Qingliu agreed with Duoduo.
“Exactly, Lüdou. Stop worrying over nothing!”
“Commandery Princess, this servant thinks we should all stay indoors for the time being,” Lüdou said, still uneasy.
Duoduo shook her head indifferently.
“Besides, Father won’t let me go out anyway!”
“But you and Qingliu need to be careful too!”
Lüdou and Qingliu answered in unison, “Yes!”
Duoduo thought for a moment. “I’ll send Liqing a message and tell him to keep an eye on the Song family.”
“Better yet, we should find a way to send them back to Xianyang.”
One could guard against thieves for a thousand days, but no one could remain on guard against them forever.
Lüdou nodded vigorously. “Exactly!”
“Commandery Princess, since the Song family wants to curry favor with the Crown Prince, why don’t we find someone to impersonate him and trick the eldest Song brother into leaving?”
Duoduo considered it for a while. “That could work, but it wouldn’t solve the problem for good.”
“Oh, right. When will Shitou and the others be back?”
Duoduo felt that she did not have enough people at her disposal.
Especially since she could not leave the manor.
“Commandery Princess, didn’t you order them to go to the frontier with the others?” Lüdou reminded her.
“Oh. I forgot.” Duoduo tilted her head.
Her eyes spun around a few times before she thought of a brilliant idea.
“Lüdou, prepare the paper. Qingliu, grind the ink. I’m writing Liqing a letter!”
The two girls answered and began preparing everything.
“Commandery Princess, Liqing is skilled in martial arts. Why not have him go beat up the Song family’s eldest son?”
Lüdou offered the suggestion.
Although she had not met the eldest son this time, judging by the boy’s conduct, his older brother could not be any better.
The problem ran deep—it was rotten from the root!
Well…
Their Commandery Princess was the one exception!
Duoduo tilted her head. “Lüdou, Father said that using force is the last resort.”
Lüdou froze for a moment, then understood.
“Commandery Princess, have you thought of a way to deal with the Song family?”
Duoduo picked up her brush and flourished it like a sword.
“Turn their own methods against them!”
“Commandery Princess, tell me!” Lüdou immediately became interested.
After making a trip to the Song residence, she had been feeling stifled ever since.
If the timing had not been wrong, she would have dragged Song Shuzhou out and beaten him up to vent her anger.
Seeing that the ink had been ground, Duoduo dipped her brush into it, soaking the bristles.
“Lüdou, tell me—if Song Shuyu found out that her father wanted me to return to the Song family, what do you think she would do?”
Duoduo mischievously winked at Lüdou.
“Commandery Princess Funing has disliked you since childhood. She definitely wouldn’t agree!”
Lüdou followed Duoduo’s line of thought.
Duoduo nodded in agreement.
“Ah! Commandery Princess, I understand now!” Lüdou suddenly grasped the key point.
“If Eldest Young Lady found out that the Song family wanted to use you to curry favor with the Crown Prince, she would certainly cause a huge commotion!”
“And if the Crown Prince wanted to calm things down, he would definitely find a way to shift all the blame onto the Song family.”
“To appease Commandery Princess Funing, the Crown Prince would surely send the Song family away!”
Lüdou excitedly voiced her deductions.
Duoduo nodded.
“Lüdou, you’re making progress! You managed to think that far ahead!”
Lüdou froze at the praise.
“Commandery Princess, was what I said wrong?”
Duoduo shook her head.
As she wrote rapidly, she explained, “It isn’t wrong. It’s very likely.”
“But your Second Uncle is not the sort of person who would let someone else lead him around by the nose.”
Lüdou was puzzled. She lowered her head and pondered Duoduo’s words.
Duoduo soon finished writing the letter and carefully blew on the ink to dry it.
“Commandery Princess, do you mean that the Crown Prince doesn’t care about Commandery Princess Funing at all?”
Duoduo blinked.
“In Second Uncle’s eyes, there’s only himself.”
“He doesn’t even care about his wife or children. Why would he care about someone who isn’t even his own flesh and blood?”
A look of sympathy appeared in Lüdou’s eyes.
“I knew it. You’re the luckiest of all, Commandery Princess. You met the Prince!”
Duoduo grinned happily.
“That’s right!”
“I think so too!”
“Take this letter to Liqing!”
Duoduo rolled up the letter once the ink had dried and tucked it into a bamboo tube.
Lüdou took the tube and hurried out.
At Prince Ling’s Manor, Song Shuyu stared boredly out the window.
“I want to go stroll around the garden!” she announced, rising to her feet.
“Commandery Princess, the sun is very strong outside. Why don’t you go out later?” her maid advised.
Serving this Commandery Princess was more exhausting than serving any other master.
“No! I want to go now!”
With that, Song Shuyu strode outside.
The maid had no choice but to hurry after her.
Song Shuyu wandered around for a while before growing tired again.
“Carry me back!”
She held out her hand toward the maid.
The maid looked at Song Shuyu, whose body was nearly twice her own size.
“Commandery Princess, didn’t the physician say you should walk more?”
“It’s only a quarter-hour’s walk from here. I can support you while we go slowly. How about that?”
“No, not how about that! Are you carrying me or not?” Song Shuyu put her hands on her hips.
“If you refuse, I’ll have Nanny Rong replace you!”
Song Shuyu threatened the maid.
When Chunxiao had been around, Song Shuyu had at least listened to her from time to time.
Now, she refused to listen to anyone at all.
No matter how much authority Nanny Rong possessed, she was still only a servant.
Song Shuyu was the master, after all.
Even Nanny Rong had no choice but to obey her.
The maid immediately turned around and crouched down.
If Song Shuyu complained to Nanny Rong, she would certainly suffer a brutal beating.
Seeing the maid crouch down, Song Shuyu smiled smugly.
She climbed onto the maid’s back and instantly flattened her to her knees.
“What are you doing? Are you trying to kill me by making me fall?”
Song Shuyu gripped the maid by the neck, startling her so badly that her heart began to race.
The maid hurriedly apologized and struggled to get back up.
Although the distance should have taken only a quarter of an hour, it took the maid a full half-hour to return to the room.
“Did you do that on purpose? How could you walk so slowly in this heat?”
“Now hurry up and buy me an iced drink!”
An iced-drink shop had opened in the capital and become wildly popular throughout the city.
Song Shuyu was no exception.
She drank two cups every day—one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
The maid tried to keep her trembling legs steady. “Commandery Princess, you’ve already had two cups today!”
Song Shuyu casually picked up the book beside her and hurled it at the maid.
“Are you the master, or am I?”
“If you don’t go, I’ll have you beaten!”
The maid hurriedly apologized and withdrew.
Song Shuyu’s attention, however, was drawn to a note that fluttered out of the book.
It was a popular romance booklet she had ordered one of the maids to buy outside.
Song Shuyu relied on such stories to pass the time.
She glanced outside.
Because of the heat, the maids were all hiding indoors and shirking their duties.
The courtyard was utterly silent. Not a single person was in sight.
Song Shuyu swiftly jumped down from her chair and picked up the note from the floor.
