There were many pieces on the chessboard this time.
Duoduo rested her chin in her hands, staring at the game on the board.
She watched for a good while, then shook her head.
"Father, I can't figure it out."
The Prince of Pingyang paused for a moment, then nodded.
"It's alright. You are still young. Once you learn, you will understand."
"Come, let's go for a walk and look for your mother."
Saying this, the Prince of Pingyang picked up the land deed from the table.
Duoduo's eyes lit up.
"Father, are we going out of the manor to play?"
The Prince of Pingyang pushed his wheelchair outward.
"Not today. We will set off tomorrow."
Duoduo jumped up with joy. She quickly ran behind the Prince of Pingyang's wheelchair and helped push it.
"Come to the front."
Hearing the Prince of Pingyang's instruction, Duoduo came to the front of him, feeling a bit confused.
"Father, what is it?"
The Prince of Pingyang reached out, scooped Duoduo up, and placed her on his lap.
"Guards!"
As soon as the Prince of Pingyang spoke, a guard appeared in a flash.
The guard pushed the wheelchair toward the backyard.
Duoduo looked around in sheer novelty; it was her first time observing the manor from this perspective.
[This Prince of Pingyang has a cold face but a warm heart. When he spoke with a straight face just now, I thought he was going to scold someone!]
[However, this Prince of Pingyang is quite different from before.]
[Although he's a bit stoic, he seems to be a pretty good person.]
Seeing the golden words in front of her, Duoduo had an idea.
Pretending to catch butterflies, Duoduo swatted and shattered the golden text.
The characters turned into golden light and slowly fell onto the Prince of Pingyang and Duoduo.
Just then, the group arrived at the garden.
The sun shone down on them, and the Prince of Pingyang felt that today's sunlight was exceptionally comfortable.
"Stop for a moment."
The Prince of Pingyang saw Duoduo tilt her head up, squinting her eyes at the sun.
The wheelchair came to a halt, and the two basked in the sunlight.
Duoduo noticed that aside from the golden light that fell on her, the rest of it entirely entered the Prince of Pingyang's body this time.
Duoduo was very happy.
She hopped down and gave the Prince of Pingyang a sweet smile.
"Father, I'll walk by myself. Your legs are injured, they will hurt!"
The Prince of Pingyang was momentarily dazzled by Duoduo's smile.
He did not insist. In truth, his legs had no feeling at all.
How could he feel pain?
"Let's go," he ordered the guard.
The guard stepped forward and pushed the wheelchair.
Duoduo walked at a leisurely pace by the side of the wheelchair.
"Father, that flower is blooming so beautifully. Shall we pick it and give it to Mother?"
Duoduo saw various beautiful flowers blooming in the garden.
"Mhm."
The Prince of Pingyang nodded.
Duoduo walked over to the flowerbed, stood on her tiptoes, and carefully plucked two flowers.
Then, she walked back and placed the flowers on the Prince of Pingyang's lap.
"Father, hold these for me first."
The Prince of Pingyang looked at the delicate, vibrant flowers on his lap in a slight daze.
These were peonies, his wife's favorite flowers, so he had ordered people to plant some in the manor.
This year's peonies seemed to bloom exceptionally beautifully.
Seeing that they had arrived at the courtyard where the Princess Consort of Pingyang lived, Duoduo couldn't contain her excitement and quickened her pace as she walked in.
"Mother! Father and I are here!"
The Princess Consort of Pingyang hurriedly put down the ledger in her hands and stood up.
"Duoduo? Your Highness? Why did you come over?"
Duoduo excitedly walked up to the Princess Consort of Pingyang and pulled her toward her father.
"Mother, look, what is this?"
The Princess Consort of Pingyang froze, and then her eyes turned red.
"Your Highness, did you pick my favorite peonies?"
The Prince of Pingyang felt a bit awkward. He picked up the flowers and handed them to the Princess Consort of Pingyang.
"Duoduo picked them."
The Princess Consort of Pingyang looked down and saw Duoduo smiling brightly at her.
She gently stroked Duoduo's head.
"Thank you, Duoduo."
Duoduo's eyes darted around playfully.
"Mother, Father is blushing."
The Princess Consort of Pingyang cast a shy and timid glance at the Prince of Pingyang, just in time to see him uncomfortably turning his wheelchair.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang gently tapped the tip of Duoduo's nose.
"You little rascal, daring to tease even your father."
Duoduo stuck out her tongue.
She tugged at the corner of the Princess Consort of Pingyang's clothes.
"Mother, quickly have Baihe get a vase to put the flowers in."
"This way, Mother can see her favorite flowers without even leaving the room!"
The Princess Consort of Pingyang handed the peonies to Baihe, who was standing to the side.
Baihe received them with both hands and took them out.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang took Duoduo's hand, walked to the side, and sat down.
"Your Highness, weren't you teaching Duoduo the zither in the study?"
The Princess Consort of Pingyang felt very sweet inside; it was the first time she had received flowers from the Prince of Pingyang.
The Prince of Pingyang stroked his jade thumb ring without saying a word.
Duoduo happily beat him to the answer, "Mother, Father has good news to tell you."
Hearing this, the Princess Consort of Pingyang immediately looked at the Prince of Pingyang with anticipation.
The Prince of Pingyang kept a straight face. He turned his head and saw a large face and a small face looking at him.
"Ahem."
The Prince of Pingyang put a fist to his lips and coughed.
Then, he took out the land deed from his robe and placed it on the table.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang thought it was a property purchased by the Prince of Pingyang, so she curiously picked it up.
When she saw the heading on it clearly, the Princess Consort of Pingyang's face instantly turned pale.
"Your Highness... I... please listen to my explanation..."
Hearing her mother's tone change, Duoduo tilted her head up and looked at the Princess Consort of Pingyang in confusion.
She noticed that the Princess Consort of Pingyang's complexion was off.
Duoduo hurriedly grabbed her mother's hand.
"Mother, what's wrong? Why are you shaking?"
"Father, what's wrong with Mother? Come look quickly!"
Duoduo was very anxious and turned to the Prince of Pingyang for help.
"I didn't mean anything else by bringing this here. Pingting, you're overthinking it."
The Prince of Pingyang paused for a moment here.
"Pingting, I remember this estate. It was one of the better-yielding estates in your dowry."
The Princess Consort of Pingyang steadied her nerves.
"Yes, but the harvests in recent years have been getting worse each year."
"Last year it only yielded a few hundred shi, and this year the estate manager said the tenant farmers are clamoring for a rent reduction."
"I had already reduced the rent to fifty percent a few years ago. If it is reduced any further, we won't be able to make ends meet."
"I thought it would be better to sell it now and exchange it for some silver."
"When we find a suitable one in the future, we can buy a new one."
"The current estate is too far from Xianyang, making it inconvenient to manage."
The Prince of Pingyang stroked the jade thumb ring on his hand, pondering the Princess Consort of Pingyang's words.
"Pingting, since ancient times, husband and wife are one entity. If the manor's expenses are too large, you should tell me."
"Every time you use your own dowry to subsidize things, where does that put me?"
The Princess Consort of Pingyang stood up nervously.
"Your Highness, you entrusted the management of the manor to me, and it is my poor management."
"It is only right that I find a way to deal with the deficit."
The Prince of Pingyang looked at the Princess Consort and shook his head.
"Incorrect!"
