Duoduo clutched her stomach, feeling quite embarrassed.
"I probably just ate something bad."
Li Jin and Xiao Yi both breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
Seeing a teahouse right by the side of the road, Li Jin carried Duoduo and stepped down from the carriage.
Before long, Yun Xiao walked back briskly.
"Your Highness."
Xiao Yi glanced out the window.
"What happened?"
Yun Xiao leaned close to the window and reported in a low voice.
"Just now, your subordinate saw a pregnant woman suddenly rush out from the side of the road and crash into a carriage."
"The pregnant woman hemorrhaged heavily and died on the spot."
At this point, a complicated expression appeared on Yun Xiao's face.
"Then, a two- or three-year-old child ran out, threw himself onto the pregnant woman, and cried for his mother."
"The pregnant woman loudly told the child that his father was right there in that carriage."
"She also said that the child's father despised her low status and refused to let her into his household."
"She had no choice but to remarry."
"Now that she heard the child's father had returned, she was determined to make the child be recognized by his ancestors, even at the cost of her life."
"With her dying breath, she instructed the child that if his father refused to acknowledge him, he should go find the Emperor..."
Thinking of that scene, a chill ran down Yun Xiao's spine.
Fortunately, they had stopped.
If His Highness had run into this matter...
It would truly be impossible to clear his name, even if he jumped into the Yellow River.
The Prince of Pingyang and the Princess Consort didn't have any children to begin with.
If this child really had royal blood, and the Prince of Pingyang couldn't produce evidence to the contrary, he would have no choice but to hold his nose and accept the child.
What a brilliant scheme!
Xiao Yi stared fixedly out the window. He saw Li Jin leading a skipping and bouncing Duoduo out of the teahouse.
"Whose carriage was that?" Xiao Yi asked in a low voice.
"The carriage bears the crest of the Fifth Prince."
"Have someone investigate the background of that woman and child," Xiao Yi ordered softly.
"Yes, your subordinate has already sent someone to look into it."
"However, your subordinate saw the Fifth Prince's men investigating as well."
"Hmm, tell our people to be careful and not let him discover them."
"Yes," Yun Xiao complied.
Duoduo walked up to the carriage, and Yun Xiao bowed to her.
Duoduo didn't mind; she nodded with a bright smile and climbed into the carriage.
Once Li Jin also got on and sat down, the carriage started moving again.
Xiao Yi looked at Duoduo sitting opposite him, lost in thought.
Duoduo's stomach no longer hurt, so her mood improved.
"Teacher, is Aunt Xu at the shop today?"
Li Jin smiled and said, "Knowing her temper, she's definitely there."
"She had someone pick an auspicious date, and tomorrow is the soft opening."
"So, she will certainly be there today."
"Tomorrow? That fast?" Duoduo was very surprised.
"Yes, it's just a soft opening. A trial run to see which dishes are popular."
"And to gauge the market's reaction, so we can make corresponding adjustments later."
Li Jin patiently explained to Duoduo.
Duoduo looked at Xiao Yi. Seeing that he was deep in thought, she opened her mouth but decided against asking her question.
Forget it, I'll ask later.
The carriage traveled through the streets. As the crowds grew denser, they arrived at the West Market.
The West Market in the western part of the city was a large, bustling commercial area.
Not only were there merchants coming and going and customers buying goods, but there was also a school here.
The school sought tranquility amidst the noise, a peace of mind.
Duoduo and her family's shop was right across from the school's main gate.
Next to it were several large shops selling goods from all over the country.
Business was booming.
The carriage stopped in front of the shop.
Duoduo lifted the carriage curtain.
She saw several framed paintings hanging outside the shop, paintings she had drawn.
At first glance, they looked very appetizing.
Passersby all came up to ask when the shop would start selling food.
Xu Jinxin was busy working non-stop inside the shop, while Yingniang was at the door explaining things to the crowd.
"Yingniang!"
Duoduo hopped down from the carriage.
"Duoduo!"
Yingniang was overjoyed to see Duoduo. She ran over and grabbed Duoduo's hand.
The two children hugged each other.
Li Jin also stepped down from the carriage.
"Father! Mother, Father is here!"
Yingniang called out toward the inside of the shop.
Xu Jinxin merely acknowledged them with a hum and continued teaching the newly hired workers how to barbecue.
Xiao Yi did not get out of the carriage; he just gave Yun Xiao a look.
Yun Xiao followed behind Li Jin and walked into the shop.
The workers inside saw Yun Xiao and immediately stood up, wanting to bow.
Yun Xiao stopped them with a mere glance.
Seeing the workers pause, Xu Jinxin turned to look at Li Jin and Duoduo.
"You're back? I'm very busy here and don't have time to entertain you."
"Go back first. When I return tonight, I'll talk to you privately."
Xu Jinxin spoke up to shoo them away.
Previously, she had been recruiting workers for a long time but hadn't found anyone suitable.
But the day before yesterday, eight people suddenly showed up all at once.
These men said their hometown was struck by a disaster, so they came out looking for work.
As long as they were provided with a place to live and three full meals a day, they didn't care about anything else.
Xu Jinxin saw that their eyes were clear and bright; they didn't look like bad people.
Furthermore, they looked like hardworking and resilient men at first glance.
What moved Xu Jinxin the most was that these men had been looking for work for a long time.
They were so familiar with every corner of the capital that they knew it like the back of their hands.
Xu Jinxin immediately made the decision to keep all eight of them.
The initial plan was for three to deliver takeout, three to barbecue, and two to act as assistants.
Over the past few days, she had been leading these workers, either training them or handing out flyers.
"Li Jin, help me rent a house. These guys need a place to stay."
Xu Jinxin said to Li Jin.
For the past few days, these men had been sleeping in the shop.
"Alright, I'll go ask the broker in a bit," Li Jin agreed.
Yun Xiao stepped forward and cupped his hands in a salute.
"Madam Li, the courtyard rented by the workers from our restaurant is not far from here."
"Why don't they head over and squeeze in with the restaurant workers?"
"There are extra rooms over there anyway, enough to accommodate all of them."
"That way, you can also save on expenses."
Xu Jinxin was delighted. "Will it be inconvenient? Do you need to ask the Prince of Pingyang for permission?"
Yun Xiao pointed at the carriage outside and said in a low voice,
"His Highness is right outside. He just ordered me to come and see if you needed any help here."
Xu Jinxin looked at Li Jin, and Li Jin nodded at her.
Xu Jinxin understood that all of this was because of Duoduo.
"Duoduo, later on, help Aunt Xu thank your father," Xu Jinxin said, rubbing Duoduo's head.
"Okay," Duoduo nodded.
"I'm quite busy here, so you guys head back first."
Xu Jinxin was indeed very busy, urging them to leave.
Li Jin nodded and led Duoduo and the others away.
Duoduo had just used this as an excuse anyway, so naturally, she didn't insist on staying.
The carriage began to move once again.
Duoduo looked at the scenery outside the window.
"Huh? Father, the carriage isn't taking the route back to the manor?"
