Chapter 73: Chapter 61, Posthouse_l
Ancient carriages were not shock-absorbent, and if one’s body was not well, riding in a carriage for several days straight would leave one utterly exhausted.
Just two days since leaving Linyi County, the color in Yan Wenxiu’s face seemed a bit off; he appeared rather uncomfortable sitting in the carriage.
Seeing his eldest brother so weak, Daohua shook her head, “Eldest brother, you really are too frail. You should pay attention to balancing work and rest, even when you’re studying.”
Yan Wenkai followed with vigorous nodding, “Exactly! Every time I ask eldest brother to come out and exercise, he ignores me.”
Yan Wenxiu glanced at his fourth brother and replied irritably, “Is that what you call exercising? Isn’t that just playing around?
Yan Wenkai retorted confidently, “I get some exercise in the process of playing —it’s the best of both worlds!” He then looked at Daohua and Wentao, “Big sister, I see that you and third brother are both looking pretty good!” They even seemed more spirited than this fun-loving noise-maker.
Wentao chuckled as he took over the conversation, “That’s because, back in Yan Family Village, Daohua was famously known as a blessed child. She hardly ever got sick from the time she was little, and she could run faster than adults.
My health improved a lot from running after her.’
Hearing this, both Yan Wenxiu and Yan Wenkai laughed.
Yan Wenxiu looked at Daohua, “Having a healthy body is the foundation of everything, especially for women. To have a good constitution is an immense blessing. However, while it’s true that proper exercise is good for health, as a woman, it’s still important to prioritize composure and dignity.”
Faced with her eldest brother’s continued sermonizing at such a moment, Daohua sighed and said coquettishly, “Eldest brother, I knowyou mean well for me, but I’m disguised as a man now and we’re traveling. So, please don’t hang on to manners and etiquette all the time, at least for this period let me enjoy some relaxed days.”
Heaven knew how torturous it was to be a gentle and quiet lady of high status, never showing teeth when smiling, unable not to do this, not to say that. This was quite difficult for someone used to being unrestricted.
Seeing Daohua’s healthy complexion, Yan Wenxiu continued, “The world has stricter expectations for women. One’s every word and action must be cultivated from a young age so that etiquette and customs become second nature. That way, no matter where you go in the future, no one will be able to find fault in you.”
His little sister was a free spirit, and as her eldest brother, he couldn’t help but worry about her sometimes.
Most men in the world still preferred gentle and composed women. A too forceful personality might give an impression of being uncontrollable and could cause others to keep their distance.
Daohua knew that conceptual conflicts like this were hard to resolve through words.
The best solution was for her to let it go in one ear and out the other.
Living in ancient times, she could adapt to the local customs for the sake of survival, but she didn’t want to be completely assimilated.
That evening, Daohua and her group sought shelter in an inn.
As they dismounted from the carriage, seeing Yan Zhigao and Teacher Xiao’s unsteady stances, Daohua shook her head again-these people were too weak!
“Hold on a little longer, just two more days until we reach the city.”
Linyi County was remote, and the city was quite a distance away, with rugged mountain roads part of the journey. Even by carriage, it would take at least five days to arrive.
Seeing that the younger ones were still in good spirits, Yan Zhigao breathed a sigh of relief. His biggest concern had been them falling ill during the trip.
Now that he saw them healthy, his mind was significantly more at ease.
After a night’s rest, everyone felt somewhat better, and early the next morning, they set off on the road again without delay.
“Dad!”
Just as he settled into the carriage, Yan Zhigao heard his fourth son’s voice. He opened the curtain, “What’s the matter?
Yan Wenkai smiled as he handed a water flask to Yan Zhigao, “Dad, this is tea that big sister brewed, said to be refreshing. If you and Teacher Xiao get tired, drinking some should help alleviate fatigue.
Yan Zhigao accepted the flask, opened the lid, and sniffed, “What kind of tea? It does smell quite nice.”
Teacher Xiao chuckled beside him, “The young lady’s filial piety is commendable.”
On the road afterward, Yan Zhigao tried adding Daohua’s tea to the water and found that after drinking it, he really did feel more refreshed. He immediately poured a cup for Teacher Xiao, “Teacher Xiao, you should try it too, the taste is actually quite good.”
Teacher Xiao took a sip and his eyes brightened, “Lingering fragrance in the mouth, what fine tea.” He took another small sip and asked, “My lord, can you discern what kind of tea this is?”
Yan Zhigao drank another cup, “It seems to be just ordinary jasmine tea.” Teacher Xiao shook his head, “Ordinary jasmine tea doesn’t have such clarity and richness, the young lady has used tea leaves of excellent quality.” Yan Zhigao nodded in agreement, a look of recognition on his face, Who knows where that girl found such fragrant and pure tasting tea?” There was no such fine tea at home!
Teacher Xiao smiled and said nothing.
This was surely a matter of the Yan Family, and as an outsider, it was not his place to comment too much.
With the invigorating effects of the tea, the spirits of Yan Zhigao, Teacher Xiao, and Yan Wenxiu all improved greatly, and on the fifth day, the group arrived smoothly at the prefectural city’s post station.
During this period, due to many officials coming to the prefectural city to report for duty, the post station was nearly full when Daohua and the others arrived. However, they were fortunate enough to be allocated a small quadrangle courtyard.
“We can finally rest a bit!”
After five consecutive days of travel, even the physically robust Daohua and Wentao wished for a good night’s sleep.
The quadrangle courtyard had just enough rooms for Daohua and the others to stay in.
The main room was given to Yan Zhigao and Teacher Xiao to reside in, while the side wings were divided among Daohua and the rest.
After the rooms were allocated, Daohua asked the post station’s helper to bring hot water; she wanted to take a bath.
However, before the hot water arrived, the post station’s official came to their courtyard with a group of people.
“We were the ones who moved into this courtyard first, why should we have to move?” The dissatisfied voice of Yan Wenkai sounded.
The post station official gave Yan Zhigao an embarrassed smile, “Please forgive us, Lord County Magistrate, it was our oversight that caused the mix-up with the courtyard. This courtyard was originally prepared for Lord Prefecture Governor of Fanzhou. Now that the Lord Prefecture Governor has arrived, so…” His tone was still polite, but his attitude left no room for negotiation.
In Linyi County, a county magistrate was the highest-ranking official, but upon arrival in the prefectural city, he became the lowest of officials.
Daohua stood at the entrance, seeing her adoptive father restrain his anger with an effort and a somewhat powerless wave, signaling them to pack up and change courtyards.
“Alas!”
Daohua heard a sigh and turned around to find it was from Teacher Xiao. Teacher Xiao saw Daohua looking over, gave a bitter smile, turned around, and went back to his room to pack up.
Such is the harsh reality of officialdom, where one bootlicks the higher-ups and tramples over the lower ones.
All that talk about the courtyard being prepared in advance was nonsense; the post station official only felt that Lord Yan, with his lower position and lack of backing, was an easy target, hence the blatant move to make them change courtyards.
Soon enough, Daohua and her group had packed up their things.
As they were leaving the courtyard, they happened to see the Lord Prefecture Governor who was moving in.
Seeing the Lord Prefecture Governor stand before her adoptive father with arrogance, and her wronged adoptive father still having to flatter and lower himself before that man, Daohua’s heart was filled with mixed emotions. Any previous dissatisfaction with her adoptive father dissipated into thin air at that moment.
After all, her adoptive father had always been holding up a piece of stable heaven and earth for the Yan Family with his not-so-sturdy shoulders.