Su Xian followed Duoduo’s gaze.
“Duoduo, would you like to go take a look at your dowry?”
Duoduo hesitated, then hurriedly shook her head.
“Mother, I don’t want to look!”
“Let’s go!” Duoduo said, tugging at Su Xian as she tried to leave.
Instead, Su Xian smiled.
“What is it? Aren’t you curious to see what kind of dowry we’ve prepared for you?”
Duoduo blinked. Her gaze traveled from Su Xian’s face to her chin, then continued downward until it landed on Su Xian’s belly.
Then Duoduo lifted her head and gave her a radiant smile.
“Mother, I don’t want a dowry! Leave it all for my little brother!”
Su Xian froze. She bent down and placed both hands on Duoduo’s shoulders.
Looking Duoduo straight in the eye, Su Xian studied her carefully.
It seemed that Duoduo’s grandmother had influenced her far too much.
And Su Xian had been negligent!
With that thought, a gentle smile appeared on her face.
“What? You don’t want to acknowledge Mother and Father anymore?”
Duoduo hurriedly waved her hands. “I do!”
Su Xian pretended to think it over.
“Then you must think the dowry your father and mother prepared is too shabby!”
“That makes sense. You already own several shops and earn a fortune every day. How could you possibly care for the things Mother prepared?”
Seeing that Su Xian had misunderstood her, Duoduo hurriedly took her hand and shook it coquettishly.
“Mother, that’s not what I meant!”
“Father doesn’t have any official duties now. He only receives his stipend from the imperial court.”
“We’ll need to spend a lot of money raising my little brother in the future!”
“I’m still young, so I don’t need a dowry from you and Father.”
“I’ll earn one myself when I grow up!”
As she spoke, Duoduo tugged at Su Xian’s arm, signaling for her to bend down.
Seeing Duoduo’s secretive expression, Su Xian leaned over and brought her ear close to Duoduo’s mouth.
“Mother, I have lots of money now!”
“Not only do I not need a dowry, I can even help you take care of my little brother!”
Su Xian detected a hint of unease in Duoduo’s words and turned her head to look at her.
Duoduo smiled at her, her eyes curving into crescents.
Su Xian straightened up, her expression filled with heartache.
She pulled Duoduo into her arms and looked down at the little girl gazing up at her.
Cradling Duoduo’s cheeks in her hands, Su Xian gave them a gentle tug.
“Who’s been filling your head with nonsense?”
“Tell Mother, and I’ll have her sold off!”
Su Xian remembered how The Prince had driven Duoduo’s grandmother away last time. She absolutely could not tolerate anyone sowing discord in front of Duoduo.
Duoduo blinked, then shook her head.
“No one, Mother!”
Su Xian plainly didn’t believe her.
“If you won’t tell me, I’ll send someone to investigate!”
“And if we find out who it was, I’ll tell your father. By then, being sold off will be the least of her worries!”
Duoduo shook her head earnestly.
“Really, Mother, no one said anything!”
Su Xian committed the matter to memory.
She planned to have Lüdou go out and make some inquiries later.
She was carrying a child now and had plenty of time on her hands.
If she caught whoever had been spreading such nonsense, she would make sure that person learned exactly how formidable she could be!
For now, however, the most important thing was to comfort Duoduo.
With that thought, Su Xian stroked Duoduo’s cheek.
“Duoduo, first of all, you are your father and mother’s daughter!”
“That position will never change!”
“Whether it’s your father or me, we feel exactly the same way!”
“Having a child of our own will never make us treat you differently!”
“From now on, don’t say things like that again!”
“If you keep saying such things, both your father and mother will be hurt!”
“We’ll feel as though we’ve always treated you like our own daughter, yet you’re trying to draw a line between us!”
Duoduo felt the tenderness of Su Xian’s hand against her cheek.
She rubbed her face against it, her expression full of affection.
“Mother, I only want to help relieve your burden!”
Looking at Duoduo, Su Xian smiled warmly.
“Tell me, what child this young starts worrying about helping her parents raise a younger brother or sister?”
Duoduo smiled shyly.
“Big Sister said that in many families, the older children take care of the younger ones!”
“When he or she is born, of course you’ll help look after the baby. You’ll be the older sister, after all!”
“But the responsibility of raising the child will be left to your father!”
After saying this, Su Xian took Duoduo’s hand and walked toward the last storeroom.
“Mother is telling you, a girl’s dowry has to be prepared starting from childhood.”
“It includes everything from chamber pots to elaborately carved canopy beds. It would take more than a decade to gather it all.”
“What?” Duoduo’s eyes widened.
“Isn’t a dowry just gold, silver, and jewelry?” she asked in astonishment.
“Pfft!”
Su Xian couldn’t hold back her laughter.
“Duoduo, I remember you have an excellent memory.”
“Did Nanny Li never teach you how to manage your dowry?”
Duoduo stopped and tipped her head back to look at Su Xian.
“Mother, did you forget something?”
“A dowry can only be managed by a girl after she’s old enough to marry!”
Su Xian froze. The hand holding her handkerchief rose to cover her mouth.
“Mother was wrong to blame you!”
“Lately, I feel as though I’ve become a complete fool!”
Duoduo gave Su Xian’s hand an ingratiating little shake.
“Mother isn’t foolish!”
“Imperial Physician Li said it’s because you’re carrying my little brother!”
“So you have to eat more nourishing food and replenish your qi and blood!”
“That will be good for the baby, and your own health will improve too!”
Su Xian looked down at Duoduo and smiled in satisfaction.
“All right. Whatever you say, Mother will do. How does that sound?”
“Good!” Duoduo nodded with a beaming smile.
“Mother is so well-behaved!”
As she spoke, Duoduo rose onto her tiptoes, trying to pat Su Xian on the shoulder.
Seeing how hard Duoduo was stretching, Su Xian gently crouched down.
Duoduo managed to pat her shoulder and lowered her hand, looking very pleased.
“Duoduo, you just reminded Mother of something.” Su Xian straightened up.
“What is it, Mother?” Duoduo asked curiously.
“When we get back, I’ll have Nanny Li teach you how a girl should manage her dowry.”
Duoduo blinked.
“Isn’t that a little too early?”
“Besides, I’m rather busy right now!” Duoduo tried to stop her mother from pursuing the idea.
She truly didn’t want her parents to prepare a dowry for her.
She could earn money now. If she wanted something, she could buy it herself!
Unlike the other princes, her father had no other sources of income.
Her mother’s family was not particularly prominent either, so her dowry naturally wouldn’t be very substantial.
When Duoduo had said she would help her parents raise her little brother, she hadn’t been making an empty promise!
Su Xian stopped walking.
She took out the key to the room and inserted it into the lock.
“Click!”
After a faint spring mechanism sounded, the lock opened.
