Chapter 318: Chapter 298, Apology_1
“Little Prince, how did you end up following us here?”
As the two boats approached each other, Yan Wenkai called out in a loud voice across the water to Xiao Yeyang.
Xiao Yeyang glared at Yan Wentao with a stifled anger and retorted, “What do you mean following you? I’m on my way to Ningmen Pass, where my uncle is stationed. It just so happens to be on the same route as you!”
“Oh~”
Dragging out the word, Yan Wenkai then spoke to Daohua next to him with feigned regret, “I thought the Little Prince came to apologize to my sister. After all, making her lose face in front of so many people was really inappropriate. But it turns out, I was mistaken.”
Seeing her elder brother making faces, Daohua found it amusing and couldn’t help but smile, yet she immediately suppressed it and said with a pout, “Apologize? Fourth Brother, what good things are you imagining!”
“Some people pride themselves on their noble status and might even think it’s an honor for others when they snub them.”
Yan Wenkai disagreed, “What kind of honor is that? A girl’s reputation and face are more important than anything. Let whoever wants such a dubious honor take it—we certainly don’t need it in our family.”
Daohua quietly gave Yan Wenkai a thumbs-up.
On the side, Yan Wenxiu and Wentao looked helplessly at their brother and sister teaming up to tease the Little Prince across the water.
Meanwhile, Xiao Yeyang’s face had turned shades of green.
Defu, standing behind, looked at Yan Wenkai with some sympathy.
Fourth Master Yan is enjoying himself now, but when the Master can’t take out his frustration on Miss Yan, who else is going to bear the brunt but him?
Definitely not one known for his wisdom!
Seeing that the Little Prince’s gaze was becoming increasingly dangerous towards their foolish brother, Yan Wenxiu let out a sigh, deciding to intervene and save his simple-minded sibling. After all, he had only one full brother, who wasn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. If he took another beating, he might well end up a bona fide fool.
“Little Prince, our eldest sister has prepared some tea and snacks, which are quite good. Would you care to join us for a taste?”
Xiao Yeyang looked at Daohua, who was tilting her head away, ignoring him, which made him feel even more sullen.
Seeing his master being stubborn again, Defu hurriedly said, “Master, it’s still several hours’ journey to Ningmen Pass. If you join Miss Yan and Lord Yan, the journey won’t be so boring.”
Now that Lord Yan had already extended an olive branch, it was best for the master to take it swiftly.
If he has already swallowed his pride to come this far, why not go all the way?
“Ahem~”
Xiao Yeyang cleared his throat, feeling somewhat awkward and embarrassed, “I am a bit parched. Since you have some tea and snacks over there, I might as well come over and sit for a bit.”
Shortly after, Xiao Yeyang, accompanied by Defu, arrived on the Yan Family’s boat.
Yan Wentxiu greeted Xiao Yeyang with a smile and brought him into the cabin, serving him a freshly brewed cup of tea.
Xiao Yeyang sipped his tea absently, occasionally glancing up on deck, wondering whether or not to go out there.
If he went out, he would surely have to apologize.
But doing so, wouldn’t it be too damaging to his pride?
If it were only him and Daohua alone, that would be fine, but in front of the three Yan brothers…
Suddenly, Xiao Yeyang found the presence of the three Yan brothers exceedingly annoying, especially Yan Wenkai, who had just been instigating Daohua to mock him.
Hmph, as if he would let him gloat for long. After he’d made things right with Daohua, he’d settle the score with him later.
Xiao Yeyang sneered inwardly at the Yan brothers sitting next to him, sipping tea, thinking to himself how clueless they were.
Defu knew his master all too well. With just one look, he could tell what he was thinking and smiled as he approached Yan Wentxiu, “Lord Yan must have already started his new position, right?”
Yan Wentxiu nodded.
