Chapter 272: Chapter 254, Private Chat_1

“My goodness, they have been sparring for almost half an hour and still haven’t stopped?”

Yan Wenkai muttered to himself as he watched Daohua and Dong Yuanyao still entangled in their match in the courtyard.

It was almost as long as the time they took when practicing their martial arts.

Dong Yuanxuan chuckled, “Yuanyao and Yan’s sister are both not the type to admit defeat easily. I reckon there’s still some fighting left in them.”

Xiao Yeyang also laughed, “Daohua, well, she’s quite resilient. Look, every time Dong’s young lady pushes her away, she clenches her teeth and charges back.”

“While Dong’s young lady has spent a longer time practicing martial arts, whether it’s in terms of reaction speed or techniques, she’s a bit better than Daohua.”

“However, Dong’s young lady doesn’t seem to have as much stamina as Daohua. If she keeps being worn down by Daohua like this, neither of them will likely get the better of the other in the short term.”

Indeed, as Xiao Yeyang remarked, Daohua and Dong Yuanyao were both exhausted at that point, yet neither wanted to concede defeat, and so the stalemate dragged on.

Seeing the two of them soaked in sweat from their brawl, Yan Wenkai felt tired just looking at them, and with a curl of his lip, he said, “What’s the point of this, you’re all ladies, why be so fiercely competitive?”

His voice wasn’t soft, and as Daohua and Dong Yuanyao, who were deliberating on how to stop the fight, heard it, they quickly exchanged a glance, retracted their moves in unison, and then turned to look at Yan Wenkai, rubbing their hands together as they walked straight towards him.

Yan Wenkai had an inkling of trouble as he saw the two approaching but showed no sign of fear, puffing out his chest and jesting, “What now? You two want to take me on as well?”

Both were reasonably skillful, but comparing them to him, a bona fide martial artist, was somewhat insufficient.

Eager to try, Dong Yuanyao cupped her fist in salute and said, “Fourth Brother Yan, please advise!”

Daohua, dispensing with the pleasantries, declared, “Fourth Brother, watch out.” As soon as she finished speaking, she threw a punch his way.

Yan Wenkai tilted his head and with a swift turn, dodged it, about to revel in his skill when he felt a pain in his legs. He looked down to find that Dong Yuanyao’s leg had somehow shot out towards him, attempting to trip him up.

“Oh, so it’s two against one you’re after, is it?”

Dong Yuanyao didn’t have the strength to trip Yan Wenkai, who immediately rolled up his sleeves, “Today, I’ll let you see what being formidable really means!”

Seeing this, Daohua and Dong Yuanyao exchanged a smile, far from frightened. Instead, they attacked him head on.

To the side, Xiao Yeyang and Dong Yuanxuan shook their heads in amusement as they saw Yan Wenkai surrounded by the two, one on each side.

“Serves him right for running his mouth!”

Xiao Yeyang felt very relaxed watching the trio tussle in the courtyard; the epidemic was under control, his uncle could report his duties completed, and the Emperor Uncle could breathe a sigh of relief.

Dong Yuanxuan was also at ease; he was out of danger now, his sister was safe, and the family elders could rest easy.

In the courtyard, at first, Yan Wenkai managed easily enough, but gradually, Daohua and Dong Yuanyao became more in sync. One would distract while the other attacked, and eventually, Yan Wenkai ended up taking quite a few hits.

“Ouch, stop it; it hurts!” Yan Wenkai cried out with a grimace.

Daohua and Dong Yuanyao continued for a few more moves before they stopped and stood aside, bursting into triumphant laughter.

Yan Wenkai rubbed the arm that had taken the hits, taunting, “Don’t be smug, I was just going easy on you, seeing as you’re two young ladies, didn’t have the heart to hit back hard.”

Daohua wiped the sweat from her forehead and beamed, “Fourth Brother, don’t forget, Yuanyao and I weren’t even using weapons.”

Yan Wenkai sneered, “Neither was I. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have had a chance to make a move!”

Dong Yuanyao laughed, “Fourth Brother Yan, boasting too much might just cause you to bite your tongue.”

Watching Yan Wenkai argue with the two girls, Dong Yuanxuan couldn’t help shaking his head and said, “It’s time for you to come out now!”

A man shouldn’t casually intrude in a lady’s courtyard, right?

“Next time, I’ll show you my real prowess!”

With a biting farewell, Yan Wenkai then left the courtyard.

After he was gone, Daohua and Dong Yuanyao looked at each other and smiled again.

“My Fourth Brother is really quite adorable. In the future, we can spar with him often,” Daohua remarked.

Dong Yuanyao nodded in agreement, “That sounds great! My brother always said that Fourth Brother Yan is a bit of a simpleton, but I think he’s rather attentive. He was considerate to us throughout the sparring just now.”

Daohua looked up proudly and said, “Of course, my Fourth Brother is a gentleman,” pausing before adding, “Though, sometimes he’s indeed quite careless and inattentive.”

Dong Yuanyao smiled, “Well, that’s how most boys are.”

Daohua, “Let’s go, we should go inside to clean up and not catch a cold.”

After this, the relationship between Daohua and Dong Yuanyao only grew better.

