Chapter 411: Chapter 387, Ranked Scholar _1
Yan Residence.
Daohua, along with Yan Yihuan, Yan Yishuang, and Yan Yile, had just finished their morning lessons and were preparing to return to their respective courtyards when halfway there, they encountered Ping Tong and others on their way to deliver tea and fruit to Songhe Courtyard.
Seeing the fresh fruit in the maids’ hands, Daohua smiled and asked, “Sister Ping Tong, do we have guests?”
Ping Tong signaled the other maids to continue delivering the items and stopped to answer, “Not exactly guests, it’s Third Young Master and Fourth Young Master who have returned. The Little Prince and Young Master Dong are also here.”
Daohua paused, “They just returned home for the Mid-Autumn Festival a few days ago, how come they are back again?”
Ping Tong smiled and said, “Fourth Young Master mentioned that they returned this time to inquire about when the eldest brother will be back, so as not to miss the time to congratulate him.”
Daohua chuckled wryly, “They all have confidence in our big brother, but he will at least have to wait until the results of the imperial examination are announced before he returns. That should be in September, right?”
Ping Tong nodded, “Madam said the same thing, but still, the return of the Third Young Master and the others has made the old madam very happy. After all, Ningmen Pass isn’t too far from the capital—if one rides a fast horse, the round trip doesn’t take much time.”
“The old madam mentioned that in the past, when they studied at the Academy and it was too far to come home often, but now that it’s closer and military training is quite strenuous and the rations aren’t as good as at home, she would like them to come home for meals more often.”
As she spoke, she paused, looking towards Yan Yihuan and the others.
“Madam is also in the old madam’s courtyard, would you young ladies like to join me there?”
Yan Yihuan and the others smiled and nodded.
Daohua fell silent for a moment, “You go ahead, I still have some things to take care of. I’ll come by later.”
Ping Tong had no reason to doubt her and smiled, “Then big sister, you better come quickly, after lunch, the Third Young Master and the others have to return to the camp.”
Daohua nodded, “You guys go ahead.” With that, she walked towards her own courtyard with Wang Manman.
Back in her courtyard, Daohua did not hurry to do anything else but sat by the window and watered the lotus flowers with a watering can.
A few days had passed, and the lotus flowers were starting to wither, losing their former beauty.
When Wang Manman came in with tea, she saw her mistress plucking the wilted petals from the lotus flowers and asked softly, “Miss, aren’t you going to see Fourth Young Master and the Little Prince?”
Daohua reached out for the teacup and sipped her tea without saying a word.
At that moment, she was somewhat uncertain about how to face Xiao Yeyang.
There was no doubt that Xiao Yeyang had a fondness for her, but she did not know whether she should maintain that fondness or cut it off completely.
Emotionally, while she did not resist Xiao Yeyang’s closeness, she felt that her feelings for him had not risen to the level of love. Yet, the thought of severing the connection made her reluctant.
Rationally, she was acutely aware that this feeling was filled with too much uncertainty and instability. She feared that she could not bear it and that the relationship might not last long.
“Ah!”
Daohua was somewhat flustered and troubled, putting down her teacup and staring blankly at the courtyard gate, lost in thought.
Seeing this, Wang Manman did not dare to say more and silently withdrew.
Songhe Courtyard.
Xiao Yeyang, noticing that Yan Yihuan and the others had arrived but Daohua was nowhere to be seen, furrowed his brows and couldn’t help but nudge Yan Wenkai with his cane, asking in a low voice, “Why hasn’t your eldest sister come?”
Yan Wenkai, who was discussing what to eat for lunch with Su Hongxin, was taken aback by the question and looked around the room. Not seeing Daohua, he immediately turned to ask the old Madam Yan, “Grandmother, where’s eldest sister?”
Old Madam Yan, unclear on the reason, looked towards Madam Li.
Madam Li had been with the old madam all along and wasn’t sure either. Since Ping Tong had gone out again, she could only smile and say, “Perhaps she was held up by something.”
Yan Yishuang chimed in with a smile, “When we were coming here, eldest sister said she was busy with something.”
