"You will have plenty of opportunities in the future. We'll go scout the way first, and tell you all about it when you get back."
Xu Jinxin comforted Duoduo.
Yingniang took Duoduo's hand. "Duoduo, what do you want to eat? I'll buy you something delicious and bring it back."
Duoduo's eyes lit up.
"Sister, whatever delicious things you see, bring some back for me to taste."
Xu Jinxin pinched Duoduo's cheek.
"Since when did Duoduo turn into such a foodie?"
"Being able to eat is a blessing. Duoduo used to be so skinny; it took a lot of effort to put some meat on her bones."
"For a girl, looking a bit chubby is a sign of good fortune."
Su Xian affectionately patted Duoduo's head.
Duoduo's originally sharp little face had gained some flesh and looked much better now.
Perhaps due to her exercising, Duoduo still looked very thin.
Initially, Su Xian thought there was something wrong with Duoduo's health and specifically asked Master Zhang to check her pulse.
The master said Duoduo was in great health, and the reason she was thin was because she burned a lot of energy.
Besides her daily exercises, Duoduo had to learn many things, making her even busier than an adult.
Su Xian could only instruct the kitchen to make many delicious meals for her every day.
Even so, Duoduo had only gained a tiny bit of flesh on her face.
"This is quite nice. Neither fat nor thin, she looks best in her clothes."
"By the way, that Commandery Princess Funing is completely round and chubby, not good-looking at all!"
"I don't know if she was naturally that fat, or if Princess Consort Ling did it on purpose."
Xu Jinxin suddenly brought up Song Shuyu.
Duoduo recalled Song Shuyu's round double chin and plump body; she was easily more than twice as fat as when she was at the Song residence.
Duoduo tilted her little head.
"Aunt Xu, isn't someone like her considered blessed with good fortune?"
In the past, Old Madam Song always used to say that a child like Song Shuyu, with a face as round as the full moon, looked truly blessed.
Just looking at her face, one could tell she was destined for great wealth and honor.
Xu Jinxin laughed.
"Being fat is a blessing? Who said that?"
"Aunt Xu is telling you, a young girl shouldn't be too fat, it will affect her development in the future..."
"Ahem, Jinxin, it's getting late. You two should go back and rest."
Su Xian, worried that Xu Jinxin might say something shocking, hurriedly changed the subject.
Xu Jinxin glanced at the water clock.
"Oh, it really is getting late."
"Then Yingniang and I will head back first. You mother and daughter have a good rest; there's a big battle to fight tomorrow!"
Saying that, Xu Jinxin pulled Yingniang along and took her leave.
Duoduo pondered over what Xu Jinxin had just said.
She didn't quite understand all of it, but she grasped one thing clearly.
That is, getting fat was not a good thing!
And Princess Consort Ling, as a mother who also had a daughter, definitely knew this.
Perhaps Song Shuyu getting fatter and fatter was also partly Princess Consort Ling's doing.
In her heart, Duoduo felt a slight trace of sympathy for this blood-related older sister.
"Duoduo, what are you thinking about?" Su Xian noticed Duoduo deep in thought.
Duoduo snapped back to reality and gave Su Xian a well-behaved smile.
"Mother, we are going to see Imperial Grandfather and Great-Grandmother tomorrow. Shouldn't we prepare a gift for them?"
Su Xian was momentarily stunned.
"Your father didn't instruct us to prepare anything."
Duoduo shook her head.
"Mother, I need to go to the study. You go to sleep first."
Su Xian shook her head.
"It's too early, I can't sleep either. I might as well accompany you."
Having someone accompany her was, of course, a good thing.
Duoduo took Su Xian by the hand and went to the study.
She took out two sheets of paper of different sizes.
"Duoduo, what are you planning to do?" Su Xian wanted to help.
"I want to draw two paintings."
"On this small one, I plan to draw a portrait of Buddha to give to the Empress Dowager. Didn't you say she worships Buddha? She will definitely like this."
"On this large one, I plan to paint a landscape we've seen."
"Imperial Grandfather loves his empire, so he will definitely like it."
Su Xian nodded.
"I also think they will definitely like them. Here, let me grind the ink for you."
"Okay, thank you, Mother!"
While Su Xian was grinding the ink, Duoduo started conceptualizing what she wanted to paint.
A landscape painting was easy to draw because she had seen it.
But a Buddha portrait? She had never even seen one, so how could she draw it?
Suddenly, Duoduo remembered a dream she once had.
She closed her eyes, and the solemn yet benevolent image of the Buddha gradually appeared in her mind.
"Duoduo, it's ready." Su Xian gently nudged Duoduo.
Duoduo opened her eyes, took the smaller piece of paper, and began to draw.
As her brush continuously outlined, shaded, and painted, a benevolent and majestic portrait of Buddha appeared on the paper.
Beside her, it was Su Xian's first time seeing Duoduo paint.
When she saw the Buddha portrait emerge, she almost held her breath, afraid of disturbing Duoduo.
When Duoduo put down her brush, Su Xian couldn't help but press her palms together and bow to the Buddha portrait.
"Mother?" Duoduo turned her head and saw Su Xian's gesture.
Su Xian then snapped back to her senses, looking at Duoduo with a complex expression.
"Duoduo, the Buddha you painted looks as if it's real."
Duoduo broke into a wide smile, the dimples at the corners of her mouth faintly visible.
"Mother, that's because this Buddha is right here in my mind!"
Su Xian looked at the portrait again and murmured.
"The Empress Dowager will definitely love this portrait of yours very much!"
Duoduo was very happy. "That's wonderful!"
"Master Li said that when giving a gift, you should give something the other person likes; it doesn't necessarily have to be something expensive."
Su Xian didn't even know what to say anymore.
She didn't know about other people.
Anyway, just seeing this portrait gave her the urge to kneel and worship.
She wondered how the Empress Dowager, who always held the Buddha in the highest reverence, would react upon seeing it.
Duoduo paced back and forth in the room a few times.
She stopped in front of the desk again and unrolled the largest sheet of paper.
Duoduo took quite a while to paint this one.
Su Xian sat to the side, waiting until she grew drowsy.
She propped up her cheek and closed her eyes to rest.
"Mother, I'm done. Let's go back."
Duoduo put down her brush, saw Su Xian's head nodding, and gently nudged her.
Su Xian jolted awake and looked at the desk.
The desk was bare.
Su Xian showed a worried look. "Duoduo, why don't I see the painting you drew?"
Duoduo raised her right hand; in her palm was the rolled-up painting.
No wonder she didn't see it; Duoduo had already finished it and put it away.
"Mother, let's go. We're heading back!"
Su Xian felt very embarrassed. She had explicitly said she would accompany Duoduo, but ended up falling asleep.
"Duoduo, I'm sorry. Mother accidentally fell asleep."
Duoduo smiled faintly.
"It's okay. Just having Mother accompany me makes me very happy!"
Su Xian held Duoduo's hand and walked toward the bedroom.
"Duoduo, do you think Mother needs to prepare two gifts as well?"
Duoduo shook her head.
"Mother, didn't you say that Father didn't ask us to prepare anything?"
"But you prepared something. Would it be a breach of etiquette if I didn't?"
"Mother, it's my first time meeting them, which is why I prepared gifts. You don't need to."
"Besides, I have a specific intention in preparing these."
