Chapter 410: Chapter 386, Dodge_1
The day after the Mid-Autumn Festival, Xiao Yeyang and Yan Wenkai were ready to return to the military camp.
Xiao Yeyang had hoped to take the opportunity of paying respects to Grandmother Yan to see Daohua again, but to his surprise, the other three young ladies of the Yan Family had all arrived, yet he hadn’t seen that person come over.
Therefore, Xiao Yeyang could only leave with a heart full of disappointment, following Yan Wenkai and the others.
Daohua Pavilion.
Dong Yuanyao and Su Shiyu sat on the couch, watching Daohua leisurely combing her hair, both somewhat speechless.
“Hurry up a bit, if it gets any later, it will be time for Grandmother’s meal,” Dong Yuanyao couldn’t help but remind her.
Daohua did not speed up, still applying her makeup at an unhurried pace: “My grandmother is very kind, even if we arrive late, she won’t say anything.”
Su Shiyu said, “It’s one thing for Grandmother not to blame us, but it’s another to be late for our respects. We shouldn’t neglect proper manners simply because Grandmother is benevolent.”
Daohua nodded in agreement: “Sister Su is absolutely right, I will definitely go to pay respects on time in the future.” She said this, but her movements didn’t speed up at all.
Seeing this, Dong Yuanyao and Su Shiyu exchanged a resigned look.
Dong Yuanyao walked over to the dressing table, intending to urge Daohua to hurry up, but unexpectedly noticed that Daohua didn’t look very spirited today and expressed her surprise: “Why are there dark circles under your eyes, did you not sleep well last night?”
Daohua nodded haphazardly: “Last night, the moonlight was so beautiful, I didn’t realize it and went to sleep late.”
Dong Yuanyao showed disbelief; if it were Su Shiyu who stayed up late because of the moonlight, she would believe it, but Daohua, who didn’t have the sentimentality for moonlit musings at all.
Daohua stood up: “All right, all right, I’m done. Let’s go pay respects to my grandmother,” she said, pulling the two of them out of the courtyard.
On the way, Daohua walked very slowly, either stopping Dong Yuanyao and the others to admire flowers or deliberately slowing her pace. After all the fuss, by the time the three arrived at Songhe Courtyard, Grandmother Yan had already finished breakfast with Yan Yihuan and the others.
“Why are you so late today? Your third and fourth brothers have already left!”
Grandmother Yan, seeing Daohua and the others arrive, promptly instructed the maids to set the meal again.
Daohua sat down with a smile: “It doesn’t matter if they’ve left, we’ll just see them the next time they come back.”
Grandmother Yan shook her head: “It’s not a big deal when it’s just your brothers, but Xiao and the others also left today, they should have come to see you off.”
Upon hearing this, Dong Yuanyao and Su Shiyu quickly exchanged a glance.
Had Yiyi deliberately come this late to avoid the Little Prince?
Daohua saw the gossiping looks on their faces and was somewhat speechless, reminding them aloud: “Both of you remember to watch your demeanor, you’re noble ladies, don’t show a look of gossiping like commoners excited by a stir.”
Dong Yuanyao immediately retorted with a laugh: “But we need some gossip to watch, have you provided us with any?”
Daohua rubbed her hands together: “Dong Yuanyao, are you itching for a beating? Shall I loosen you up a bit?”
Grandmother Yan quickly intervened, “Early in the morning, just eat your food nicely.”
Dong Yuanyao gave Daohua a smug smile and as soon as Grandmother Yan looked over, she immediately bowed her head to eat her breakfast obediently.
Seeing her like this, Grandmother Yan shook her head with a laugh.
While they were halfway through the meal, Su Shiyu spoke up: “Grandmother, Yiyi, we’ve been out for quite a few days, it’s time for us to go back.”
Daohua looked up: “Won’t you stay a few more days?”
Dong Yuanyao shook her head: “No, before I left, my great-grandmother and mother commanded me to return right after the Mid-Autumn Festival, otherwise, I won’t be allowed to go out next time.”
Su Shiyu also nodded, indicating her family had the same requirement for her.
Seeing that both had said as much, Daohua didn’t insist further: “After breakfast, I will talk to my mother and have her prepare a boat for your return.”
