Chapter 115: Chapter 101, The Falll
Madam Lin, seeing that everyone in the room had been silenced by just a few words from Daohua, grew anxious and was forced to speak up herself, “Miss, it’s just two spots, and for the Little Prince, someone of such distinguished status, this matter would surely be nothing more than a word from him.”
Upon hearing this, Yan Zhiyuan immediately snapped back to reality, “That’s right, for the Little Prince this truly isn’t a big deal at all, it’s not as serious as you make it out to be!” He had almost been fooled by this girl Daohua just now.
“Heh~”
Daohua sneered, “Since you both talk as if it’s so trivial, why not seek the quota at the Academy yourselves?” Having said this, she didn’t even glance at the two of them but turned her head to look at Yan Zhigao, “Father, what do you think?”
She could outright refuse the two of them with absolute certainty, but why should it be her, the younger generation, taking such action? Why should she be the one to offend people? One of them was her stepfather’s brother, and the other his concubine, wasn’t it his place to deal with it?
Yan Zhigao’s brows twitched, facing his hopeful brother and concubine, the words of refusal were somewhat hard to utter.
He hadn’t stopped the two of them earlier because he, too, had hoped that Wenjie and Wenbin could study at the Wangyue Academy. Although he had some selfish reasons, in the long run, it would be beneficial for the family’s development.
Yan Zhigao looked at his eldest daughter standing calmly beside his wife, his gaze flickered, the Little Prince had given only three spots, and he had specified they were for the three Wen brothers, could it be related to his eldest daughter?
Seeing her stepfather look at her, Daohua returned his gaze without any guilt and smiled, “Father, it is not difficult to ask the Little Prince, if you command it, I will comply, only… in doing so, the Little Prince might feel that our Yan Family is greedy and insatiable.”
At these words, Yan Zhigao’s face changed, and he immediately made a decision, “The matter of Wenxu, Wentao, and Wenkai going to the Academy is settled, no one else should bring up anything more.”
“Master!”
“Big Brother!”
Madam Lin and Yan Zhiyuan exclaimed in unison.
Yan Zhigao directly interrupted the two who wanted to speak again, “There’s no need for further discussion!”
Seeing Yan Zhigao so resolute, Madam Lin knew more words would be futile, her mind quickly turned, and once again she set her sights on Daohua, pleading, “Miss, please help your second uncle and Wenbin out, for you, this is not difficult at all. If second uncle and Wenbin secure a good future, they will certainly not forget your great kindness.”
“Wenbin, come on, beg your older sister.” She was about to pull Yan Wenbin over to plead with Daohua.
Seeing this, Daohua’s face fell at once, “Madam Lin!” Her voice suddenly doubled in volume, startling everyone in the room.
Daohua, having been used as an excuse by Madam Lin’s household twice, was already extremely annoyed, and this time she couldn’t be bothered to care about her stepfather’s feelings any longer, “Madam Lin, do you think I’m easy to bully? Every time there’s an issue, you use me as a scapegoat to achieve your unspeakable goals!”
“I won’t bother talkingabout what happened before today. Let’s just talk about today.”
“Earlier, you were out of line, referring to yourself as a daughter-in-law in front of grandmother, and she grew angry and told you to leave. But to get what you wanted for Yan Wenbin to attend the Wangyue Academy, you insisted on shifting the topic onto me, making others think that I was bullying you.”
“Just now, Father had already made a decision not to bring up the matter of the Academy, but you changed the subject and brought it back to me, not only involving your second brother again but also having Yan Wenbin plead with me. What exactly is in your heart?”
Taken aback by Daohua’s sudden outburst, Madam Lin gathered her senses and immediately started crying, “Miss, you’ve misunderstood me, I didn’t…”
Daohua cut her off, her voice dripping with sarcasm, “Madam Lin, you are someone skilled at appearing weak. With tears flowing and your pitiful demeanor, it’s hard not to feel sorry for you. Add a few well-placed submissive words, and you’ve achieved your goal.”
“First, you put the future of the second brother and Yan Wenbin onto me, as if I were heartless for not pleading for them.”
“Then, you forcefully dragged Yan Wenbin over to beg me, taking a humble stance so that if I still refused, it would make me seem cold-hearted.”
“When you do this, the best outcome is my agreement, leading to joy for everyone, and Yan Wenbin could study at the Academy.”
“But if I refuse, the first to be furious with me would be your second uncle, second aunt, and second brother. Plus, if I take an even firmer stance, Father watching on the side would likely feel extremely frustrated.”
