Chapter 228: Chapter 210, Cunning and Clever_1
Feeling the silence around them, Daohua and Zhou Jingwan’s voices grew smaller and smaller, and their cheeks slowly flushed with redness.
Had they praised too much?
The two young ladies looked at each other, both unsure whether to continue speaking or not.
By now, the ladies and misses from various families should, perhaps, probably have remembered their brothers, right?
Daohua glanced at Dong Yuanyao beside her and thought that since it was the Dong Family’s pleasure boat, it wouldn’t be good for the Yan Family and Zhou Family to overshadow the Dong Family. So, with a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth, she turned to Dong Yuanyao and said with a smile,
“Brother Dong is also very good. Today when Sister Dong was riding, he was on horseback the whole time right behind her, afraid that she would get hurt. His gallant figure on horseback was simply peerless.”
Dong Yuanyao, seeing Daohua shifting the conversation towards her, looked somewhat reluctant.
She definitely didn’t have the shamelessness of Yan Yiyi and Zhou Jingwan, who praised their brothers so much they nearly flew to the heavens.
However, considering her mother had been harping on matchmaking for her brother, Dong Yuanyao still decided to swallow her pride and said with some difficulty, “My big brother isn’t that special, except that he is somewhat good at both literary and military skills, somewhat well-learned, somewhat honest and reliable, somewhat excelling in both character and study, somewhat composed and restrained, somewhat elegant and graceful. Apart from that, there isn’t anything else good.”
This time, it was Daohua and Zhou Jingwan who were left stunned.
What the heck, at least they had mentioned some faults of their brothers, but Dong Yuanyao just went all out with praises. Wasn’t she afraid of biting her tongue?
Assessment complete, she was even less shameless than them.
“Pfft~”
On the other side of the folding screen, when Dong Yuanyao began to speak, Dong Jiancheng, who had been watching the drama unfold, directly spat out the tea he had just sipped.
Yan Zhigao and Lord Zhou exchanged a smile, somewhat schadenfreude.
Alright, now none of the three of them could make fun of each other.
Following Yan Wenxiu and Zhou Chengye, Dong Yuanxuan wished he could just find a hole to crawl into.
While they felt ashamed, Su Hongxin was looking at his sister Su Shiyu with anticipation.
Since the sisters of Dong Yuanxuan, Yan Wenxiu, and Zhou Chengye praised their brothers as being unparalleled under the heavens, with his sister being so knowledgeable and talented, she could surely praise him to be even more handsome, carefree, and graceful, right?
However, he was disappointed.
When his sister saw his expectant look, she lowered her head instead.
Across from him, Su Shiyu looked embarrassed. She felt she had let her brother down. She couldn’t do it like Yuanyao and the others; she just couldn’t muster that level of shamelessness.
Brother, I’m sorry, I just can’t!
“Hahaha~”
“Hahaha~”
After a brief silence, the cabin erupted into gales of laughter.
Some Madams laughed so hard they bent forward and backward, unable to close their mouths, while even the misses, foregoing their composure, leaned on each other, laughing so hard that their upper bodies shook uncontrollably.
With this, the families truly remembered Yan Wenxiu and Zhou Chengye.
It couldn’t be helped; every sentence spoken by Daohua and Zhou Jingwan involved the two of them, it was impossible not to remember them.
On the other side of the folding screen, the men were also laughing, congratulating Yan Zhigao and Lord Zhou for having such good sons.
Though it was the playful banter of young ladies, through their words, one could glimpse the character and talent of Yan Wenxiu and Zhou Chengye.
The two young men were indeed quite remarkable.
Some families with daughters of the right age even seriously started considering plans for matchmaking.
Indeed, the Zhou Family was good in all aspects, but the foundation and heritage of the Yan Family seemed a bit lacking.
…
Dong Yuanxuan and the others, too embarrassed to stay any longer, made excuses about it getting late and needing to return to the Academy, and fled the pleasure boat as if they had their tails on fire.
Here, Lord Zhou and Yan Zhigao also bid farewell to Dong Jiancheng, left with Madam Zhou and a head-lowered Daohua and Zhou Jingwan who dared not meet anyone’s gaze.