Su Shiyu smiled: “There’s no need, my family has properties in Ningmen Prefecture. When I came here, the butler had already arranged everything for the return journey.”
Grandmother Yan nodded: “Since your family has prepared a boat, we don’t need to make arrangements here. However, you two are still young ladies and it’s not good for you to go back alone. After a while, I will have Daohua’s second uncle escort you back.”
Knowing this was the old lady’s kindness, Dong Yuanyao and Su Shiyu smiled and accepted.
…
After bidding farewell to Dong Yuanyao and Su Shiyu, Daohua found herself with idle time. To keep from letting her mind wander aimlessly, she felt compelled to busy herself, even setting out the zither that she usually couldn’t be bothered to touch.
Even so, Wang Manman and the others couldn’t help but notice that their young lady seemed to be distracted more often than usual.
Meanwhile, at Ningmen Pass military camp.
After a day of drills, Xiao Yeyang, drenched in sweat, returned to his tent. Seeing the bath prepared by De Fu, he stripped off his clothes and plunged in, soaking for a full quarter of an hour before he rose and stepped out.
As he was dressing, a handkerchief fell from the clothes rack.
Xiao Yeyang quickly bent down to pick it up, and looking at the handkerchief in his hand, he couldn’t help but recall the naive sleeping beauty of Daohua on the Mid-Autumn day, lying on the wooden boat. His heart stirred, he instructed loudly, “De Fu, get me my brushes, I want to paint.”
De Fu reminded him, “Soon, the Governor will be inspecting the soldiers’ martial arts at the parade ground. Are you not going to watch?”
Xiao Yeyang replied, “First, prepare my brushes. I’ll go after I’ve finished my painting.”
Hearing this, De Fu had no choice but to turn and prepare the brushes and paper.Update by n0vgo.c0
Once the paper was laid out and the colors ready, Xiao Yeyang began to immerse himself in painting.
De Fu stood by, craning his neck to watch, and in no time, he saw his master effortlessly outline Miss Yan’s features, and his face lit up with realization.
Usually, his master loved nothing more than to watch the Governor inspect the soldiers, but this time he skipped it to paint a portrait of Miss Yan.
De Fu wanted to continue watching, but Xiao Yeyang looked up and said, “Stand guard outside the tent, and don’t let any outsiders in.”
Once he was alone, Xiao Yeyang continued to paint.
He didn’t want anyone else to glimpse Daohua’s sleeping visage.
An hour later, the portrait of Daohua deeply asleep among the lotus flowers was finished.
Xiao Yeyang gazed affectionately at the person in the painting, feeling regret once again that he hadn’t spoken or said farewell to Daohua before leaving the Yan Residence a few days ago.
After observing the portrait in silence for a while and waiting for the ink to dry, Xiao Yeyang carefully rolled it up and placed it in a brocade box. Thinking for a moment, he found a golden lock and secured the brocade box.
After securing the box, he then got up and headed to the parade ground.
Approaching the parade ground, he could hear the clamor of the soldiers like a massive torrent.
“This Yan Wentao is quite something; today he’s already toppled five or six men,” someone said.
“Yan Wenkai isn’t bad either. I sparred with him yesterday, and within ten moves, he’d thrown me off the platform,” another chimed in.
Xiao Yeyang watched with a smile as Yan Wentao fought valiantly on the martial stage, thinking to himself that the Yan brothers were indeed made of the right stuff for martial arts.
“Little Prince, why have you only just arrived?”
Yan Wenkai, pulling Su Hongxin along, approached.
Xiao Yeyang looked at them and laughed, “I got held up by something.” He paused, then added, “Wenkai, has your brother’s imperial examination concluded? Did he mention when he might return?”
Yan Wenkai was taken aback, “… I’m not quite sure about that.”
Su Hongxin expressed some disbelief, “You don’t know such an important matter?”
Yan Wenkai replied, “I don’t need to worry about these things.”
Su Hongxin just shook his head, speechless.
Xiao Yeyang laughed, “How about this—let’s accompany you to the prefecture city tomorrow to ask about it. We wouldn’t want to miss the news of your brother passing the examination.”
Su Hongxin nodded repeatedly, “That’s a good idea. The food at your house is excellent. We’ll have a good meal there.”