Chapter 143: Arrogant After Success

 Chapter 143: Arrogant After Success     

In the pavilion, Yan Yishuang followed up with a poem made by Yan Wenxiu. The poem was well-received, earning applause from everyone. Yan Yishuang’s spirits lifted, and she immediately turned to Xiao Yeyang, sitting at the head of the group, with a bright smile.
“Your Highness, it’s your turn!”

She never thought she was inferior to her eldest sister, especially when it came to poetry. In this aspect, she was far superior to her sister. Today, she was determined to seize the opportunity to show off her skills, hoping to impress her father, the rest of the family, and even the Young Prince, and prove that the Yan family had more than just one talented daughter.

Xiao Yeyang seemed uninterested, responding in a perfunctory manner while his gaze wandered outside the pavilion. He was both angry and helpless.
Daohua had really left him here to stew in his own frustration! How infuriating!

In the pavilion, Yan Wenkai also felt bored. If it weren’t for seeing his elder brother trying so hard to liven up the atmosphere, he would have already left.

“Brother Dong, your verse was excellent, both warm and natural. What do you think, Young Prince?”

Hearing his third sister calling Xiao Yeyang again, Yan Wenkai felt a bit of a headache.
Hadn’t his third sister noticed Xiao Yeyang’s growing impatience? Yet, she still insisted on trying to get him to engage.

Yan Yishuang continued clapping, eagerly awaiting Xiao Yeyang’s commentary, but unfortunately, he didn’t even spare her a glance.

Seeing this, Yan Yishuang’s smile faltered, and Dong Yuanxuan, standing beside her, sighed helplessly, stepping in to smooth things over so the situation wouldn’t get too awkward.

At the same time, he wondered, why was there such a huge difference between the Yan family’s daughters?
When the eldest daughter was here, the atmosphere was cheerful, relaxed, and comfortable. Even though her attention was often on the Young Prince, she still paid attention to everyone, and everything proceeded smoothly without any haste.

But with the third daughter, all there was were forced flattery and the overwhelming awkwardness.

He couldn’t understand why Yan Zhigao had pushed this daughter forward.

“Your Highness, how about this potted green chrysanthemum?”

Just as Xiao Yeyang’s patience was running out, Yan Yile cheerfully placed a pot of winter chrysanthemums in front of him.

Xiao Yeyang glanced at it but showed no interest.

But then, Yan Yile spoke again. “This was personally cultivated by my eldest sister. There are only a few pots, and even the flower shop doesn’t sell them.”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yeyang showed a bit more interest. “Winter chrysanthemums are hard to grow, and the green variety is even rarer. Daohua’s flower cultivation skills are quite good.”

Seeing the Young Prince finally engage with her, Yan Yile was overjoyed. She pulled Yan Yihuan to join in and began explaining how her eldest sister usually grew and grafted flowers and plants.

Yan Yihuan sat quietly beside them, occasionally adding a few words, while Yan Yile spoke enthusiastically, her face full of excitement.

Everyone had expected Xiao Yeyang to grow impatient with this conversation, but to their surprise, he listened attentively, even exchanging a few tips on flower cultivation with the two sisters.

On the side, Yan Yishuang furrowed her brow in disappointment, glancing at Yan Wenxiu with a pitiful expression.

Yan Wenxiu gave her a reassuring look, silently signaling that it was alright.

Xiao Yeyang had been waiting patiently at the Yan household for most of the day, but by afternoon, Daohua still hadn’t come out to see him. His temper flared, and with a dark expression, he stood up and left without a word.

At Daohua Pavilion, Daohua was busy tallying the accounts for the flower shop.

Business had been good these past few months, and they had earned quite a bit.

Thinking about the vegetables growing in the warm room, many of which were now ripe and ready for harvest, Daohua wondered if she should buy another shop specifically for selling vegetables.

Winter vegetables were limited, especially the green varieties, which would surely fetch a good price.

Moreover, once the vegetables were sold, the shop could be repurposed to sell fruits.

