The Emperor's laughter caused the others to turn their heads in surprise.
Their eyes were filled with envy.
How they wished they could be the ones to make the Emperor laugh out loud.
If the person receiving the praise had been Xiao Yunchuan, perhaps they would have been deeply unconvinced and resentful.
But now that the recipient was Duoduo, there was nothing they could do even if they were dissatisfied.
Who could blame her when Duoduo was so young?
When they were that age, they couldn't even draw a bow, let alone ride a horse.
They probably would have cried in fear just seeing a horse.
The Emperor was in an unprecedentedly good mood and asked Duoduo about her academic coursework.
The Grand Tutor led someone over to bring Duoduo's calligraphy practice.
Upon seeing Duoduo's characters, the Emperor was somewhat taken aback.
"Did you write this?"
Duoduo inwardly cried oh no. She hadn't expected her imperial grandfather to actually ask about this.
Duoduo nodded nervously.
"To answer Imperial Grandfather, yes."
Looking at the characters on the rice paper, the Emperor waved the others away.
The Grand Tutor also withdrew.
Seeing the Emperor's posture, Duoduo was bewildered.
She had a faint premonition in her heart.
She shouldn't have stood out just now!
The Emperor examined the rice paper from left to right. Finally, his gaze rested on Duoduo's face.
"You wrote these with your left hand!"
The Emperor spoke in a declarative tone, not a questioning one.
Duoduo was very surprised in her heart. The look she directed at the Emperor was full of confusion.
How did Imperial Grandfather guess that she used her left hand?
Or was Imperial Grandfather testing her?
How should she answer?
Duoduo saw the Emperor staring at her, seemingly waiting for her answer.
Duoduo remembered what Xiao Yi had once said: when encountering a difficult problem that she couldn't solve, she should seek help from the person with the greatest power.
In the imperial palace, wasn't the person with the most power her imperial grandfather?
Duoduo blinked her eyes and softened her voice.
"Imperial Grandfather, how did you guess?"
The Emperor hadn't expected Duoduo's answer to actually be a question directed back at him.
The Emperor looked at Duoduo, who was staring with big, watery eyes, her face full of curiosity.
He felt very pleased in his heart.
The Emperor also softened his voice, "Your imperial grandfather just guessed!"
As soon as the Emperor finished speaking, he was satisfied to see Duoduo's eyes widen in surprise.
He burst into loud laughter once again.
"Imperial Grandfather, you are so amazing! You guessed it right on the first try!"
Duoduo felt truly puzzled inside.
How exactly did the Emperor guess it?
The Emperor was in a great mood. He patted Duoduo's head.
"Thinking back to those years, your father was just like this, taking a hideously written assignment to deal with the Grand Tutor."
"The Grand Tutor was so angry that he ran to complain to me. Because of that, I almost spanked your father's bottom!"
The Emperor found it very amusing as he recalled the past.
Duoduo's eyes curved as she laughed happily.
To think her father also had such a mischievous time?
Why didn't father mention this yesterday?
No wonder father told her to hand in the worst page last night!
The Emperor laughed and laughed, then stopped laughing.
He looked at Duoduo with a profound gaze.
Duoduo, in turn, looked back at the Emperor with her large, clear black and white eyes.
The Emperor pondered for a moment and asked, "What does your father usually do on a daily basis?"
Duoduo tilted her small head and thought for a while.
"Reading books, playing chess."
"Just that?" The Emperor seemed dissatisfied.
Duoduo thought for another moment, "Recently, father opened a jade shop."
The Emperor's face darkened.
"He is a Prince, how can he be so lacking in ambition!"
Duoduo blinked.
"Father said that we cannot let others look down on the Pingyang Prince's Manor anymore!"
Duoduo looked at the Emperor and timidly added a sentence.
"Changle and mother both think it's quite good. Father can finally go out for a walk, which is better than staying in the house every day."
"Before, father didn't even have a smile on his face. Now, he can occasionally smile."
"Changle and mother don't expect father to achieve anything grand. We just hope father can live happily and healthily."
The Emperor looked at Duoduo for a long while before leaving with a gloomy expression.
Because the conversation between the Emperor and Duoduo could only be heard by the two of them.
Therefore, the others could only see the Emperor's displeasure as he left.
Xiao Yunchuan, who had been very jealous of Duoduo just moments ago, felt much more balanced in his heart.
The others also lost their envy.
They had all seen just now that the Emperor had looked at Changle's coursework.
They couldn't help but feel fortunate. Luckily, the person standing in front of the Emperor wasn't them.
Otherwise, if the Emperor knew about their coursework, he would probably fly into a rage immediately!
The Emperor left, and the atmosphere of the riding and archery class relaxed.
Duoduo sat on a stone outside the field, resting her chin in her hands, wondering if she had done the right thing.
Just now, it had been a split-second reaction.
Father had taught her that when speaking to the Emperor, she should mix truth and falsehood, half and half.
Duoduo felt that based on her imperial grandfather's behavior, it wasn't like what her father had said, that he was just an abandoned pawn in her imperial grandfather's hands.
The Emperor sent someone to investigate the Prince of Pingyang!
The Emperor left the palace in disguise!
The Prince of Pingyang is currently in the shop...
Duoduo saw a familiar scene, and the content above made her jump up with joy.
Wonderful!
She guessed right!
She was amazing too!
Duoduo hopped and jumped happily.
Duoduo jumped for a while before realizing that the other classmates were staring at her blankly.
Duoduo stopped, feeling very embarrassed.
She had lost her composure.
A day of learning ended with the ringing of the Imperial College's bell.
Duoduo happily bid farewell to the teacher and prepared to go out to look for Lüdou and Nanny Li.
Suddenly, her path was blocked by a figure.
Duoduo looked up; it was Xiao Yunshi.
Duoduo didn't want to get into a conflict with anyone; she wanted to return to the manor early.
Duoduo bypassed the desk and continued walking from the other side.
However, Xiao Yunshi still blocked her way.
Duoduo looked at him with a face full of incomprehension.
"Is there something you need?"
Xiao Yunshi looked at Duoduo, who only reached his waist, and asked nonchalantly.
"What did you say to the Emperor this afternoon?"
Surprise flashed in Duoduo's eyes.
Was this guy missing a string in his head?
To actually ask such a thing so bluntly?
Duoduo looked at Xiao Yunshi, not knowing how to answer.
Suddenly, Xiao Yunshi pulled out an oiled paper package and stuffed it into Duoduo's hands.
"Here, my treat!"
After saying that, Xiao Yunshi turned and left.
Duoduo looked completely baffled.
Duoduo didn't have time to overthink it. Hugging the item, she hurriedly walked outside.
She wanted to hurry back to the manor to ask her father if her imperial grandfather had gone to the shop.
Duoduo brought Lüdou and Nanny Li onto the manor's carriage and hurriedly headed back.
As soon as the carriage stopped, Duoduo hastily jumped off and ran into the manor.
Duoduo ran to the study and knocked on the door.
"Father, I'm back!"
The study door opened.
The person who opened the door was none other than Xiao Yi. He seemed to be waiting for Duoduo.
Duoduo happily walked in, "Father..."
"Close the door!"
Xiao Yi's words were ice-cold.
Duoduo felt a bit strange. She closed the door properly and walked up to Xiao Yi.
"Kneel!"
