Chapter 528: Chapter 487, Hundred Households_1
Watching Xiao Yeyang cockily without a care, Daohua was so angry that her teeth itched, and she couldn’t help it; she reached out and twisted his waist.
“Ow, that hurts!” Xiao Yeyang certainly wasn’t about to just take the abuse and quickly stood up to dodge.
“You dare dodge? Stand still for me!” Daohua, furious beyond words, ran after him to continue twisting.
At the door, watching their master play like a child inside the house, Wang Manman and Defu exchanged glances, then one looked at the sky, the other at the ground.
After chasing for a while, Daohua stopped; she hadn’t noticed earlier that she had used her injured right hand, and now due to the excessive force, the wound began to throb with pain.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Seeing Daohua rubbing her right arm, Xiao Yeyang quickly ran over to ask.
Daohua snorted and turned her head away without paying him any attention.
Xiao Yeyang tugged at Daohua’s sleeve, “All right, don’t be angry. If it makes it better, I’ll stand still and let you twist to your heart’s content, okay?”
Only then did Daohua look at him, “Really?”
Xiao Yeyang nodded his head, but as soon as he did, he felt pain in his waist, “You’re really twisting?”
Daohua, “If I don’t show you some color, you’ll think this lady is easy to bully!” As she spoke, she increased the force in her hand.
This kind of force was nothing for Xiao Yeyang, but seeing the smile on Daohua’s face, he still pretended to grimace as if in extreme pain.
After twisting for a while, Daohua felt avenged, and let go, declaring magnanimously, “Hmph, I’ll let you off this time.”
Xiao Yeyang, rubbing his waist, sat back down at the table, only to find that the Laba porridge had gone cold, immediately saying, “The porridge is cold now, how am I supposed to eat it?”
Daohua, “That’s your own doing.”
Xiao Yeyang, “It’s such a waste to pour it out, let’s just split it and eat.”
Daohua glared, “This has been touched by you, and you still want me to share it with you, don’t you know the first thing about manners?”
Xiao Yeyang, “If you don’t want to, forget it, why are you raising your voice?”
Daohua sat down huffily, and Xiao Yeyang immediately scooped a spoonful of Laba porridge and brought it to Daohua’s mouth, “Another bite?”
Daohua didn’t speak and just stared straight at Xiao Yeyang.
After several seconds of eye contact, under Daohua’s fiery gaze, Xiao Yeyang capitulated, “Forget it, eating it cold isn’t good, I’ll just eat it myself.”
Only then did Daohua shift her gaze away.
At the door, Wang Manman glanced at Defu and whispered, “The Little Prince is getting better and better at courting death!”
Defu exhaled a sigh, unable to find any reason to defend his own master.
Done with the teasing, Xiao Yeyang finished a bowl of Laba porridge in a few gulps, set down the bowl, and touched Daohua, “All right, no more joking, I have serious matters to discuss with you.”
Daohua turned towards him, “Is the matter with Sishan Village taken care of?”
Xiao Yeyang nodded his head, “It’s all arranged. Since you knocked out quite a few people with sleeping powder, allowing us to catch many alive, my imperial uncle wants to use Sishan Village as bait.”
Daohua instinctively lowered her voice and leaned in toward Xiao Yeyang, “To bait the people of Duke Duan?”
Xiao Yeyang nodded with a smile, and then flicked Daohua’s forehead lightly, “Quick on the uptake, aren’t you.”
Daohua immediately sat up straight and glared at him.
Before she could speak, Xiao Yeyang said with a smile, “I have some good news, do you want to hear it?”
Daohua raised an eyebrow, “What good news?”
Xiao Yeyang stretched out his right hand and crooked his index finger toward Daohua, seeing that she didn’t move, he added, “It’s about the rewards for this time.”
Daohua instantly perked up, leaning in closer.
