Chapter 378: Chapter 356: Unaccustomed_1
“You finally decided to come back?” Madam Li glanced sideways at her daughter, huffing, “I thought Miss Yan was planning to take root in Taohua Village.”
Daohua stood obediently still, letting Madam Li scold her. After her mother finished, she approached cheerfully and shook Madam Li’s arm, “Mother~, I had wanted to come back earlier, but then Xiao Yeyang decided to set up a Glass Factory.”
Madam Li looked at her, “What does the Little Prince’s Glass Factory have to do with you?”
Daohua glanced at everyone in the room, and seeing only Ping Tong and Ping Xiao, she whispered with a laugh, “Xiao Yeyang said that he would give fifty percent of the future profits from the Glass Factory to me and my three brothers. I would get twenty percent, and each of them would get ten percent.”
“What?!” Madam Li’s face showed shock.
Ever since her husband mentioned the Glass Factory last time, recently, she had been paying attention to the news regarding it. Although the production of glass had not started, given the current market price of glass, she could already foresee how profitable the Glass Factory would be.
Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many people eyeing it.
Fifty percent of the profit—how much silver would that be?
“Taking so much, won’t it seem like you are taking too much advantage of the Little Prince? Over the years, the Little Prince might not have helped our family openly, but we have indeed basked in his glory. The formula for the glass may have been provided by you, but it was his effort that made it happen. You must not take advantage of your relationship with him and exploit him.”
Daohua protested, “Mother, what are you talking about? Am I the type to take advantage of others? The fifty percent profit was offered by Xiao Yeyang himself; if I don’t accept it, he would be upset with me.”
“Besides, I haven’t taken it for nothing. Apart from the formula, I’ve also been helping him build the Glass Factory during this time. Although it’s just been giving verbal advice, I feel I have put in effort.”
Madam Li glanced at her daughter, stating flatly, “So during this time, you’ve been staying with the Little Prince at Taohua Temple?”
Daohua faltered, seeing the displeasure in Madam Li’s face, she lowered her head, not daring to meet her mother’s eyes.
Madam Li sighed, “You are about to turn thirteen and are already a young lady. When you were little, it was fine to be frequently in contact with the Little Prince, but now that you’ve grown up, if you continue like this and someone with intentions catches wind of it, they might fabricate all sorts of rumors, and that would ruin your reputation.”
“For us women, a tarnished reputation could affect us for a lifetime. If your good name is sullied, you’ll find it difficult to marry into a good family.”
At the mention of marriage, Daohua instinctively felt a surge of aversion and whispered softly, “Mother, I understand. I’ll be more careful in the future.”
Not wanting to continue discussing this topic with Madam Li, Daohua quickly changed the subject, “Mother, when is big brother planning to start his journey back home?”
Madam Li glared at Daohua but didn’t persist, and followed Daohua’s lead, “In a few more days.”
Daohua: “…Is it necessary to go back so soon?”
Madam Li shook her head, “No, it’s not too early. It will take at least ten days on the road, and after returning home and resting for a couple of days, the period for the imperial examination will be upon us.”
Daohua nodded, “Then I’ll prepare some snacks for big brother for the road.”
Madam Li smiled, “That would be nice. Your big brother also likes the pastries you make.”
…
The day before Yan Wenxiu left, Yan Wenkai and Yan Wentao returned from the army camp, followed by Xiao Yeyang, Dong Yuanxuan, and Su Hongxin. Zhou Chengye had come too, but he arrived with Wu Hongda from Wangyue Academy.
The arrival of Xiao Yeyang and the others pleased Madam Li, but at the same time, she was worried.
Her daughter was lively and straightforward and got along very well with the group, but as she got older, Madam Li was concerned about two things. One was that too much interaction with men could damage her reputation, and secondly, she was worried that spending too much time together might lead to her daughter developing other kinds of feelings.
Although the Yan Family’s situation is improving, there is still a large gap between their status and that of the Dong Family or the Su Family, not to mention the Little Prince, who is of imperial lineage.
If the daughter were to develop feelings for any one of the three men, it would only be she who ends up getting hurt in the end.
However, what surprised her was that this time, the Little Prince, who usually flocked to her daughter’s side upon arrival, conversed politely and according to etiquette with Yan Wenxiu and the others. Apart from greeting the daughter in the old lady’s room, at other times, he followed all proper manners and rituals.
This somewhat eased her worries.
Xiao Yeyang’s behavior not only surprised Madam Li, but Dong Yuanxuan and the others found it unexpected as well. They couldn’t help but glance at Daohua, wondering if there had been another conflict with Sister Yan?
However, the two hadn’t been seen together recently!
Daohua was also a bit unaccustomed, for normally when visiting her home, Xiao Yeyang would have exchanged a few words with her, yet this time, he merely asked after her well-being and then there was nothing more.
After dinner, looking at Xiao Yeyang who went straight to the guest quarter with Dong Yuanxuan and the others, without giving her a single glance, Daohua frowned slightly and muttered softly, “What exactly is he up to?”
When one becomes used to another’s attentiveness, and suddenly that person becomes distant, it’s inevitable to feel discomfort.
At this moment, Daohua was experiencing such feelings.
Since Yan Wenxiu would be returning to his hometown the next day, the Yan Family gathered after dinner to chat for a while in the old lady’s room.
While the old Lady Yan and the others were taking turns reminding Yan Wenxiu, seated at the lower end, Yan Wenkai and Yan Wentao began to whisper amongst themselves, with Daohua silently listening beside them.
Yan Wenkai, while cracking sunflower seeds, said, “Third brother, have you noticed that the Little Prince has become a lot more profound these days?”
Yan Wentao nodded, “Of course, I’ve noticed. I think he must be annoyed by those targeting the Glass Factory. Just think about how many people have traveled to Ningmen Pass to find the Little Prince?”
Yan Wenkai, somewhat irritated, said, “Those people really are too much. Hasn’t Beijing also established a Glass Factory? Why don’t they fixate on that one?”
Yan Wentao calmly said, “I’ve heard that the Emperor himself is overseeing the Beijing Glass Factory; who dares to meddle? Those people simply think that because the Little Prince is young and inexperienced, they can come and have a hand in it.”
“They don’t consider that the Little Prince even refused Governor Guo’s assistance; how could he possibly let others come and interfere?”
Yan Wenkai lowered his voice, “I heard that someone has sneaked into the Glass Factory. I’m not sure whether they wanted to steal the formulas or something else?”
Hearing this, Daohua was startled, “Really? Such a thing happened?”
Yan Wentao nodded, “But they did not succeed. The Little Prince was well-prepared, and those people were caught.”
Yan Wenkai clicked his tongue twice, “If it weren’t for this incident, I wouldn’t have known that the Little Prince’s methods were so sharp and decisive. I heard that there were even people from the Jiang Family involved.”
Daohua quickly asked, “What did he do?”
Yan Wentao glared at Yan Wenkai, “Nothing!”
Yan Wenkai gave an embarrassed smile, knowing that matters of fighting and killing were not topics to discuss with his sister. He promptly changed the subject, “Eldest sister, have you had another disagreement with the Little Prince?”
Daohua glanced at the two, not pressing on the previous matter, and spoke coolly, “What disagreement? I haven’t even seen him, so how could I have a quarrel?”