He opened the letter and skimmed through it at a glance before folding it shut.
Xiao Yi took the purse and noticed a tiny cloud embroidered in its lower-right corner.
Xiao Yi remembered that his wife had once told him this was the mark Yunxi habitually embroidered whenever she did needlework.
Xiao Yi’s brows furrowed slightly.
Had Yunxi embroidered her mark even on the purse she made for her mother-in-law?
Besides, this purse didn’t look new.
Xiao Yi set it aside, intending to ask his wife about it later.
“All right. I’ve done what I promised you.”
“Now we’re even. Take it and leave!”
Prince Rui was delighted when he heard that. He immediately picked up the letter from the table.
“Big Brother, I meant what I said before.”
“If I ever have the chance to rise above my circumstances, I absolutely won’t forget you!”
Xiao Yi lifted his teacup and looked at Prince Rui.
Prince Rui understood that his elder brother was politely asking him to leave.
“All right, Big Brother. I won’t disturb you any longer!”
“Have Changle come to the residence and play with Danyang sometime!”
After saying this, Prince Rui cupped his hands and took his leave.
Yunxiao personally escorted him out of the residence. Only after watching the carriage disappear did he turn back.
Hearing the study door open, Duoduo peered through the crack and saw Fourth Uncle hurrying away.
Duoduo tilted her little head.
So the person Father had been meeting really was Fourth Uncle!
Duoduo knocked on the study door.
“Daddy, can I come in?”
Inside, Xiao Yi smiled indulgently when he heard Duoduo’s voice.
He had known she wouldn’t leave so easily.
“Come in.”
The study door was pushed open from outside, revealing Duoduo’s bright smile.
“Daddy!”
Duoduo bounced inside and looked around.
Xiao Yi deliberately put on a stern expression.
“Can’t you walk properly? What kind of manners are those, looking all around you?”
Duoduo stuck out her tongue.
“Daddy, Fourth Uncle left?”
Xiao Yi set down his teacup.
“Didn’t you hear everything from next door?”
Duoduo looked a little embarrassed.
“Yunxiao said Fourth Uncle had come, and that he brought some kind of painting.”
“Daddy, why didn’t I see it?”
Xiao Yi’s expression darkened, and he gave a derisive laugh.
“He brought a painting of an eminent monk giving a sermon.”
Duoduo’s eyes widened.
“Fourth Uncle actually bullied Daddy? That’s awful!”
As she spoke, Duoduo angrily waved her little fists.
“I should’ve rushed in just now and beaten him up!”
“He actually came all the way to the Prince of Pingyang’s residence to make fun of Daddy!”
Seeing her indignant expression, the corners of Xiao Yi’s lips lifted.
“That’s right. He certainly was bold!”
If Xiao Yi hadn’t been trying to help Yunxi break off this marriage, he would have had Yunxiao throw Prince Rui out on the spot!
“This is the betrothal token the Wang family returned. Take it to your mother later.”
Xiao Yi glanced at the table.
Curious, Duoduo leaned over to look.
“Huh?”
“Isn’t this the purse Cousin Yunxi lost?”
Duoduo picked up the purse and turned it over several times.
“She lost it?” Xiao Yi asked in surprise.
Duoduo nodded.
“Mm-hmm!”
“Cousin Yunxi said that after she embroidered a purse, she only carried it for a few days before it disappeared.”
“Daddy, look. There are her characters embroidered in the lower-right corner.”
Duoduo turned the purse over and held it up for Xiao Yi to see.
Only then did Xiao Yi notice the two tiny characters—“Yunxi.”
“All of Cousin Yunxi’s personal clothing has her name embroidered on it!”
“Cousin Yunxi said she did it so she could tell her things apart easily.”
“Later, when she lost the purse, she even regretted it while chatting with me!”
“She said it would be troublesome if someone found it!”
After saying this, Duoduo looked at Xiao Yi.
“Daddy, didn’t you just say this was the betrothal token returned by the Wang family?”
Xiao Yi nodded firmly.
Duoduo tilted her little head, her face full of confusion.
“How did the purse Cousin Yunxi lost become a betrothal token for the Wang family?”
Xiao Yi thought it over carefully and immediately understood what had happened.
“I’m afraid she didn’t lose this purse.”
“Someone must have taken it!”
Duoduo blinked. She understood what her father meant as well.
“Daddy, are you saying that Cousin Yunxi’s purse was secretly taken by Cousin Yunmeng and given to Grandmother?”
Xiao Yi looked at Duoduo but did not deny it.
Duoduo was momentarily speechless.
“No wonder they say it’s hardest to guard against thieves within the family!”
“Why does Cousin Yunmeng always have it in for Cousin Yunxi?”
As soon as she said this, Duoduo thought of her own sister, Song Shuyu, who shared the same father and mother.
Hadn’t Song Shuyu been the same back then?
Some people simply couldn’t stand seeing others do better than them.
Not even by the slightest amount.
They wished everyone else could be inferior to them.
They wanted everyone under heaven to envy and look up to them.
Duoduo blinked.
“Daddy, I feel sorry for Cousin Yunxi.”
The corners of Xiao Yi’s lips curved upward.
“Looks like you’re not busy enough if you still have time to worry about other people.”
Duoduo was stunned for a moment.
She quickly understood what her father meant.
“I have Daddy to protect me, so I’m better off than Cousin Yunxi!” Duoduo said in a coaxing tone.
Xiao Yi gave Duoduo a meaningful look.
“You’d still be better than her without me.”
Duoduo blinked innocently.
“I’m still little! Daddy, you have to protect me!”
Xiao Yi was both exasperated and amused by Duoduo’s shameless expression.
“Tell me. What did you come here to discuss with me?”
He brought them back to the matter at hand.
Duoduo hurriedly placed the invitation in her hand on the table.
“Madam Li sent Mother an invitation. She wants Mother to take me to a flower-viewing party.”
After saying this, Duoduo stared at Xiao Yi.
Seeing her expression, Xiao Yi’s lips curved slightly.
“What are you planning to do?”
Duoduo blinked.
“I want to go and see what it’s like!”
Worried that Xiao Yi might stop her, Duoduo quickly continued explaining.
“Imperial Physician Li sent someone to pass along a message before, and now his wife has sent an invitation as well.”
“That clearly means he really does have something to tell me.”
“Before, Daddy said that I had no proper reason to visit the Li residence.”
“Now that we have an invitation, those concerns are gone, aren’t they?”
Xiao Yi tapped his fingers against the table.
“When was this invitation delivered?”
Duoduo thought for a moment.
“When Fourth Uncle came.”
“Then did you have anyone inquire about the details?”
“Who exactly has the Li residence invited this time? Is it a banquet for everyone, or did they invite only your mother and you?”
Duoduo froze.
After receiving the invitation, she had been so focused on going that she had forgotten everything else.
Seeing her expression, Xiao Yi naturally guessed that she had done nothing at all.
“Do you know what you should do now?”
Xiao Yi prompted her.
Duoduo nodded, feeling embarrassed.
“Thank you for reminding me, Daddy. I know what to do now!”
“Daddy, I have one more question.”
Xiao Yi nodded lightly.
“Go ahead.”
“If the Li residence invited only me and Mother, what should I do?”
