Chapter 102: Chapter 89, Meeting Againl
In June, the earth sweltered under the scorching sun, heat billowing so much so that even the roadside grass and trees seemed listless, and the oppressive heat left people irritable and on edge.
In the guest hall of the Prefectural Governor’s Office’s backyard, even with more than a dozen pots of ice set out, those inside still felt somewhat restless with heat.
Several people were seated in the hall. Among them, Yan Zhigao sat uneasily in the seat of honor, his eyes occasionally darting toward the two richly dressed young men sitting to his left, while he also kept looking anxiously toward the door.
At this moment, his heart was anything but calm— for he had just learned that the person his eldest daughter saved turned out to be the legitimate son of Prince Ping.
Although he had suspected that the man was from the imperial family, being confronted with the fact still left him somewhat unprepared, uncertain of how to converse with him.
For the Yan Family, this man’s status was exceedingly high.
So high that he had to tread carefully, fearing the slightest inadvertence might offend the visitor and bring disaster upon the Yan Family.
He was not afraid of offending those in the official circuit— at worst, he would just stop being an official. But the Imperial Family— he truly lacked the courage to offend them. Not only must he not offend them, but he must also attend to them diligently.
Yan Zhigao wiped the sweat that continuously formed on his forehead and once again directed his gaze toward the door.
Ah, he really shouldn’t have agreed to let his mother and Daohua go to the estate yesterday.
The noble guest had specifically mentioned he came to visit the old lady, only to find it was a wasted trip.
I wonder if Wentao has made it to the estate yet?
In the hall, Zhou Family’s eldest grandson, Zhou Chengye, shared Yan Zhigao’s anxious state.
The Zhou Family had been doing business in Xingzhou for several generations, and their contacts sprawled across various quarters. To put it bluntly, there was little that happened in Xingzhou that could be kept secret from the Zhou Family.
Therefore, as soon as the Little Prince and the Provincial Governor’s son entered Xingzhou, the Zhou Family received the news.
Immediately, his grandfather urged him to come and pay his respects, and preferably to invite the guests to the Zhou Residence for a visit.
Zhou Chengye surreptitiously scrutinized the imperial family member before him, who enjoyed the great favor of the Empress Dowager and the Emperor yet was quite controversial in Beijing.
How favored was this legitimate son of Prince Ping’s house in the Imperial Palace?
In all Beijing, there were many Princes, and even more sons of Princes, but the only one daring enough to be called Little Prince was this one.
You see, the Imperial Family had strict rules— a Prince’s son must wait for his father to retire from his position due to old age before he could ask to be titled and only then could he call himself Prince. Before that time, even addressing oneself as ‘Little’ Prince was presumptuous.
This one, rumored to be only a few years old, was already referred to as the Little Prince by the people of the Imperial Palace, and the Emperor and the Empress Dowager indulged him. This indicates just how favored he was.
Zhou Chengye glanced again at the Prefectural Governor, Yan Zhigao, noting his reserved demeanor, and felt very puzzled. To have the Little Prince visit personally must mean they have a strong connection.
Yet from the moment he entered the door until now, Yan Zhigao and the Little Prince had barely exchanged a few words, appearing quite unfamiliar with each other.
That made him quite perplexed.
About the Yan Family having a noble backer, the Zhou Family had also inquired, but the furthest their investigation reached was the Provincial Governor, and it had come to nothing. They had not expected the Yan Family could form a connection with the Imperial Family.
The guest hall was somewhat quiet; after waiting for more than an hour, Xiao Yeyang, already in a poor mood, had his expression darken significantly.
He had never been one to tolerate much, and there were very few people in the world who could make him hold back his temper. When he was unhappy, he would usually show it directly.
As a result, people in Beijing said that his temperament was worse than that of a Prince’s and that he was untamable.
To this, he had never paid any mind, continuing to do as he pleased.
For him, a Little Prince, to have to endure those of lower status than himself was truly laughable.
Seeing Xiao Yeyang’s face tighten with impatience, even Dong Yuanxuan, the Provincial Governor’s son who had accompanied him, became restless.
He had brought the Little Prince out for relaxation, not to make him even angrier.
As for the Yan Family— they truly did not know how to entertain a noble. To summon someone could take so long was something he found incredulous.
