Duoduo picked at the center of her palms. "No one."
The Prince of Pingyang frowned. His intuition told him that Duoduo was not telling the truth.
"Your Highness, the medicine is ready."
A guard walked over, carrying a bowl of medicine.
The Prince of Pingyang took it. Just as he was about to drink it, he suddenly paused.
"Ling Feng, pour a little out and feed it to the cat first."
Ling Feng complied, pouring some of the medicine out and forcing it into the mouth of the kitten from earlier.
After feeding it the medicine, Ling Feng released the kitten.
The kitten shook its head vigorously and darted to the side.
Just when everyone thought it was a false alarm, the kitten suddenly collapsed onto the ground, dead.
The medicine bowl in Ling Feng's hands instantly dropped to the ground, shattering into several large pieces.
"Your Highness!" Ling Feng's face turned pale.
If the Prince of Pingyang had drunk this bowl of medicine, the consequences...
Ling Feng did not dare to imagine.
The Prince of Pingyang's face darkened. "Investigate!"
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Ling Feng and the guard hurriedly left, leaving only Duoduo and the Prince of Pingyang.
Looking at the lifeless kitten on the ground, Duoduo felt very sad.
She walked over and scooped the kitten up with both hands.
"What are you doing?"
The Prince of Pingyang's tone was full of menace.
"This kitty took the disaster for you. I want to bury it."
Duoduo looked at the Prince of Pingyang with deep sorrow.
The Prince of Pingyang said nothing. He watched as Duoduo carried the kitten's body to the edge of the flowerbed.
Then, Duoduo found a wooden stick and began to dig at the soil.
"Guards!"
The Prince of Pingyang truly could not stand the way Duoduo was digging. Not only was she getting dirt all over her own head and face, but she was also flicking it onto him.
"Here, Your Highness." A guard appeared in the courtyard.
"Go! Bury that cat."
The guard was a little surprised. He looked up and cast a swift glance at the Prince of Pingyang.
"Yes." The guard lowered his head.
With the guard's help, the kitten was quickly buried in the earth.
Duoduo piled some dirt over it. "Don't blame His Highness. He definitely didn't do it on purpose."
"I'll bring you some fish in a little while. Please don't hold a grudge against His Highness!"
Hearing Duoduo's clear muttering, the Prince of Pingyang did not want to listen any further.
The Prince of Pingyang pushed his wheelchair and headed into the room.
Duoduo clapped the dirt from her hands and stood up.
She first ran to wash her hands before running after him into the study.
The Prince of Pingyang was once again holding a book, sitting by the window and reading.
Duoduo's eyes darted around, and she ran to the desk.
She picked up a writing brush from the pen rack and began to trace the characters she didn't recognize onto the paper, copying them exactly as she saw them.
She put the brush away and blew on the paper to dry the ink.
Then, she carefully folded the paper and tucked it into her sleeve pocket.
She still wanted to ask Nanny Li about it when she had some free time later.
"Bring it here!"
It was as if the Prince of Pingyang had eyes in the back of his head. The moment Duoduo put the paper away, he issued his command.
"Your Highness, what do you want?"
Duoduo walked up to the Prince of Pingyang and asked cautiously.
"What you just wrote." The Prince of Pingyang held his hand out toward Duoduo.
"I didn't write anything..."
Duoduo clutched her sleeve pocket tightly, unwilling to take it out.
"Hand it over! Do not make me repeat myself!"
The Prince of Pingyang seemed quite impatient.
Duoduo bit her lip and reluctantly took out the paper she had just written on.
The Prince of Pingyang unfolded the paper. On it were two large characters drawn like illegible scribbles.
Moreover, these two characters were missing various strokes.
The Prince of Pingyang frowned so hard he could practically crush a mosquito between his brows.
Was this the result of Nanny Li's teaching?
The Prince of Pingyang simply couldn't believe it. He closed his eyes briefly.
Duoduo had been watching the Prince of Pingyang's expression very nervously.