Hearing this, Xiao Yeyang felt a pang of disappointment, but thinking that they would still have lunch together and he would definitely see Daohua then, he managed to smile again.
However, he was destined to be let down.
Until the lunch was over and they left, Daohua never appeared.
The elders of the Yan Family were present, so he couldn’t inquire too much about Yan Wenkai; he could only leave with a heart full of regret on horseback.
Fortunately, as he left, Old Madam Yan instructed them to come over for a meal every three to five days, so he had to look forward to seeing Daohua next time.
In the days that followed, Yan Wenkai would bring Xiao Yeyang and several others to the Yan Residence to dine every three or four days.
While Yan Wenkai and the others were happy about improving their meals, Xiao Yeyang was filled with gloom and confusion.
After going to the Yan Family three times in a row, he hadn’t seen Daohua even once, and at this point, he vaguely sensed that Daohua was intentionally avoiding him.
But why? He hadn’t done anything to anger her recently, had he?
All was well; why was she ignoring him?
Xiao Yeyang was both perplexed and anxious. He wanted to find Daohua and ask her for the reason, but she had stayed in the back yard and didn’t come out, so he never found the opportunity to ask.
Not just him, even Madam Li had noticed her daughter’s strange behavior, but she approved of it.
Her daughter was grown up; it was indeed inappropriate to see men from outside too often.
…
In the blink of an eye, it was September.
On the second day of September, Yan Zhiqiang arrived at the Old Madam’s courtyard with joy written all over his face, holding a letter. He hadn’t even entered the room when he announced loudly, “Mother, Wenxiu passed, the second place in the imperial examinations!”
Upon hearing this, the Old Madam and Madam Li inside the room both stood up excitedly, while Madam Sun and Madam Wu, who were sitting at the lower end of the room, were also brimming with joy.
Both understood that the better the main branch did, the better the second and third branches would follow.
The news didn’t take long to reach the ears of Daohua and the other three, who were in class.
Daohua smiled upon hearing it, but didn’t show much reaction; whether it was her stepfather, Master Xiao, or Old Master Zhou, all had said that her big brother was solid in his studies, and with his own hard work and diligence, she had great confidence in his success in the exams.
Yan Yihuan and Yan Yile also beamed with smiles; although it was not their own full brother who had succeeded, the Yan Family hadn’t divided their estate, so their big brother’s success brought glory to them as well.
Among the four, only Yan Yishuang’s smile seemed somewhat strained. She wasn’t happy for Yan Wenxiu but was thinking about the letter from the Lin Family that had arrived yesterday—her uncle had failed the examinations again.
Heaven knows how much she wished her uncle would succeed; that way, she, her fifth brother, and her aunt could have an easier time in the Yan Family.
What a pity…
Scholar Shen knew that the family had received good news and that the young ladies wouldn’t be in the mood to study, so he gave them leave: “All right, go and congratulate the elders of the family.”
After leaving the academy, Daohua thought that Yan Wenkai and his group would surely return upon receiving the news. Since they would come to offer congratulations, it wouldn’t be right for her to not show up again. After thinking it over, she headed towards the main courtyard.
“Mother, I want to stay in Taohua Village for a few days. Big brother has been successful, and I should share the news with my teacher, so they too can be happy,” she said.
Madam Li glanced at her daughter and, after a moment of contemplation, nodded her approval: “That’s a good idea. Your teacher and Granny Gu are both getting on in years; you should indeed visit them more often.”
The next day, Daohua set off for Taohua Village by boat.
…
“Manman, go to that side and catch it, don’t let the hawk hurt itself,” Xiao Yeyang watched Daohua climb up Taohua Mountain and take aim with a slingshot at the hawk circling above Taohua Temple. The slingshot’s pellet was the size of a little finger and made of Sleeping Powder.
Wang Manman looked at Daohua, seemingly hesitant to speak and dawdled into the yard.
‘Bang!’
Because whip training emphasized speed, accuracy, and ruthlessness, Daohua’s hands were exceptionally steady, and her aim wasn’t bad, hitting the hawk with a single shot.
Gu Jian, hearing the commotion, stepped out of his room and saw his disciple knocking out the nephew’s spy kept here and looked mildly surprised.