Looking at the empty tea bowl again, Xiao Yeyang lost his patience to continue waiting; it was under the blazing heat of the sun that he had come down from the ship, mounted his horse personally, and arrived at the Prefectural Governor’s Office, all because he thought of Daohua, who had once brought him a tinge of novelty.
He had seen too many sycophants during this period, filling his heart with disgust; the thought of Daohua, who dared to lay hands on him and even cursed him out whenever she made a mistake, made him detour to see her.
It was always others who waited for him, and the fact that he had patiently sat here for nearly two hours was solely because Daohua and Yan Wentao had once saved him. Under normal circumstances, he would have walked away with a cold face long ago.
“Let’s go!”
Without bidding farewell to Yan Zhigao or giving Zhou Chengye a second glance, Xiao Yeyang stood up and headed straight for the courtyard gate.
As he moved, everyone else ‘swooshed’ to their feet.
Yan Zhigao wanted to retain him, but he also knew that the Yan Family might have offended the distinguished Little Prince, unsure of how to start, he could only silently follow behind.
Zhou Chengye actually wanted to say a few words; aside from the initial greetings, the Little Prince had exchanged a few words with him, and he had not been given an opportunity to speak at any other time.
But seeing Xiao Yeyang’s stern face, he felt a bit intimidated to speak.
Dong Yuanxuan was even less likely to provoke Xiao Yeyang’s displeasure while Xiao was still annoyed, especially not for the two families he had little connection with.
The group reached the gate in complete silence.
“Xiao Yeyang!”
Just as Xiao Yeyang stepped out of the gate, he heard a crisp voice filled with unmistakable excitement. Lifting his head, he saw a petite and lively figure in green, leaping down from a carriage that had just stopped outside the door, and then, running towards him.
With her beaming smile and eyes as bright as stars, she was like sunshine breaking through the clouds, lighting up his somewhat gloomy heart.
Daohua approached Xiao Yeyang, slightly out of breath with excitement, “It really is you, Xiao Yeyang, I thought I might never see you again in my life.”
Their words, brimming with joyous sentiment, snapped Xiao Yeyang out of his daze. As reality hit him, he saw the familiar yet strange girl before him and was momentarily stunned.
Daohua waved her hand in front of Xiao Yeyang’s face: “What, don’t you recognize me? I’m Daohua!”
“You… you, you’re a girl?” Xiao Yeyang was silent for a while before he found his voice again.
Daohua replied in surprise: “Xiao Yeyang, you didn’t really think I was a boy, did you? Even though I was dressed as a boy initially, my name is Daohua, which clearly suggests I am a girl. Have you ever seen a man with ‘hua’ in their name?”
Xiao Yeyang immediately responded: “I have seen it.” Many actors had ‘hua’ in their names, but that wasn’t something good to say, especially to an official’s daughter; people might think he was comparing her to an actor.
Daohua wasn’t fixated on the issue, smiling as she looked at Xiao Yeyang: “I’m so happy to see you again!”
Such candid words made Xiao Yeyang feel slightly uncomfortable, yet he was not at all put off, but rather somewhat elated, because he could feel that Daohua was genuinely happy.
Afterward, Daohua greeted Yan Zhigao and others, glanced at the scorching sun overhead, and said, “The sun is too strong here; let’s go inside to talk.” Leading the way, she stepped across the threshold.
Seeing this, Xiao Yeyang didn’t hesitate and followed her in.
Those who had just left the Yan Residence exchanged silent glances, shared a smile and stepped back into the Yan Family compound once more.
In the meantime, Dong Yuanxuan and Zhou Chengye observed Daohua with curiosity.
Servants from various families who had been stationed outside the Yan Residence to gather information quickly went back to report the name of the Yan Family’s guest once they learned it.
At the Provincial Governor’s residence.
When the Provincial Governor learned that the visitor to the Yan Family was Xiao Yeyang, he immediately looked troubled. After pacing back and forth in his study for a while, he promptly picked up his pen to write a letter to the consultant Du, offering his help in soliciting funds for the construction of the river embankment.
At the Prefectural Governor’s residence.
Upon hearing the news, Qian Tongzhi sighed heavily; he never imagined that the Yan Family could establish a connection with the Imperial Family. Fortunately, in the Prefectural Governor’s Office, he hadn’t acted too harshly. “Madam, Bi Lan is very fond of the Yan Family’s eldest daughter, isn’t she? In the future, let them spend more time together..”