“Good!” Su Xian was quite willing to take her advice. She also wanted to tell her eldest brother the good news as soon as possible.
Duoduo was secretly delighted to see that her mother’s attention had been diverted.
Su Xian had just picked up the writing brush when she suddenly remembered what had happened earlier.
“Why did your father agree to your fourth uncle’s request?”
Duoduo couldn’t help but slap a hand against her forehead.
She had thought her mother had forgotten!
But after going around in circles, her mother had still remembered.
Su Xian looked at Duoduo in confusion. “Why are you hitting yourself?”
Duoduo rubbed her forehead. “There was a mosquito! Me was swatting it!”
Lüdou glanced around suspiciously. Where was the mosquito?
Su Xian, however, took her seriously. She hurriedly instructed Lüdou, “Go light some incense and smoke it out!”
Duoduo quickly waved her hands at Lüdou. “No!”
“Mother, you can’t burn any incense in your room right now! And try not to use rouge or face powder either, if you can help it!”
Su Xian froze for a moment, then glanced at Lüdou. Lüdou had lowered her head, looking as though she had heard nothing.
Su Xian looked at Duoduo, who stuck out her tongue.
She had spoken without thinking because she was so anxious.
Still, with only Lüdou present, she had nothing to worry about.
Not wanting Su Xian to become too concerned, Duoduo changed the subject.
“Although Father agreed to write Fourth Uncle a letter, he’s using a secret method.”
“In other words, on the surface, the contents of the letter say what Fourth Uncle wants to hear.”
“But the person reading the letter will understand an entirely different message.”
Xiao Yi had learned of this method from Duoduo, who had devised it to prevent him from secretly reading her letters. He had thought it ingenious.
From then on, he immediately switched all his letters to Duoduo’s method as well.
Su Xian thought about it, then smiled in relief.
“The Prince really is clever!” She picked up the brush and prepared to write the letter.
Duoduo secretly let out a sigh of relief. At last, the matter had been put behind them.
But Lüdou, who had been standing against the wall like a wooden post, was inwardly in turmoil.
So the Princess really was pregnant!
And the Princess already knew!
No wonder the Princess had sent her here and specifically instructed her not to tell anyone.
Before this, Lüdou had merely suspected it. She had intended to wait and see when the Princess’s monthly cycle came before confirming it.
Now that she knew for certain, Lüdou felt deeply conflicted.
The Princess had been wholeheartedly helping the Prince and the Princess. But once the Prince and Princess had a child of their own, would they still treat the Princess as well as before?
Lüdou began secretly calculating all the property she and the Princess possessed.
If the Prince and Princess treated the Princess badly, she would take the Princess and leave the Prince’s residence!
By serving the Princess, she could consider herself to have repaid the debt of gratitude for the Princess raising her.
Lüdou was now even more determined to follow through with her plan.
Su Xian set down the brush. She picked up the letter, gently blew on the wet ink, then folded it and placed it into an envelope before sealing it with wax.
“Lüdou, have someone make the trip and deliver this letter to the courier station.”
“Yes!”
Lüdou accepted the letter with both hands and hurried out.
Duoduo took Su Xian’s arm and led her to sit down.
“Mother, I’m going out tomorrow. Is there anything you need? I can buy it on the way back.”
Su Xian looked at her in surprise. “Where are you going?”
“Um, Madam Li, the wife of Imperial Physician Li, sent you an invitation to admire the chrysanthemums.”
“You’re unwell and can’t go, so I’ll go and pay my respects in your place. That way, we won’t be considered discourteous.”
“Mother, don’t worry. I’ll be back soon.”
“Oh, right! Aunt Xu is going too. Maybe I’ll return with her.”
Duoduo knew that as long as she mentioned Xu Jinxin, her mother would definitely feel reassured.
Sure enough, the moment Su Xian heard that Aunt Xu was going, she relaxed.
Still, she was somewhat puzzled. “When did your Aunt Xu become acquainted with Madam Li?”
“Mother, Aunt Xu is very popular now!” Duoduo exaggerated her expression.
“These days, whenever anyone in the capital holds a banquet, they invite Aunt Xu to arrange the decorations.”
“Some families even reserve her services far in advance because they’re afraid they won’t be able to get a date!”
Su Xian was astonished. “When Xu Jinxin came last time, why didn’t she mention any of this?”
Duoduo rolled her eyes. “I heard it from Big Sister!”
When Su Xian heard that Yingniang had said it, she was more or less convinced.
“Since you’re going to be a guest, have you prepared a gift?” Su Xian asked, worried that Duoduo did not understand such etiquette.
Duoduo blinked. She had already asked Qingliu to prepare the gift she intended to give.
However, when she saw the eager look on Su Xian’s face, she changed her mind.
“I came to discuss it with Mother, didn’t I? What kind of gift should I prepare?”
At that, Su Xian rose and took Duoduo by the hand, leading her outside.
“Come on. Let’s go to the storeroom and choose something suitable.”
“All right.” Duoduo supported Su Xian as they walked out.
“Who else has Madam Li invited?” Su Xian wondered aloud, trying to determine what sort of gathering it would be.
There were many intricacies involved in choosing gifts for banquets.
If it was merely a family gathering, then something practical would be more suitable and could help strengthen their relationship.
But if Madam Li had invited the wives and daughters of powerful families, then the gift would need to be more lavish, so no one would have anything to criticize.
Su Xian carefully explained all the subtleties of gift-giving to Duoduo, who listened with great interest.
So social interactions between people were a discipline in themselves!
When they reached the storeroom, Su Xian took out a key and opened the door. Duoduo couldn’t help tilting her head back.
“Wow! There’s so much!”
Su Xian laughed and shook her head when she saw Duoduo’s expression.
“This is nothing. This is only one storeroom. There are more next door!”
“This room contains things that can be given as gifts. The one beside it is for the household’s use.”
“Oh, and the last room is for you—for your dowry.” Su Xian smiled warmly.
Duoduo looked around the storeroom, filled with curiosity. “Mother, are all the rooms this full?”
Su Xian walked inside, preparing to choose a gift. Hearing Duoduo’s question, she answered casually, “More or less.”
“Come, take a look. What do you think you should prepare for Madam Li?”
Duoduo walked in, gazing around curiously.
The room was lined with rows of shelves, all filled with various objects.
There were bolts of fabric, vessels, paintings, ornaments, and more…
Duoduo was dazzled by the selection.
In the end, she finally set her sights on a pair of glazed vases decorated with blooming flowers, symbolizing prosperity.
“Mother, what about these?” she asked, pointing at the vases.
Su Xian came over to take a look. “They’re a little too valuable, but since Mother can’t attend, they’re just right as a gift from you.”
Su Xian carefully took the vases down and packed them into a box.
“Let’s go. The air in here isn’t very good.”
Duoduo nodded and led Su Xian outside by the hand.
Her gaze lingered on the final storeroom.
Was that where her dowry was kept?
