Lüdou looked around and took a detour to the back of Kunning Palace.
She remembered that in the rear courtyard, next to the kitchen, there was a tree.
Lüdou ran over, glanced left and right, and saw no one.
She hugged the tree trunk and began to climb.
Thanks to the days she and Duoduo had spent in the Song Mansion, picking locust blossoms in the spring, climbing trees came easily.
So Lüdou reached the top smoothly.
Carefully stepping from a branch to the courtyard wall, she jumped down inside.
Lüdou patted her chest, thankful. Thankfully!
She had been following the Princess in martial arts practice all along; otherwise, she would never have dared to jump from such a high wall.
Lifting her skirt, Lüdou dashed quickly toward the front hall.
As the voices grew closer, she slowed her steps.
"Witchcraft is no small matter!"
"Someone, go inform His Majesty!"
Lüdou cautiously peeked out. Outside, Nanny Li was kneeling on the ground.
In front of her stood a woman dressed in resplendent clothes.
From the corner of her eye, Nanny Li spotted Lüdou.
Startled, she hurriedly lifted her head slightly and gave Lüdou a meaningful look.
Lüdou didn’t understand. She stepped forward again, trying to see which palace’s mistress the woman was.
Suddenly, Nanny Li kowtowed to the woman.
"Consort Li, the Princess absolutely could not know witchcraft. Please, do not speak falsely of her!"
Consort Li covered her mouth with a sleeve and sneered.
"Speak falsely? We have caught the culprit and the evidence!"
"I said nothing yet. Once His Majesty arrives, the truth will be decided."
Lüdou saw a maid enter the hall and quickly hid.
Soon, the maid came out carrying a chair, placing it behind Consort Li.
She laid a handkerchief on it, and Consort Li sat down.
Lüdou gathered from Nanny Li’s words that something was terribly wrong.
Taking advantage of everyone’s distraction, she slipped back to the rear courtyard.
There was a side gate there.
Lüdou opened it and carefully stepped out.
Once outside, she didn’t dare look back and kept walking straight ahead.
Only after she had gone a great distance and felt sure Consort Li couldn’t see her did she break into a run.
She had to go warn the Princess at once!
Breathless, Lüdou reached the Imperial Academy just as the bell for class dismissal rang.
Duoduo was walking out with her classmates, intending to change clothes.
Lüdou ran over, grabbed Duoduo, and pulled her away.
Duoduo saw Lüdou drenched in sweat and looked puzzled.
"Lüdou, where are you pulling me?"
Lüduo swallowed and lowered her voice.
"Princess, hurry—go save Nanny Li!"
"Something’s happened!"
Duoduo furrowed her brows. "What happened to Nanny? Isn’t she with you?"
As they walked, Lüdou recounted what had just occurred.
"Witchcraft?"
Duoduo frowned deeply.
Nanny Li had once told her about these tactics.
They were common means in the palace, used to frame people.
And they were also things the Emperor detested!
"Let’s go!" Duoduo lifted her skirt and ran swiftly.
Lüdou hurried after her.
The two weaved through the ornate palace halls.
Soon, Duoduo saw the towering gates of Kunning Palace.
At that moment, the Emperor’s entourage had just arrived.
Duoduo sped up and rushed over.
"Your servant pays respects to Your Majesty," Consort Li said, her voice sweet and charming as she curtsied.
"Rise," the Emperor said indifferently.
"What’s the matter that requires my presence?" the Emperor asked, clearly displeased.
He was already busy with court affairs and found it irritating to deal with the harem.
"Your Majesty, this matter concerns Princess Changle, so I dare not handle it lightly."
"Someone, bring the object for His Majesty to see!"
At Consort Li’s command, a maid approached, holding a crude doll stuck with needles, and knelt before the Emperor.
Eunuch Li took it, shocked.
"Your Majesty, it bears your birthdate and time of birth!"
The Emperor froze.
As a sovereign, he abhorred nothing more than witchcraft and curses.
His face darkened.
Just then, Duoduo rushed over and knelt before the Emperor.
"Changle greets Grandfather. Long live the Emperor, ten thousand years!"
Seeing her, a flicker of complex emotion passed through the Emperor’s eyes.
"Why are you here?"
Duoduo raised her head, meeting the Emperor’s gaze openly.
"At noon today, when I left, a young maid flickered past the gate."
"Nanny Li was uneasy about it, so she stayed behind to check."
"When Lüdou saw that Nanny Li hadn’t returned for a long time, she came back to look."
"Then she found Nanny Li kneeling on the ground."
"Without knowing what to do, she ran to fetch me."
"Grandfather, I want to know—what crime has Nanny Li committed?"
The Emperor looked at Duoduo, who did not flinch.
After a long pause, he turned his gaze to the doll in Eunuch Li’s hands.
"Do you know what this is?"
Duoduo followed his eyes and nodded.
"Nanny Li once told me: this is a witchcraft tool."
"I’ve only heard about it before—this is the first time I’ve seen it!"
"You’re lying! This was buried by you, so how can it be the first time?" Consort Li said with a sneer.
Duoduo stared steadily at Consort Li.
"How can you be sure it was buried by us? Do you have proof?"
Consort Li pointed to a maid. "She saw it being buried!"
Duoduo glanced at the maid—an unfamiliar face.
"Saw it?" Duoduo gave a slight smile.
"Did you see Nanny Li digging it up or burying it?"
Without a moment’s hesitation, the maid said, "I saw her covering it with soil."
Duoduo let out a cold laugh. She turned back to the Emperor.
"Grandfather, do you believe her?"
The Emperor looked at her and said nothing.
Nanny Li kowtowed hard before the Emperor.
"Your Majesty, I am wronged!"
"I did not make this!"
Consort Li sneered beside them. "Confess now. Who put you up to this?"
"How dare you harm His Majesty!"
Seeing that the Emperor remained silent, Duoduo realized she had to save herself.
"Grandfather, setting aside whether this was made by us or not, consider just one thing: if I had truly wanted to do this, would I choose to bury it at the gate?"
"Kunning Palace has long been abandoned. Why wouldn’t I bury it inside the hall, where no one would find it?"
"Moreover, the stitching on this doll is atrocious."
"Neither Nanny Li nor Lüdou—nor I—could produce such poor work."
"You’re a mere child—what do you know?" Consort Li tried to dismiss her.
Duoduo lowered her head, untied the sachet at her waist, and handed it to the Emperor.
"I learned embroidery from Nanny Li."
"Nanny Li excels in Suzhou embroidery. Grandfather, you may judge for yourself."
Eunuch Li took the sachet and presented it to the Emperor.
The Emperor examined the exquisite sachet, then the rough cloth doll beside it, and remained silent.
"Grandfather, if you still don’t believe me, I have more evidence to prove it wasn’t us."
