Chapter 341: Chapter 319, Meeting_1
“Having a spat with Xiao again?”
In the cabin, Old Madam Yan glanced at her granddaughter who had just walked in and then at Xiao Yeyang, who was still standing by the window, vigorously fanning himself.
Daohua sat down at the round table and poured herself a cup of tea, “Grandmother is joking. How could I possibly have a spat with him?” She said, glancing at Xiao Yeyang and raising her voice a bit, “We’re getting along just fine!”
Old Madam Yan was somewhat speechless and shot her granddaughter a glare before picking up a comic book to read.
After taking a sip of hot tea and seeing Xiao Yeyang still standing by the window, Daohua thought for a moment and then, holding her teacup, asked, “Xiao Yeyang, do you want to come over and have some tea?”
Xiao Yeyang, who had been free of trouble for a while, heard Daohua’s voice, timely put away his folding fan, and sauntered over, settling into the seat closest to Daohua.
When Daohua saw him come over, she put down her teacup, about to pour him some tea, but then she saw Xiao Yeyang reach out and take her teacup away, tilting his head back and downing it in one gulp.
“Pour me some more; I’m actually quite thirsty!”
Xiao Yeyang set down the empty teacup on the table, signaling Daohua to fill it up.
Daohua stared at him with wide eyes and didn’t move.
Xiao Yeyang: “…What are you doing? Didn’t you invite me over to have tea?”
Daohua rolled her eyes and placed the empty teacup in front of herself, “This tea was mine; you drank mine.”
Xiao Yeyang was stunned for a moment, quickly glanced at Old Madam Yan to see if she was paying attention to them, and then said in a low voice, “Come on, it’s just a cup of tea that I drank. Just pour another.”
Daohua, clutching the teapot, didn’t move and frowned at Xiao Yeyang.
At this moment, she felt a bit troubled inside. Last time, it was the custard soup; this time, it’s tea. Xiao Yeyang’s actions were a bit too intimate.
Could this guy be interested in her?
Thinking of this, Daohua was taken aback. The youth of ancient times matured early; could it be that this guy was actually harboring a secret crush on her?
“Do you like me or what?”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yeyang, who was in the midst of figuring out how to bluff his way through, was stunned.
“Hey!”
Seeing Xiao Yeyang as if shocked by her question, Daohua hurriedly waved her hand in front of her eyes.
Xiao Yeyang snapped back to reality, noticed Daohua staring straight at him, and blurted out without thinking, “What nonsense are you spouting? Yan Yiyi, I find you to be very self-absorbed.”
Seeing Xiao Yeyang’s emotional and avid denial, Daohua felt awkward: “If it’s not the case, then fine, why react like that?”
Xiao Yeyang also felt he had overreacted somewhat. Seeing Old Madam Yan looking over, he quickly controlled his emotions, lowered his voice, and muttered grumpily, “Don’t flatter yourself.”
Daohua pouted, “Am I that bad? Your reaction is quite embarrassing for me.”
Xiao Yeyang paused, just about to say something when he heard Daohua mutter, “Forget it, I must have misunderstood. I probably scared you, right?”
“But you can’t blame me. It’s because of your reckless behavior that I got the wrong idea.”
“We’re close, so I just asked you directly. If you were like this with other girls, they’d definitely think you were interested in them, and they wouldn’t ask you openly like I did. Thus, a misunderstanding is born.”
“So, you see, you need to be careful about your behavior in the future to avoid misunderstandings.”
Xiao Yeyang glanced at Daohua and muttered, “I wouldn’t act like this with other girls.” Then, raising his voice, he added, “I thought, given our relationship, having a cup of tea from you wouldn’t be a big deal.”
“Who knew you’d make such a big fuss about it. Could it be that when you said you and I are friends, it was just a pretext to set me up? Aren’t friends supposed to be close and intimate?”
Daohua was taken aback. “…Friends should be close, but after all, men and women are different. There are things we still need to be mindful of. So, you can’t drink my tea again in the future; if you do, I’ll have none left.”
Listening to her, Xiao Yeyang, who thought his affections had been discovered, was momentarily speechless. He looked at Daohua, huffed heavily, took the teapot, filled up the empty cup, and then placed it in front of Daohua: “There, I’ve refilled it for you.”
After saying that, he took a new cup from the tea tray for himself, drank it all down in one gulp, and feeling it was not enough, poured himself another.
Watching him drink three cups before stopping, Daohua pursed her lips in embarrassment. She must have really misunderstood; the guy probably was just thirsty, which was why he hastily drank her cup of tea.
Ah, how embarrassing.
She would have to be more mindful of what she said in the future. Ancient people were subtle and modest. Luckily, it was Xiao Yeyang this time; if it had been someone else, they might think she was an unruly and ill-bred tomboy.
Seeing Daohua still focusing on him, Xiao Yeyang quickly changed the subject, asking, “The Dragon Boat Festival is coming up soon. What are your plans?”
Hearing this, Daohua was startled at first, but then cast aside the previous topic and started pondering, “It should be the same as previous years, I guess. Everyone will get together for a meal. Nothing special.”
