The father and daughter both turned toward the doorway and saw Su Xian hurrying in, breathless. Her hair was slightly disheveled at the temples, and beads of sweat clung to her face.
The father and daughter exchanged a glance.
Duoduo secretly stuck out her tongue.
Mother must have heard that she was being punished, which was why she had rushed over so anxiously!
When Su Xian saw the scene before her, she had no time to worry about etiquette and strode straight inside.
She pulled Duoduo behind her and carefully looked her up and down.
At last, her gaze fell on Duoduo’s hand.
Thanks to the ointment, the swelling and redness in Duoduo’s palm had already gone down.
There was only a thin streak of bruising that had not yet faded.
Su Xian’s heart ached, and tears immediately welled up in her eyes.
“Your Highness!”
“If Duoduo did something wrong, you could have simply explained things to her.”
“She has always been obedient and sensible, and she listens to you more than anyone.”
“If you had talked to her properly, she would certainly have changed!”
“Besides, if a child is not properly taught, it is the father’s fault. If she did something wrong, Your Highness ought to reflect on yourself first!”
By the end, Su Xian could no longer hold back the words in her heart.
Xiao Yi had always been the one teaching Duoduo.
If Duoduo had done something inappropriate, then Xiao Yi naturally bore most of the responsibility.
He could not simply blame the child for everything whenever she made a mistake.
Xiao Yi nearly lost his composure when he heard her final remark.
He cast Duoduo a meaningful look, only to see her smiling with curved eyes as she made a face at him.
Xiao Yi rubbed his brow.
What was he supposed to do when his wife was so fiercely protective of their child?
And this was only one daughter!
If they truly had a son, he could hardly imagine how fiercely she would defend him.
In the past, Xiao Yi had been the most important person in his wife’s eyes.
Now, he had been pushed behind Duoduo.
If they had several more children, wouldn’t he fail to make the list altogether?
For the first time, Xiao Yi felt a sense of crisis.
His gaze fell on Su Xian’s belly. Perhaps last night’s recklessness had already sown the seeds of hope.
If he said he did not want another child, his wife would probably turn against him.
Xiao Yi felt a headache coming on.
“Have your mother-in-law and the others left?” he asked, changing the subject.
Su Xian did not answer. She took Duoduo over to a nearby chair and sat down.
Still worried, Su Xian rolled up Duoduo’s sleeves to check whether she had been struck anywhere else.
Duoduo secretly glanced at her father and pressed down on Su Xian’s hand.
“Mother, Father only struck my palms.”
“He didn’t hit me anywhere else.” Duoduo was worried that Su Xian might check her bottom. That would be so embarrassing!
Su Xian touched Duoduo’s cheek. “What else did you do wrong? Why did you make your father angry?”
For Xiao Yi to be angry enough to punish her himself, Su Xian guessed that it could not have been something minor.
Duoduo pushed out her little lips.
“I didn’t do anything wrong!”
“I was only doing it for Father’s own good!”
“Father scolded me and even hit me!”
“Mother, Father hit me so hard!”
Duoduo took the opportunity to complain and play the victim, hoping to get away with it.
Su Xian’s heart ached even more when she heard this.
She pulled Duoduo into her arms and gently patted her back.
“Mother knew it. Duoduo is the most obedient girl in the world!”
Watching the tender scene between mother and daughter, Xiao Yi could not help rubbing his brow again.
“Pingting, Duoduo took your mother’s muddled nonsense to heart.”
“She threw everything I taught her out of her mind. Tell me, shouldn’t I have punished her?”
Xiao Yi did not want his wife to misunderstand him.
Su Xian released Duoduo, her face filled with confusion.
“Duoduo, what did your maternal grandmother tell you?”
Duoduo pursed her lips and said nothing.
“What did she say?” Xiao Yi let out a cold laugh.
“She said that since you don’t have a son to rely on, you should persuade me to adopt your second brother’s illegitimate son.”
“That way, the estate of the Prince’s Residence wouldn’t fall into the hands of outsiders!”
Su Xian’s face instantly flushed red, then turned deathly pale.
Her lips trembled. “Your Highness, I would never do such a thing!”
“If I truly harbored such intentions, may the heavens strike me down!” Su Xian swore.
Xiao Yi slowly shook his head.
“Pingting, I told you before: once we acknowledged Duoduo as our daughter, she would be our daughter forever. Isn’t that right?”
Su Xian nodded vigorously. “Yes! I’ve always remembered that.”
Xiao Yi pointed at Duoduo in Su Xian’s arms. “She doesn’t believe what I said.”
“She listened to your mother and believes that her maternal uncles are the greatest source of support.”
“She made a fuss about needing a backer!”
Su Xian’s head spun a little.
Duoduo had made a mistake because she had listened to her mother?
And because of that, Xiao Yi had been so angry that he had Duoduo’s maternal grandmother and cousin packed up and sent away?
Su Xian finally understood why her mother had stormed in earlier, pointing at her and cursing furiously.
So that was the reason!
It seemed that Xiao Yi had truly been enraged.
When Su Xian thought about how her mother had taught Duoduo such nonsense, she felt deeply resentful.
Her mother could teach the children of the Su family all she wanted, but why meddle in her child’s affairs?
Now Duoduo had been punished by Xiao Yi because of her!
With that thought, Su Xian lifted Duoduo’s face and brought their eyes level.
“Duoduo, don’t listen to anything your maternal grandmother says.”
“Your father is right. You should believe your father, not outsiders.”
“And your father can hardly be blamed for getting angry. Your maternal grandmother is selfish and completely muddle-headed. What sound advice could possibly come from her mouth?”
Duoduo obediently nodded.
“Mother, Duoduo knows she was wrong.”
Xiao Yi gave a cold snort.
The little one was quick to admit her mistake now!
A moment ago, she had been clinging stubbornly to her story.
Su Xian gently stroked Duoduo’s cheek.
“None of the brothers on your mother’s side can be relied upon.”
“As for the brothers on your father’s side...” Su Xian hesitated.
“Duoduo, they are all outsiders too. You can’t rely on them.”
Duoduo blinked her big eyes and nodded obediently.
“Mother, I know!”
Seeing how sensible Duoduo was being, Su Xian was deeply pleased.
“Your Highness, I told you Duoduo is the most obedient and sensible child.”
“Look, once you explain things properly to her, she understands.”
Xiao Yi saw the smile in Duoduo’s eyes and felt increasingly displeased.
“Yes, she’s very obedient.”
“So obedient that she wanted a backer and even tried to give this prince...”
Xiao Yi suddenly stopped.
He could not bring himself to say the rest.
He merely gave Duoduo a meaningful look and said no more.
Su Xian was looking into Duoduo’s eyes and did not hear him clearly.
“Your eye is terribly swollen. Have the maids bring a boiled egg and roll it over the area.”
“Otherwise, it will continue to hurt later.”
As she spoke, Su Xian pulled Duoduo to her feet. After they bowed to Xiao Yi, she led Duoduo away.
Xiao Yi rubbed his brow.
He had still ended up being blamed for it!
Duoduo secretly glanced at Su Xian. “Mother, are you angry with Father?”
Su Xian told the maid to prepare an egg and some ice. Only after giving her instructions did she turn back to Duoduo.
“Mother isn’t angry with your father.”
“Mother is angry with herself!”
“I should have sent your maternal grandmother away long ago, just as your father did.”
“Then you wouldn’t have heard those things, and you wouldn’t have been punished.”
Duoduo caught hold of Su Xian’s hand.
“Mother, do you want a little brother?”
