Duoduo let out a sigh.
Her tutor had once taught her a saying: Better a friend die than oneself.
Duoduo stepped forward and took Xiao Yi’s hand.
“I can tell you, Papa.”
“But you have to promise me something first.”
“Don’t get angry! Don’t lose your temper! And, even more importantly, don’t…”
Duoduo noticed her father’s eyes narrow.
That was a dangerous sign.
She quickly fell silent.
“It happened like this. At the Li residence today, Little Gold sensed a parasite inside Grandfather’s body.”
“When Grandfather saw Little Gold, he reacted very strongly. He thought that a girl shouldn’t be playing with bugs.”
“Then he reached out and tried to crush Little Gold.”
“So Little Gold did what it did just now—it bit Grandfather to protect itself.”
“Grandfather flew into a rage. He thought I had planted a parasite in him, so, in the heat of the moment, he grabbed me by the neck!”
Duoduo tipped her head back and exposed her neck for Xiao Yi to see.
She had already applied medicine to herself in the carriage on the way home.
Most of the bruises had faded, leaving only a faint mark beneath her jaw.
Xiao Yi glanced at it, and a pang of heartache flashed through his eyes.
He had guessed that Duoduo must have treated herself.
Sure enough, unless Duoduo admitted it herself, he would never know where she had been hurt.
Anger flickered in Xiao Yi’s eyes.
He was angry at the helplessness he felt.
He hated himself for it!
Duoduo had confessed everything of her own accord, yet her father still hadn’t said a word.
She grew increasingly uneasy.
This silent father was even more frightening than the angry one.
Duoduo tugged at Xiao Yi’s hand and gave it an ingratiating shake.
“Papa, it was Little Gold’s fault in the first place. That’s why Grandfather misunderstood!”
“It had nothing to do with Grandfather!”
Xiao Yi stared at Duoduo. The emotions churning in his eyes were impossible to read.
“If it was its fault, then throw it into a pot of boiling oil.”
Duoduo heard Little Gold’s shrill protest inside her head.
She hurriedly shook her head.
“Papa, Little Gold was only acting on instinct!”
Xiao Yi was just about to speak when hurried footsteps sounded outside the door.
He frowned and looked toward the study entrance.
“Prince, may I come in?” Su Xian’s voice came from outside.
Xiao Yi cast a sidelong glance at Duoduo.
There was no need to guess. It had to be one of Duoduo’s maids, running off to fetch her mother for help.
Xiao Yi felt quite displeased.
Why did the maids around his daughter always go running to his wife whenever something happened?
Did they think he, as her father, was not good enough?
Xiao Yi’s expression darkened.
When Duoduo heard Su Xian’s voice, she brightened immediately.
“Papa, why has Mama come?”
“I’ll open the door for her!”
Duoduo released Xiao Yi’s hand and skipped over to open the door for Su Xian.
The moment Su Xian saw that it was Duoduo who had opened the door, she took her daughter by the hand and looked her up and down.
Duoduo gave her mother a sweet smile.
“Mama, what brings you here?”
“I was going to pay you my respects after I finished talking to Papa!”
Seeing that Duoduo looked no different from usual and that her eyes were not red, Su Xian finally let out the breath she had been holding.
“Mama heard that you had returned, but I waited for ages and never saw you come over.”
“So I came here myself.”
Those words were meant for Xiao Yi.
Duoduo beamed as she pulled Su Xian inside.
“Mama, come in quickly. It’s hot outside.”
Su Xian wiped the sweat from her forehead. “It is. Who knows when this weather will finally cool down?”
Duoduo carefully supported her mother.
“Soon!”
“Aunt Xu said that as long as we don’t get an Indian summer, it’ll cool down.”
Hearing her daughter mention her best friend, Su Xian suddenly wanted to hear all about what had happened that day.
Since she couldn’t go out herself, listening to gossip was the next best thing.
She had been bored stiff at home.
Su Xian led Duoduo over to Xiao Yi and bent her knees in greeting.
Xiao Yi reached out to stop her.
“You’re not feeling well. Why are you running around?”
“Did some fool come and disturb you?”
Qingliu, standing by the door, couldn’t help shivering.
Su Xian smiled.
“Why would you assume that, Prince?”
“I heard the servants say that Duoduo had returned.”
“Madam Li had originally sent me an invitation for today, but I didn’t go. I wanted to ask how everything had gone.”
“I waited for ages and simply couldn’t bear it any longer, so I came over myself.”
“Otherwise, by the time you two finished talking, my neck would have grown several sections longer!”
She giggled.
Duoduo was amused by her mother’s words and covered her mouth as she laughed.
“Are you talking about a giraffe?” she asked.
Su Xian nodded. “Yes, just like a giraffe.”
Xiao Yi had never heard of a giraffe.
But since it was called a deer, it ought to be some kind of deer, right?
A giraffe—that would be a deer with a long neck.
After imagining it for a moment, the corners of Xiao Yi’s mouth began to lift.
Duoduo caught sight of her father’s smile from the corner of her eye and secretly relaxed.
She didn’t like seeing Papa angry.
Especially when he was angry with himself.
It made her heart ache!
Su Xian’s gaze came to rest on the chrysanthemum nearby.
“Where did this come from? Is that a black chrysanthemum?”
Very curious, Su Xian leaned closer to examine it.
Xiao Yi also pushed his wheelchair over to take a look.
Duoduo’s face lit up with excitement.
“Mama, isn’t this pretty?”
“Let me tell you, there were so many chrysanthemums of all different colors at the Li residence!”
“Besides this ink chrysanthemum, there was another one called something Fairy. Its flowers had several different colors!”
“I heard they were all extremely rare!”
“Papa, is this ink chrysanthemum similar to the ink-colored peony in the imperial palace?”
“I only looked at it for a little while because of that, and Madam Li gave it to me!”
“Aunt Xu said it was the most expensive one there, worth a thousand gold pieces!”
Once Duoduo started talking about something that made her happy, she became impossible to stop.
She chattered on, telling her parents everything she had seen and heard at the banquet.
Su Xian listened with fascination, while Xiao Yi picked up on something else entirely.
Su Xian gently patted the back of Duoduo’s hand.
“Madam Li gave you something so valuable. What are you planning to give her in return?”
Duoduo nodded proudly.
“I’ve already prepared it!”
Su Xian was surprised.
Duoduo had only just returned from the Li residence, yet she had already prepared a return gift?
She was very curious. “What did you prepare?”
Duoduo picked up a scroll from the side.
“Today at the banquet, the eldest daughter-in-law mentioned that she wanted to order a birthday cake.”
“They didn’t know what cakes looked like, so Aunt Xu asked me to draw one for them.”
“So I drew this.” As she spoke, Duoduo unrolled the painting.
It depicted a smiling birthday celebrant holding a peach of immortality and grinning at them.
Looking at the painting, Su Xian immediately felt cheerful.
“Papa, Mama, I’m planning to have this painting mounted and give it to her as a congratulatory gift. What do you think?”
