Su Xian lowered her eyes, while Xiao Yi stared down at the tea in his cup as if lost in thought.
Madam Song studied Lüdou, her eyes red and tears welling in them.
“Good girl, come home with Mother!”
She raised a hand, wanting to caress Lüdou’s cheek.
Lüdou turned her face away.
A trace of awkwardness appeared on Madam Song’s face.
“You child, you’re still blaming your parents, aren’t you?”
“Your father has already apologized. Let’s put this behind us, all right?”
Suppressing the discomfort that ran through her entire body, Lüdou pulled her hand away.
She lowered her head to hide the emotions on her face.
Qingliu, standing to one side, was utterly astonished.
Was there something wrong with this entire family’s eyes?
It was one thing for their son to come and acknowledge Lüdou as his younger sister.
But even the parents had mistaken someone else for their daughter!
Their own biological daughter was standing right in front of them, yet they refused to recognize her?
Could they really not tell?
Or had they simply never wanted to acknowledge her?
Qingliu cast a sympathetic glance at Duoduo.
Duoduo lowered her head, no one knowing what she was thinking.
Seeing Lüdou’s appearance, the Song couple became even more certain that they had not made a mistake.
Because in their minds, this was exactly what their daughter looked like.
Timid, cowardly, and quiet.
Most importantly, easy to control!
Madam Song held tightly to Lüdou’s hand and looked toward her husband.
The eldest Song brother placed the silver on the table beside Xiao Yi and cupped his hands in salute.
“My lord, we won’t trouble you any further.”
“Farewell!”
Xiao Yi cast a cold glance at the eldest Song brother.
“If there is a next time, this prince will settle the account with you properly!”
Xiao Yi’s voice was as cold as an iceberg in the depths of winter.
The eldest Song brother could not help shuddering.
He hurriedly led his wife and Lüdou away.
Lüdou wanted to speak to Duoduo before leaving, but they dragged her away.
Yunxiao watched them leave before returning to the reception hall.
A trace of sympathy flashed in his eyes as he looked at Duoduo.
Duoduo was nestled in Su Xian’s arms, beaming at Xiao Yi like a blooming flower.
Su Xian pinched Duoduo’s cheek and nodded toward Qingliu.
“How did you come up with this?”
Duoduo smiled so brightly that her eyes curved into crescents.
“Last time, Father had Lüdou pretend to be me, remember?”
“The three of us had identical clothes!”
“After the second Song brother came over and made a scene a few days ago, I thought the Song family definitely wouldn’t let the matter rest.”
“They want to curry favor with the Crown Prince, so they have to show their sincerity.”
“Since the Crown Prince ordered them to do something, they’ll do everything they can to accomplish it.”
“So I came up with this plan.”
“But I never imagined they’d actually mistake Lüdou for their daughter too.”
“I thought Song Shuzhou would tell them what happened after he went back, and they’d recognize Qingliu!”
The smile on Duoduo’s face showed just how delighted she was.
The fact that Lüdou had been mistaken for someone else again and again could only mean one thing.
Lüdou now carried herself with the bearing of a proper young lady.
Duoduo was happy for her!
Su Xian burst out laughing. “You child. When the three of you came in just now, you gave Mother quite a fright!”
“I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me!”
“Only after I took a closer look did I realize there were three of you!”
“Heeheehee!” Duoduo giggled happily.
“Qingliu, go fetch the princess’s embroidered shoes,” Xiao Yi ordered Qingliu, who had been watching the show.
“Yes.”
Qingliu hurried off.
Hearing Xiao Yi’s order, Su Xian immediately looked down.
“Come to think of it, I noticed that you were walking oddly just now. Were your shoes uncomfortable?”
Duoduo stuck out her tongue.
“To make the three of us look the same height, I stuffed a lot of insoles into my shoes.”
“I wasn’t used to walking in them!”
“Lüdou had them in her shoes too!” Duoduo drew her feet back shyly.
The moment Su Xian heard this, she lifted Duoduo up and placed her on her lap.
Duoduo felt a little embarrassed.
She was already so grown-up, yet she still needed her mother to hold her. Would Father scold her?
“Mother, I can sit in a chair.”
Su Xian felt a little disappointed. Her child had grown up—she could not even hold her for a moment anymore.
“Fake is still fake. Once your maids return, the truth will be exposed.”
Xiao Yi set down the teacup in his hand.
Duoduo laughed.
“It definitely will!”
“Song Shuzhou has seen Lüdou before. The moment he sees her, the lie will naturally be exposed!”
Seeing that Duoduo was not the least bit anxious, a trace of interest flickered in Xiao Yi’s eyes.
“Then what was the purpose of making such a grand production?”
Duoduo tilted her little head, a sly smile flashing in her eyes.
“They were the ones who made the mistake! It wasn’t Lüdou who took the initiative to acknowledge them!”
“I just wanted to slap them in the face and make sure they wouldn’t dare scheme against the Princess’s Residence again!”
“What do they take the Princess’s Residence for? A place they can come and go as they please?”
“Hmph! Not a chance!”
By the end, Duoduo’s face was full of righteous indignation.
A smile flashed in Xiao Yi’s eyes.
“Aren’t you afraid they’ll use Lüdou to threaten you?”
Duoduo froze.
She truly had not thought of that possibility.
She quickly considered the matter, then shook her head firmly.
“They won’t!”
“Oh? What makes you so certain?” Xiao Yi clearly did not believe her.
“Because they wouldn’t dare let anyone know they brought a fake daughter home!”
“They’ll just accept their bad luck and drive Lüdou out!”
“They won’t dare make a sound about it!” Duoduo said with complete certainty.
“They know Lüdou is fake, so they’ll definitely come looking for you at the residence again.”
“The third time, they certainly won’t make the same mistake!”
“Some people’s shamelessness is truly extraordinary.” A cold, mocking smile appeared on Xiao Yi’s face.
Duoduo looked at Xiao Yi for a long moment before grinning brightly.
“Father, didn’t you threaten the eldest Song brother just now?”
“He definitely won’t dare come back!”
“If anyone comes next, I guess it’ll be Old Madam Song and the second branch of the Song family!”
Xiao Yi thought it over. “Hmm, that makes sense.”
“So you’re waiting for Old Madam Song to apologize to you?”
Duoduo shook her head with a smile.
“Father, you guessed wrong!”
“I told Qingliu and Lüdou that whoever got taken away shouldn’t resist.”
“Once they were exposed and thrown out, they were to make a huge scene right at the gates of the residence—loud enough for the entire capital to know!”
“That way, the Song family would never dare come after me again!”
Qingliu happened to return with the shoes in her hands.
“That is exactly what the princess ordered.”
A smile spread across Xiao Yi’s face.
“You’ve cut off the Song family’s path to currying favor with the Crown Prince.”
Duoduo stuck out her tongue.
“Who told them to abandon the proper road and insist on taking the crooked one?”
“Father, they’re being so arrogant. Aren’t you going to deal with them?”
“Father, you don’t have to worry about me!”
“My surname is Xiao. I’m your daughter and Mother’s daughter!”
“I’ll always stand on your side!”
