Duoduo hopped down to the ground and caught a sly grin on Xiao Yi’s face.
She stuck out her tongue.
“It’s because I was hungry, so… I accidentally ate a bit too much.”
Xiao Yi nodded. “Mm, you were hungry.”
Duoduo caught the teasing in her father’s voice and felt a little embarrassed.
She thought for a moment, then burrowed into Xiao Yi’s arms.
“Father, my tummy hurts. Can you rub it for me?”
Xiao Yi saw right through her—she was just being clingy.
But he didn’t call her out on it.
He lifted her onto his lap, his large hand gently stroking her stomach.
“Does it hurt here?”
Duoduo kept her head down, feeling guilty. “Mm-hmm!”
A smile tugged at the corner of Xiao Yi’s mouth as he softly massaged her belly.
Feeling his gentle touch, Duoduo quietly looked up and saw the smile on his face.
Blushing, she shyly wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in the crook of his shoulder.
Xiao Yi let out a low chuckle, his whole chest trembling with laughter.
Duoduo’s face flushed even redder as she wriggled her little body.
“Father, stop laughing!”
Xiao Yi paused for a second—then laughed even louder.
Duoduo wished she could disappear into his neck.
“Father~” she whined.
Once he’d had his fill of laughter, Xiao Yi gently patted her back.
“Was it you who brought today’s rain?”
Duoduo’s spine stiffened, and the warmth of the moment instantly dissipated.
Holding tightly to his neck, she answered in a muffled voice,
“It was the Emperor Grandfather who prayed for rain. It had nothing to do with me.”
“Is that so?” Xiao Yi’s voice rose slightly.
Duoduo fidgeted, avoiding a response.
She knew that in front of her father, saying too much only led to mistakes.
“Let me take a guess,” Xiao Yi said, his tone curious as he analyzed.
“You’ve always been very healthy. A little rain wouldn’t make you sick.”
“It must be because summoning the rain drained your energy, which is why you fell ill.”
“Tell me, did your father guess correctly?”
Duoduo tensed up—she knew she couldn’t hide it from him.
She tightened her grip around his neck.
“Father, since you already figured it out, why did you have to say it out loud?”
Xiao Yi gave her bottom a light slap.
“Didn’t I teach you? Nothing is more important than yourself, no matter the situation.”
“Have you tossed your father’s words out of your head again?”
Duoduo felt the firm but gentle swat on her backside.
Strangely, it reminded her of the slap County Magistrate Song had given her that day in the yard, when work made him storm over and strike her face.
Her face had swollen up badly then.
One was her own flesh-and-blood father, who wished she were dead.
The other was not her biological father, yet blamed her for not putting herself first.
Tears streamed down Duoduo’s cheeks and slipped into Xiao Yi’s neck.
Feeling the cold wetness, Xiao Yi froze.
Had he hit her too hard?
He was sure he hadn’t used much force.
So why had she started crying?
Hearing her soft sobs, Xiao Yi’s panic flared.
“Who told you to be disobedient? What if something happened to you—what would your mother do?”
He stumbled over his words.
“Praying for rain is the emperor’s business. What does it have to do with you? It’s not your kingdom!”
“Let whoever cares deal with it. Why do you, a little child, have to meddle?”
“If someone found out and decided to offer you as a sacrifice to the heavens, what would you do then?”
As Xiao Yi finished speaking, he saw Duoduo release him, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him.
Because she had been crying, Duoduo’s eyes were as clear as the rain-washed sky.
Xiao Yi could clearly see his own awkward expression reflected in Duoduo’s pupils.
“I hit you too lightly just now. I should have used the ruler!”
Xiao Yi deliberately put on a stern face.
Duoduo stared at Xiao Yi, motionless, and then suddenly broke into a brilliant smile.
Xiao Yi’s heart inexplicably blossomed with joy as well.
The corners of his mouth involuntarily began to rise.
“Ahem, ahem!” Xiao Yi coughed twice, trying to force his face back into seriousness.
Duoduo quickly planted a kiss on Xiao Yi’s cheek.
Then she swiftly jumped down from where she was.
“Father, the way you looked just now—I really liked it!”
Duoduo said, running out.
“Father, I’m going to take a walk to help my digestion!”
As Duoduo ran out the door, Lüdou, who had been waiting at the entrance, quickly came to meet her.
“Lüdou, come on, walk with me to help digest.”
Seeing that Duoduo had returned to her usual lively self, Lüdou was very pleased.
“Princess, are you all right now?”
Duoduo raised her hand and touched her own forehead.
Ah!
Her medicine had worked too well!
After crying a bit earlier, her illness had actually gone away.
“I’m fine. If you don’t believe me, feel for yourself!”
Duoduo turned her face sideways for Lüdou, who touched it with uncertainty.
“Hmm, the fever is indeed gone. Princess, how about we go back and change our clothes first?”
Duoduo looked at her clothes and nodded.
“All right.”
The mistress and servant walked away chatting as they went.
In the study, Xiao Yi covered the spot on his cheek where Duoduo had kissed him, frozen as if struck by an acupuncture point.
A strange light flickered in his eyes.
Prince Xian acted quickly. He led his men to find the doctor at the Tongrentang pharmacy.
Then the doctor testified that it was a eunuch from the palace who had given him the prescription.
He sketched the eunuch’s portrait.
After Prince Xian’s investigation, they found that the eunuch had already hanged himself.
That eunuch was a minor attendant from Noble Consort Li’s Chonghua Hall.
All evidence pointed to Noble Consort Li.
Noble Consort Li naturally cried out in defense of her innocence.
Prince Ling also rushed into the palace to plead for Noble Consort Li.
In the end, the emperor punished Noble Consort Li, demoting her from Noble Consort to Consort.
Even Noble Consort Li’s father and older brother were fiercely reprimanded by the emperor.
What’s more, her brother was subsequently found guilty of practicing favoritism and fraud, and the emperor directly stripped him of his official rank and insignia.
It was the first time the emperor had been so enraged.
Court officials began to speculate that a major change was imminent.
Xiao Yi stared at the portrait on the table, lost in thought.
“Father, you wanted to see me?” Duoduo walked into the study.
“Come here.” Xiao Yi motioned for Duoduo to look at the painting.
Duoduo ran over, and Xiao Yi picked her up, placing her on his lap so she could see more easily.
Duoduo naturally adjusted her sitting position and looked at the portrait on the table.
“Huh?” Duoduo was quite surprised when she saw the portrait.
“Father, isn’t this the same person from the portrait you showed me before?”
Duoduo turned her head to look at Xiao Yi.
Xiao Yi nodded calmly.
“He’s dead.”
A look of shock appeared on Duoduo’s face.
“Dead?”
Xiao Yi nodded, then he told Duoduo the outcome of the previous incidents.
Confusion filled Duoduo’s eyes.
“Father, so he was a eunuch from Noble Consort Li’s palace?”
Xiao Yi nodded.
“Father, does that mean the person who has been framing us all along was Noble Consort Li?”
Anger flared across Duoduo’s face.
Xiao Yi mused, "But our people have found out that this time, the one who plotted against the princely manor was not Noble Consort Li’s people."
