Duoduo’s mind worked quickly.
“Daddy, Fourth Uncle’s people followed me today. Could they have been after you?”
Xiao Yi nodded. “It’s possible.”
Duoduo didn’t understand. “Why didn’t Fourth Uncle come to you openly?”
“What does he want to do with me if he captures me?”
“Isn’t he afraid that you’ll get angry and ruin his plans?”
“Some people’s hearts are simply dark,” Xiao Yi replied cryptically.
Duoduo immediately began to worry.
“Then won’t Lüdou and the others be in danger?”
“No!” Xiao Yi said with certainty. “As long as your Fourth Uncle still needs something from me, he won’t dare lay a hand on anyone from the Pingyang Prince’s residence!”
Duoduo still felt uneasy because she hadn’t seen Lüdou with her own eyes.
“Jixiang, go stand guard at the main gate. If Lüdou and the others return, come and report to me at once!”
“Yes, Commandery Princess. This servant will go immediately!”
Jixiang hurried away.
Xiao Yi shook his head slightly.
“I’ve already sent Yunxiao to bring them back. Nothing will happen.”
Duoduo rolled her eyes around. She saw that Su Xian had gone to the window to work on her embroidery so as not to disturb their conversation.
Duoduo leaned closer to Xiao Yi. “Daddy, I’ve discovered a secret!”
Xiao Yi’s eyes flickered. He lowered his voice, imitating Duoduo.
“What secret?”
Duoduo glanced once more in Su Xian’s direction.
“I think Grandfather is pretending to be ill!”
A look of surprise flashed through Xiao Yi’s eyes.
“What evidence do you have?”
Duoduo shook her head. “None.”
Worried that Xiao Yi would not believe her, she hurriedly explained, “I once gave Grandfather a pill that could neutralize all poisons.”
“After taking that pill, it would have been impossible for him to be poisoned, vomit blood, and fall unconscious!”
Xiao Yi’s fingertips twitched unconsciously.
“What if your grandfather had already used up the medicine you gave him?”
Duoduo thought about it for a moment before replying with complete certainty, “My medicine remains effective for at least three months.”
“Besides, I saw Grandfather take it. Even if he only took one pill, he couldn’t have been poisoned!”
Xiao Yi did not know how well Duoduo had learned about poisons from Master Zhang.
However, he knew that if Duoduo said this, then the pill certainly had such an effect.
The person lying on the imperial bed that day looked exactly like his Imperial Father.
Even then, however, Xiao Yi had harbored some doubts.
He had noticed that the person on the bed was slightly shorter than his Imperial Father.
Now that he thought about it, the person on the bed must have been his Imperial Father’s double!
Every emperor had a substitute.
Of course, that substitute might never be needed in an entire lifetime.
At the time, Xiao Yi had only been suspicious. Since he had no evidence, he had kept his doubts to himself and told no one.
He had never expected Duoduo to notice it as well!
When Duoduo saw that her father did not appear particularly surprised after hearing her conclusion, she regarded him suspiciously.
“Daddy, did you figure it out a long time ago?”
Xiao Yi nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
“I noticed that the person was shorter than your grandfather that day.”
“But I was sitting in a wheelchair and was some distance away, so I couldn’t be certain.”
Duoduo immediately lost interest.
She had thought she had discovered an entirely new continent, only to find that her father had known about it all along.
Duoduo rolled her eyes. “Daddy, do you think Second Uncle noticed it too?”
Xiao Yi pondered for a moment.
“He should be like me—only suspicious.”
Duoduo nodded. “No wonder! Second Uncle was willing to hand over power that was already within his grasp!”
“I was wondering if he had suddenly seen the light.”
“But it turns out he had already suspected Grandfather’s plan!”
Duoduo’s face filled with disappointment.
The corners of Xiao Yi’s lips curved upward. “Anyone capable of sitting in that position has a complicated mind.”
“Daddy’s mind isn’t simple either!” Duoduo teased, squinting playfully.
Just then, Jixiang ran inside.
“Commandery Princess, Lüdou has returned!”
“Prince, His Highness Prince Rui is at the gate and says he wishes to pay you a visit!”
Xiao Yi and Duoduo exchanged a glance.
In each other’s eyes, they saw the same look: As expected, he’s here.
“Daddy, are you going to help Fourth Uncle?” Duoduo asked, her face full of curiosity.
The corners of Xiao Yi’s lips lifted into a cold smile.
“Do you think I should help him?”
Duoduo shook her head without hesitation.
“No!”
“Absolutely not!”
A smile appeared in Xiao Yi’s eyes.
“But what if he has a reason he simply cannot refuse? What should I do then?”
Duoduo blinked.
“I’ll go with you, Daddy!”
Without giving him a chance to object, Duoduo pushed his wheelchair toward the door.
“Mother, Daddy and I are leaving first!” she called over her shoulder.
“Be careful!” Su Xian said, watching the father and daughter leave with a worried expression.
Prince Rui really was something else. With so many capable people in the court, why had he come to the prince?
Wasn’t he deliberately setting a trap for him?
They were brothers, too!
Duoduo pushed Xiao Yi to the reception hall in the outer courtyard.
Inside, Prince Rui stood with his hands behind his back, examining a painting hanging on the wall.
“Fourth Uncle!” Duoduo greeted him first.
Only then did Prince Rui turn around, revealing a courteous smile.
“Elder Brother! Changle!”
Xiao Yi nodded. “Serve the tea.”
Yunxiao entered from outside. On the tray in his hands were several cups of steaming tea.
Prince Rui accepted a cup and placed it on the small table beside him.
“I wonder which master painted this?” Prince Rui began by commenting on the painting.
The hand holding Xiao Yi’s teacup paused for a moment.
Then he lifted the lid as though nothing had happened.
“It wasn’t painted by any master.”
Prince Rui looked at the painting again. The more he examined it, the more he liked it.
The painting depicted ten thousand horses galloping across the land.
Its subject was quite ordinary.
Yet the painting itself possessed tremendous vigor.
At first glance, it did not seem particularly remarkable. But the longer one stared at it, the more it stirred the heart and set the blood racing.
Every horse was different, with its own posture and expression.
It made one want to mount a horse and gallop across the battlefield.
“Elder Brother, since it wasn’t painted by a master, why not give it to your fourth brother?” Prince Rui suggested.
After saying this, he seemed to realize that he had been too forward.
“I can exchange it for some of my treasured finest Huimo ink sticks!”
A trace of surprise flashed through Xiao Yi’s eyes.
Finest Huimo ink? Even someone with money might not be able to buy it.
Xiao Yi glanced at Duoduo. She nodded without the slightest hesitation.
Xiao Yi withdrew his gaze but did not agree.
“Fourth Brother, you didn’t come here today just for this painting, did you?”
“It’s only a painting. If you want it, you could have simply said so. I would have sent someone to deliver it to your residence.”
“There was really no need to send people to follow those from the Pingyang Prince’s residence!”
Prince Rui’s face immediately turned awkward.
He had never expected his elder brother to disregard all conventions and confront him so bluntly.
