Duoduo stopped skipping along and turned her head toward Lüdou.
“Mother isn’t sick!”
Lüdou was completely confused.
“But didn’t Sister Lianxin say just now that Princess wasn’t feeling well?”
“Princess, Princess has never slept through the day before.”
Duoduo tilted her little head.
That did seem to be true!
Could it be that yesterday’s medicine hadn’t worked?
Impossible!
The medicine she brewed had never failed before!
Then was Mother really sick?
Duoduo’s expression fell as worry began to fill her heart.
When Lüdou saw her face, she immediately regretted saying anything.
The Princess and Princess were very close. If the Princess found out her mother was ill, she would surely be terribly worried!
“Princess, why don’t you go pay your respects to The Prince first, then come back?”
Lüdou offered the suggestion carefully.
Duoduo was just about to nod when she suddenly shook her head.
“No!”
“Um, I mean, there’s no need!”
She had drugged her father yesterday, and he must have found out by now.
If she went over to him now, she would only be walking straight into his hands to be punished.
She wasn’t that foolish!
At the very least, she had to wait until The Prince had calmed down!
No!
If Mother really was sick, then how had Father gotten through last night?
Duoduo shuddered.
As a physician, she knew more or less what would happen after taking that medicine.
Besides, she had deliberately increased the dosage because she was worried that her father’s self-control was too strong.
Even an ox would have been knocked out by it.
Let alone a human being!
Duoduo could already imagine her father getting ready to teach her a lesson.
What should she do now?
She couldn’t leave the residence, and there was nowhere she could run.
How was she supposed to escape her father’s punishment?
For the first time, Duoduo irritably scratched her head.
“Lüdou, is Master Li still in the residence?”
Right now, the only person in the Prince’s residence she could consult was Li Jin.
Lüdou nodded.
“The Princess can’t leave the residence, and The Prince was worried that you would fall behind in your studies, so he asked Master Li to give you lessons.”
“Princess, have you forgotten?”
Duoduo broke into a smile. “Thanks to you, Lüdou, I really did forget!”
“Come on, let’s go to class!”
After saying that, Duoduo brightened up again.
As long as Master Li was there, Father wouldn’t come looking for trouble!
Duoduo skipped all the way to the outer study.
Unexpectedly, the moment she stepped inside, she saw Xiao Yi.
Duoduo immediately stopped in her tracks.
“Father?”
“What are you doing here?”
The instant she said it, Duoduo realized it sounded inappropriate.
“Father, I mean… have you had breakfast?”
Xiao Yi looked at Duoduo’s darting eyes, and the corners of his lips curved upward despite himself.
But he quickly suppressed the smile.
Xiao Yi put on a stern expression and looked at Duoduo.
“Why do you think I’m here?”
Duoduo didn’t see Li Jin anywhere and regretted it terribly.
If only she had asked Lüdou to come and check first.
Standing at the doorway, Duoduo cautiously began edging backward.
“Father, did you have something to discuss with Master Li?”
“Then I’ll come back later!”
With that, Duoduo turned and tried to run.
“Take one step out of this room, and just you wait…” Xiao Yi gave two ominous little snorts.
Duoduo pulled her foot back over the threshold.
She secretly glanced at Xiao Yi.
As expected, she saw him staring at her with an displeased expression.
Duoduo pouted. “Father, your daughter just didn’t want to interrupt you and Master Li.”
Li Jin saw through Duoduo’s thoughts at once.
“Master Li isn’t giving a lesson today. I sent him out to take care of something.”
Duoduo raised her head in surprise and quickly glanced at Lüdou.
Lüdou couldn’t understand why the Princess, who was usually so close to The Prince, seemed so afraid of him today.
“I’m sorry, Princess. I didn’t know,” Lüdou apologized softly.
When Duoduo saw Xiao Yi’s expression, she knew there was no escaping a scolding today.
“You go outside and stand guard. Don’t let anyone come near!”
“Not even Yunxiao!” Duoduo added. She didn’t want the servants to hear her being reprimanded.
It would be so embarrassing!
Lüdou assumed that the two masters had something important to discuss. After bowing to them, she left and closed the door.
Duoduo took one small step after another until she reached Xiao Yi.
She steeled herself, shut her eyes, and put on an utterly shameless air.
“Father, I didn’t do anything wrong!”
“I only did it for your own good!”
“If you’re angry, then punish me to vent your anger!”
After saying that, Duoduo closed her eyes and held out her hands, looking as obedient as a child ready to accept punishment.
Xiao Yi watched as Duoduo’s lashes fluttered nervously, while her eyeballs shifted restlessly beneath her eyelids.
Once again, he could barely suppress the urge to smile.
This little girl looked obedient on the surface, but she was actually full of sly tricks!
Hmm.
She was certainly his daughter!
When Xiao Yi saw Duoduo secretly crack one eye open, he hurriedly schooled his features and forced down the corners of his lips.
“Go on, then. What did you do wrong?” he asked, deliberately pretending not to know.
Duoduo’s eyes flew open.
What did Father mean by that?
Could it be that he wasn’t angry about what had happened yesterday?
Duoduo rolled her eyes thoughtfully.
She remembered Master Zhang telling her that men and women were like yin and yang, and that when yin and yang were harmonized, it made people feel happy.
Duoduo secretly sized up Xiao Yi.
Why couldn’t she see any sign that Father was happy?
Duoduo wasn’t foolish enough to admit what she had done.
She blinked her big eyes and put on an innocent expression.
“Father, you look so stern. I’m scared.”
“You even threatened me just now!”
“I don’t know what I did wrong!”
“But Master Li taught me that no matter what happens, it’s always right to apologize first!”
Duoduo shifted the blame onto Li Jin.
After all, Master Li wasn’t here, and Father couldn’t confront him about it.
She would muddle through this first!
Xiao Yi had not expected Duoduo to leave him without even the slightest opening.
He picked up the ruler beside him and weighed it in his hand.
“Tell me. What was the medicine you gave me yesterday?”
Xiao Yi wanted to understand why Duoduo had done such a thing.
He trusted Duoduo, but he didn’t want her, at such a young age, to be used by someone else.
His wife and child were his only weaknesses.
He could not allow those weaknesses to become blades in someone else’s hands!
Xiao Yi’s words made Duoduo lower her head dejectedly.
As expected, Father refused to play by the usual rules!
Duoduo cautiously glanced at Xiao Yi. His face was stern, just as it usually was, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
“It was just medicine to clear heat and help you sleep,” Duoduo said after a moment’s hesitation.
Xiao Yi was so exasperated that he laughed.
She was still trying to be stubborn?
Duoduo really had no intention of telling the truth, did she?
The hand holding the ruler tightened involuntarily.
“Oh? To clear heat and help me sleep?”
When Xiao Yi repeated the words “clear heat and help you sleep,” he deliberately stressed them.
He saw Duoduo anxiously picking at her palm.
Whenever Duoduo felt guilty, she made this little movement.
Xiao Yi had no intention of pointing it out to her.
“In that case, brew me another bowl today.”