Afterward, the other guests also left one after another.
Once everyone had gone, Madam Dong could no longer hold back and laughed as she said, “That girl from the Yan Family and the girl from the Zhou Family are just too adorable. How come they are so shrewd?”
Dong Yuanyao pouted and said, “The truly shrewd one is Yan Yiyi; Jingwan is just following her lead.”
Dong Jiancheng laughed as he came over and said, “Though shrewd, they can’t hide their cleverness and wit.”
By now, the ladies and young misses of various families had a certain understanding of Yan Wenxiu and Zhou Chengye. They all had an idea in their hearts regarding whether the two were suitable for their daughters.
Madam Dong nodded and said, “Indeed, those two girls are good, it’s impressive that they at such a young age know to support their older brothers.”
Dong Yuanyao said, “Mother, I also praised my brother.”
Madam Dong gave her daughter a glance, “Your praises were too general. To praise someone, you should be like those two girls, being specific. Only then can one get a clear understanding of a person.”
…
On the Zhou Family’s pleasure boat.
Madam Zhou, all smiles, pulled Daohua to sit beside her.
Daohua was uncomfortable with such enthusiasm and timidly asked, “Auntie, did I do something wrong?”
Madam Zhou shook her head with a smile and affectionately stroked the nape of Daohua’s neck, “You’ve done nothing wrong. You’ve been a great help to your auntie.”
Among the guests on the Dong Family’s pleasure boat was the girl her eldest son had taken a liking to.
That family’s attitude towards them was somewhat ambiguous before, but after the incident with her daughter and Daohua, when they disembarked, the girl’s mother pulled her aside for a long talk. The subtext was that they wanted the two families to get to know each other and come into further contact.
Frankly speaking, for a family like theirs in Zhongzhou Province, there weren’t many girls beyond reach, but as it concerned the lifelong matter of their eldest son, as parents, they wanted him to find a like-minded girl.
So, they inevitably became a bit picky.
But even so, it wasn’t certain they could pick someone the eldest son liked and who was suitable.
The girl was someone she had observed for a long time; whether in terms of family background, physical appearance, or personality and character, she was very compatible with the eldest son. If they missed out on her, she would indeed have regrets.
Zhou Jingwan saw Daohua’s discomfort and immediately rescued her from her mother’s grasp, “Mother, Daohua and I are going to see our horses.”
Madam Zhou did not stop them but cautioned, “Be careful, alright?”
…
When Yan Zhigao brought Daohua back to the Yan Residence, it was already a quarter past the hour of the Dog (7:00 PM – 9:00 PM).
Father and daughter had both enjoyed themselves today and returned home with smiles on their faces.
“Father, I’ll take the horse over to the stable first.”
Yan Zhigao glanced at the Ferghana horse in his eldest daughter’s hand and nodded, “Go and come back quickly, your grandmother and mother must be worrying about you.”
Daohua nodded: “Yes, I’ll be there soon.”
By the time Daohua arrived at Songhe Courtyard, Yan Zhigao had already told everyone how Daohua had been promoting Yan Wenxiu in front of the ladies from other families, eliciting hearty laughter from everyone.
As she entered the room, Madam Li scolded with a laugh, “You girl, your mother here isn’t even worrying yet, but you’ve already taken it upon yourself to worry about your brother.”
Daohua sat beside Old Madam Yan, “Mother, I only mentioned it briefly; my brother’s marriage still needs to be decided by you and father.”
Sun Family’s expression shifted, and she glanced at her son Yan Wenjie, “In a blink of an eye, Wenxiu is almost of age to talk about marriage; time really flies.”
Madam Li also felt a bit sentimental, “Indeed, in the blink of an eye, Wenxiu is already sixteen.”
Sun Family laughed and said, “Wenjie is just a few months younger than Wenxiu, not long before he also turns sixteen. Daohua can’t just care for her eldest brother; she has to think of her second brother too.”
Madam Li’s smile faded slightly, and she did not respond.
As for Daohua, she wasn’t listening at all; she was quietly talking to the old lady about today’s events.
Afterward, Sun Family tried to steer the conversation towards Daohua several times, only to be intercepted by Madam Li.