhism and did not intervene in any harem affairs.
The inner palace was entirely managed by the Noble Consort, who was Prince Ling's mother.
"Mother, have you met the Empress Dowager?" Duoduo asked.
After all, the information her father provided was just on paper.
Su Xian sat down next to Duoduo.
"Of course I have. The Empress Dowager is a very good and kind person."
"Because she believes in Buddhism, she prefers quietness and dislikes noise."
"Just act the way you normally do when you see her."
Anyone who could survive the struggles of the inner palace was not a simple character.
What's more, the Empress Dowager had no children of her own, yet she became the Empress Dowager because of the Emperor. This in itself was incredibly formidable.
When interacting with such a person, not playing petty tricks and being genuine was actually the safest approach.
Su Xian found it hard to explain all of this explicitly to Duoduo.
Duoduo understood. When meeting the Empress Dowager, she just needed to be well-behaved.
"What about Imperial Grandfather?"
Duoduo was the most curious about the Emperor.
This person held the power of life and death over everyone in the world.
He was also an existence that caused her father's emotions to fluctuate whenever he was mentioned.
Su Xian hesitated for a moment.
"His Majesty? When His Majesty asks a question, you must answer."
"Also, no matter what, you must follow your heart and not try to guess His Majesty's thoughts."
Duoduo nodded. Her father had already told her these things.
Seeing that both mother and daughter were very nervous, Xu Jinxin changed the subject.
"Su Xian, Li Jin and I just discussed it."
"Tomorrow we will go for a stroll around the capital and look for a shop we can rent along the way."
A look of envy appeared in Duoduo's eyes. "I want to go too."
