Lüdou hurriedly stepped aside to clear the way.
She saw that the two young ladies from the Su family had also been escorted out by the matrons.
When Yunxi saw Lüdou, she paused.
“Lüdou, please tell the Commandery Princess that Grandmother and I have gone home.”
“When we get the chance, I’ll invite her to visit us!”
Lüdou curtsied.
“Please rest assured, Young Lady. I will certainly pass on your message!”
Yunxi hurried after them.
Lüdou was utterly confused.
Why did it look as though Old Madam Su had not left willingly?
Just then, Lianxin came out of the room and spotted Lüdou.
“Lüdou, what are you doing here? Where is the Commandery Princess?”
Lüdou bowed to Lianxin.
“Sister Lianxin, I would like to see the Princess Consort.”
A troubled look appeared on Lianxin’s face.
“The Princess Consort is in a bad mood right now. Unless it’s something especially important, I think you should come back later.”
Lüdou hurriedly shook her head.
“I have something very important to tell her. I must see the Princess Consort.”
“Please trouble yourself to announce me, Sister!”
Fearing that the Princess Consort might refuse to see her, Lüdou hurriedly added, “It concerns the Commandery Princess!”
As soon as Lianxin heard that, she went inside.
As the Princess Consort’s personal maid, Lianxin naturally knew how much her mistress cared about the Commandery Princess.
Sure enough, the moment she entered the room and reported why Lüdou had come, the Princess Consort immediately ordered that Lüdou be brought in.
Lianxin led Lüdou into the room.
The moment Lüdou entered, she fell to her knees.
“Princess Consort, please hurry to the study and save the Commandery Princess!”
Su Xian was startled when she heard this.
She immediately rose and headed outside, asking as she walked, “What happened to the Commandery Princess?”
Lüdou scrambled to her feet and followed her.
“I don’t know what mistake the Commandery Princess made!”
“I only heard His Highness hitting her.”
“She was crying so terribly!”
“Princess Consort, it’s been a long time since I last heard the Commandery Princess cry like that!”
Lüdou’s heart ached as she spoke.
Su Xian quickened her pace.
However, after the exertion of the previous night, her legs were still weak. On top of that, she had just been angered terribly by her mother. As a result, Su Xian nearly fell to the ground.
Lüdou hurriedly reached out to support her.
Once she had regained her balance, Su Xian had no time to worry about propriety. She gathered up her skirts and broke into a run.
Lüdou and Lianxin hurried after her.
Inside the study, Duoduo was clinging to Xiao Yi’s neck and crying as though the sky were falling.
Xiao Yi was utterly heartbroken.
“All right, all right! If you keep crying, you’re going to soak your father’s clothes!”
“Your father has heard of Lady Meng Jiang crying until she brought down the Great Wall, but this is the first time I’ve learned that one person can truly produce this many tears!”
“Please stop crying, all right?”
“Your maid has already gone to fetch reinforcements.”
“When your mother comes in and sees you like this, what if she gets angry?”
“If that happens, the little brother you want so badly might fly away!”
Xiao Yi coaxed Duoduo in a low voice.
“Did Father hit you too hard?”
“Shall I blow on it for you?”
No matter what Xiao Yi said, Duoduo refused to pay him any attention.
With no other choice, Xiao Yi could only lower his head and apologize.
“Yes! You’re right!”
“Father was wrong! Father apologizes!”
“Please stop crying. Your eyes are already swollen.”
Duoduo sniffled. Her eyes felt dry and uncomfortable.
She had not meant to cry. She simply could not stop.
“Father, you yelled at me just now!”
“You even hit me!”
Duoduo raised her little hand in accusation.
Xiao Yi drew a deep breath, took Suisui’s little hand, and blew on it vigorously.
“Yes! Father was wrong!”
“I shouldn’t have yelled at you, and I shouldn’t have hit you!”
Duoduo looked at Xiao Yi with tear-filled eyes, her face full of grievance.
“I didn’t do anything wrong! I was only trying to help Father!”
Xiao Yi nodded helplessly.
“Yes! Father failed to recognize your good intentions. Father deserves to be punished!”
Duoduo’s tears turned into laughter.
When Xiao Yi finally saw her smile, he let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Duoduo noticed that half of Xiao Yi’s clothes was soaked, covered in some mysterious transparent liquid. She lowered her head, feeling a little embarrassed.
Xiao Yi opened a drawer and took out a box of ointment.
He carefully scooped out a little and applied it to the red, swollen places on Duoduo’s palm.
He had struck her in a fit of anger.
Only now, seeing the marks on Duoduo’s hand, did Xiao Yi realize just how much force he had used.
Her palm was swollen like a steamed bun.
The worst spot had even begun to ooze traces of blood.
Xiao Yi was filled with remorse.
No wonder Duoduo had cried so terribly!
Even looking at it hurt him.
“I’m sorry.”
“I was too angry just now and failed to control my strength.”
His earlier apology had been mostly an attempt to soothe her.
This time, Xiao Yi was sincerely apologizing.
Duoduo immediately sensed the difference.
“Father, it doesn’t hurt anymore!”
“My ointment is very powerful. It’ll be all better soon!”
Xiao Yi put the ointment away, then took a handkerchief from his sleeve and gently wiped Duoduo’s face and nose.
Looking at her red nose and swollen, red-rimmed eyes, he felt a pang in his heart.
“Do you still remember what Father told you?”
Duoduo tilted her head.
“I remember everything.”
“But I don’t know which thing you mean.”
Xiao Yi set the soiled handkerchief aside.
Then he went over to fetch some ice, wrapped it in a clean cloth, and placed it over Duoduo’s eyelids.
“Father once told you that since I’ve accepted you as my adopted daughter, you will always be my daughter!”
“Your mother and I have discussed it. In the future, we’ll find you a husband who will marry into our family, and then he can support us in our old age.”
The coolness against her eyelids eased the dryness in Duoduo’s eyes.
She closed her eyes and listened to Xiao Yi.
She remembered the first thing.
But she had never heard the second.
“Father, what about Little Brother?”
Xiao Yi’s expression darkened.
“There will be no little brother.”
Duoduo immediately pulled down his hand.
“No!”
“I want a little brother!”
Seeing Xiao Yi’s dark expression, Duoduo puffed out her cheeks.
“Everyone else has brothers to stand up for them. I want one too!”
Since ancient times, married women had relied on their maiden families to support them.
“You heard that from that person again, didn’t you?” Xiao Yi asked in exasperation.
“Father has taught you that even mountains can collapse. The only person you can truly rely on is yourself!”
“A brother? Do you really think a brother will stand up for you?”
“What if he turns out to be someone who only holds you back?”
There was a deeper meaning behind Xiao Yi’s words.
Duoduo blinked.
“Once Little Brother is born, I’ll teach him!”
“I guarantee he’ll never hold me back!”
“Father, you and Mother only need to give birth to him. I’ll take care of everything else!”
Xiao Yi was so angry that he laughed.
“What?”
“Have you made up your mind?”
“And how old are you? You certainly have a grand tone!”
“You’ll take care of him? How exactly will you do that?”
Duoduo stubbornly straightened her back.
“I can take care of him! No matter how many you have, I can raise them all!”
Just then, the door to the study was pushed open.