“Just look at how calculating you are! If I agree, you benefit, your own son goes to the Academy; If I don’t, I offend the family, and you’ve lost nothing. Madam Lin, sometimes, I really have to admire you.”
After finishing, Daohua turned her head to look at Yan Zhigao, “Father, if I had known that the matter of the Academy would put me in such an unfavorable position, I definitely wouldn’t have mentioned the quota to the Little Prince.”
Yan Zhigao’s face turned.
The others in the room changed their expressions as well.
Madam Lin saw that Daohua had disclosed all her inner thoughts, her complexion turning somewhat pale, and she dared not say anything more, only bowing her head to wipe away tears.
Yan Wenkai, seeing her like this, said impatiently, “Madam Lin, why is it that every time I see you, you are crying? Apart from crying, don’t you know anything else?”
“Smack!”
Old Madam Yan slammed her palm hard on the table, “If you want to cry, roll out and cry!” After saying that, she trembled as she pointed at Yan Zhigao, “Is this the ‘well-read and reasonable’ concubine you spoke of?”
Yan Zhigao, seeing the Old Madam so furious, immediately turned to Madam Lin, “Why are you still standing there? Get out!”
At this moment, Madam Lin didn’t dare to say anything more, performed a courtesy to the Old Madam, and quickly left with Yan Wenbin and Yan Yishuang.
As soon as she left, the Old Madam glared fiercely at Yan Zhigao, “I cannot enjoy the benefits of your concubine. Go and tell her that she better not show up in front of me again; I don’t want to be angered to death by her!”
Yan Zhigao: “…Madam Lin, she is just overly concerned about Wenbin’s future…”
“Pah!”
The Old Madam spat at him, “Concerned about Wenbin’s future? Then she should come to you, not come here and cause trouble for my Daohua! I am warning you, this is the last time. If your concubine dares to stir up trouble again… humph, I’ll just take Daohua and move back to our old residence!”
Hearing this, Daohua stepped forward and took hold of the Old Madam’s arm, burying her head in her shoulder to prevent others from seeing her expression, “Grandmother, it’s my fault. If only I hadn’t mentioned the quota to Xiao Yeyang. I definitely won’t make that mistake again.”
With these words, the atmosphere in the room turned sour.
Madam Li, thinking that Daohua was truly upset, immediately stepped forward, “Dear child, it’s not your fault. The decision of the Little Prince, how could you influence it?”
Yan Zhiyuan and the Sun Family hastily agreed, “Indeed, it’s not your fault.”
Although their son had not been able to go to the Academy, the Yan Family had indeed benefited from the Little Prince’s visit, and they too had gained some of the reflected glory.
Yan Zhigao wanted to say something too but couldn’t swallow his pride, so he just looked at the Old Madam and his wife.
Unexpectedly, neither of them paid him any attention.
Daohua kept her head buried, saying in a muffled voice, “Big Brother couldn’t go to the Academy to study and I regret it too. Now Uncle and Aunt must surely hate me!”
Yan Zhiyuan and the Sun Family promptly denied, “Not at all, your big brother studying at the State School is just the same.”
Yan Wenjie pursed his lips, wanting to argue that it was not the same, but seeing his parents glaring at him, he kept his mouth shut.
The Old Madam glanced at Daohua on her shoulder and waved her hand impatiently to dismiss everyone, “Enough, don’t eat here today, it’s upsetting me to look at you!”
Once the group had left, the Old Madam finally said indignantly to Daohua, “Alright, they’re gone now!”
Daohua raised her head, looking at the Old Madam with a mischievous smile, showing no sign of sadness whatsoever.
“You little imp!”
The Old Madam tapped Daohua’s forehead, her face showing resignation.
Daohua sighed, “Madam Lin had calculated Uncle and Aunt’s mindset perfectly, had I not taken this action, Uncle and Aunt would certainly harbour a grudge, and Big Brother would have resented me too.”
“Grandmother, I am truly frightened by Madam Lin now.”
The Old Madam watched Daohua in silence, as if enjoying her performance.
Daohua, feeling embarrassed under the gaze, shook the Old Madam’s arm.
“Hmph!”
The Old Madam snorted, “With all that you said this time, your father will ensure she keeps herself incheck.” She knew her son well — he valued the family’s stature, his career, and wouldn’t allow a concubine to jeopardize the Yan Family’s relationship with the Little Prince.