In the reception hall, Shitou was placing the things he had brought onto the table.
“Princess, this is the most popular iced drink sold at Madam Li’s shop.”
“What was it called again? Pearl... milk tea?” Shitou scratched his head.
Duoduo had not expected Shitou to bring her such a pleasant surprise.
She gazed at the transparent glazed cup, its surface still covered in beads of condensation.
Inside was a milky-yellow liquid, with vaguely visible black, round objects floating in it.
“Pearl milk tea?” Duoduo asked curiously as she took it from him.
The cool touch made the heat throughout her body seem to disappear.
“Princess, use this.” Shitou took out a spoon as well. “Madam Li said it tastes better after stirring.”
“But be careful of the pearls inside. They’re easy to choke on.”
Shitou explained everything to Duoduo.
Duoduo nodded and stirred the liquid in the glazed cup with the spoon.
A strange fragrance rushed into her nose.
Unable to wait any longer, Duoduo took a sip.
The drink had a milky flavor mixed with tea. It was a little unusual, yet exceptionally delicious.
Most appealing of all was its icy, refreshing texture, which made it impossible to put down.
Duoduo took another sip.
This time, she caught one of the black, round objects in her mouth.
It was soft and chewy, with a pleasantly springy texture.
Duoduo liked it quite a lot.
She stirred the bottom of the cup with her spoon and discovered that, besides the black round pearls, there were also pieces of fruit.
Duoduo simply used the spoon to scoop them out and eat them.
After a couple of bites, she realized that it tasted best when everything was mixed together.
“Princess, slow down. It’s cold,” Shitou advised with a broad smile as he watched Duoduo take one sip after another.
“Mm.” Duoduo agreed, and her movements slowed as well.
On the roof, Yunxiao let out a sigh of relief.
So the Princess was eating.
Still, for the sake of a single snack, she had specifically asked The Prince to let Shitou enter the residence. That did not seem quite in keeping with the Princess’s usual behavior.
Inside the room, Duoduo stopped after drinking half of it.
Although the iced drink was delicious, she studied medicine and naturally understood that women should not consume too much of it.
“Using a glazed cup to serve this is far too extravagant, isn’t it?”
Although Duoduo said this, the more she looked at the cup, the more she liked it.
The longer she stared at it, the more tempted she was to finish the drink.
“Madam Li said this glazed cup is also a special edition.”
“There are also bamboo tubes and ceramic containers, but they aren’t as attractive as this glazed cup,” Shitou explained.
Since they had brought up Xu Jinxin’s iced-drink shop, Duoduo naturally became very curious.
“I heard Aunt Xu’s iced-drink shop is doing very well?”
Shitou nodded, his face full of admiration.
“Extremely well!”
“The people making the iced drinks in the shop never get a moment’s rest.”
“And the pastries Madam Li had us deliver are selling very well too.”
“Oh, right, Princess. Madam Li asked Lüdou to come up with some new pastry designs.”
“Something that makes people want to eat it the moment they see it.”
Shitou repeated Madam Li’s exact words.
Duoduo nodded. “All right, I’ll tell her when I get back.”
Since they rarely had the chance to see each other, Duoduo asked Shitou about everything she wanted to know.
Yunxiao knew all of these things as well.
Sitting on the roof, he was terribly bored.
But The Prince had ordered him to eavesdrop, and he did not dare leave.
The roof was scorching hot. Yunxiao felt as though he was about to melt.
He could not help lamenting inwardly.
At last, Duoduo had found out everything she wanted to know.
Then she remembered why she had asked Shitou to come inside.
“How many servants have you bought so far—the ones I asked you to find?”
Shitou thought for a moment. “Reporting to the Princess, there are twelve.”
Duoduo blinked.
Only that many?
But she quickly remembered what Li Jin had told her: people were valuable because of their quality, not their numbers.
“How are their characters?”
Because of her status, Duoduo had never met those people herself.
She could only learn about them through Shitou.
Shitou thought again before answering.
“When Liqing and I selected them, we paid particular attention to that.”
“They’re all trustworthy and hardworking.”
Duoduo blinked.
“How do you usually arrange their daily routine?”
This time, Shitou answered quickly.
“They wake up at the hour of the hare. Liqing leads them in exercises.”
“After an hour, they eat breakfast.”
“Then everyone goes to their assigned areas to gather information.”
“At noon, they return to the residence for a meal and exchange what they’ve learned.”
“After eating, they rest for half an hour. Then, in the afternoon, they study with Liqing for two hours.”
“After dinner, everyone goes out for another walk. At the hour of the dog, Liqing leads them in exercises again.”
After listening, astonishment flashed through Duoduo’s eyes.
This was the first time she had learned how the people under her command were organized.
She had assumed that, without anyone managing them, they must have been living freely and without discipline.
But judging from what Shitou had said, their routine was remarkably orderly.
They not only exercised, but studied as well?
“Was this arrangement your idea?” Duoduo asked curiously.
Shitou shook his head with complete honesty.
“Reporting to the Princess, all of this was Liqing’s idea.”
Duoduo looked surprised. “Liqing’s idea?”
“I remember you saying that Liqing leads them in their exercises and teaches them things?”
Shitou nodded, his face filled with admiration.
“Yes, Princess!”
“Liqing is actually a genius skilled in both the civil and martial arts!”
“When I first saw him looking so down-and-out, I thought he was some little beggar!”
“I never imagined he knew so much!”
“His knowledge is far greater than mine!”
“Now I study with them every day as well.”
Shitou had always planned to take the imperial examinations in a few years.
Now that he had the opportunity to study, he naturally had no intention of missing it.
“What does Liqing teach you?” Duoduo asked, full of curiosity.
She had only met Liqing a few times.
Whenever he came, he stood beside Shitou without saying a word.
Unless someone asked him a question, he was practically invisible.
As a result, Duoduo did not have a particularly strong impression of him.
The moment Shitou began talking about this, his expression became animated.
“Princess, Liqing’s martial arts are incredibly impressive!”
“Even if three or four of us attacked him at the same time, we still couldn’t defeat him.”
“He leads everyone in physical training every day, and he also teaches us how to wield tasselled spears!”
“Oh, and he teaches everyone military formations as well...”
Shitou stopped halfway through his sentence.
Duoduo grew curious. “Why did you stop? Keep going!”
Shitou waved his hand and walked to the doorway, cautiously looking outside.
Only after that did he return.
Duoduo was baffled by Shitou’s furtive behavior.
“Lüdou and the others are guarding outside. No one will come in.”
“Go on. What happened next?”
Shitou moved closer to Duoduo conspiratorially and lowered his voice.
