After carefully going over everything in his mind, Li Jin found nothing amiss.
The only uncertain part was the period when Duoduo had gone into the side room.
“Princess, what did Princess Consort Rui say to you?” Li Jin asked, unable to suppress his curiosity.
By rights, as Prince Rui’s wife, Princess Consort Rui should certainly have known about the conflict between Prince Rui and the Prince of Pingyang. She should not have been on close terms with anyone from the Prince of Pingyang’s household.
Besides, she had chosen to meet Princess Changle rather than Princess Consort of Pingyang.
No matter how he looked at it, the whole matter seemed contrary to reason.
Could this be what Duoduo had been talking about?
Duoduo was so absorbed in her thoughts that she failed to hear Li Jin’s question.
Just as Li Jin was about to ask again, Duoduo suddenly sprang to her feet.
“Ah!” she cried.
“Princess, what’s wrong?” Li Jin asked, startled.
Duoduo came back to herself and immediately felt embarrassed. She sat back down and stuck out her tongue.
“I’m sorry, Teacher. I was thinking about something and got carried away.”
“Were you asking me a question just now?”
As her teacher, Li Jin understood this state of hers all too well.
When he taught Duoduo before, she often behaved like this. Sometimes, when she was trying to find an answer, she became completely absorbed in her thoughts.
No matter what people around her said or did, she would remain immersed in her own world.
Even Li Jin felt inferior to her in this ability to forget everything around her.
“Princess, what did you think of?” Li Jin asked curiously.
The expression on Duoduo’s face just now had been quite strange. First, she had looked as if she had suddenly realized something, and then her expression had turned mysterious.
Remembering the answer she had come up with, Duoduo blinked.
“I forgot!”
Li Jin stared at her.
If he had not been Duoduo’s teacher, he might have been fooled by her innocent expression.
Duoduo had a photographic memory and an exceptionally good recollection. How could she forget something that had happened only moments ago?
She simply did not want to tell him.
Li Jin did not press the matter. “Princess, did Princess Consort Rui say anything to you?”
“Why did she ask to meet you at Great Buddha Temple?”
Duoduo tilted her little head.
“Fourth Aunt went there to light an eternal lamp for the child she lost young.”
“I went there to pray for Father and Mother. We just happened to meet.”
“Fourth Aunt was feeling terrible because she lost her son.”
“I comforted her a little, and then I came out.”
Li Jin understood.
These must have been the explanation Duoduo and Princess Consort Rui had agreed upon beforehand.
“The incense at Great Buddha Temple is very effective. It’s an excellent place to pray for blessings,” Li Jin said in agreement.
Duoduo nodded at him with a bright smile.
“That’s what I told Fourth Aunt too!”
“Fourth Aunt wants to have another little brother, so she hopes Buddha will bless her and make her wish come true!”
“She also hopes Buddha will bless her household with peace and her family with good health!”
Li Jin’s eyes flickered.
Princess Consort Rui had actually discussed such matters with Duoduo?
Although Duoduo was precocious, she was still only a child!
These private matters of the inner household should have been discussed with a princess consort instead. Wouldn’t that have been more appropriate?
“What do you think, Princess?” Li Jin asked.
Duoduo tilted her little head to one side and gave him a mischievous smile.
“I told Fourth Aunt that Mother must want the same thing!”
“Second Aunt too!”
Li Jin froze.
The Crown Princess?
What Princess Consort Rui was praying for had something to do with the Crown Princess?
The Crown Princess already had a legitimate son. Surely Duoduo could not be talking about the same matter.
Li Jin remembered what Xiao Yi had told him before he left: Princess Consort Rui had been framed and suffered a miscarriage, after which Prince Rui had handed control of the household over to his secondary consort.
Then he recalled the news he had received recently.
The Crown Princess had been framed by a secondary consort and struck unconscious by the Crown Prince.
The two situations seemed remarkably similar.
Oh!
Li Jin suddenly understood.
Princess Consort Rui intended to deal with the secondary consort, so Duoduo had given her advice: she should learn from the Crown Princess!
Li Jin gave Duoduo a thumbs-up.
“Princess, you’re truly clever!”
Putting everything else aside, the advice Duoduo had given was certainly worthy of praise.
Whatever happened in the Prince Rui’s household from then on would have nothing to do with the Prince of Pingyang’s household.
The blame would all be directed toward the Crown Prince’s residence.
Not only would this further intensify the conflict between the two princes, but it might even help their own prince.
One should never underestimate the struggles between women in the inner household.
Only when the household was stable could a man charge ahead without distraction.
Once the inner household descended into chaos, a man lost the foundation beneath him and would have no choice but to struggle merely to keep himself afloat.
Duoduo replied with a beaming smile, “It’s all because you taught me so well, Teacher!”
Li Jin had not expected Duoduo to heap such a high compliment upon him.
He pointed at her in mock reproach. “You little rascal!”
Duoduo stuck out her tongue.
“If the prince knew how much thought you had put into this, Princess, he would surely be deeply moved!”
Li Jin decided that when he returned, he would tell the prince. He could not let the prince remain completely in the dark.
Duoduo shook her head and stopped him.
“Teacher, Father has too many things to worry about lately.”
“You’d better not tell him. Otherwise, he’ll scold me again!”
Li Jin was a father himself, so he understood Xiao Yi’s feelings very well.
As the pillar of a family, a man naturally hoped that his wife and children could live peacefully and happily beneath his protection.
He did not want his young daughter to risk herself for his sake.
Li Jin patted Duoduo on the shoulder. “You’ll understand once you’re a little older.”
Duoduo could not help laughing.
“Teacher, weren’t you the one who told me that this was just a lie?”
“And now you’re using the same line to trick me!”
Li Jin laughed as well.
“It’s not entirely a lie.”
“In some matters, growing a little older really does make things better.”
“After all, you’re not even five years old yet, and you’re a girl at that. Naturally, everyone is even more worried about you.”
“If it were Yingniang, I would worry too.”
“When you grow up, you’ll naturally come to understand your father.”
“Then, Teacher, do you understand how I feel as a child?” Duoduo asked mischievously.
Li Jin was rendered speechless.
“Everyone thinks differently.”
“And people of different identities and positions have different things to worry about.”
“But in this world, no matter what kind of parents they are, all parents love their children in the same way.”
After listening to him, Duoduo shook her head.
“Teacher, that’s not right!”
Li Jin was just about to ask how he was wrong when he suddenly remembered Duoduo’s birth parents.
“Mm, Teacher was mistaken.”
“There are many kinds of parents in this world too.”
“Those who love you will naturally worry about you.”
“As for those who don’t love you, just treat them like air and ignore them.”
Seeing the remorseful look on Li Jin’s face, Duoduo gave him a huge smile.
“Teacher, you’re right!”
“Father loves me, so he worries about me!”
“But I love Father too, so I worry about him as well.”
“It’s exactly the same principle.”
Li Jin was left speechless. He realized that Duoduo had managed to convince him.
