Duoduo tilted her little head and thought for a moment.
“I think Fourth Uncle mainly wanted to test you!”
“Seeking your advice was only one part of it.”
A look of approval flashed through Xiao Yi’s eyes.
Duoduo suddenly understood.
“No wonder Fourth Uncle gave up when you said you had no ambitions left, Father!”
“But, Father, why isn’t Fourth Uncle reassured even after you’ve become like this?”
Confusion filled Duoduo’s face.
“You just answered that question, didn’t you?” Xiao Yi said, the corners of his lips curling into a smile.
Duoduo was his best partner.
Duoduo tilted her little head. “What did I answer?”
“Doctor Zhang!” Xiao Yi reminded her.
Duoduo blinked her large eyes. “Doctor Zhang? What about Doctor Zhang?”
“Oh! I understand now!”
Duoduo had grasped the key point.
“Father, Grandfather sent a miraculous physician to treat your legs. Fourth Uncle and the others must all know about it.”
“They must be wondering whether your legs have already been cured!”
“Exactly. You got seven or eight parts of it right.” Xiao Yi nodded in satisfaction.
Confusion returned to Duoduo’s eyes.
“Then what are the other two parts?”
“The remaining two parts are that they want to see it with their own eyes.”
“That’s why your Fourth Uncle came personally to ask you questions.”
“If you answered any of his questions, it would prove that you still had ambitions.”
“For a person, being physically disabled isn’t frightening. What’s frightening is having an unbreakable will!”
“If I had said anything at all about court affairs today, this matter would have been impossible to put to rest.”
Xiao Yi had seen through Prince Rui’s intentions completely.
“So, Father, you sent him away with a painting?” Duoduo understood as well.
Xiao Yi looked at Duoduo, and a slow smile spread across his face.
“What? You couldn’t bear to part with it?”
“Besides, weren’t you unhappy that the painting wasn’t good enough before?”
“This is the perfect opportunity to paint another one for Father!”
That painting had been done by Duoduo after Lingfeng told her about the past.
Xiao Yi had loved it the moment he saw it.
He had asked Lingfeng to have it framed, then hung it on the main wall of the reception hall.
At the time, Duoduo had still been somewhat dissatisfied.
It had been her first painting, and there were some details she hadn’t been happy with.
However, Xiao Yi had comforted her by saying, “Imperfection is what makes it perfect.”
Only then had Duoduo reluctantly accepted the painting.
She had never expected Prince Rui to set his sights on it the very first time he visited.
Duoduo truly did not want to give it away.
She knew how much Father liked it.
Duoduo pursed her little lips. “Why did Fourth Uncle have to take something Father likes?”
“Father, why did you let him have it? You like it too!”
Xiao Yi did not answer immediately. Instead, he picked up the teapot and poured more hot tea into Duoduo’s cup.
“Father knows that this was the first painting you ever made for him, and that you’re reluctant to part with it.”
“Father also knows that you’ve been upset because he refused to fight with them for it.”
Xiao Yi had seen through Duoduo’s thoughts long ago.
“Did you know that your Second Uncle has also been coughing up blood?”
Duoduo froze.
“Coughing up blood?”
“Just like Grandfather?”
“Unconscious and unable to wake up?”
Xiao Yi shook his head. “He hasn’t lost consciousness.”
“However, I heard that he has already coughed up blood more than once.”
Duoduo’s expression turned solemn.
If Second Uncle had also begun coughing up blood, then it truly was as Father had said: someone was trying to deal with the person who had ascended the throne.
“Father, has Fourth Uncle coughed up blood?” Duoduo suddenly remembered Prince Rui, who had just left.
“He only recently took that position, so no symptoms have appeared yet.”
“Prince Ling had already been on the throne for some time before his symptoms began.”
“However, the imperial physician who examined him said it was merely excessive internal heat and that it wasn’t serious.” Xiao Yi explained slowly.
“Which imperial physician examined him? Was it Imperial Physician Li?”
Xiao Yi shook his head. “No, it was Imperial Physician An.”
It wasn’t Imperial Physician Li. Duoduo was somewhat disappointed.
If it had been Imperial Physician Li, she might have found a way to ask him about the situation.
Duoduo knitted her brows, her mind racing.
“If only I could take Second Uncle’s pulse!” she sighed.
Xiao Yi was amused.
“That’s impossible.”
“Your Second Uncle would definitely think I was trying to harm him.”
After saying it, Duoduo knew perfectly well that it was impossible.
“I’m just curious about why Second Uncle is coughing up blood!”
Xiao Yi rubbed his fingers thoughtfully.
“If my guess is correct, it’s probably poison.”
Duoduo’s eyes lit up.
“Father, that’s what I think too!”
“To make someone die without realizing it in such a short period of time, poisoning is the only possibility!”
“Moreover, the timing of the poisoning must have been extremely precise.”
“It happened to be enough to poison him, yet subtle enough that no one could detect it.”
“Even the imperial physicians couldn’t discover it!”
“Father, whoever did this is an expert in poisons!”
“I want to meet him!”
The more Duoduo spoke, the more excited she became.
Ever since she had begun studying poison under Master Zhang, she hadn’t encountered many different kinds.
When it came to medicine, she could at least discuss and exchange knowledge with Imperial Physician Li and Martial Uncle Zhang.
But when it came to poison, she had no one to consult.
Back when Master Zhang was still around, Duoduo could discuss it with him.
His senior fellow disciple, however, did not study poison.
Thus, the moment Duoduo encountered someone who might be an expert in creating poisons, her interest was immediately piqued.
Seeing her expression, Xiao Yi couldn’t help rubbing his temples.
How could a young girl be so interested in poison?
Studying medicine was understandable enough.
But playing around with poison was going a little too far.
Xiao Yi looked at his legs and unconsciously straightened them.
If Duoduo had not taken an interest in medicine back then, he would not have been able to stand again.
“Your martial uncle knew he couldn’t help you with poison, so he contacted an old friend.”
“She’ll be arriving in a couple of days.”
“When she does, we’ll arrange for her to stay in your courtyard.”
Duoduo was extremely surprised.
“In my courtyard?”
“Is she a woman?”
Duoduo lived in the rear courtyard, while Doctor Zhang lived in the front courtyard.
The only reason a guest would be staying in her courtyard was if that person were a woman.
Xiao Yi nodded.
“Yes. I hear she’s from Miao territory.”
“Thank you, Father!”
Duoduo immediately brightened.
She understood that if her father hadn’t agreed, Martial Uncle Zhang could never have made such arrangements.
“Are you satisfied now?” Xiao Yi asked. He loved seeing Duoduo so cheerful.
Duoduo nodded with a beaming smile.
“I can’t go to the Imperial Academy, and my teacher is busy. Staying in the residence every day is so boring.”
“Father, why don’t you and Mother hurry up and have a little brother? Then I’ll have something to do!”
Xiao Yi’s expression darkened.
“Don’t get carried away just because I praised you!”
“Your two attendants are enjoying themselves outside, while you, their master, don’t even bother asking about them?”
“What? I can’t go out, and they can’t come in either!” Duoduo protested.
“An excellent leader must never allow their subordinates to slip beyond their control.”
“No matter the time or place.”
