Chapter 522: Chapter 481, The Power of Love_1
Daohua and Dong Yuanyao lay on the bed chatting about this and that, and before they knew it, they had both fallen asleep.
The next morning, Wang Manman came in to hurry the two of them out of bed.
“Oh, right now I’m injured and don’t need to get up early for whip practice, let me sleep a little longer.” The most difficult thing in winter definitely has to be getting out of a warm and cozy bed in the morning.
Just as Wang Manman managed to wake Daohua, Daohua buried her head back in the blankets.
Dong Yuanyao, sleeping inside, completely ignored Wang Manman’s shouting.
Seeing the two of them wrapped up like cicada pupae, Wang Manman had a helpless expression on her face and pushed Hong Yu, “You go wake up your lady.”
Hong Yu didn’t budge, smoothly saying, “Once Miss Yan gets up, my lady will naturally follow, so, you’ll have to do it.” After speaking, she even made a ‘please’ gesture.
Wang Manman ‘harrumphed’, and then steeled herself and said, “Miss, there are still some guests in the house who haven’t left, and yesterday there were so many people you haven’t yet greeted Uncle Lord and the Madam, and the people from the Feng Family who came to set the marriage arrangement with Lady Zixuan are here too. According to propriety, you should meet these guests.”
Under the blanket, Daohua didn’t move a muscle.
Wang Manman fell silent for a moment, then redoubled her efforts, “Miss, after breakfast, Uncle Lord and the Madam, as well as your cousins and the young master, are all leaving. Aren’t you going to see them off?”
Daohua, hiding under the blanket, let out a long “Hmm,” and then finally sat up with sleepy eyes.
Seeing this, Wang Manman immediately took a dress over to help Daohua get up.
After putting on her clothes, Daohua saw that Dong Yuanyao was still asleep, and suddenly felt unfair, so she sat on the bed and shook her vigorously with her left hand, “Get up quickly.”
“Yan Yiyi, you can’t sleep in and want me to do the same, that’s really mean,” Dong Yuanyao complained from within the bundle of blankets.
Daohua calmly said, “This is called sharing weal and woe. Last night I kept you company chatting, today you have to keep me company getting up early. Hurry up!”
“Yan Yiyi~”
When Zhou Jingwan and Su Shiyu came hand in hand, they heard Dong Yuanyao’s angry cry.
“What are you two making a fuss about early in the morning?”
Walking into the room, Su Shiyu asked with a smile.
By this time, Daohua was already washing her face, and Dong Yuanyao was also getting dressed under Hong Yu’s care, though with a sour expression.
Dong Yuanyao glanced at Daohua and yawned, “Some people can’t stand to see others at ease, insisting on dragging me out of bed too.”
Daohua turned and laughed, “You’re lazy in bed and you have the nerve to mention it?”
Dong Yuanyao snorted, “What’s there to be embarrassed about? I don’t have to meet with guests.” After getting dressed, she went to Daohua’s side, pushed aside the already clean girl, and directly washed her face with the same water Daohua had used.
“Oh my, Miss Dong, let the servant get you a fresh basin of hot water, shall we?” Wang Manman immediately said when she saw this.
Dong Yuanyao, not looking up, replied, “No need, I don’t mind using what your miss has used.”
Daohua sat in front of the dressing table, looked at Dong Yuanyao through the mirror, and said with a smile, “Let her use it, your lady isn’t dirty, the water’s still clean.”
Su Shiyu sat to the side and watched the two of them banter back and forth with a laugh, just about to say something when she noticed Zhou Jingwan pouting next to her and immediately asked, “What’s the matter?”
Zhou Jingwan glanced at Daohua, then at Dong Yuanyao and murmured with a huff, “I used to be the one who was closest to Daohua.”
Hearing this, Su Shiyu couldn’t help but chuckle and took Zhou Jingwan’s hand, “The older you get, the more you act like a child. Are you jealous?” As she spoke, she pulled Zhou Jingwan up, “Let’s let the two of them wash in peace; let’s sit outside.”
Zhou Jingwan saw that Su Shiyu seemed to have something to say, nodded, and followed her out.
Once outside, Su Shiyu pulled Zhou Jingwan to sit on a window-side couch and said in a low voice, “Yesterday I heard Madam Dong and my mother talking, and had it not been for Yiyi pushing Yuanyao onto the carriage, the one trapped in the mountains for several days would have been Yuanyao.”
