"What? It was actually you who had this whatever Prince catch your grandmother and bring her back?"
Old Madam Song was stunned.
She knew it! She had hidden so well, how could she still have been caught?
It turned out it was because Song Shuyu had helped that Prince!
"Are you stupid? Now that your grandmother has been caught and brought in here, how am I supposed to escape?"
Old Madam Song poked Song Shuyu fiercely on the forehead.
"How did you become just like that jinx!"
Song Shuyu became displeased and twisted her body away.
"Hmph! I'm not a jinx!"
"Achoo!"
Duoduo let out a loud sneeze.
"Princess, did you catch a cold last night?" Lüyi hurriedly came over and felt Duoduo's forehead.
Duoduo dodged Lüyi's hand and rubbed her own nose.
"I'm fine, my nose is just a little itchy."
"Princess, why don't you take a break? You've been writing all morning."
Lüyi helped Duoduo take the top sheet of Xuan paper and set it aside neatly.
"I still have one more page. After I finish it, I have to go to Father."
Duoduo shook her wrist, picked up her ink brush, and continued writing.
Nanny Li had already finished teaching her all the brushstrokes.
Duoduo had now started writing actual characters. As she wrote, she silently reviewed the meanings of the characters in her heart.
Just like this, she wrote and memorized at the same time. By the time she finished a page, she had memorized the characters thoroughly.
"Done. Lüyi, please put a paperweight on it."
Duoduo walked over to the washstand on the side. Lüzhu helped roll up her sleeves and scooped water to help her wash her hands.
Seeing some ink stains on her sleeves, Duoduo asked Lüzhu to help her change clothes.
After changing into a clean outfit, Duoduo finally headed to the study.
The female tutor that the Prince of Pingyang had hired for Duoduo wouldn't arrive for another two days.
Therefore, the Prince of Pingyang told Duoduo to come to his study so he could teach her personally.
When Duoduo entered the room, she saw a guqin placed on the desk.
Duoduo was very curious; it was her first time seeing such a thing.
Duoduo walked up to the Prince of Pingyang and bowed respectfully.
Then, she sat down obediently on a chair.
"Today, I will first teach you the basic knowledge of the guqin."
The Prince of Pingyang didn't even offer an opening greeting; he went straight into the lesson.
He started from the origins and history of the guqin, moving on to its materials, structure...
The Prince of Pingyang kept a straight face, lecturing expressionlessly.
Duoduo rested her chin in her hands, watching him without blinking.
The Prince of Pingyang stopped.
"Do you not understand?"
Duoduo shook her head, then nodded.
"You only need to be aware of these things; you don't need to fully understand them."
Duoduo nodded and gave the Prince of Pingyang a sweet smile.
"Father, Mother said you are proficient in the guqin, chess, calligraphy, and painting. You are so amazing!"
"How did you do it? Did you also start learning when you were very young?"
"Were you also taught by your father in the past? Was he strict? Was he very fierce?"
The Prince of Pingyang's face darkened.
"I take time out of my busy schedule to teach you, and you actually let your mind wander?"
Duoduo hurriedly put her hands down and sat up properly.
"Father, Duoduo couldn't understand the things you just talked about."
"If you don't understand, memorize it in your heart and slowly ponder over it when you go back!"
"Letting your mind wander during class is a sign of disrespect to your teacher!"
"I'm sorry, your daughter was wrong! Father, please don't be angry!"
Duoduo hastily apologized.
The Prince of Pingyang pushed his wheelchair to face the window, not saying a word.
Duoduo picked at her palms and nervously walked up behind the Prince of Pingyang.
"Father, Duoduo memorized everything you just said."
Duoduo said, and began to repeat the content the Prince of Pingyang had just lectured on.
Although there were a few slight errors, she had memorized the vast majority of it.
The Prince of Pingyang turned around and looked at the apprehensive Duoduo.
"You are very smart, but don't think you can fool others by relying on petty cleverness."
"Many people end up stumbling over their own petty cleverness."
"Yes, your daughter will remember," Duoduo replied obediently.
The Prince of Pingyang pushed his wheelchair back to the desk.
This time, he didn't lecture on those boring theories anymore; instead, he directly taught Duoduo the fingering techniques.
Sure enough, Duoduo's interest was piqued.
"Father, can I try?"
Seeing the Prince of Pingyang gently stroke the strings to produce beautiful sounds, Duoduo instantly became eager to try.
The Prince of Pingyang made room and motioned for Duoduo to stand over.
"Place your left hand here, right, your right hand, right! Good, position your hand well, hook, right!..."
The Prince of Pingyang taught Duoduo step by step how to pluck the strings to produce notes.
Duoduo was very excited. She followed the Prince of Pingyang's instructions and plucked the strings one by one.
The sound of ding-ding-dong-dong rang out in the study.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang, who was passing by the study, turned her ear to listen.
"Is the Prince playing the guqin? Why doesn't it sound like it? When did the Prince's playing become so unskillful?"
Lianxin smiled.
"Your Highness, the Prince is teaching the Princess how to play the guqin."
The Princess Consort of Pingyang looked surprised.
She had been busy all morning and hadn't yet had the time to pay attention to Duoduo's whereabouts.
"The Prince is teaching her personally? Wait, when did the manor buy a guqin? How come I didn't know?"
Lianxin shook her head.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang was somewhat curious, so she walked into the study.
As soon as she walked in, the Princess Consort of Pingyang saw Duoduo leaning close in front of the Prince of Pingyang, while the Prince was raising his hand to guide Duoduo in playing the guqin.
Duoduo tilted her little face, listening to the Prince of Pingyang speak.
At first glance, the two faces were surprisingly similar.
Hearing the Princess Consort of Pingyang's footsteps, the two of them raised their heads at the same time and looked toward the door.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang froze for a moment; she inexplicably felt as though she were an outsider.
The next second, Duoduo flashed a sweet smile at the Princess Consort of Pingyang.
"Mother, you're here!"
The Princess Consort of Pingyang walked over gracefully and bowed to the Prince of Pingyang.
"I was walking by outside and heard the long-lost sound of the guqin, so I came in to take a look."
As the Princess Consort of Pingyang spoke, she examined the guqin on the desk.
The astonishment in her eyes grew even greater.
"Your Highness, this is your favorite Lüqi. You are actually letting Duoduo play it?"
The Prince of Pingyang withdrew his hand.
"The custom-made guqin will take another two days to be finished."
"Your Highness, Duoduo is still young. Just buying any ordinary guqin would do; there's no need to have one custom-made, right?"
The Princess Consort of Pingyang knew very well that the price to custom-make a guqin was not cheap.
From the corner of his eye, the Prince of Pingyang saw that upon hearing the Princess Consort's words, Duoduo immediately pulled her hands back.
Furthermore, she even stepped a little further away from the guqin.
"A guqin is just a guqin, it is meant to be played by people. Are we supposed to set it up on a shrine?"
"I ordered a custom guqin because Duoduo is young and the strength in her fingers is insufficient."
"When you grow up and have perfected your guqin skills, this guqin will belong to you!"
The Prince of Pingyang directed his last sentence at Duoduo.
Duoduo couldn't help but widen her eyes.
Just now, the Princess Consort of Pingyang's words had made Duoduo vaguely guess that the guqin she was playing was very precious.
But now, her father was actually saying he would give the guqin to her?
"Father, are you really going to give this guqin to me?"
