“You didn’t fight back?” Xiao Yi’s face darkened.
Fight back?
Duoduo slowly realized what she had done.
She had accidentally let it slip just now.
Duoduo silently stuck out her tongue.
“Father, Xiao Yunshi has been expelled from school.”
Duoduo stated the conclusion first, then recounted the entire story to her father.
“I thought the matter was already resolved, and I didn’t want you to worry about it anymore, so I didn’t tell you.”
Xiao Yi’s expression softened only when he heard that Duoduo hadn’t suffered any loss.
“You haven’t disgraced the lessons I taught you,” he said flatly, offering his verdict on her actions.
“Of course, with you setting the example, Father, I couldn’t be too bad, could I?”
Duoduo showered him with flattery.
Xiao Yi shot her a sideways glance, but surprisingly, he didn’t scold her.
Duoduo inwardly burst into laughter.
No wonder the Master said, “Flattery never fails, through all ages and against all odds.”
Everyone loves to hear nice things!
“Since tomorrow is a day off, go back and rest properly.”
“Children who worry too much end up short!”
Xiao Yi issued his dismissal, picking up the letter in his hand.
It contained new information that Ling Yu and the others had uncovered.
Seeing her father getting busy, Duoduo bowed and withdrew.
After walking a short distance, Duoduo suddenly remembered something.
She had mentioned Eighth Uncle to her father earlier, but he hadn’t given her any conclusion on that matter.
Also, she had forgotten to tell her father that Eighth Uncle was a reincarnated person!
Duoduo thought it over.
Never mind. She had already warned him, and he would surely pay attention.
Besides, she could help him keep an eye on Xiao Che.
Her father was busy; she could handle these small matters for him.
With this thought, Duoduo’s mood brightened.
“Lüdou, how’s the shop renovation going?” Duoduo set aside her previous thoughts and turned her attention to her own store.
After a few days of searching, Shitou and Liqing had finally found a suitable shop on East Street.
The location was excellent, and it had originally been a breakfast shop.
But the rent on East Street was too high, and the profits from breakfast couldn’t cover it.
So, the previous tenant had given up the lease.
The landlord, wanting to upgrade to a larger shop, had put it up for sale.
Although the shop was small, the landlord thought the location was prime and demanded five thousand taels.
Five thousand taels for a shop of only a dozen square meters was too expensive.
Those who could afford it would rather add a bit more money and buy a bigger place.
So, the shop had remained unsold.
When Shitou and the others found it, the landlord had just set his sights on another shop and was eager to liquidate this one.
He took the initiative to lower the price to four thousand taels.
After some negotiation, Shitou and Liqing managed to bring it down to three thousand taels.
Duoduo was quite surprised when she heard this.
Shitou explained the details, and Duoduo finally understood.
It turned out that Liqing had found out the location of the shop the landlord wanted.
They split up.
Liqing pretended to be a potential buyer, competing with the landlord for that other shop.
The middleman quickly notified the landlord.
Afraid of losing his desired shop to someone else, the landlord grew anxious.
Meanwhile, Shitou indicated that if the landlord agreed, he could pay immediately.
If not, he was ready to give up.
Shitou also played the sympathy card, claiming he was new to the capital and only had that much money—not a single coin more.
The collaboration between Shitou and Liqing put the landlord in a panic.
In the end, he agreed to Shitou’s offer.
The shop, initially worth five thousand taels, was sold for three thousand.
Duoduo put the shop under Lüdou’s name, startling Lüdou into hurriedly refusing.
“Lüdou, didn’t you say I needed a backup plan?” Duoduo asked.
“If this shop is in your name, then it won’t be connected to the Prince Pingyang Mansion.”
Hearing Duoduo’s explanation, Lüdou looked at her with lingering unease.
“Princess, is something about to happen?” Lüdou asked.
Lüdou had often heard Duoduo talk about matters like the struggle between the legitimate and illegitimate heirs to the throne, and she understood it well.
Duoduo had even returned her indenture contract and told her she could leave whenever she wanted.
Duoduo patted Lüdou’s arm.
“I’m just planning ahead. Don’t worry.”
In the end, Lüdou was convinced.
The shop was registered under Lüdou’s name, and Shitou began leading the team in a frenzied renovation.
When Lüdou heard Duoduo asking about the renovation progress, a smile spread across her face.
“Princess, Shitou says it will be finished in at most ten more days.”
Duoduo nodded.
“Tomorrow, you’ll come with me. We’ll go check out those old-brand pastries and see how their flavors are.”
“Just like the Master says—market research!”
Lüdou nodded happily. “Yes!”
After walking a few steps, Duoduo suddenly thought of an important issue.
The person she had tried to poach hadn’t shown any sign of movement.
Was it because she hadn’t been sincere enough?
Duoduo tilted her little head, pondering for a moment.
No!
She couldn’t lose the person she had taken such a liking to.
Tomorrow, she would go again!
And she would bring the Master along. The Master was eloquent and persuasive—he could surely win them over.
With that decided, Duoduo went to find Su Xian.
She relayed Xiao Yi’s words to Su Xian.
Su Xian patted Duoduo’s head. “Alright, I understand, dear.”
Recalling the look in Yunxi’s eyes earlier, Duoduo took her leave.
Assuming Duoduo was tired, Su Xian didn’t keep her and instead reminded Lüdou to take good care of her.
The mistress and servant left the room and headed toward their own courtyard.
Yunxi, who had been waiting in the courtyard, saw Duoduo return and walked over with a beaming face.
Duoduo went to Yunxi and took her hand.
“Third Cousin, is there something you need to tell me?”
Yunxi had promised Duoduo she would find out why Old Madam Su had traveled all the way to the capital.
She had been unable to find a breakthrough.
Duoduo had already given up hope.
Old Madam Su had been very quiet at the Prince Pingyang Mansion, never sneaking out.
When Duoduo and Su Xian chatted privately, they had speculated whether they had guessed wrong.
Maybe Old Madam Su had really just come to seek refuge with Su Xian.
Today, the reason Old Madam Su gave seemed perfectly reasonable.
Although Duoduo had fired back at Old Madam Su, she still agreed to go shopping with them.
Duoduo was worried that Su Xian couldn’t handle Old Madam Su alone.
Yunxi glanced at Lüdou.
Duoduo turned her head. “Lüdou, stand guard outside. Don’t let anyone eavesdrop.”
“Yes, Princess!”
Lüdou stationed herself at the door, while Yunxi pulled Duoduo into the room.
“Princess, I found out what Grandmother came to the capital to do!”
“Yesterday, I overheard a conversation between Grandmother and Yunmeng.”
The expression on Yunxi’s face was complicated.
