“No way!” Lüdou said with absolute certainty.
“Didn’t he just say he was working for the Crown Prince?”
“Those commoners may not believe him, but they wouldn’t dare offend the powerful!”
“Besides, I saw someone go to report it.”
Sure enough, it wasn’t long before someone arrived with a group of constables.
After conducting a brief inspection, the constables took Song Shuzhou away.
“There, he’ll definitely be fine.” Lüdou straightened up. “Let’s go back and report to the Princess.”
Qingliu nodded excitedly. “The Princess will be so pleased when she hears about this!”
When Lüdou and Qingliu returned to the room, Duoduo was practicing her calligraphy.
Only after Duoduo set down her brush did Lüdou step forward and tell her everything that had happened outside Prince Pingyang’s residence.
Duoduo nodded.
“Mm. Well done.”
After Duoduo finished speaking, she continued practicing her calligraphy. Lüdou glanced at Qingliu.
Qingliu immediately understood that Lüdou had something to discuss with the Princess. Though she was terribly curious, she still went outside to stand guard by the door.
“Princess, what exactly was Second Young Master Song’s purpose in coming to Prince Pingyang’s residence?”
That was what Lüdou could not figure out, no matter how hard she thought.
If he had come to acknowledge his kin, then Song Shuzhou should not have arrived empty-handed.
According to what Song Shuzhou had said, if he wanted to redeem Duoduo, he should have brought money and gone to the Prince.
The most baffling part was that even after the Princess rejected him, Song Shuzhou had stood outside the residence and smeared Prince Pingyang’s reputation.
He had clearly intended to leave the Princess with no way out.
The Princess was not the Prince’s biological daughter to begin with. If the Song family’s actions caused the Prince to abandon her...
How could that be called acknowledging his kin?
They clearly did not want the Princess to have an easy life!
People said that killing someone was merciful compared with humiliating them, but what the Song family had done was even more despicable than murder!
Duoduo finished the final stroke and raised her head.
“What do you think?” she asked Lüdou in return.
Lüdou pondered for a moment.
“I don’t think the Song family truly wants to acknowledge you, Princess.”
“They want to drive a wedge between you and the Prince instead.”
“They want the Prince to grow tired of you. When that happens, you’ll have no choice but to beg to return to the Song family.”
Duoduo nodded.
“Mm, that does make some sense. Go on.”
Encouraged, Lüdou continued following the line of thought she had just developed.
Then she got stuck.
“But, Princess, aren’t they always calling you a jinx?”
“If they do this, aren’t they afraid you’ll bring misfortune upon them again after returning?”
“And besides, Second Young Master Song kept shouting that someone behind the Song family was the Crown Prince!”
“Aren’t they afraid that your reputation as a jinx will affect the Crown Prince?”
Lüdou was completely perplexed.
“It is related to the Crown Prince, but not because of the jinx,” Duoduo reminded her.
Lüdou stared at her blankly.
“Not because of the jinx? Could it be...”
Suddenly, realization dawned on Lüdou.
“Princess, do you mean that they know you’re actually the lucky star?”
“So they want to acknowledge you and bring good fortune to the Crown Prince.”
“Princess, I understand now!”
“Master Song must want to copy Second Master Song’s path!”
“He can claim that you’re the real lucky star!”
“The Crown Prince won’t let even one possibility slip away, so he’ll definitely take you in.”
“First Master Song could also use the opportunity to secure a position with the Crown Prince!”
“No wonder Second Master Song and First Master Song got into an argument!”
Lüdou’s face was full of belated understanding.
Duoduo put down her brush and examined the large characters she had written.
“Lüdou, what you said is mostly correct.”
“However, I suspect this was probably the Crown Prince’s idea!” Duoduo said, winking at Lüdou.
“The Crown Prince?” Lüdou was confused again.
Duoduo gestured for her to sit down.
“You’ve forgotten that Prince Ling’s residence is in complete chaos right now.”
“The Crown Prince is naturally suspicious by nature.”
“He would never look for the cause in himself, so he must believe that something is wrong with his fortune.”
“He sees that Prince Ling’s residence is in turmoil while Prince Pingyang’s residence remains perfectly fine.”
“So he suspects that it might be because I bring prosperity to Father.”
“First, he wants to see whether Song Shuyu or I am the true lucky star.”
“Second, he wants to find out whether Father will suffer misfortune after I leave.”
“His ultimate target is still Prince Pingyang’s residence!”
“As for what eventually happens to me, that has nothing to do with him.”
Duoduo spoke with extraordinary calm.
These were conclusions she had drawn from Song Shuzhou’s actions just now.
The Crown Prince had gone to all this trouble simply to achieve two things at once.
If she was the lucky star, then the Crown Prince would gain an advantage while depriving Prince Pingyang of his good fortune.
If she was a jinx, then with a single order from the Crown Prince, the Song family might well take her life.
Anything that could make Xiao Yi suffer was something the Crown Prince would gladly do.
After all, there were plenty of people willing to throw their lives away for him.
He only needed to move his lips.
After listening, Lüdou more or less understood the key to the matter.
“That Crown Prince is absolutely vile!” Lüdou said indignantly on Duoduo’s behalf.
Duoduo smiled.
“Since ancient times, haven’t those in power always treated other people’s lives as toys in the palm of their hands?”
“Father said that if you don’t want to be controlled by anyone, you have to become stronger than them yourself!”
Lüdou immediately became excited. She was just about to say something when, in the next moment, her enthusiasm instantly faded.
Even the Prince did not qualify to ascend the throne. How could the Princess possibly do so?
“Princess, your medical skills are so advanced. Can’t you find a way to cure the Prince?” Lüdou asked, holding on to a sliver of hope.
Duoduo tilted her head and glanced at Lüdou.
She could vaguely guess what Lüdou was thinking.
Duoduo blinked her large eyes.
“Even the imperial physicians can’t do anything!”
Lüdou’s spirits immediately lifted.
“How could those imperial physicians compare with your medical skills?”
“Even Imperial Physician Li became your disciple!”
“Princess, I believe you’ll definitely find a way to cure the Prince’s legs!”
“Come to think of it, Princess, you haven’t been reading medical texts or making medicine lately.”
Lüdou suddenly looked suspicious.
“Princess, you’ve been slacking off lately!”
Duoduo felt a little guilty, but deliberately answered with righteous confidence.
“I can recite all those medical texts by heart.”
“And learning requires time to digest what you’ve studied. I can’t stay immersed in it all the time, can I?”
“Besides, haven’t I been busy with other things lately?”
“By the way, have Shitou and the others returned from the border yet?”
Her attention successfully diverted, Lüdou began talking about Shitou and the others’ whereabouts.
In the study, Xiao Yi looked at the guard kneeling before him.
“You said the Second Young Master of the Song family was beaten half to death?”
The guard nodded.
Xiao Yi waved his hand, and the guard withdrew.
Yunxiao’s face was filled with delight.
“My lord, you already guessed that the Princess would send someone to deal with it, didn’t you?”
“The Princess is truly clever. With a simple move, she redirected all the attention elsewhere!”
The corners of Xiao Yi’s lips lifted slightly.
He looked at Yunxiao.
“What about the person I told you to find?”
Yunxiao hurriedly bowed.
“My lord, I’ve brought him here. He’s waiting outside.”
“Bring him in.”
