Duoduo nodded with feigned innocence, "I am wearing new clothes today!"
Su Xian stroked Duoduo's head, stopping her from saying more.
Princess Consort Xian's eyes flickered.
"Princess Consort Xian, we still have matters to attend to, so we will take our leave." Su Xian did not want to stay any longer and bid her farewell.
Duoduo pretended she did not want to leave.
"Brother Yun'an doesn't wear a jade pendant, but this little brother does. I want to play with him!"
Duoduo flashed a sweet smile at Xiao Yunchuan.
"Little brother, let's play together, okay?"
Xiao Yunchuan snorted.
"Who wants to play with a jinx like you! Isn't it just a jade pendant?"
"We have plenty of them at home. I'll reward this one to you!"
Xiao Yunchuan snatched the jade pendant from his mother's hand and threw it into Duoduo's arms.
Duoduo caught it, "Little brother, are you giving this jade pendant to me?"
"You'll be beaten by Third Uncle when you go back. I'm returning it to you!"
Saying this, Duoduo held up the jade pendant and stood on her tiptoes, seemingly wanting to hand it back to Xiao Yunchuan.
Xiao Yunchuan hastily jumped back.
"I don't want anything you've touched!"
"You have ulterior motives! You're trying to pass your bad luck onto me!"
Hearing this, Princess Consort Xian immediately pulled her son back several steps.
"Princess Consort Pingyang, you had better leave right away. Stop wandering around with the child."
Su Xian had a gentle and weak personality and was never good at confronting others.
Hearing Princess Consort Xian and the heir apparent talk about Duoduo this way, she had endured it time and again.
The Prince of Pingyang was not favored by the Emperor. She did not want to cause trouble for the Prince of Pingyang and incur the Emperor's disgust as soon as they returned to the capital.
However, there was always a limit to a person's patience.
Su Xian could not bear it any longer.
Trouble was not something she could avoid just because she wanted to.
"Princess Consort Xian, this shop doesn't belong to your family, does it?"
"Duoduo was personally decreed by His Majesty the Emperor as Princess Changle."
"Are you questioning His Majesty's decision? Or is your Prince Xian's Manor more noble than His Majesty?"
"Even His Majesty has not said anything bad about Duoduo, yet you mother and son keep calling her a jinx in every other sentence!"
"Duoduo is the princess of our Prince of Pingyang's Manor. How does she get in the way of your Prince Xian's Manor?"
"If you dare to bully Duoduo again, I will go to His Majesty and ask him to judge!"
Princess Consort Xian's face turned pale under Su Xian's step-by-step rebuttal.
Who would dare to question the Emperor's decree? Even Prince Xian wouldn't dare.
She looked at Su Xian suspiciously.
This Su Xian had a soft temper and had always been easy to manipulate. How could she be so eloquent today?
Was this still the Princess Consort Pingyang she knew?
Xiao Yunchuan couldn't stay any longer.
He saw Duoduo looking at him with a face full of sympathy.
"Mother, your son will leave first."
Xiao Yunchuan walked away without a care, leaving his mother behind.
Princess Consort Xian looked at Su Xian unhappily.
"I didn't make up her reputation."
"Furthermore, you accepted our greeting gift, yet instead of thanking us, you scolded us."
"Su Xian, you really are something now!"
"Hmph! You don't know a good person when you see one. I won't lower myself to bicker with an ignorant person like you!"
After saying that, Princess Consort Xian left with her servants in a flurry.
Su Xian's eyes turned red from anger.
In the past, when Xiao Yi was favored, all these sisters-in-law would always be smiling at her.
But ever since Xiao Yi fell out of favor, these people revealed their true colors.
Everyone wished they could trample the Prince of Pingyang's Manor under their feet, as if doing so would earn them the Emperor's favor.
Duoduo looked at Su Xian and gave Lianxin a look.
Lianxin hurriedly supported Su Xian and walked outside.
As soon as they got into the carriage, Su Xian's tears fell.
Duoduo reached out her small hands and hugged Su Xian's waist.
"Mother, don't cry!"
Su Xian choked with sobs, "Duoduo, is your mother very useless?"
Duoduo's eyes widened.
"Mother was amazing today! You looked exactly like Father just now!"
Su Xian felt embarrassed by Duoduo's words.
"Not at all. If the Prince were here, your Third Aunt wouldn't even dare to let out a fart!"
Su Xian was so angry that she even blurted out a curse word.
Duoduo's eyes narrowed into slits as she smiled.
Mother's tone right now sounded just like Aunt Xu's!
After Su Xian finished speaking, she realized she had said something she shouldn't have, and she wiped her eyes with a handkerchief.
"Just now, when I saw it was them, I should have taken you away."
"Why? Didn't Mother just say it? That shop doesn't belong to their family."
"Why should we leave? If they are afraid, they should be the ones to leave."
Duoduo revealed a row of tiny baby teeth, the dimples at the corners of her lips faintly visible.
Su Xian nodded thoughtfully.
"Right! Next time, Mother will just snap back at them like this!"
Duoduo nodded with a smile. Seeing that Su Xian was feeling much better, she let go of her.
Duoduo took out the jade pendant that Xiao Yunchuan had just thrown to her from her embrace and examined it carefully.
Seeing this, Su Xian also leaned over to take a look.
"The quality of this jade pendant is not very good. Besides, Princess Consort Xian wasn't wrong; it is meant for men to wear, so it's not suitable for you."
"When we get back, Mother will find some good jade and have someone make a few pendants that are suitable for you."
Duoduo shook her head as she observed the jade pendant in her hand.
"Mother, there's no need. I think this one is quite nice."
"Didn't Father say that I must wear it?"
Duoduo saw that although this jade pendant was the same as hers, the patterns on it were obviously different from her own.
"Mother, does every royal uncle have a jade pendant like this?"
Su Xian thought for a moment and gently shook her head.
"As far as I know, only your father, Prince Ling, Prince Xian, and the fourth prince, Prince Rui, have them."
Duoduo's gaze shifted from the jade pendant to Su Xian.
"Only these four have them?"
Su Xian smiled, "This jade is not of the highest quality to begin with."
"I heard that your imperial grandfather obtained it by chance and then had it made into a few jade pendants."
"They were distributed to those who got married earlier, so naturally, there were none left for the later ones."
"When the Fifth Prince got married, His Majesty also rewarded him with a jade pendant, but the material was much better than this."
Duoduo looked at the jade pendant in her hand, feeling very confused.
The golden words clearly said there were five pieces. Why did Mother say there were only four?
Then where was the last one?
"Mother, is Father's piece still there?" Duoduo wanted to make sure.
"Of course it is. Mother has kept it very safe!"
"That was rewarded by His Majesty. Losing or damaging it would be a grave crime!"
Duoduo carefully tucked the jade pendant back into her sleeve.
"Today, Imperial Grandfather heard that Second Uncle gave the jade pendant to me, and he wasn't angry!"
Speaking of this, Su Xian also found it a bit strange.
She touched Duoduo's head, "Perhaps your imperial grandfather dotes on you!"
"But why did you insist on Princess Consort Xian giving you a greeting gift just now?"
"If your father found out, he would definitely scold you!"