“Yiyi grew up in the countryside and is not unfamiliar with the mountains. She can climb trees and find food, but Yuanyao can’t. When they talked about this, Madam Dong was so grateful.”
“Now, although the two of them have both returned safely, who knows if they’re still frightened inside. They need to be together to talk and relieve the pressure in their hearts, and this is something they can’t discuss with people who haven’t experienced it because we can’t truly empathize.”
“You and Yiyi have had the affection of growing up together, while Yiyi and Yuanyao have shared the bond of adversity. These are different; you shouldn’t think too much about it.”
Zhou Jingwan blushed from the talking, embarrassed she said, “I wasn’t really thinking much; I just said it casually. Dear sister, please don’t mention this to Yiyi or Yuanyao.”
Su Shiyu smiled and nodded.
“What are you two whispering about?” Daohua came out.
Zhou Jingwan laughed, “We were just saying how slow you all are, Su Sister and I are already hungry.”
Daohua laughed, “It’ll be ready soon; we can go to my grandmother’s for breakfast in a moment.”
As the group got ready and arrived at Songhe Courtyard, they heard Madam Dong, Madam Su, and a few others saying their goodbyes to Madam Li and Old Madam Yan.
“We’ve been out for quite a few days now, and home really can’t do without us; we must go back.”
When Daohua heard this, she immediately looked at Dong Yuanyao and the others, saying with reluctance, “You’re all leaving?”
The three Dong sisters were all silent, their faces showing their reluctance.
If the adults were leaving, they would certainly have to follow.
Madam Zhou walked over with a smile and said to them, “It’ll be December soon, and the end of the year is the busiest time. If you can’t bear to leave, once the new year is over and Chengye gets married, you should come to the Zhou Family earlier to play, and we can have a good gathering then.”
Zhou Jingwan immediately chimed in, “Exactly, exactly, you all must come to my house early when my brother gets married.”
The three Daohuas nodded silently.
Seeing this, Madam Dong and Madam Su smiled at Madam Li and Old Madam Yan, “The feelings between these four girls really are strong.”
Madam Li sighed, “Originally, this was a good opportunity for the girls to gather, but just our luck… Well, let’s not talk about that anymore. Breakfast is ready, let’s all go eat.”
The group headed to the dining hall.
During the meal, Su Shiyu sat next to Daohua, several times she seemed as if she wanted to speak but stopped herself.
Daohua noticed and asked, “Su Sister, is something the matter?”
Dong Yuanyao and Zhou Jingwan heard and looked up at the two of them.
Su Shiyu immediately shook her head with an embarrassed smile, “No, nothing…”
Daohua looked at her and, seeing her face was normal, didn’t think much of it and continued eating. But after a while, she felt Su Shiyu’s gaze on her again and leaned in to ask quietly, “Su Sister, what’s really going on?”
Su Shiyu shook her head, “Nothing really, just something strange.”
Daohua, “What’s strange?”
Su Shiyu glanced around the table to make sure no one was paying attention, then said, “It’s your grandmother’s birthday, and yet your third and fourth brothers haven’t come back.”
Daohua’s eyebrows immediately raised, “Su Sister, are you worried about my fourth brother?”
Su Shiyu’s face reddened slightly, and she glared at Daohua, “What nonsense are you talking about? I’m just curious, that’s all.”
Daohua suppressed a smile, “Don’t worry, Su Sister, my fourth brother is fine.”
Su Shiyu glared at her, “If he’s fine, he’s fine, why tell me?” With that, she stood up and moved to sit elsewhere.
Daohua was speechless for a moment, just about to continue eating, when she noticed Zhou Jingwan had appeared beside her, “What are you doing? You startled me.”
Zhou Jingwan quickly served Daohua a crystal bun and then whispered low, “If Yan Fourth Brother is fine, then what about Yan Third Brother?” With a frown, she added, “It’s such a big event for Old Madam’s birthday, and yet as grandsons, they didn’t come back; they must have run into something. And it’s not something small, either.”
Daohua looked at Zhou Jingwan with amazement.
Is this the power of love?
Zhou Jingwan, usually indifferent to such matters, had even come up with this assumption despite knowing the third and fourth brothers were in military training.
Daohua shook her head, “Third Brother is a steady person; he’s surely fine.”
At these words, Zhou Jingwan instantly became cheerful, “I just knew there wouldn’t be a problem.”