Seeing this, Xiao Yeyang smiled triumphantly and also leaned in, whispering into Daohua’s ear, “Your two brothers have been promoted. They are now sixth-rank officers in charge of a hundred soldiers of the Jinling Guard.”
Daohua’s eyes lit up, “Really?!”
Xiao Yeyang smiled, “Would I lie to you?”
Daohua asked again, “What about you, have you been promoted?”
Xiao Yeyang shook his head, “I am already a fourth-rank governor. It’s not easy to rise higher, but, Uncle Emperor has granted me full control of a Jinling Guard thousand-household office, which is also giving me real power.”
Daohua smiled brightly, “That’s really great.”
Seeing the unhidden joy on Daohua’s face, Xiao Yeyang’s gaze flickered, “Are you happy for me?”
Daohua, “Isn’t that obvious?”
Xiao Yeyang laughed, his smile full of pleasure and ease.
Daohua was also dazzled by that smile, and looking at Xiao Yeyang’s face, so close it was within reach, she looked slightly unnatural and quickly straightened up.
Seeing Daohua pull away, Xiao Yeyang felt a bit disheartened, but then he saw her cover her face with her hands. At first, he was puzzled, but when he noticed her ears had turned red, he couldn’t help but smile softly.
“What are you laughing at?”
“I’m not laughing at anything!”
“You are obviously laughing.”
“I’m really not, why don’t you come closer and take a good look?”
As the two bantered, voices came from outside the courtyard.
Hearing the voices, Daohua immediately stood up, distancing herself from Xiao Yeyang.
Xiao Yeyang also shifted from his previous playfulness back to his usual solemn demeanor.
At the entrance, De Fu and Wang Manman exchanged glances, both inwardly marveled at their master’s acting skills.
Soon, Yan Wenxiu, Yan Wentao, and Yan Wenkai walked in.
Seeing Daohua there too, Yan Wenxiu and Yan Wentao’s expressions became a bit stiff. The Little Prince really knew no bounds; if he couldn’t enter the back courtyard, he brought the elder sister to their courtyard instead.
As for Yan Wenkai, he walked towards Daohua with a laugh, “Elder sister, did you bring over the Laba congee?”
Upon hearing this, Yan Wenxiu and Yan Wentao exchanged a look, both sighing in unison.
So there was a traitor!
As the three entered the room, Yan Wenkai went to eat the Laba congee, and Yan Wenxiu glanced at Xiao Yeyang before saying to Daohua, “Elder sister, do you have anything else to do? If not, you should head back to the back courtyard.”
Xiao Yeyang cut in before Daohua could speak, “I was just discussing official matters with Daohua.”
Daohua looked up, and seeing her eldest brother and third brother looking at her, she nodded hurriedly.
Xiao Yeyang, unperturbed, said, “Daohua mentioned earlier that she is short on people, so I brought some people for her.” With that, he glanced at De Fu.
De Fu immediately took out several papers from his bosom.
Xiao Yeyang handed them to Daohua, “These are the files of Zhao Yongwang’s men. I’ve only selected some for you who have families to take care of, you can take a look for yourself.”
Yan Wenkai, while eating the Laba congee, said, “So those men were selected for the elder sister?” He walked over to Daohua’s side and took a peek at the list on the paper.
“The one-eyed and Bald and a few others have pretty good skills. Elder sister, you aren’t doing any external affairs, so having those men under you is an underutilization of their talents.”
Daohua was not pleased, “How is it underutilizing them? I have a lot of tasks that require people skilled in martial arts.”
Yan Wenkai, “What tasks could you possibly have?”
Daohua, “I’ll have more and more fields and manors in the future; don’t they need a few formidable people to oversee everything?”
Seeing Yan Wenkai as if ready to dispute with Daohua over the people, Xiao Yeyang couldn’t watch anymore, “Alright, stop coveting. Those people specifically asked to follow Daohua. Now you can lead people yourself. If you want people, go find them on your own, don’t be so lacking in ambition that you fight with your own sister.”