Yingniang smiled sweetly.
“Aunt Su, I can go home by myself.”
Su Xian grabbed Yingniang by the hand. “That won’t do!”
“How old are you? What if you run into some bad people on the way and they abduct you?”
“Where would I find such a good child to give back to your mother?”
“Good girl, listen to your aunt and stay here.”
“Besides, didn’t you want to spend more time with Duoduo?”
“Duoduo has been bored these past few days, too!”
“Come on! Let’s go find Duoduo.”
As she spoke, Su Xian pulled Yingniang out the door.
Yingniang did not object. After all, she and her father were already used to her mother behaving this way. She was more than happy to spend time with Duoduo.
“Princess, the Princess is in her room looking through books. She said she didn’t want to be disturbed.”
Lüdou bowed to Su Xian.
“Open the door.”
On any other day, Su Xian would have simply left. But today was different. She had things to take care of later. What would Yingniang do then?
Lüdou hesitated, but still knocked on the door first.
“Princess, the Princess and Miss Li are here,” Lüdou announced to the people inside.
There was no response.
Lüdou opened the door, and Su Xian led Yingniang inside.
Duoduo was sitting in the room, completely absorbed in a handwritten book.
“Princess, the Princess is here,” Lüdou reminded her softly as she walked over to Duoduo.
Duoduo looked up blankly and set down her book. Only then did she notice her mother and her close friend.
“Mother! Big Sister!”
Duoduo stood up and bowed to Su Xian.
Su Xian gently nudged Yingniang toward Duoduo.
“Your Aunt Xu rushed off in such a hurry that she left Yingniang behind.”
“Mother has something to take care of later, so Yingniang will be in your care.”
After saying this, Su Xian reached out and patted both children on the head.
“Don’t wander off.”
“Once the sun has set, Aunt Su will have a carriage take you home.”
“That way, your mother won’t have to make a wasted trip if she suddenly remembers you.”
Su Xian was offering Yingniang an explanation of sorts.
“All right. Thank you, Aunt Su. I won’t wander off,” Yingniang answered obediently.
“Don’t worry, Mother. Go take care of your business,” Duoduo said with an obedient nod.
Su Xian soon left.
Duoduo took Yingniang by the hand. “Big Sister, sit here for a while. I need to finish reading these books.”
“Lüdou, come keep Big Sister company and play with her.”
“Yes!”
Lüdou came over at once.
Yingniang let go of Duoduo’s hand. “I’m fine. You can get on with your reading, Princess. Don’t worry about me.”
Duoduo nodded. “Big Sister, wait for me a little while. I’ll finish very soon.”
With that, Duoduo sat down, picked up her book, and began reading again.
She had only skimmed these prescriptions before and had not memorized them carefully. Now that she needed to use them, she naturally had to study them thoroughly.
Lüdou brought out some string for making cat’s cradles. “Miss Li, shall I play cat’s cradle with you?”
Yingniang shook her head.
“Lüdou, I’d like to find somewhere to practice my martial arts.”
Lüdou glanced at the weather outside.
“Miss Li, it’s very hot out. You could easily suffer from the heat.”
“There’s ice in here, so it would be better to stay indoors.”
“By the way, do you know how that yogurt from earlier was made?”
Lüdou had noticed how much Duoduo enjoyed it. She wanted to learn how to make it so she could prepare it for Duoduo every day.
At the mention of yogurt, Yingniang became interested.
“I do!”
“I’ll teach you!”
The two immediately hit it off and went straight to the kitchen.
Once Lüdou began doing something she enjoyed, she no longer complained about how hot it was outside. The kitchen was no different.
An hour later, Duoduo finally put down the book in her hands.
She rubbed her eyes and only then realized that she was once again the only person left in the room.
“Qingliu!”
Duoduo called toward the outside.
“Princess, this servant is here.” Qingliu pushed open the door and hurried in.
“Where did Big Sister and Lüdou go?”
Duoduo tilted her neck from side to side. She had held the same position for too long, and her neck was beginning to ache.
Qingliu came over and gently massaged Duoduo’s neck.
“Lüdou and Miss Li went to the kitchen to make something to eat.”
Qingliu had only overheard a few words from outside.
“Did Lüdou think of another new pastry?”
Duoduo’s face lit up with curiosity.
She hopped down from her chair.
“Come on! Let’s go see,” Duoduo said, leading Qingliu toward the kitchen.
When Duoduo reached the kitchen door, Qingliu was just about to announce their arrival, but Duoduo stopped her.
She tiptoed inside.
She looked exactly like a little mouse sneaking in to steal food.
Lüdou was staring intently at the bowl in front of her.
“Miss Li, is it ready?”
Yingniang shook her head.
“It doesn’t seem to be ready yet.”
“What delicious thing are you two making?” Duoduo suddenly popped up in front of them.
Both Yingniang and Lüdou jumped in fright.
“Duoduo! What brings you here?” Yingniang asked with a delighted smile, taking Duoduo’s hand.
“Princess, you’re here!” Lüdou bowed to Duoduo.
“I’m done with my work!” Duoduo said, beaming at the two of them.
“And when I finished, there wasn’t a single person left in my room!”
“I asked Qingliu, and she said you two were in the kitchen, so I came over too!”
As she spoke, Duoduo craned her neck toward the chopping board.
“Lüdou, did you make another new pastry?”
Lüdou smiled and shook her head.
“This servant noticed how much you liked that thing called yogurt.”
“So I asked Miss Li how to make it.”
“Miss Li said she knew, so I brought her to the kitchen to teach me.”
Duoduo looked at Yingniang in surprise.
“Big Sister, you’re amazing! You actually know how to make it!”
Yingniang stuck out her tongue.
“Actually, I don’t really know how.”
“I only helped my mother make it before, so I know all the steps.”
“But I don’t know whether it will turn out this time!”
Knowing the process was one thing. Making it herself was another.
Yingniang had been brimming with confidence at first, but now even she was uncertain.
“It’ll definitely work!” Duoduo encouraged them.
“Lüdou, enough time has passed. Take a look,” Yingniang said, glancing at the water clock.
“All right!”
Lüdou was curious too.
She carefully lifted the lid covering the bowl.
The milk inside gave off a sour smell. But it looked nothing like the white yogurt in the shaved ice.
Lüdou and Yingniang were both stunned.
“Why doesn’t it look the same?” Yingniang suddenly felt embarrassed.
She had clearly claimed that she knew how to make it. Yet the result was that she had failed.
Lüdou tasted a little with her chopsticks.
It was somewhat sour, but not unpleasant.
“Could it be that it hasn’t fermented long enough?” Lüdou speculated.
Ever since she had begun making pastries, whenever something failed, she always tried to find the reason.
Yingniang shook her head in confusion.
“I remember my mother making it for exactly this long.”
“The steps and ingredients were all correct.”
“Why didn’t it work?”
Yingniang was very dejected.
Duoduo patted her on the shoulder.
“It’s all right. Whenever I make medicine, it doesn’t succeed on the first try either!”
Lüdou nodded.
“That’s right! I’ve failed more than once while making pastries, too!”
Moved by their words, Yingniang perked up.
“Then let’s try again!”
“All right!”
Meanwhile, Aunt Xu—Xu Jinxin—felt as though she had forgotten something very important.