With more interaction, Daohua found that Dong Yuanyao’s thoughts were modern and progressive. Chatting with her, they always found plenty of common ground.

Additionally, both of them disliked being constrained by dogmatic rules and confined to the inner courtyard. They found their thoughts and ideas to be surprisingly in agreement and thus grew closer and closer.

…

After the Imperial Court delivered several batches of medicinal herbs, the epidemic at Xingyun Prefecture was thoroughly controlled. There were no new cases in the city, and those who had been infected were on the mend.

However, to prevent any unexpected spread of the disease, the city gates remained closed.

On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, Daohua and her companions celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival at the Xing Courtyard.

“Thank goodness for my eldest sister; otherwise, you all wouldn’t even have mooncakes to eat this year.”

Yan Wenkai, holding a mooncake in one hand and eating it, boasted to Dong Yuanxuan and the others with pride.

Su Hongxin merely glanced at him and didn’t join the conversation, focusing instead on eating his mooncake.

Due to the limited ingredients, the mooncakes made by Miss Yan were scarce. It made more sense to eat a couple more mooncakes than to waste words with Yan Wenkai, the big eater.

The others ignored him too, except for Xiao Yeyang, who was also busily devouring his food.

It couldn’t be helped; for the past month or two, apart from eating simple meals, they had been drinking nothing but medicine. Naturally, they wanted to eat more now that they finally had mooncakes for the festival.

The several plates of mooncakes were devoured by the group of young men in no time.

By the time Daohua and Dong Yuanyao returned with the servants to prepare the hot pot, all they saw were empty plates.

Only then did Xiao Yeyang and the others remember that the two of them hadn’t eaten yet, and they all wore expressions of embarrassment.

“Um…” Yan Wenkai, who had quick hands, still had half a mooncake left. He looked at Daohua with a sheepish smile and said, “Eldest sister, would you mind it? If you don’t mind…”

“I mind!”

Daohua interrupted directly and turned away to prepare the dipping sauce for the hot pot.

Feeling awkward, Yan Wenkai smiled. It seemed somewhat improper to have asked only Daohua, so he turned with the mooncake towards Dong Yuanyao.

Upon seeing him looking in her direction, Dong Yuanyao quickly said, “I don’t like mooncakes,” and hurried off to join Daohua.

Yan Wenkai was speechless: “Why run off so fast? I’m not a tiger!” Snorting in disdain, he decided he’d rather not offer it after all and promptly ate the half mooncake in one gulp.

The others couldn’t help but laugh at the scene.

Just then, the hot pot was ready. Daohua called everyone to eat.

With no elders present and being in a foreign land, the group shed their usual restraints. The dinner table was full of unrestrained eating, drinking, and merry-making.

Daohua was also very relaxed at this moment; if it weren’t for the fact that everyone had just recovered from a long illness, she would have liked to steam a pot of sake to enjoy.

After a short while, Daohua was full but it wouldn’t be appropriate to leave the table early, so she began to assess the others at the table.

Watching the group of blooming young men in front of her, Daohua smiled demurely, suddenly intrigued, and began to whisper to Dong Yuanyao.

“Which one do you think is better among them?”

She wouldn’t dare say such a thing to anyone else, not even Zhou Jingwan. Although Zhou Jingwan wasn’t overly constrained by her family, she was still limited by the mindset of the era.

It was like when discussing the figures and looks of actors during plays, Zhou Jingwan would find it embarrassing.

But Dong Yuanyao was different. She was braver, more carefree, and one thing they shared in common: they were both face-connoisseurs.

Just as expected, upon hearing this, Dong Yuanyao observed them with sparkling eyes: “In terms of nobility, the Little Prince exudes an elegance that no one else can match.”

Daohua nodded. Even without saying anything, Xiao Yeyang’s presence would draw everyone’s attention.

“As for scholarly grace, your elder brother isn’t bad, same with Brother Zhou, but I think he puts on a bit of an act, trying to look more serious than he is.”

Daohua laughed heartily and nodded repeatedly: “Exactly, that’s what I think too. My elder brother is still not thick-skinned enough, sometimes he gets embarrassed, but Brother Zhou doesn’t.”

Dong Yuanyao continued, “If we’re talking about kindness and understanding, my brother is the best.”

Daohua nodded: “Brother Dong is both thoughtful and reliable, truly top-notch. Unlike Brother Su, who can be a bit of a show-off, but nonetheless, not disagreeable.”

Dong Yuanyao chuckled: “The Su family is known for their refined scholars; accustomed to genteel elegance, and Brother Su, being lively and active, is naturally doted upon.”

Daohua nodded in understanding: “What’s rare is cherished.” Her gaze then fell on Yan Wenkai and Yan Wentao, who were busy eating, “For forthrightness and joviality, my fourth brother is the best; for honesty and dependability, my third brother is the best.”

Dong Yuanyao agreed: “Fourth Brother Yan really is fun. It’s relaxing to hang out with him; Third Brother Yan seems very dependable, a friend you can trust with all your heart.”

Daohua said proudly: “The brothers in my family are naturally all good.”

Dong Yuanyao looked at the triumphant Daohua and complained, “Ah, why do I only have one brother?”