Chapter 462: Chapter 431, _1
As dawn approached, Daohua woke from her slumbers, and peering through the partially closed door, she saw a vague expanse of white. Without hesitation, she curled back into the cozy warmth of her quilt, leaving only half her head exposed outside.
With a ‘creak’, the door opened, and Wang Manman came in, shivering and carrying a pot of hot water. Seeing Daohua stirring, she immediately smiled and said, “Miss, are you awake?”
Daohua poked her head out of the quilt and asked, “Has it snowed?”
Wang Manman nodded, “It’s been snowing for most of the night. The courtyard and the rooftops are covered with a thick layer of snow. Defu said that once October starts at Ningmen Pass, it often snows. Are you planning to get up now, Miss?”
Without any hesitation, Daohua shook her head and buried her head back into the quilt, “No, I want to sleep a bit longer.”
Wang Manman set down the hot water and chuckled, “The Little Prince, along with the third and fourth young masters, just left and said to let you sleep longer, Miss, so you won’t catch a cold.”
Daohua’s head popped out again, and she propped herself up slightly, “Where did they go so early?”
Wang Manman chuckled, “The third and fourth young masters went out for morning exercises; as for the Little Prince, I don’t know.”
Daohua frowned, “Xiao Yeyang still has injuries. It’s bad enough that he doesn’t rest properly, but to be running around outside too!”
Wang Manman, seeing her young mistress’s concerned and dissatisfied face, reassured her with a smile, “I just glanced at him, and the Little Prince looked quite spirited. You don’t need to worry, Miss.”
Daohua lay down again, huffing, “Who’s worried? He should take care of his own body. I don’t have the spare energy to fret over someone else.”
Wang Manman pursed her lips in a smile, not pointing out her mistress’s denial, and briskly poured a cup of boiled water to cool on the kang-table at the end of the bed before swiftly going out to wash and tidy up.
After dawdling in bed for a while, Daohua then sat up wrapped in her quilt, sipping the boiled water in small gulps. Before long, Xiao Yeyang’s voice sounded in the courtyard.
Source: NovelFull.com, updated on ονǤ0.сο
“Is your mistress awake?”
“She’s awake, but she hasn’t gotten up yet.”
Soon after, footsteps were heard outside the door.
Xiao Yeyang stood outside the room and asked softly, “Are you awake?”
Daohua hurriedly put the cup down, “I’m awake.”
Xiao Yeyang smiled and asked, “I brought breakfast back. Would you like to eat on the kang, or get up and eat with me?”
Daohua glanced at the bed where she had been sleeping, and decisively said, “You go ahead and start, I will be up momentarily.”
Xiao Yeyang smiled, “Okay, I’ll wait for you.” With that, he turned and left.
At that moment, Wang Manman came in with a large package in her hand, a big smile on her face, and said, “Miss, the Little Prince is really thoughtful. Knowing that your clothes are rather thin, he went to the camp specially to bring you some warm clothes early in the morning.”
Upon hearing this, a look of delight crossed Daohua’s face, “Really? Quick, let me have a look!”
Wang Manman happily placed the package on the bed.
Daohua quickly opened it and recognized at a glance that the clothes in the package belonged to Xiao Yeyang.
Wang Manman picked up one of the items, “This is a mink-lined jacket, isn’t it? It looks very warm at first glance. Miss, you definitely won’t feel cold in it, though it is a bit large.”
Daohua laughed, “That doesn’t matter, as long as it’s warm.” As she spoke, she rummaged through the package, “There are quite a few clothes in here. You pick one to wear too so you don’t catch a cold.”
Without hesitation, Wang Manman shook her head in refusal, even a hundred times the courage wouldn’t allow her to wear the Little Prince’s clothes, “Miss, you don’t need to worry about me. Defu also gave me a fur coat, and I’ve put it outside.”
Daohua responded, “Then hurry and put it on, and bring me a pot of hot water. I’m getting up.”
Wang Manman left the room with a smile, and when she came back, she too was wearing a sheepskin coat.
Daohua, seeing her dressed warmly, no longer fussed over her.
Before long, Daohua was dressed and had freshened up. Just as she was about to leave the room, she saw Xiao Yeyang coming over with a food container.
As Xiao Yeyang walked towards Daohua, he asked, “You went to sleep last night without having dinner since it was so late, you must be starving, right?”
Daohua shook her head, “Not really hungry!”
Xiao Yeyang set the food container on the table, then turned to look at Daohua’s outfit, “The clothes are a bit big.”
Daohua looked down at her attire and laughed, “They’re quite warm.”
Wang Manman tidied up the table and started taking food out of the food container one by one, arranging them as she smiled, “This morning’s food is really sumptuous!”
Daohua turned to look and was surprised, “How come there’s cow milk porridge and red date yam cakes? Surely the military camp wouldn’t make such fine food, right?”
Xiao Yeyang pulled her to sit down and smiled, “The food in the military camp is very rough, I was afraid you wouldn’t be used to it, so I went to my uncle’s place and got some food for you.”
