Prince Ling froze for a moment.
Only then did he realize that his father had not issued an edict ordering him to move into the Eastern Palace.
In other words, he still had to return to Prince Ling’s Residence.
It must be because his father was ill and had overlooked it.
Thinking this, Prince Ling did not take it to heart.
After all, he was Crown Prince now.
The Eastern Palace was merely a residence. Sooner or later, it would be his anyway.
“I have state affairs to attend to. Bring me the memorials that need handling.”
Prince Ling was brimming with enthusiasm and immediately set to work.
Xiao Yi soon learned that Prince Ling had been named Crown Prince.
Smack!
The cup in Xiao Yi’s hand slipped to the floor and shattered into several pieces.
“Your Highness!”
Yunxiao hurried forward, picked up the shards, and threw them into the wastebasket.
Xiao Yi came back to himself. “My hand slipped. I didn’t hold it securely.”
Yunxiao opened the study door and soon had someone come in to clean the floor.
After closing the door, Yunxiao turned around and saw Xiao Yi facing the window, seemingly lost in thought.
Yunxiao stood by the door, afraid to make a sound.
His Highness had been laying plans for so long, yet in the end, Prince Ling had still taken the throne.
Yunxiao could completely understand what Prince of Pingyang must be feeling at that moment.
“Yunxiao, have a carriage wait outside the palace for the Princess.”
Only after a long while did Xiao Yi slowly speak.
Yunxiao was quite surprised.
“Your Highness, His Majesty has not issued an edict. Will the Princess be allowed to return?”
Xiao Yi gently waved his hand, and Yunxiao immediately bowed.
“Yes. I’ll make the arrangements.”
At that moment, in the Department of Judicial Punishments, Duoduo was looking brightly at the Empress Dowager.
“Great-Grandmother, do you mean these golden beans are rewards for Changle’s paintings?”
The Empress Dowager smiled benevolently.
“That’s right!”
“But if your painting isn’t good, I may take them back.”
After hearing this, Duoduo nodded confidently.
“Great-Grandmother, don’t worry. Changle definitely won’t disappoint you.”
The Empress Dowager waved at the people behind her.
The palace maids came forward one after another, placing sheets of rice paper and various colored paints on the table.
Lüdou helped Duoduo tie back her sleeves, and Duoduo went to stand beside the table.
She picked up a brush and carefully dipped it in ink.
“Great-Grandmother, what kind of painting would you like Changle to draw?”
Duoduo raised the brush and looked at the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager’s gaze drifted into the distance, as though she were looking at someone in the empty air.
“Draw someone for me.” The Empress Dowager spoke extremely slowly.
She seemed to be recalling someone from her memories.
“She had a round face and big, round eyes…” Her voice was soft—so soft that it seemed she was afraid of waking something.
Duoduo tilted her little head. She felt that something was strange.
Still, she committed every detail the Empress Dowager mentioned to memory.
By the time the Empress Dowager finished speaking, Duoduo already had a picture of a little girl in her mind.
When the Empress Dowager stopped describing her, Duoduo lifted her brush and began to paint the person in her mind.
What Duoduo did not know was that the Empress Dowager had been watching her anxiously the entire time.
When a little girl finally appeared beneath Duoduo’s brush, tears suddenly spilled from the Empress Dowager’s eyes.
The palace maid attending her was startled and was just about to step forward when the Empress Dowager raised a hand to stop her.
Not only that, she also waved for everyone to leave.
Nanny Li hesitated for a moment, then led everyone out of the prison cell.
Duoduo finally finished her painting and put down the brush.
“Great-Grandmother, is this what you wanted?”
The Empress Dowager dabbed at the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief. Then she rose and walked behind Duoduo to look at the portrait on the table.
“She looks like her!”
“Very much like her!”
The moment the Empress Dowager saw the person in the portrait clearly, the emotions she had been suppressing could no longer be contained.
Her tears poured forth, and her voice trembled uncontrollably.
Hearing that something was wrong, Duoduo looked up at her.
“Great-Grandmother, what’s wrong?”
The Empress Dowager’s tear-streaked face frightened Duoduo.
She hurriedly reached out and grabbed the Empress Dowager’s sleeve, trying to comfort her.
The Empress Dowager sank weakly into a chair. She hugged Duoduo and began to cry silently.
Duoduo froze in fright.
Her body stiffened for a moment before she raised her hand and gently stroked the Empress Dowager’s back again and again.
“Great-Grandmother, don’t cry!”
“If Father finds out that Changle made you cry, he’ll be furious!”
“Great-Grandmother, Father is really scary when he gets angry!”
To comfort the Empress Dowager, Duoduo did not hesitate to make her father sound bad.
Duoduo’s words amused the Empress Dowager.
She dabbed at the corners of her eyes and wiped her face, gradually calming down.
“You mustn’t speak ill of your father behind his back. Not even to comfort your great-grandmother.”
The Empress Dowager understood that Duoduo had only meant well.
“Your father has done many things for you that went against his principles.”
“You must be grateful to him. Do you understand?”
Worried that Duoduo might not understand, the Empress Dowager took her little hand and explained.
“Your father is an extremely proud man.”
“Even when he fell from grace and was reduced to the dust, he never changed his nature.”
“From childhood to adulthood, he has rarely asked anyone for help.”
“But for your sake, he came to your great-grandmother and begged me, repeatedly reminding me that I must come see you every day.”
“I also heard that he went to the Hall of Supreme Harmony specifically to plead for you.”
“Unfortunately, your grandfather was unwell and did not receive him.”
Duoduo blinked. It was the first time she had heard from someone else that her father had done so many things for her.
“Great-Grandmother, Changle was wrong.” Duoduo lowered her head in shame.
The Empress Dowager stroked Duoduo’s head.
“Your great-grandmother knows that you meant well. If anything, I was the one at fault.”
As she spoke, the Empress Dowager gazed at the figure in the painting with a look of longing.
Then she raised a trembling hand and gently caressed the little girl’s face in the portrait.
Duoduo was puzzled.
She did not know who the person in the painting was.
Why had she caused the Empress Dowager to lose control so completely?
Could she be someone the Empress Dowager had once known?
But why would that person be a little girl?
A thought flashed through Duoduo’s mind.
However, she quickly dismissed it.
The Empress Dowager personally rolled up the portrait and held it carefully in her hands.
“Today, you must keep the matter of Great-Grandmother asking you to paint a secret.”
“You must not tell anyone!” the Empress Dowager warned. “Not even your father!”
Duoduo was a little surprised, but she quickly nodded.
“All right!”
“Changle won’t tell anyone!”
The Empress Dowager patted Duoduo’s shoulder in satisfaction.
Just then, Nanny Li hurried in from outside.
“Empress Dowager, Princess, someone has arrived.”
The Empress Dowager schooled her expression and looked toward the prison door.
Soon, the newcomer appeared in everyone’s sight.
It was Eunuch Li.
When Eunuch Li saw the Empress Dowager, he hurried forward and bowed.
“Xiao Lizi, what brings you here?”