Seeing the Prince of Pingyang's look of sheer dismay, she blushed.
"I don't know how to write."
The Prince of Pingyang opened his eyes again. "Did Nanny Li not teach you?"
"She did, but Nanny taught me horizontal and vertical strokes."
The Prince of Pingyang also knew that Nanny Li must be teaching her from the very beginning.
Suppressing the urge to throw away the piece of writing in his hand, he tried to decipher the characters on it.
"These two characters should be medicinal brew."
"This character is brew, but it's missing a few strokes. Go get the brush."
The Prince of Pingyang truly could not stand looking at characters missing their essential parts.
Duoduo happily ran to the desk and brought the writing brush over.
"The character for brew should be written like this..."
The Prince of Pingyang demonstrated it for Duoduo stroke by stroke, and Duoduo's small hand involuntarily moved along with his.
"This is the character for medicine, and it's missing even more strokes."
The Prince of Pingyang wrote the correct character for medicine on the paper.
Then, he handed both the brush and the paper back to Duoduo.
Duoduo took them, first placing the brush on the desk before unfolding the rice paper.
Why were the characters written by the Prince of Pingyang different from the golden characters floating before her?
Were the two characters she didn't recognize really medicinal brew?
Duoduo's face was full of confusion.
At that moment, the Princess Consort of Pingyang rushed over after hearing the news.
"Your Highness, I heard that someone tried to poison you? Have you found out who did it?"
The Prince of Pingyang shook his head. "Ling Feng hasn't reported back yet."
"Just who is it that wants to harm Your Highness? Their heart is too vicious!"
The Princess Consort of Pingyang was furious.
The Prince of Pingyang stroked the jade thumb ring on his hand, a cold sneer curving the corners of his lips.
"Who else could it be? It won't be anyone other than those few."
"However, it is time we cleaned out the people in this manor."
As the Prince of Pingyang spoke his final words, his tone suddenly filled with murderous intent.
It frightened Duoduo, who was standing to the side, causing her to shudder.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang noticed this. She pulled Duoduo over and gently stroked her head.
"Today, it's all thanks to you. Otherwise, His Highness would have likely fallen victim to this treacherous plot..."
The Princess Consort of Pingyang couldn't bring herself to continue.
As the wife of the Prince of Pingyang, they shared in both glory and ruin.
As long as the Prince of Pingyang was alive, she had nothing to fear.
But if the Prince of Pingyang died, her fate would absolutely not be a good one.
The Prince of Pingyang looked at Duoduo with a gaze that held a few more degrees of scrutiny.
Duoduo smiled at the Princess Consort of Pingyang. "Princess Consort, His Highness is fine, so don't be sad!"
"Good child!" The Princess Consort of Pingyang hugged Duoduo, feeling extremely grateful.
Ling Feng returned and cupped his hands in a salute to the Prince of Pingyang.
"Your Highness, your subordinate was too late. The cook who brewed the medicine in the kitchen has already committed suicide."
"Is there anyone else?"
Ling Feng shook his head. "I have investigated. The cook was the only person who had contact with the medical prescription."
"And then, it was the guard from just now who brought it over..."
Ling Feng hesitated slightly and did not continue.
"Dispose of him!" The Prince of Pingyang's tone was sharp.
"But, Your Highness, he is a guard of the manor. He shouldn't have betrayed you."
The Prince of Pingyang suddenly shot a lightning-sharp glare at Ling Feng.
"Wealth moves men's hearts. Can you guarantee it?"
"But if we can't even trust our own people, doesn't that make the manor as leaky as a sieve?"
Thinking of this possibility, Ling Feng's face turned pale.
"Ling Feng, take advantage of this poisoning incident to completely purge the manor."
"Replace everyone with our own trusted people. Secure the manor so tightly that not even a single drop of water can leak through, let alone a mosquito flying in!"
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Ling Feng took his leave. He understood that His Highness was about to make a major move.
