"It is precisely because it's too big that I'm selling it," the Princess Consort of Pingyang waved her hand.
Lianxin took the title deed and went to find the butler.
After hearing this, the butler readily agreed.
The butler originally had matters to report to the Prince of Pingyang, so he took the title deed to the study.
"Your Highness, I went to check. The custom-made zither is almost finished."
"The shopkeeper said it needs one more day for tuning before we can take it away."
The Prince of Pingyang nodded.
After the butler finished reporting, he did not leave.
"Your Highness, just now, the Princess Consort's maid, Lianxin, came to me and asked me to help the Princess Consort sell the estate."
The Prince of Pingyang was originally teaching Duoduo how to play chess.
Hearing the butler's words, he asked, "Which estate? Bring the title deed for me to see."
The butler took out the title deed Lianxin had given him from his sleeve and handed it to the Prince of Pingyang.
The Prince of Pingyang unfolded it and looked at the address written on it.
"I remember this estate has good harvests. Why does the Princess Consort want to sell it?"
The butler bowed slightly.
"Just now, Lianxin said that for some unknown reason, the harvests of this estate have been getting worse over the past few years."
"The Princess Consort feels that it's too much of a loss to support so many tenant farmers, so she plans to sell it."
Duoduo, who was sitting to the side, suddenly saw golden words appear before her eyes.
[Why? Because the estate manager is deceiving his superiors and bullying his subordinates!]
[The estate manager is taking advantage of his position. The Princess Consort clearly only collects sixty percent of the rent.]
[However, the estate manager actually told the tenant farmers that the Princess Consort wanted eighty percent.]
[Not only did he pocket the difference, but he also hid the truth from the Princess Consort, claiming bad harvests so he could hand over less grain.]
[The Princess Consort believed it to be true and even reduced the rent.]
[That estate manager used his dirty money not only to buy properties but also to keep several concubines!]
[He is living a life just like a wealthy landlord!]
[Unfortunately, the tenant farmers are all afraid of the Prince of Pingyang backing the estate manager, so they dare not speak out.]
[That estate manager is just waiting for the Princess Consort of Pingyang to sell it so he can drive down the price and buy the estate for himself.]
[Sigh, how could a woman of the inner chambers understand all these twists and turns and the sinister nature of the human heart!]
Duoduo rubbed her eyes; they were getting blurry from reading.
Ever since she learned how to read, the golden words before her eyes seemed to know she could understand them.
Every time they appeared, it was in large paragraphs, constantly scrolling.
To see clearly, she had to concentrate hard.
The Prince of Pingyang placed the title deed on the table.
"Hold off on selling it for now. By the way, didn't you say the banquet this time went over budget?"
"Withdraw five thousand taels from the account and send it to the Princess Consort."
The butler's face showed some hesitation.
"Your Highness, the silver from the capital has not been delivered yet."
The Prince of Pingyang raised an eyebrow. "Lingfeng!"
Lingfeng pushed the door open and entered. "Your Highness!"
"Send a letter to Ling Yu and ask why this month's silver hasn't arrived yet."
"Yes, sir." Lingfeng walked out.
"Alright, you may leave. Do as I said."
The Prince of Pingyang picked up a white piece from the chess box again.
"And this title deed?" the butler asked for instructions.
"Leave it with me for now. I will think about it later."
"Yes, sir." The butler retreated.
Duoduo scratched her palm and looked at the Prince of Pingyang.
The Prince of Pingyang felt Duoduo's gaze and looked over.
"What's wrong?"
Duoduo blinked her eyes.
"Father, I saw a phrase that I don't quite understand. I want to ask you about it."
The Prince of Pingyang raised an eyebrow and nodded slightly.
"Father, what does 'deceiving superiors and hiding from subordinates' mean?" Duoduo asked cautiously.
The Prince of Pingyang thought for a moment.
"It means to deceive the people above you and hide the truth from the people below you."
"As a person in power, one must observe in all directions and listen to all sides to be enlightened. You must never let those below deceive you."
Duoduo nodded. "Oh, I get it!"
"It means the people below are lying to both sides! Such bad people should be beaten with a board!"
The Prince of Pingyang nodded and placed the white piece in his hand onto the chessboard.
He was just about to explain to Duoduo the significance of placing the piece there.
His gaze suddenly fell on the title deed to the side.
This estate used to have good harvests in the past.
But it was only in recent years that the harvests turned bad.
Why was that?
Could it be that the estate manager was deceiving his superiors and hiding from his subordinates?
Suspicion began to rise in the Prince of Pingyang's heart.
He looked at Duoduo suspiciously.
"Where did you see that phrase?"
Duoduo stammered, "It was from a book on Father's bookshelf. I don't know which one it was either."
Seeing Duoduo's expression, the Prince of Pingyang did not press further.
Twirling a chess piece in his hand, he fell into deep thought.
Duoduo scratched her palm, worried that the Prince of Pingyang had not guessed her intention.
"Father, I see Mother having to stay in the backyard every day. It's too boring."
The Prince of Pingyang snapped back to reality. He looked at Duoduo with an inquiring gaze.
"Do you have any good suggestions?"
Duoduo revealed an obedient smile.
"Father, why don't we go out for a trip?"
"I heard Mother say that at the estate outside the city, there are peach blossoms to see!"
After saying that, Duoduo looked at the Prince of Pingyang nervously.
The Prince of Pingyang stared intently at Duoduo for two minutes.
Just as Duoduo became so nervous that she wanted to scratch her palm again, the Prince of Pingyang nodded.
"Mhm, that's a good suggestion. We should indeed go out for a walk."
Duoduo broke into a brilliant smile.
She jumped down from the chair.
"Thank you, Father! Mother will definitely be very happy when she finds out!"
Watching Duoduo's cheerful appearance, the corners of the Prince of Pingyang's lips curved upward uncontrollably.
The Prince of Pingyang lowered his head and pointed at the chessboard.
"Tell me, why did I place my piece here?"
Duoduo sat down obediently and began to ponder the knowledge the Prince of Pingyang had taught her.
"This piece is placed here for the dragon's tail that follows."
Duoduo spoke out according to her intuition.
The Prince of Pingyang looked up at Duoduo in slight surprise.
He had only roughly taught Duoduo some basic knowledge and formations.
Yet, Duoduo was actually able to articulate something he hadn't taught her.
"How do you know that the tail follows?" the Prince of Pingyang asked coolly.
Duoduo tilted her head.
"Because there's a dragon's head here, and this is the dragon's body, so what follows is naturally the dragon's tail!"
Duoduo's eyes were clear, and the expression on her face was very natural.
That was exactly what she saw!
The Prince of Pingyang pondered for a minute. He then scrambled the chess pieces and set up a new formation.
"And what about this one?"
Duoduo observed it carefully.
She clapped her little hands. "Father, this looks like a big pocket!"
Duoduo pointed at the chessboard. "If here and here close together, it becomes a big pocket!"
The Prince of Pingyang looked at Duoduo without speaking.
A moment later, he scrambled the pieces again and set up yet another pattern.
"And this?"
Duoduo cast a curious glance at the Prince of Pingyang.
She saw the Prince of Pingyang looking at her with an encouraging expression.
Duoduo looked at the chessboard.