There were still many fruit trees planted on the barren hills of their estate, and although the fruits wouldn’t be ready for harvest for a year or two, they had watermelons and grapes to sell in the meantime.

After pondering for a while, Daohua decided this was a feasible idea and started calculating whether she had enough silver to make it happen.

Just then, Wang Man’er returned from outside.

“Miss, the Young Prince has left.” 

Daohua paused for a moment, offering a faint smile before continuing to focus on her calculations.

Whether in the modern or ancient world, what could be more important than becoming strong and independent? 

That evening, Daohua went to Old Madam Yan’s courtyard for dinner.

As soon as she entered the room, she sensed something was off.

Her father’s expression was not very good. When he saw her, he glanced at her with visible displeasure.

On the other hand, the entire second branch was grinning. 

Daohua gave them a surprised look. Had they suddenly struck it rich?

As for the third branch, they remained as silent as ever.

After thinking for a moment, Daohua waved for Wang Man’er to go inquire.

Soon, Wang Man’er returned and whispered to her, “Miss, the reason why the second master and second madam are so happy is because this afternoon, the young prince had a pleasant conversation with the second and fourth young ladies.”

Daohua raised an eyebrow. Now it made sense why her second uncle and second aunt were so pleased.

“What about father? Why is he unhappy?” She thought he should be pleased to have hosted Xiao Yeyang well.

Wang Man’er glanced at Yan Yishuang, who was sitting quietly without speaking. “The young prince didn’t pay much attention to the third young lady.”

Upon hearing this, Daohua sneered inwardly.

As expected, in her father’s eyes, the closeness between people was very clear.

Although they were family, how could a niece have the same status as his own daughter? His daughter’s reputation mattered more.

Seeing her father forcing a smile, Daohua felt somewhat secretly pleased.

Wasn’t he always favoring Yan Yishuang? Now, she had been overshadowed and slapped in the face!

Meanwhile, Grandmother Yan, seeing her granddaughter’s amused expression, gave her a sharp knock on the head. 

During dinner, Yan Zhiyuan took a few sips of wine. Whether it was because he was too happy or drunk and pretending to be mad, he started lecturing Daohua again.

“Daohua, I’m not criticizing you, but your temper really needs to be improved. The young prince is someone important. He came to our house, and yet you didn’t even show up. How could you be so rude?”

Seeing her overconfident second uncle acting this way, Daohua held back her frustration for a while but couldn’t hold it in anymore. She put down her chopsticks and looked directly at him. “Second uncle, I am simply following your orders.”

Yan Zhiyuan was taken aback. “When did I ever tell you to be so rude?”

Daohua sneered. “Didn’t you say before that if I offend Xiao Yeyang, it would bring disaster to the entire Yan family? For the sake of the Yan family, I have to keep my distance from him. Otherwise, if something happens one day and drags the entire family down, you’ll be the first to blame me.”

“What kind of talk is that?” Yan Zhiyuan was both angry and embarrassed.

Daohua stared back at him without fear. “The truth! Second uncle, where have I wronged you that you treat me this way, constantly looking for faults with me?”

“If having contact with Xiao Yeyang brings disaster to the Yan family, I’m now keeping my distance from him, and yet you still think I’m rude. Second uncle, your demands are too harsh.”

“You—”

Yan Zhiyuan was furious and slammed his hand on the table. “I think you’re just an uncivilized wild girl.”

Upon hearing this, Yan Zhigao and Madam Li both furrowed their brows.

“Second brother, you’ve had too much to drink!”

Yan Zhigao quickly intervened. No matter how bad the eldest daughter was, he and his wife were still present, and it wasn’t for the second brother to lecture.

“I haven’t.” Yan Zhiyuan tried to retort, but Madam Li cut him off, looking at her sister-in-law with a cold tone. “Second sister-in-law, second brother is drunk. Please take him back to his room.”

Her voice left no room for negotiation.

At this moment, the authority of the family’s heads, the husband and wife, was unmistakably clear.

(End of chapter)