Xiao Yeyang pondered for a moment, then asked, “During the Dragon Boat Festival, there’s going to be a dragon boat race at Wangyangkou in the provincial capital. Do you want to go watch?”
Daohua’s eyes lit up, and she nodded eagerly, “I’ve never seen a dragon boat race before.”
Xiao Yeyang smiled, “In that case, I’ll have Defu book a spot. When the time comes, I and a few of your brothers will come to pick you up.”
Daohua: “No need; I can go by myself.”
Xiao Yeyang glanced at her, “Are you sure your family would allow you to go out alone?”
Daohua fell silent, “Then you should come pick me up. Be early, okay? That way, I can also go shopping with Yuanyao and the others.”
Xiao Yeyang promised with a smile and picked up his teacup to take another sip. Seeing Daohua looking at him, he immediately offered his teacup to her, “Do you want to drink from my cup?”
Daohua ‘hmphed’, “Who wants your drink!” As she said this, she picked up the teacup in front of her and began to drink.
Seeing her drink, Xiao Yeyang could not help but grin at the corners of his mouth.
To the side, Defu and Wang Manman were first stunned by the two’s actions and then beyond words.
Especially Wang Manman, she thought her young lady had turned foolish. She wanted to go over to remind her that she and the Little Prince were sharing a teacup, but Defu pulled her out of the cabin.
“Miss Manman, I need to talk to you about something. Let’s step outside.”
Defu cast a glance at his master who was drinking tea across from Miss Yan and thought to himself, Master, this is as far as your servant can help you.
After some time, they arrived at the dock outside Ningmen Prefecture.
“Xiao Yeyang, would you like to come to my place for a visit?” Daohua looked at Xiao Yeyang, “My family has moved to Ningmen Prefecture City, and you seem to haven’t visited yet.”
Old Lady Yan also invited him with a smile, “Yes, if you’re not busy, please come and sit at our home.”
Xiao Yeyang thanked her with a smile, “Thank you, Old Madam, but I’ll have to pass this time. Maybe next time, when the Academy is on break, I’ll come visit with Wenkai and the others.”
Old Lady Yan nodded, “Alright then, be careful on your own.”
After that, Daohua helped Old Lady Yan off the boat. After they got into the carriage, seeing that Xiao Yeyang was still standing on the deck, she lifted the carriage curtain and waved to him, signaling that he could leave.
On the deck, watching Daohua look back and wave at him, Xiao Yeyang smiled silently until the Yan family’s carriage was out of sight. He still did not order the boat to leave.
Seeing his master staring intently in the direction where the Yan family’s carriage had disappeared, Defu couldn’t help but step forward and ask, “Master, shall we set sail?”
Xiao Yeyang came to his senses and nodded.
The boat slowly set off, with Ningmen Prefecture dock growing more distant, but Xiao Yeyang was still watching that side.
Maybe it was because he had spent over a month together with Daohua, but this time, he found it particularly hard to part with her. Just a moment ago, he even felt an impulse to disembark and chase after her.
This feeling of yearning made him a bit anxious and also a little at a loss.
Seeing his master appear different than usual, Defu didn’t know what to think.
Clearly, his master truly cared for Miss Yan.
In the past, whenever his master parted from Miss Yan, he always turned away with an air of nonchalance. But this time, the evident reluctance on his face was plain for anyone to see.
To be honest, he quite liked Miss Yan himself. If his master could be with her, he would be happy for them.
Unfortunately, Miss Yan’s family background was too humble.
His master’s wife would certainly need to come from a lineage that could match the status of a Prince Residence, and there’s no way the Emperor or the Empress Dowager in the palace could point to Miss Yan for that role.
As for becoming a concubine…
Ha, with Miss Yan’s temperament, if the master dare propose such a thing, she would definitely throw him out on his ear.
Defu glanced at his own master and seeing his melancholic expression, he thought for a moment and then laughingly said, “I haven’t seen her for several years now, I wonder if cousin Jiang has changed?”
Xiao Yeyang wanted to shift his focus, and hearing Defu bring up his cousin, he followed the conversation naturally, “She must have changed; at least she should’ve grown taller.”
With that, his brows furrowed.
“Why would my second uncle leave Beijing, where he was perfectly settled, to take up a post in Zhongzhou?”
Defu’s expression paused and he quickly shot a glance at his master.
Seeing his master deep in thought, he knew that he hadn’t considered anything about his own marital matters.
Why would second uncle Jiang come to Zhongzhou?
Of course, it was because of the master.
Cousin Jiang was a year younger than his master, and since childhood, she had played with him in the Taihou Palace. Calling them childhood friends wouldn’t be too far fetched. She had reached marriageable age this year and should be engaged by now.
Xiao Yeyang was no longer thinking about the Jiang family; to him, besides his cousin Wanqing who he was more familiar with, he rarely saw the others except during festivals, so he couldn’t say they were particularly close. Their presence in Zhongzhou would just mean the usual pleasantries.
“Daohua said she’s never seen the Dragon Boat Race. Make sure the spot you book is in the front with a clear view, understood?”
Defu nodded with a wry smile.
The subject shift was a failure, as it ended up back on Miss Yan.