Chapter 121: Chapter 107, Cheated_1
On the day of August fifteen, Yan Wenxiu, Wentao, and Yan Wenkai returned home.
After washing up, the three of them went to the old lady’s courtyard.
“You’ve lost weight, is studying at the Academy very tough?”
The old Mrs. Yan looked at her three grandsons, who had grown a bit slimmer, with a face full of distress.
Yan Wenxiu smiled and said, “Grandmother, it’s not tough at the Academy, it’s just that we’ve recently changed environments and are still getting used to it. Once we adjust, things will slowly get better.”
As she clung to her eldest grandson, Old Mrs. Yan said, “You child, don’t spend all your time studying, you also need to take the time to exercise and keep your body strong. Only with a healthy body can you achieve great things.”
Yan Wenxiu listened respectfully, his face always smiling, and he nodded from time to time.
Meanwhile, Yan Zhigao and Madam Li watched their increasingly composed eldest son with pride and satisfaction on their faces.
After the old lady had finished catching up with Yan Wenxiu, Madam Li was about to ask about her eldest son’s life at the Academy when she was unexpectedly interrupted by Yan Zhiyuan, “Wenxiu, look at your second brother, he can only study at the State School with some ordinary teachers, not making much progress in his studies. Now that you’re back, why not find some time to tutor him a bit?”
Upon hearing this, Madam Li’s brows immediately knitted together. Although her eldest son concealed it well, the fatigue in his eyes could not be hidden from her. The Academy had barely given a two-day break, which should have been a chance for her eldest to rest properly.
This second brother of theirs was becoming more and more tactless in his words and deeds.
Fortunately, the old lady, who showed extra care for her eldest grandson, directly rebutted, “Didn’t we specifically hire a teacher at home to instruct Wenjie and Wenbin? There’s no need for Wenxiu to guide them in their studies. He’s just come home for two days, so he needs to replenish his health.”
Without paying further attention to Yan Zhiyuan, she turned her head to Daohua, “These two days, make some delicious food for your three brothers. Look at them, each one has lost weight.”
Daohua smiled and agreed.
Afterward, Yan Zhigao began to inquire about his eldest son’s time at the Academy.
Yan Wenxiu only mentioned his academic work and some interesting things. Wentao and Yan Wenkai occasionally chimed in with a few words, and the room soon filled with cheerful laughter.
Daohua sat next to the old lady on the footstool, clearly observing the expressions of her three brothers.
The eldest brother had always been reserved, and she could not discern much; but the third and fourth brothers were not as adept at concealing their feelings—it was easy for her to see their forced smiles.
Life at the Academy for her three brothers was probably not as good as they had portrayed.
“Grandmother, I’ll go and see how the cooking is coming along, and bring over our homemade grape wine,” announced Daohua.
The old Mrs. Yan nodded with a smile.
As she left the room, Daohua looked back at Wentao and Yan Wenkai, signaling them to follow.
Receiving the cue, Yan Wenkai immediately said to the old lady, “Grandmother, I’ll go help big sister get the grape wine.”
“I’ll go too!” Wentao stood up and followed.
Watching her two grandsons scamper off, the old Mrs. Yan chuckled warmly, turning to Yan Wenxiu, “Look at how energetic your third and fourth brothers are. You should learn from them and exercise more when you can.”
Yan Wenxiu nodded in agreement, “Grandmother, I will.”
…
Outside the courtyard, Daohua waited for Wentao and Yan Wenkai to come out before leading them towards Daohua Pavilion.
“Big sister, does the grape wine you made taste good?”
Yan Wenkai had been sitting up straight and proper inside, but as soon as he came out, he immediately let loose.
Daohua responded with a smile, “You’ll find out in a moment.” Then, looking cautiously at the two of them, she asked, “Third brother, fourth brother, everything is okay for you at the Academy, right?”
As soon as she asked this, Wentao and Yan Wenkai fell somewhat silent.
Daohua immediately asked, “What’s wrong, is the Academy not good?”
