Duoduo wandered slowly around the courtyard, and no one came to stop her.
Nor did anyone come to show her the way.
After making a complete tour of the courtyard, Duoduo finally headed toward the largest reception hall.
“You finally decided to come in?”
The moment Duoduo stepped inside, she heard a familiar voice teasing her.
She raised her head and looked toward the person seated in the place of honor.
She blinked in surprise, staring at him as though she could hardly believe her eyes.
“What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue?”
“Where did that leisurely interest in touring the garden go?”
The person seated at the head of the room seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood.
Duoduo tilted her little head to one side, confirming the other person’s identity.
“Grandfather! What are you doing here?”
Duoduo bounced over to the Emperor and bent her knees in a formal salute.
When the Emperor saw Duoduo, his mood improved even more.
He pointed at her in the air. “Did you already guess it was me just now?”
Duoduo put on an innocent expression.
“How could I have?”
“I was just fascinated by the scenery in the courtyard.”
The Emperor glanced at the completely barren courtyard and looked at Duoduo with a half-smile.
Duoduo playfully stuck out her tongue.
“All right.”
“At first, I didn’t guess.”
“But after I came inside, I figured it out a little.”
The person Imperial Physician Li had secretly invited to his residence, and who was being guarded so heavily, could only be the Emperor.
Duoduo also recalled that her father had once said the Emperor in the palace was not her grandfather.
If the person in Imperial Physician Li’s residence was the Emperor, then the one in the palace was naturally a fake.
In other words, he was the substitute her father had mentioned!
Duoduo remembered the subject she and her father had discussed the day before.
It seemed that her father had already guessed the Emperor was at Imperial Physician Li’s residence.
He simply was not certain whether his guess was correct.
That was why he had sent Yunxiao along—to confirm it.
“But Grandfather, shouldn’t you be in the palace?”
“Why are you here?”
“And where is Eunuch Li? Why isn’t he here serving you?”
As she spoke, Duoduo deliberately looked at the Emperor with open curiosity.
“Wasn’t it said that you were unconscious and didn’t have long to live?”
“But you look quite well to me!”
The Emperor did not get angry at Duoduo’s words. Instead, he seemed delighted.
“Then take a guess. Why am I here?”
Duoduo thought for a while, then shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
Seeing the innocent, bewildered look on Duoduo’s face, the Emperor extended a hand toward her.
Duoduo walked over and placed her hand in his palm.
The Emperor’s eyes curved with a smile.
“Little physician, aren’t you going to take my pulse?”
Duoduo blinked innocently.
“My consultations are very expensive!”
The Emperor lightly tapped the bridge of her nose, his eyes filled with affection.
“I possess the entire realm. Is there anything I cannot afford?”
“Take a look. I’ve finished the medicine Imperial Physician Li left for me.”
At once, Duoduo’s expression turned serious.
She reached out and placed her fingers on the Emperor’s wrist.
Only after the time it took to finish a cup of tea did she withdraw her hand.
“Well?” the Emperor asked, his voice betraying his anxiety.
Duoduo pressed her lips tightly together, her expression unusually solemn.
The Emperor’s hands slowly clenched into fists.
Recently, he had been sleeping poorly, had no appetite, and had been irritable.
He felt symptoms similar to those he had experienced when he was poisoned in the palace.
Could someone at Imperial Physician Li’s residence also be secretly tampering with him?
At that thought, the Emperor unconsciously released the full force of his presence.
Duoduo’s eyes flickered.
She was not afraid.
Her father often acted like this too.
She had already grown used to it.
She had originally intended to tease the Emperor, but now she decided to tell him the truth.
“Grandfather, there’s nothing wrong with your body anymore!”
“You’re only overly anxious lately, which has caused your heart fire to flare up. That’s why you’ve been irritable and restless.”
“I can prescribe a soothing and fire-clearing formula for you. Take it for a few days and you’ll be fine.”
“If you can let go of the worries in your heart and go to bed early and rise early, these symptoms will ease even without medicine.”
Duoduo spoke without much confidence.
Because she understood all too well what the Emperor was anxious about.
The entire realm was in turmoil, yet the Emperor was hiding here, doing nothing.
For him, it was torture.
It was also a judgment.
Sure enough, the Emperor’s expression darkened.
He looked at Duoduo and remained silent for a long while.
“Changle, there are a few things I want to ask you, Grandfather said.”
“Are you willing to speak frankly with me?”
A flash of surprise passed through Duoduo’s eyes.
The Emperor saw it clearly.
He was silent for a moment, then tilted his head back and sighed.
“I suppose I’m the foolish one!”
“You’re only a four-year-old girl. What could you possibly know?”
Duoduo’s eyes flickered.
Her grandfather’s current expression was exactly like the one her father wore when he used reverse psychology.
They were identical!
Duoduo secretly sighed.
Being a child was so difficult!
She even had to play along with adults!
Duoduo blinked and deliberately pretended to be displeased.
“Grandfather, just ask whatever you want!”
“I may be little, but I understand quite a lot!”
The Emperor lowered his head and looked at Duoduo, a probing gaze in his eyes.
Duoduo straightened her back, looking thoroughly unconvinced.
The Emperor smiled.
“Changle, tell me what things are like outside now.”
A hint of confusion flashed through Duoduo’s eyes.
Didn’t the Emperor have secret guards at his side?
Was there really no one to tell him what was happening?
Seeing the confusion in Duoduo’s eyes, the Emperor realized that his question had been too broad.
“Do you know what your several uncles are doing now?”
Duoduo blinked.
“Grandfather, shouldn’t they all be at home?”
A sharp glint flashed through the Emperor’s eyes.
“Then tell me this: can you share some of the latest interesting news from the streets and markets?”
“Grandfather hasn’t been outside in a long time. I’d like to hear how the common people are living.”
A bright smile immediately spread across Duoduo’s face.
“That’s easy! Grandfather, I’ll tell you…”
With great enthusiasm, Duoduo told the Emperor every piece of the latest gossip circulating through the streets and markets.
Among it were rumors about the things several of the princes had been doing.
There were also the common people’s complaints about the imperial court.
The more the Emperor listened, the darker his expression became.
Duoduo patted the back of his hand.
“Grandfather, they’re blaming Heaven, not you!”
The Emperor glanced at the little hand resting on his.
His own hand was marked by the wear and tear of age.
Duoduo’s hand, meanwhile, was full of life and vitality.
Perhaps it was time for him to make some preparations.
“You haven’t been attending the Imperial Academy lately? What have you been doing while staying at home?”
The Emperor asked as though he were simply showing concern for Duoduo.
Duoduo shook her head.
“After I nearly got hurt last time, Father wouldn’t let me go anymore.”
“But Father invited a teacher to the residence to teach me!”
“Grandfather, I haven’t fallen behind in my studies at all!”
“If you don’t believe me, you can test me!”
Duoduo looked extremely proud.
