Li Jin rubbed his hands together.
"Your Highness, where did you find a jade mine? To think you are actually opening a jade shop!"
Xiao Yi gave Li Jin a cool glance. "Hmm, just good luck."
Li Jin gave Xiao Yi a thumbs up.
"You are still the most impressive one, Your Highness!"
"They say that this kind of jade mine is usually part of an entire vein."
"You just acquired an iron mine, and now you've found a jade vein!"
"Your Highness, your luck is truly off the charts!"
Hearing Li Jin's words, a strange light flashed in Xiao Yi's eyes.
The iron mine was discovered because Duoduo suggested clearing out the managers on the estate.
And the jade was retrieved by Li Jin only because Duoduo wanted the pretty stones from the river.
Even his legs were healing because of Duoduo.
Xiao Yi looked at his legs resting on the wheelchair, deep in thought.
Xiao Yi's overly serious expression caused Li Jin to misunderstand.
"Your Highness, Master Zhang says that Duoduo's medical skills are already above his own."
"Perhaps one day, she will be able to find a way to completely cure your legs."
Xiao Yi lifted his eyelids, seeing the genuine concern on Li Jin's face.
He rubbed his fingers together.
"You mentioned a vein of ore just now? Could you explain that in detail?"
Li Jin breathed a sigh of relief; it turned out he had misunderstood just a moment ago.
Xiao Yi was merely thinking about something. And here he thought Xiao Yi was feeling sad about not being able to stand up.
"A vein of ore is essentially a rock layer within a mountain..."
Li Jin explained to Xiao Yi with animated gestures what a rock layer and an ore vein were.
Listening to him, a distinct look flashed across Xiao Yi's eyes.
According to Li Jin, wherever there was jade, there must be a vein nearby.
As long as they found the vein, they would find the source of the jade.
He pushed his wheelchair to the desk and picked up a brush.
Xiao Yi swiftly wrote a line of small characters on a piece of paper, tore it off, and rolled it into a tiny scroll.
Then, he opened a drawer, took out a small bamboo tube, and carefully placed the rolled-up paper inside.
Xiao Yi pushed his wheelchair to the window and let out a sharp whistle.
With a flurry of wings, a bird flew to the window.
Li Jin was surprised to discover that this bird was not a common pigeon, but a small falcon.
Xiao Yi reached out and tied the bamboo tube to the falcon's leg.
Then, he patted the falcon's head.
"Go!"
The falcon flapped its wings and quickly disappeared into the sky.
"Your Highness, the Princess Consort, the little Princess, and the others are here."
The guard outside the door reported.
"Let them in." Xiao Yi pushed his wheelchair back to the desk.
The door was pushed open from the outside, and Xu Jinxin walked in first.
Seeing this, Li Jin hastily stood up.
"What are you all..." Li Jin saw that not only his wife and the Princess Consort, but even the two children were following behind.
Xu Jinxin smiled at Li Jin, then bowed to Xiao Yi.
"I brought something good to show you."
Looking at the painting in Xu Jinxin's hands, Li Jin guessed.
"What? Where did you find a master painter to draw promotional art for you?"
Xu Jinxin looked radiant.
"Exactly! When you see it, you'll definitely be amazed!"
Xu Jinxin handed the painting to Li Jin.
Li Jin took the painting and was just about to open it when he heard Xiao Yi say,
"Bring it here!"
Li Jin nodded and unrolled the painting on the desk in front of Xiao Yi.
As the scroll opened, a grilled fish, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, appeared before their eyes.
"Hiss! The fish in this painting is so lifelike! Just looking at it makes me want to eat grilled fish!"
Li Jin slurped up his saliva.
"Jinxin, which master did you get to paint this? It's incredibly vivid!"
Li Jin was full of praise.
Xiao Yi looked at the painting, and then his gaze shifted to rest on Duoduo's face.
"You painted this."
Xiao Yi's tone was very certain.
Duoduo revealed a sweet, well-behaved smile. "Yes, Father!"
"Father, look, how is the painting I drew?"
Li Jin was utterly astonished.
"Princess, you painted this?"
Duoduo nodded with a beaming smile. "That's right!"
Duoduo's first teacher in zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting had been Xiao Yi.
Later, after Li Jin arrived, Xiao Yi only occasionally gave Duoduo some pointers.
Because Xiao Yi had asked Li Jin to focus strictly on Duoduo's academic studies, Li Jin hadn't had the time to teach her the arts.
He had just been cramming book knowledge into Duoduo's head first.
This was the first time Li Jin had seen Duoduo's artwork.
Meanwhile, Xiao Yi examined the painting in front of him and gave a slight nod.
"Not bad, it has spirit. But it can still be polished a bit more."
Everyone except Duoduo stared wide-eyed at Xiao Yi.
To them, this painting was already perfect. How could it still need polishing?
Weren't his standards a bit too high?
Duoduo, however, nodded in agreement.
"Father, I always felt like it was missing something. Can you point it out for me?"
Duoduo walked up to the desk, resting her chin on her hands, looking somewhat distressed.
"Auntie Xu and the others all said it was great, but I just felt it hadn't reached what I wanted."
Xiao Yi looked at the painting before him and pondered for a moment.
"You are painting food, and food is all about appealing to the eyes, nose, and palate."
"Right now, it has the color. But how should the aroma and taste be expressed?"
Duoduo tilted her head in thought, while the others dared not make a sound.
Seeing that Duoduo still couldn't quite grasp it, Xiao Yi picked up a brush from the side and added a few sparse strokes to the painting.
Watching her father's movements, a look of pure adoration appeared on Duoduo's face.
"Thank you for your guidance, Father!"
Xu Jinxin stood on her tiptoes, trying to see the painting on the desk, but Su Xian pulled her back.
Li Jin was standing close, so he naturally saw the difference in the painting.
Because of those few added strokes, he felt his mouth watering uncontrollably.
"I can't take it! If I keep looking, I'm going to want to eat the grilled fish right off the paper!"
Li Jin walked away; he needed to control his appetite.
"Your Highness, may I take a look?"
Su Xian couldn't stand Xu Jinxin continuously poking her, so she spoke up on her behalf.
Seeing Xiao Yi nod, Duoduo carefully picked up the painting and walked over to Su Xian.
Xu Jinxin impatiently craned her neck to look.
Sure enough, the painting now looked even more appetizing than before.
"Duoduo, what was added? Why can't I tell?" Yingniang tugged at Duoduo's sleeve.
"Here and here." Duoduo pointed to a few strokes in the painting.
"Wow! You're right!" Yingniang noticed the difference.
Xu Jinxin stealthily glanced at Xiao Yi seated at the head, then leaned close to Su Xian's ear.
"How is your luck so good? To marry such an amazing husband?"
Su Xian's face flushed red, and she hurriedly tugged at Xu Jinxin's sleeve to stop her from saying more.
Li Jin had sharp ears and heard Xu Jinxin's words. He curled his hand into a fist, brought it to his lips, and coughed.
"The Prince and I still have official business to discuss. If you ladies don't have any other matters, you should head back first."
Xu Jinxin, however, ignored Li Jin and looked up at Xiao Yi.
"I heard from Duoduo that Your Highness wants to have a competition with us? May I ask what the rules are? Is there a time limit?"
"Su Xian and I are both partners in the shop, we have the right to know!"
