Yunxi shook her head. Taking Duoduo by the hand, she stopped.
“Princess, there’s no need. It’s nothing serious.”
Seeing the displeasure on Duoduo’s face, Yunxi forced a smile.
“I fell down because I wasn’t careful. It was my own fault.”
“I’ll apply some medicine later. It’ll be fine soon.”
Duoduo couldn’t understand it at all. Cousin Yunxi had clearly been bullied by Cousin Yunmeng, yet she was still pretending that everything was fine.
Could this be what Father meant by “being angry at someone for failing to live up to expectations”?
Yunxi glanced outside. Yunmeng was baring her teeth and clawing at Qingliu, cursing her nonstop.
“Princess, it has nothing to do with her. Tell your maid to let her go.”
Duoduo’s eyes widened.
Why did she feel that Cousin Yunxi had suddenly become a little strange?
“Princess, I’d like to rest for a while. Please make yourself comfortable.”
Gritting her teeth, Yunxi pushed Duoduo out of the room and closed the door right in front of her.
Duoduo stood there in confusion before turning to look at Yunmeng, who resembled a wildcat.
Yunmeng had been cursing and shouting, but the moment she saw Duoduo, she immediately went on high alert.
Her entire body tensed.
Duoduo looked at Yunmeng suspiciously. Why did Cousin Yunmeng seem strange too?
“Tell her to let me go! I’m a guest of the Prince of Pingyang’s residence. You can’t treat a guest like this.”
Although Yunmeng said those words, her face was filled with fear.
Duoduo was even more suspicious. She nodded at Qingliu.
Qingliu reluctantly released her.
The instant Yunmeng was free, she turned and ran.
Duoduo’s suspicions only deepened.
“Qingliu, follow her quietly,” Duoduo ordered.
“Yes, Princess.”
Qingliu answered and quickly chased after her.
Duoduo remained where she was for a long while, unable to figure out what was going on.
In the end, she decided not to think about it anymore.
She had something more important to do. She needed to find Lüdou.
When Lüdou heard that Duoduo had set the shop’s opening for three days later, undisguised delight appeared on her face.
“Princess, I just tried to recreate the pastries from the palace. Please give them a taste.”
Lüdou brought over a tray. On it were the pastries she had just finished making.
Duoduo leaned forward to take a look. Sure enough, they were exactly like the pastries Xiao Che had given her.
“Lüdou, you really managed to recreate them?”
“You’re amazing!”
Duoduo did not hold back in her praise.
Lüdou’s face flushed red.
“Please try them first and see if they taste any different. I’m worried that they may look the same but not taste the same.”
Duoduo nodded. She picked up the piece closest to her and put it in her mouth.
After finishing it, Duoduo nodded.
“Not bad. I’d say it’s about seventy to eighty percent similar.”
Lüdou immediately looked tense.
“Only seventy to eighty percent? What’s missing? I’ll keep working on it!”
Duoduo took another bite.
“It’s probably because of the ingredients. The texture is bound to be a little different.”
The ingredients used in the palace were all top quality.
Whether it was the flour or the preserved fruits, they were things that could not be matched by anything available outside the palace.
“Lüdou, I think it’s already good enough,” Duoduo comforted her.
Lüdou’s expression remained determined.
“No. I want to make it taste exactly the same.”
“All right.”
Duoduo gave in, because she understood Lüdou very well.
When it came to food, Lüdou was exceptionally stubborn.
She would never allow herself to fall even one point short.
“Lüdou, I wanted to ask you something. What should I draw on the sign outside the shop?”
“Which pastry are you planning to make the specialty?”
That was also why Duoduo had come to find Lüdou.
Lüdou thought for a moment.
“It’s summer now, so mung bean cakes, pea cakes, water chestnut cakes, and nine-layer cakes are all essential.”
“And chilled cakes!” Duoduo added.
Lüdou nodded. “Then, Princess, please draw those for now.”
“Oh, should we draw the palace pastries too?”
Duoduo shook her head.
“We won’t be making many of those, so there’s no need.”
Lüdou suddenly remembered something else.
“Princess, we have a shopkeeper now, but we still don’t have any assistants.”
“When the shop opens, have Shitou and Liqing help out.”
Only then did Duoduo remember that she had asked her father to find people for her.
“Mm. Tell Shitou later.”
“Also, I asked Father to help recruit people. He should already have some candidates.”
Seeing that Duoduo had arranged everything, Lüdou nodded.
“Then I’ll go find Shitou and have him buy some good ingredients for me while he’s at it.”
“All right. Tell him to be careful when coming in and out of the prince’s residence.”
Duoduo was somewhat worried.
Although she and her father both believed that the masked men were targeting only the princes, no one could guarantee that their assumption was one hundred percent correct.
Lüdou nodded and hurried away.
Duoduo thought for a moment. “Qingliu, take these pastries to the study.”
Qingliu entered and immediately spotted the pastries on the tray.
Her eyes lit up.
“Princess, did Lüdou come up with a new kind of pastry?”
“They look so delicious!”
She didn’t dare say the last three words aloud.
Duoduo nodded absently.
She had originally wanted to think of a way to visit Xiao Che.
Previously, she had hoped Xiao Che could buy more pastries for her so that Lüdou could study them.
But with the situation being what it was, it was inconvenient for her to leave the residence.
Xiao Che also couldn’t leave the palace.
It seemed they could only wait for the right opportunity.
Duoduo glanced at the sky and couldn’t help sighing.
When would all these chaotic matters finally come to an end?
“Princess, Shitou says he has something to report to you.”
Lüdou returned just as quickly as she had left.
“What is it?”
Duoduo pulled herself together and followed Lüdou outside.
In the garden, Shitou—whom she had not seen for quite some time—was waiting with his head lowered.
Hearing footsteps, Shitou raised his head.
“This servant pays his respects to the Princess.”
“Rise.”
Duoduo waved her hand.
“What is it? Go ahead.”
She was a little curious.
Shitou first glanced around them.
They were standing in a pavilion in the garden.
The pavilion stood on high ground, and the area around it was open, allowing them to see anyone approaching from every direction at a glance.
“Reporting to the Princess, including Liqing, there are already six servants whom you asked me to purchase.”
“Should I continue looking? Also, how should we house them?”
When choosing people, Shitou tried to select only the best of the best. He absolutely would not keep anyone useless.
Duoduo slapped her forehead.
She had been so busy lately that she had completely forgotten about this.
“Go rent a residence and have them all live together.”
“Then have them visit the various restaurants and teahouses in the capital every day.”
“Every evening, have them compile everything they heard that day and report it all to you.”
“The next day, come and tell me.”
“If anything particularly important happens, report it to me immediately!”
This was Duoduo’s own intelligence network, and she took it very seriously.
“Then, Princess, would you like to meet them?” Shitou asked tentatively.
He was worried that the people he had selected would not meet the Princess’s approval.
Duoduo shook her head.