Wentao never hid anything from Daohua, and he immediately replied, “It’s not that it’s not good, it’s just that there are too many students from aristocratic families and official backgrounds in the Academy.”
Daohua immediately understood the implication and her expression became anxious, “Have you been bullied?”
Wentao hastily said, “Don’t worry, we haven’t been bullied. The Academy has rules against fighting, at most we just have to swallow our pride.”
In order not to cause trouble for the family, they had to endure a lot in silence.
There was no helping it; students who were arrogant and domineering usually came from very good backgrounds — they were untouchable for us.
Daohua let out a sigh of relief.
At that moment, Yan Wenkai spoke up gloomily, “We’re still okay since we study martial arts. Martial artists have hot tempers, sure, but they’re straightforward — they don’t beat around the bush, and everything is out in the open.”
“It’s really tough for our eldest brother. People say scholars can be devious, and I didn’t believe it until now. Scholars do like to cause harm in the shadows.”
Daohua frowned, “Has our eldest brother been given a hard time too?” Not to boast, but her eldest brother was quite good-looking, gentle, and courteous — the sort of person who should be well-received anywhere.
Worried she would become anxious, Wentao quickly replied, “It’s not that he’s being given a hard time, it’s just that he’s a bit isolated by others.”
Yan Wenkai sighed, “We enrolled late and… our family background isn’t particularly distinguished. The people at the Academy pick on the new ones. You know how good our eldest brother is in his studies, so naturally, he has become the target of jealousy.”
“If it weren’t for Zhou Family’s eldest brother visiting ours a couple of times, our eldest brother wouldn’t even know the extent to which his classmates had ostracized him!”
Daohua felt heavy-hearted. She hadn’t expected the Academy to be like this. After hesitating for a while, she still asked, “Third Brother, Fourth Brother, haven’t you seen Xiao Yeyang in the Academy?”
Even if Xiao Yeyang did nothing, as long as people knew they were acquainted with him, surely no one in the Academy would dare to bully them recklessly.
Upon mentioning Xiao Yeyang, Wentao and Yan Wenkai fell silent once again.
After a while, Yan Wenkai said softly, “Big Sister, it was only after going to the Academy that I realized how distant our family is from the Little Prince!”
Wentao nodded in agreement.
“Did something happen?” Daohua quickly asked.
Yan Wenkai shook his head, “It’s nothing major, it’s just that once when we were on the street, we saw the Little Prince’s carriage. At that moment, Third Brother and I wanted to greet him, but we were nearly arrested by his sword-wielding bodyguards as troublemakers.”
If it hadn’t been for our eldest brother arriving in time and clarifying that we were students from Wangyue Academy, Third Brother and I might have ended up thrown directly into jail.
When the Little Prince had visited the Yan Family in the past, I didn’t feel much besides knowing we had to treat someone of his station carefully. There was no sense of awe.
But at that moment, with the gleaming swords at our throats, I truly understood the inviolability of royal family members.
Running afoul of the Little Prince would have meant that even if the bodyguards had killed us, nobody would have spoken a word in our defense.
Daohua listened with a pounding heart. Even though Yan Wenkai made light of it, she could imagine that the situation at that time must not have been optimistic, and she couldn’t help but ask, “Didn’t Xiao Yeyang recognize you?”
Wentao shook his head, “The Little Prince… probably didn’t even see us.”
He was surrounded by too many people, not only bodyguards but also all sorts of others eager to curry favor.
In fact, on the very day we arrived at the Academy, we saw the Little Prince. Unfortunately, we could not approach him. Apart from the students in his class, no one else was allowed near the Little Prince’s classroom.
Afterwards, we wanted to pay him a visit, but were directly stopped by the bodyguards, who said that without a calling card, they wouldn’t announce anyone.
Only after seeing the Little Prince’s grand entourage in the Academy did I understand why Zhou Family’s eldest brother said that the Little Prince had been truly amiable towards our family.
Indeed, the Little Prince had been quite approachable during his visit to the Yan Family.