"Hold on!"
The figure of the Princess Consort of Pingyang appeared outside the door.
She quickly walked into the room. "Ling Feng, what happened to the Prince again?"
Seeing the Princess Consort of Pingyang enter, Ling Feng hurriedly bowed in greeting.
"Your Highness, after eating the pastry brought by that child, the Prince broke out in a rash all over his body and has fainted."
Startled, the Princess Consort of Pingyang quickened her pace and approached the bed.
She saw the Prince of Pingyang with his eyes closed and his brows tightly furrowed, looking as though he was in great discomfort.
She then checked the Prince's neck and arms before finally breathing a sigh of relief.
"The Prince is having an allergic reaction."
"Has the doctor prescribed any medicine?" she asked, looking at the physician standing nearby.
The doctor hurriedly bowed. "To answer Your Highness, I have already written a prescription."
"Alright. Ling Feng, please see the doctor out."
Ling Feng hesitated for a moment. "Your Highness, shouldn't we have the doctor wait a little longer before leaving?"
The Princess Consort of Pingyang thought it over. "Fine, take the doctor to the side hall to rest for a while."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Ling Feng led the doctor out of the room.
"Baihe, untie the ropes on Duoduo and help her up."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Baihe walked over, helped Duoduo up from the floor, and untied the ropes binding her.
Duoduo looked at the Princess Consort of Pingyang with a terrified expression.
"Your Highness, did the Prince fall ill because of me?"
The Princess Consort of Pingyang was slightly taken aback. "Why would you ask that?"
Duoduo picked at the palm of her hand. "Because... because..."
Try as she might, Duoduo simply could not bring herself to say the word "jinx".
The Princess Consort of Pingyang thought for a moment. "The Prince broke out in a rash this time because of something he ate. It has nothing to do with you."
"Really?" Duoduo was a little skeptical.
"Really. You don't need to be sad anymore. Untie her ropes as well, Baihe."
The Princess Consort of Pingyang instructed her maid.
"Yes." Baihe helped Lüdou up as well and prepared to untie her.
"Your Highness, you mustn't!"
Ling Feng, who had just walked in and saw this, hurriedly stopped them.
"Why not?" The Princess Consort of Pingyang looked slightly displeased.
"Because it was the Prince who ordered them to be tied up," Ling Feng explained.
"You weren't the one who ordered them to be tied up?" The Princess Consort of Pingyang looked at Ling Feng suspiciously.
"No. When I saw the Prince breaking out in a rash, I immediately rushed out to fetch a doctor."
"By the time I returned, the two of them were already tied up in the room," Ling Feng explained.
"There must be some misunderstanding here." The Princess Consort of Pingyang recalled Duoduo's expression from earlier.
"Your Highness, the Prince did not have dinner today. He only ate a piece of pastry she brought."
"And then, the Prince ended up like this."
"Pastry? What pastry? Aren't all the pastries in the manor made by our own cooks?" The Princess Consort of Pingyang was puzzled.
"No, the piece she brought was made by that person."
"So, the Prince must have noticed something was wrong and ordered the two of them to be tied up."
Ling Feng looked at Duoduo with absolute disgust.
To think the Prince had treated her so well, even going out of his way to invite Nanny Li to teach her.
And what was the result?
In return, she bit the hand that fed her!
What an ungrateful wretch!
After hearing this, the expression on the Princess Consort of Pingyang's face turned serious.
"Duoduo, tell me, what exactly happened?"
"What kind of pastry did you give the Prince to eat? Could it be that you truly want to harm the Prince?"
"Have you ever considered that as a servant of the Prince of Pingyang's Manor, your fate is closely tied to the Prince's?"
"If anything bad happens to the Prince, you won't meet a good end either."
The Princess Consort of Pingyang remembered the street rumors her maids had told her.
She suspected that Duoduo had been sent by the Second Prince specifically to target the Prince of Pingyang.
Duoduo felt deeply wronged.
"I didn't want to harm the Prince! The Prince was the one who insisted on having that piece of pastry!"
The Princess Consort of Pingyang frowned. She felt that Duoduo was not telling the truth.
"Forget it. Since you don't want to tell the truth, we will wait until the Prince wakes up to deal with you."
"Baihe, lock them in the woodshed and have someone guard them."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Baihe gave Duoduo a highly complicated look.
Duoduo bit her lip and knelt down.
"Your Highness, if there is a fault, please punish only me."
"Lüdou did nothing wrong. I beg Your Highness to spare her."
Just as the Princess Consort of Pingyang was about to speak, Ling Feng voiced his objection again.
"That piece of pastry was made by this person named Lüdou!"
"They must have put something in it that the Prince cannot eat to harm him."
"I didn't know the Prince would fall ill from eating peach blossom pastry!"
"Lüdou originally made it for me to eat. I thought it was delicious, so I was going to give it to Nanny Li."
Duoduo hurriedly defended herself, not wanting to implicate Lüdou.
"Your Highness, you can ask Nanny Li!"
Looking at Duoduo's anxious and sorrowful appearance, the Princess Consort of Pingyang believed her a little more.
"Baihe, go and find out exactly what happened today."
Baihe acknowledged the order and left.
Duoduo stood aggrieved in her spot, tears falling from her eyes in large drops.
If she had known that the Prince of Pingyang would end up like this after eating that pastry...
Even if she were beaten to death, she would never have handed over the peach blossom pastry.
Before long, Nanny Li returned with Baihe.
Upon entering the room, Nanny Li first knelt down and paid her respects.
"Your Highness, that piece of pastry was indeed brought back by this girl with the intention of giving it to me."
Nanny Li explained the situation in a few brief sentences.
Baihe also reported the results of her inquiry at the kitchen to the Princess Consort of Pingyang.
After hearing this, the Princess Consort of Pingyang's expression became extremely strange.
What kind of pastry had the Prince of Pingyang not eaten before?
Why would he snatch a pastry from a little girl?
The Princess Consort of Pingyang stared at Duoduo, deep in thought.
Duoduo felt a trace of unease, her hands digging hard into her palms.
"Since the nanny has cleared things up for you, Baihe, untie that maid and let her go back."
"However, Duoduo, you must stay. Once the Prince wakes up, we will see how he decides to deal with you."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Duoduo nodded with immense gratitude.
Lüdou was untied, but she refused to leave.
"Your Highness, this incident was caused by my learning to make peach blossom pastry. It has nothing to do with Duoduo."
"Please let Duoduo go, Your Highness. I am willing to stay behind."
"Who do you think you are? How dare you question Her Highness's decision? Get out of here right now!" Nanny Li suddenly flared up.
Both Duoduo and Lüdou were startled. They had never seen Nanny Li so fierce before.
Duoduo pushed Lüdou slightly. "Hurry up and go!"
Lüdou gritted her teeth and nodded at Duoduo.
She knelt down, kowtowed to the Princess Consort of Pingyang, and then took her leave.
Nanny Li walked a little closer to the bed and leaned in to take a look.
"The Prince is still allergic to peach blossoms, just like before."
The Princess Consort of Pingyang nodded. "Ling Feng, go check if the medicine is ready."
As soon as she finished speaking, a guard walked in carrying a bowl of medicine that emitted a strong herbal scent.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang took the bowl herself, and Nanny Li hurried forward to assist her.
Tasting the bitter flavor, the Prince of Pingyang furrowed his brows so tightly they formed a knot.
Duoduo stood in the middle of the room, feeling very uncomfortable at the smell of the herbal medicine.
She just couldn't understand it. Since the Prince of Pingyang was clearly allergic to peach blossoms, why on earth did he snatch her peach blossom pastry to eat?