Continuing with a smile, Defu said, “Speaking of Ningmen Prefecture, I do know a thing or two about it. Our Governor is stationed at Ningmen Pass, which is under the prefecture’s jurisdiction. Speaking of Ningmen Pass, it’s a famously important strategic point, known for its treacherous terrain…”
With Defu’s narrative ongoing, the three Yan brothers’ attention was drawn away.
Seizing the moment, Xiao Yeyang breathed a sigh of relief and quickly headed towards the deck.
Seeing Xiao Yeyang come out, Wang Manman and Guyu very tactfully retreated to the side.
Daohua glanced at him, ignoring him, idly playing with the handkerchief in her hand with an unfocused attention.
Xiao Yeyang hesitated and then walked over to Daohua.
When he approached, Daohua immediately stepped back several paces.
Seeing this, Xiao Yeyang sighed internally and inched closer once again.
Daohua retreated again.
After several times like this, with no place left to retreat, Daohua huffily glared at Xiao Yeyang, “What are you doing? The deck is so spacious, do you have to crowd right next to me?”
Xiao Yeyang quickly glanced at the cabin, and seeing that Yan Wenxiu and the others weren’t looking their way, he immediately bent and bowed to Daohua, “I was wrong.”
Seeing him like this, Daohua couldn’t help but let a smile slip through, one she couldn’t suppress.
Wang Manman and Guyu saw this and also covered their mouths, snickering.
Xiao Yeyang looked up at Daohua’s face, saw her smile, and finally breathed a sigh of relief. Hearing the noise from the cabin, he quickly straightened up.
“Pfft~”
Watching Xiao Yeyang pretend as if nothing was wrong, affecting an air of calm, Daohua couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing, “Tell me, what did you do wrong?”
Yes, what had he done wrong?
He didn’t know!
It was her who had misspoken, suspecting him of having concubines—that’s why he was so angry.
Xiao Yeyang looked at Daohua, his face a mixture of innocence and confusion.
Daohua’s smile faded, “Didn’t you reflect on what you did wrong after going back?”
Seeing her show signs of anger again, Xiao Yeyang’s mind raced, blurting out, “Making you angry was my mistake.”
Although it wasn’t what he truly felt, hearing this, Daohua still couldn’t help but smile again, holding up two fingers, she huffed, “Xiao Yeyang, this is the second time you’ve turned your back on me and left in public.”
Xiao Yeyang: “Uh…”
Daohua pursed her lips, “Do you not realize that because of your status, wherever you appear, everyone will pay attention to you? When you show your temper to me, what do you think others will think of me?”
“No matter the reason for our dispute, others won’t blame you, but they will suspect, mock, and make fun of me. And there are always those who take delight in gossip, who knows what kind of malicious rumors they could spread to harm me.”
“If you keep on like this, I won’t dare to associate with you anymore!”
Xiao Yeyang’s face showed urgency, “I didn’t think that far ahead, I definitely won’t do this again.” After speaking, he paused, glanced at Daohua, and muttered, “If you didn’t make up those confusing accusations, I wouldn’t have gotten angry.”
Daohua looked puzzled, “How did I arbitrarily accuse you?”
“You said I have…” Xiao Yeyang looked slightly uncomfortable, muttering, “I don’t have concubines.”
Daohua was speechless, “If you don’t have them, then you don’t. Can’t you just say that? Why get angry?”
Xiao Yeyang was taken aback, his expression freezing.
Yes, why indeed was he angry?
Seeing him like that, Daohua shook her head helplessly, “Xiao Yeyang, we’re friends, right?”
Xiao Yeyang pursed his lips and nodded.
Daohua, “Friends are equals. You must be open to different opinions and not just get angry and walk away because my thoughts and concepts are not the same as yours.”
“I…”
Xiao Yeyang was a bit at a loss for words, he wanted to say he got angry because she doubted him and didn’t trust him, but somehow it felt strange to say it out loud, so he simply shut his mouth and said no more.
Forget it. Although Yan Wenkai isn’t the sharpest, he did say something that made sense: women should be indulged. Who cares about the reasons? Could he really be so petty as to argue with them?