Speaking of the price, Lüdou’s face lit up.
“This mung bean cake sells for two wen per pound at their shop.”
“That expensive?” Duoduo’s mouth fell open.
The mung bean cakes looked small, but each piece was surprisingly heavy.
Besides, the cakes made from the mung beans they had bought were tiny and plain—not very appealing at all.
Xu Jinxin patted the back of Duoduo’s hand.
“Now do you understand what Aunt Xu said earlier?”
Duoduo nodded vigorously. “I understand!”
“Princess, I don’t think they make this pastry very well,” Lüdou said.
“If I make them more delicate, they’ll definitely sell better!” After tasting the cake, Lüdou was even more confident.
Xu Jinxin shook her head.
“For an inexpensive pastry like this, you don’t need to make it too elaborate.”
“All you need to do is ensure the quality.”
“When you have time, Lüdou, you can improve the shop’s main products.”
“The low-priced pastries are only the first step—to draw people into the shop.”
“The real profits will still come from the main products.”
Xu Jinxin carefully explained some modern business strategies to the two of them in a low voice.
“Clang!”
Immediately afterward, Duoduo heard one of the guards outside shout,
“Assassins! Be careful!”
Xu Jinxin stopped speaking and swiftly lifted the carriage curtain to look outside.
She saw an arrow embedded in the carriage wall.
The guards who had been riding in formation on both sides of the carriage now surrounded it completely, watching their surroundings warily.
The frightened commoners had already scattered into a panicked mess.
Xu Jinxin knew that leaving the carriage stopped here would make them sitting ducks.
“Don’t stop! Keep moving!”
She saw that their carriage was still in the middle of the busy marketplace.
Although she wasn’t sure who had fired the arrow or whom they were targeting, she instinctively didn’t want any innocent civilians to be hurt.
“That’s right! Head for the prince’s residence!” Duoduo reacted quickly as well.
“Yes, Princess. Hold on tight!”
The guard driving the carriage answered in a low voice.
“Faster! Don’t worry about us!” Xu Jinxin ordered.
Then she pulled Duoduo tightly into her arms.
Lüdou reached out and grabbed the side of the carriage.
Sure enough, the carriage began speeding forward.
“Clang, clang, clang!”
Several arrows struck the carriage wall in rapid succession.
“The assassin is over there!”
The guards surrounding the carriage spotted the archer.
“Don’t worry about him! Get us back to the prince’s residence first!” Xu Jinxin hurriedly shouted toward the outside.
Worried that the guards might disobey her, Xu Jinxin called out again, “Protecting the Princess is the priority!”
The carriage raced through the streets, with the guards chasing behind it.
“Whoa!”
The carriage was suddenly forced to a stop. The horse’s front legs rose into the air, and the entire carriage began tipping backward.
Inside, Xu Jinxin sensed something was wrong and hurriedly grabbed one of the wooden rails.
Lüdou hadn’t been prepared. She was about to be thrown out when, at the critical moment, Duoduo quickly stretched out her foot and hooked it around Lüdou’s leg.
Then she pulled Lüdou back inside.
Lüdou’s face had gone deathly pale with fright.
Outside the carriage, the clash of weapons rang out.
Through a gap in the window, Xu Jinxin saw a group of masked men engaged in combat with the guards.
She turned to look at Lüdou.
“Are you afraid to stay here alone?”
Lüdou’s face was still ashen, and her voice trembled.
“I... I... I’m not afraid!”
Hearing Xu Jinxin’s question, Duoduo immediately clasped Lüdou’s hand tightly.
“Aunt Xu, Lüdou and I won’t separate!”
“If we’re leaving, we’re taking her with us!”
Lüdou was the only warm presence in Duoduo’s memories.
She had long since come to regard Lüdou as both her older sister and her family.
There was no way she would abandon her family.
Xu Jinxin hesitated.
“Given the situation, we have to leave immediately and return to the prince’s residence.”
“But Aunt Xu can only do so much. I can only guarantee your safety first.”
“Once I get you back, I’ll come back for Lüdou!”
“Don’t worry. I promise you, I absolutely won’t leave Lüdou behind!”
By then, Lüdou had recovered from her initial shock.
Hearing Xu Jinxin’s words, she immediately understood what Xu Jinxin meant.
Lüdou reached out and tried to push Duoduo away.
“Princess, listen to Madam Li!”
“If anything happens to you, I won’t want to live either!”
“Be good and go back to the prince’s residence with Madam Li first!”
“I’ll stay here and wait for Madam Li to return.”
“Besides, look—there are so many guards outside. They may defeat the attackers soon!”
Duoduo shook her head and gripped Lüdou’s hand even tighter.
“No!”
“I’m never letting go!”
At that moment, a blade slammed into the carriage window. Lüdou was so frightened that she nearly cried out.
Xu Jinxin hurriedly pulled both of them away from the window.
Seeing how determined Duoduo was, Xu Jinxin knew that unless she forcibly carried her away, there was no way she could get her to leave.
She began searching every corner of the carriage.
“Aunt Xu, what are you looking for?” Duoduo asked curiously.
“Since you don’t want to leave, we can’t just sit here and wait to die.”
“I’m looking to see if there’s any weapon we can use.”
Xu Jinxin answered as she searched.
A weapon?
Lüdou and Duoduo exchanged a glance, then hurriedly began searching as well.
Unfortunately, this carriage was normally used to take Duoduo to school.
After searching for a long while, all they found was a plate of pastries prepared by Lüdou and a pot of tea. There was nothing else.
Just then, the carriage curtain was suddenly lifted, and a masked man poked his head inside.
Lüdou threw the tea in her hand at him in fright.
Xu Jinxin took advantage of the opening and kicked him hard.
The masked man was kicked out, and the curtain fell back into place.
Xu Jinxin gritted her teeth and looked at Lüdou.
“Watch the Princess!”
Duoduo was quick enough to grab Xu Jinxin as she rose to leave.
“Aunt Xu, you can’t go out!”
Xu Jinxin gently patted Duoduo on the head.
“It isn’t safe here. Aunt Xu is going to drive the carriage. We’ll find a way to escape before they manage to break through.”
With that, Xu Jinxin withdrew her hand and prepared to leave.
As she did, Duoduo shook her head, and Xu Jinxin’s hand caught on the hairpin in Duoduo’s hair, knocking it loose.
The hairpin fell onto the floor of the carriage with a faint sound.
Duoduo followed the noise with her eyes, and her face suddenly lit up.
“Aunt Xu, a weapon!”
Xu Jinxin was instantly delighted. “Where? Where is it?”
Duoduo crouched down and picked up her hairpin.
It had been a gift from Xiao Yi before Duoduo came to the capital.
Duoduo liked it very much. And since she often entered the imperial palace, she wore it every day for her own protection.
Xu Jinxin watched Duoduo’s movements, her face filled with helplessness.
“Princess, this hairpin can only be used against enemies at close range...”
Xu Jinxin stopped halfway through her sentence.
Duoduo had fiddled with the hairpin for a moment, and it transformed into a compact little crossbow.