Upon hearing this, Daohua felt a bit moved. The guy had gone out early in the morning to get food for her! Smiling, she picked up a piece of red date and yam cake and put it in her mouth, saying with a laugh, “Delicious!”
Seeing her enjoying the food, Xiao Yeyang smiled and brought a bowl of milk porridge to her, while he himself started eating chicken porridge.
Taking a sip of the milk porridge, Daohua said, “Xiao Yeyang, you don’t need to go to such trouble next time. I’ll eat whatever you’re eating.” If Xiao Yeyang could eat rough food, she certainly could too.
Xiao Yeyang looked at Daohua with a smile, “How much longer do you want to stay here?” he asked, glancing outside at the sky, “Alright, eat up. Once your two brothers come back, we’ll head over to the river valley! Thankfully it’s only October now; the snow in the mountains isn’t falling too frequently yet. Come November, I won’t dare to take you into the mountains.”
Daohua nodded and sped up her eating.
After Yan Wenkai and Wentao finished their morning drill and returned, Xiao Yeyang took the three siblings to Sanchuan Valley.
Upon arrival, Xiao Yeyang saw Daohua looking around and, instead of going to the river valley where they’d found gold sand the day before, he just wandered nearby. He couldn’t help but ask, “What are you looking for?”
Daohua pondered for a moment, feeling that she should tell Xiao Yeyang about the vein gold mine, so she pulled him aside and whispered, “I’m looking for another gold mine. Most of the gold in the river beds has been washed down from vein gold mines.”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yeyang’s expression changed, and he quickly looked around to see if anyone was paying attention to them before he sighed in relief, “Don’t tell anyone else about this.”
Daohua nodded, “Don’t worry, I won’t say a word. Who knows if we’ll even find it!”
In the following days, Xiao Yeyang took Daohua and her brothers around the vicinity of Sanchuan Valley.
Wu Jingyi found this strange when he heard about it; his subordinates said they seemed to be looking for medicinal herbs. Thinking about the old gentleman in Taohua Temple, he didn’t give it much thought.
Meanwhile, in the Imperial Palace at Beijing.
After entering October, the northern battles became increasingly tense. Right when the Emperor was at his wit’s end over the military provisions, Wu Jingyi’s letter arrived.
Seeing the letter claiming that a gold mine had been discovered, the Emperor laughed out loud in joy.
Eunuch An and Wei Qi, upon knowing what had happened, both congratulated the Emperor.
The Emperor, looking at the end of the letter, said to both of them with a smile, “Jingyi says that the gold mine was found by that girl.”
Eunuch An and Wei Qi were momentarily stunned before realizing who the girl the Emperor was referring to.
Eunuch An glanced at the smile on the Emperor’s face and said with a laugh, “When I first saw Miss Yan, I knew she was a clever and fortunate young lady!”
Wei Qi gave Eunuch An a sidelong glance and inwardly derided him. When they were first drugged and kidnapped, this fellow had woken up and called the young lady rude and vulgar. Now, he had completely changed his tune.
The Emperor smiled, “I thought the girl was just talking casually, but I didn’t expect she would actually go look for it. The Jiang Family, the Eighth Prince, and our people have searched for so long without finding anything, yet she found it as soon as she went there. She does have a bit of luck.”
Eunuch An picked up the conversation with a smile, “Finding a gold mine is one thing, but for her to coincidentally meet the Emperor, that’s the greatest stroke of luck!”
The Emperor looked at Eunuch An and, thinking of his frail mother and aging uncle far away in Zhongzhou, his smile gradually faded. After a while, he rose and took a sealed box from the bookshelf behind him. Opening the box, he took out a painting that was stored inside.
The painting was the group portrait that Xiao Yeyang had drawn of Granny Gu, Gu Jian, and Yan’s old lady.
Seeing the Emperor silent as he looked at the painting, Eunuch An and Wei Qi exchanged glances and dared not make another sound.
After a good while, the Emperor finally spoke, “Are the Jiang Family and the Eighth Prince still searching for the gold mine?”
Wei Qi nodded, “Yes, they are.”
The Emperor fell silent again, looking at Granny Gu and Gu Jian in the painting. After a long while, he said, “Inform the Jiang Family of the location of the gold mine.”
At this, Eunuch An and Wei Qi both looked up in surprise, but then their expressions cleared in realization.
In order to return to the court, Prince Duan had invested heavily, with the gold mine being a significant part of his leverage. If the mine was presented by Prince Duan, with the advice of the court officials, the Emperor would have little reason to refuse his return.
Now by revealing the location of the gold mine to the Jiang Family, given their way of doing things, they would undoubtedly report it to the Emperor right away.
With the Jiang Family interceding, Prince Duan’s hope for a return would be cut off, setting up an inevitable clash between the two sides.
This would allow the Emperor to sit back and watch the two sides drain each other’s strengths.
However…
By informing the Jiang Family of the location of the gold mine, Miss Yan of the Yan Family wouldn’t be rewarded for the time being.
Thinking of Daohua’s attitude of not counting her chickens before they hatch, Eunuch An and Wei Qi exchanged glances. The young lady was probably going to be disappointed.