Chapter 363: Chapter 341, The Restlessness of Adolescence_1
In the pavilion, watching Daohua eat litchis in small bites with lowered eyes, Xiao Yeyang felt completely content, “It seems you quite like these litchis. Next year, I’ll get you more. For now, just try these fresh ones.”
Daohua hastily said, “There’s no need to trouble yourself…”
“No trouble at all!” Xiao Yeyang cut in with a smile, “You don’t have to be so formal with me. Haven’t you said it yourself? We are friends; there’s no need to stand on ceremony.”
Daohua gave an embarrassed smile. That wasn’t what she meant, was it?
Xiao Yeyang had wanted to watch Daohua finish the litchis, but after only a few bites, the trusted aide beside his uncle came to find him, requesting him to mingle with the guests.
Daohua quickly swallowed the litchi in her mouth, “You better go attend to your duties. I should also return to the banquet; otherwise, my mother will worry.”
Xiao Yeyang fell silent for a moment before saying, seeing Daohua had already stood up, “If you’re not going to eat these litchis now, you should keep them on ice.”
Daohua nodded hurriedly, “I know.” With that, she put the litchis back into the food box.
Xiao Yeyang couldn’t detain her any longer, but he still asked, “Do you want me to have someone escort you back to the banquet?”
Daohua shook her head, “I can find my way; it’s not difficult. Alright, stop dawdling and go. Don’t keep Governor Guo and the guests waiting.”
Helpless, Xiao Yeyang could only leave the pavilion with De Fu. After walking some distance, he still looked back repeatedly.
Daohua stood in the pavilion watching. Once Xiao Yeyang turned the corner, she quickly sat back down on the stool and began fanning herself rapidly with her hand fan.
At this moment, her emotions were a bit of a mess.
Xiao Yeyang’s undisguised kindness towards her made her heart flutter.
“Could it be that guy really has feelings for me?”
Daohua muttered under her breath, and Wang Manman, standing behind her, thought she was speaking to her and immediately asked, “Miss, what did you say?”
Daohua, coming back to her senses and seeing Wang Manman looking at her, pondered for a bit before asking, “What do you think about Xiao Yeyang’s attitude towards me?”
Wang Manman smiled, “The Little Prince is naturally kind to you, Miss.”
Daohua asked again, “Is it too kind, perhaps?”
Wang Manman thought for a while, “He is kinder to you than to others, but that’s because you and the Little Prince have a closer relationship than others.”
Daohua fell into silence.
Indeed, Xiao Yeyang had always been nice to her. Anything tasty or fun he would think of her; it wasn’t just a recent thing.
Now, she felt uneasy because some of his actions had become too intimate.
Xiao Yeyang was sixteen this year. Could it be that he was in the throes of adolescence and, because he was familiar with her, and she was someone with whom he could joke around, his behavior towards her had become frivolous?
Thinking about it, Daohua felt quite uneasy.
“It looks like I’ll have to keep my distance from him in the future.”
She glanced at the food box on the table and gestured to Wang Manman to pick it up, “Let’s go. We’ll head back to the banquet.” Thinking it over, she added, “After I go back, you take the food box to the carriage. We don’t want outsiders to see it.”
The litchis were such a delicacy that Xiao Yeyang had received only one portion, which showed how rare they were. With so many people at the banquet, she didn’t want to cause any trouble.
After Daohua returned to the banquet, she offered a simple explanation to Madam Li and the others, then began to chat and laugh with Dong Yuanyao and a few others.
After the meal, everyone went to the courtyard to watch a play.
…
Front courtyard.
To show his closeness to Xiao Yeyang, Advisor Jiang coerced him into drinking quite a bit. Governor Guo, wanting to train his nephew’s capacity for alcohol, did not intervene.
After a session of heavy drinking, Xiao Yeyang felt his head heavy and feet light. He excused himself from the company of Governor Guo and returned to the courtyard leaning on the arm of Defu, intending to rest for a while.
“What happened to the master?”
Seeing Xiao Yeyang stagger as he walked, Rui Zhu immediately stepped forward to help support him.
Defu complained discontentedly, “It’s all because of Advisor Jiang insisting on toasting the master nonstop. Now look, the master is overindulged. Quick, let’s help him to the bed.”
Together, they assisted Xiao Yeyang onto the bed.
As soon as Xiao Yeyang lay down, he fell into a deep sleep.
Defu wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, “Thankfully our master falls asleep after drinking, unlike others who create a ruckus once intoxicated.”
Rui Zhu removed Xiao Yeyang’s shoes, then asked, “Shall I prepare some hot water for wiping down the master?”
Defu glanced at the blazing sun outside and nodded, “Of course, the master has been entertaining guests for so long, he must be uncomfortable. You go and boil the water, I will wipe him down in a bit.”
Rui Zhu quickly turned around and left, and in no time, she returned carrying a basin of hot water.
“Where’s Defu?”
Seeing that Defu was not in the room, Rui Zhu hesitated as she glanced at Xiao Yeyang lying on the bed.
Having been in Zhongzhou for so long, Defu had always been the one attending to the master intimately, while she could only do miscellaneous tasks, unable to get close to the master.
“Water?”
Just then, Xiao Yeyang rolled over and sat up with a look of discomfort.
Hearing this, Rui Zhu hurriedly brought him a cup of tea.
Xiao Yeyang took the tea and drank it all in one go, massaged his temples, and then lay down again.
Testing the waters, Rui Zhu asked, “Master, should I wipe down your body for you?”
Seeing that Xiao Yeyang did not respond, Rui Zhu bit her lip, turned around to take a cloth, soaked it in the hot water, and then walked to the bed to start wiping his face, hands, and feet.
In a drowsy state, Xiao Yeyang felt someone wiping his body, which was slightly relieved of the heat from the alcohol.
Even when he noticed that someone was undressing him, he cooperated.
Rui Zhu felt relieved seeing Xiao Yeyang’s compliance and grew bolder as she wiped. After finishing with his limbs, she quickly removed his top as well.
Looking at Xiao Yeyang’s robust body, Rui Zhu’s face blushed red. Recalling the words that the Empress Dowager had said to her before leaving Beijing, her ears slowly turned red.
During the subsequent wiping, Rui Zhu found her mind wandering, and her hands involuntarily touched Xiao Yeyang’s skin, especially while wiping his back. As she needed to turn him over, not paying attention, her entire body ended up pressed against him.
“Mmm~”
Xiao Yeyang frowned and moaned under his breath. With his head pounding from the drink, he only felt an unnamed heat surge within him, compelling him to grasp the coolness pressing against his body.
“Ah!”
Seeing her hand caught in the master’s grip, Rui Zhu felt both embarrassed and anxious.
“Yangyang is already sixteen this year. After you go there, you must serve him well and not let him be distracted by girls outside. From now on, you are to be his woman,” the Empress Dowager had said to her.
Thinking of the Empress Dowager’s words, Rui Zhu boldly placed her hand on Xiao Yeyang’s chest.
Watching the master rub her hand, Rui Zhu’s heart raced, and her actions became even bolder, starting to wander over his body.
“This is the end; I can’t be so indiscreet!”
As Xiao Yeyang was immersed in the pleasant coolness, Daohua’s reproachful voice suddenly echoed in his mind, and with a jolt, he abruptly sat up.