Chapter 153: Learning as We Live

 Chapter 153: Learning as We Live

At the gate of the Yan residence, after seeing off Xiao Yeyang and his entourage, everyone in the Yan family breathed a sigh of relief. 

"Jingwan, there's still a lot of venison left. I'll give you some, and you can cook it yourself when you get home," Daohua said to Zhou Jingwan.

Zhou Jingwan was about to nod in agreement when Zhou Chengye smiled and declined, "Miss Yan, no need. The young prince already gave me some. I had someone take it back home earlier."

Daohua smiled and didn’t press the matter further.

Zhou Chengye bowed to Yan Zhigao and Madam Li, "Uncle Yan, Auntie, thank you for your hospitality today. Jingwan and I should be leaving now."

Madam Li looked at the sky and nodded with a smile, "We won't keep you. You've just returned from the academy, and I'm sure your elders at home are waiting for you. Go back and reassure them."

Zhou Chengye, holding Zhou Jingwan’s hand, said his farewells to the Yan family and quickly left on his horse.

"We should go back too!"

Once the others had left, Daohua prepared to help Madam Li back inside. It was quite cold standing by the door in the winter.

But just as they were walking a few steps, Yan Yile rushed up to her. "Big Sister, I gave you a signal just now. Why didn’t you pay any attention to me?"

Daohua turned around in surprise, "You signaled me? When? I didn’t see it. Why didn’t you just call me?"

She had been busy discussing medicinal formulas with Xiao Yeyang earlier, so she hadn’t noticed anything else.

Yan Yile pouted, dissatisfied, "I made it so obvious, how could you not see it? I think you deliberately ignored me because you didn’t want me to apologize to the young prince."

Upon hearing this, Daohua widened her eyes and stared speechlessly at Yan Yile.

Yan Yile continued, "I bet you were jealous. At lunch, you saw the young prince give me some food, and you got unhappy, so now you—"

"Stop!"

Daohua couldn’t take it anymore and quickly raised her hand to stop her. She had eaten too much roasted venison earlier and was afraid she might feel sick if she listened to any more of this.

"Fourth Sister, a brain is a good thing. When you go out or speak, make sure to bring it along. Don’t leave it hanging on your neck, or it’ll rust."

After saying this, Daohua turned to Madam Li, "Mother, let’s go inside. There are too many people who jump to conclusions these days, and staying around them too long might make us catch their habit."

Madam Li gave Yan Yile a cold glance before looking at Yan Zhiyuan and Sun Shi. She didn’t say anything, just followed her daughter inside.

Yan Yile, realizing that Daohua had just called her out for not using her brain, was furious. As soon as they had walked away, she turned to Yan Zhigao. "Uncle, look at Big Sister. She’s gone too far!"

Yan Zhigao glanced at Yan Yile, but didn’t respond. He turned to Yan Zhiyuan, "Second Brother, come with me for a moment."

During the young prince’s visit, the people from the second branch had been truly troublesome. They couldn’t be allowed to continue like this and needed to be properly disciplined.

Especially Yan Yile. He hadn’t noticed it before, but now he realized that her words were completely careless. She had offended Xiao Yeyang without realizing it, and now she was making unreasonable trouble by bothering the eldest daughter, all without any proper manners or etiquette.

Daohua didn’t know what her father had said to her second uncle, but after this day, the second branch started behaving more quietly.

This made her very pleased. 

Life in ancient times wasn’t like in modern. If you didn’t like a relative, you could simply avoid them.

In ancient times, family reputation was important. People valued the honor of their clan, and everyone’s rise or fall was interconnected.

Before her father ’s success in the civil examinations, her second uncle had contributed a lot to the Yan family. Moreover, since the grandmother was still alive, unless they committed something truly unforgivable, her father wouldn’t completely separate them from the family.

Now that they had quieted down, she could finally have some peace and quiet.

On the twenty-eighth of the twelfth month, Fang Shi, who had been sent to the capital to deliver New Year gifts to Yan Siyi, returned. 

As soon as she arrived, Old Madam Yan couldn’t wait to call her over and anxiously asked how Yan Siyi was doing in the Yang household.

Fang Shi was afraid that Old Madam Yan wouldn’t be able to bear it, but she couldn’t lie either, so she did her best to soften her words. However, the elderly lady, who had lived most of her life, could see through it immediately. She broke down in tears and kept apologizing to her daughter.

Seeing her grandmother crying so sorrowfully, Daohua was extremely anxious. The old lady was getting on in years and couldn’t withstand such emotional distress.

"Grandmother, our family used to be much weaker than the Yang family, which is why they dared to bully Fourth Aunt. But now, our family is growing stronger, and they won’t treat Fourth Aunt like that anymore."

"Grandmother, don’t be sad. From now on, let’s make sure to send Fourth Aunt extra gifts during the holidays, so the Yang family knows how much we value her."

"Grandmother."

As Daohua's comforting words continued to reach her ears, Old Madam Yan's emotions began to settle somewhat.

Madam Li, standing by, repeatedly assured her that she would regularly communicate with her sister-in-law, which helped calm Old Madam Yan.

"That scoundrel Yang Boyi! How did he promise me when he asked for Siyi’s hand in marriage? The next time I see him, I’ll definitely give him a good beating!"

Old Madam Yan said this with a vengeful tone.

Daohua quickly interjected, "Grandmother, there will definitely be a chance. Don’t worry about Father’s side. Think about Eldest Brother. He’s very talented. It’s just a matter of time before he passes the imperial exams. Who knows, he might even come back as a top scholar, second place, or third place!"

"I’ve heard that top scholars, second place, and third place all stay in the capital to take government positions. When that happens, our family will have to follow him into the capital, won’t we?"

Old Madam Yan wiped her tears, and though she was no longer as upset, after hearing Daohua's words, she retorted, "Do you really think your grandmother is some ignorant country woman?"

"Top scholar, second place, third place... as if anyone can pass the exams and achieve that!"

Daohua awkwardly smiled, "Grandmother, we must have faith in Eldest Brother!"

Old Madam Yan wasn’t naïve: "Although our family produced your father, a successful candidate in the imperial exams, we're still far from those scholarly families. Even such families may not produce a top scholar in several generations, let alone ours."

Daohua scratched her head, feeling a bit embarrassed, "Well, if Eldest Brother doesn’t work out, we still have Third Brother and Fourth Brother. They’re studying martial arts and could still become martial top scholars!"

Old Madam Yan immediately dismissed the idea: "That’s even harder to imagine. Martial arts—practicing with swords and spears—one wrong move, and they could get injured. I’d rather they not take the martial exams at all. It’s too dangerous."

Daohua lowered her head silently.

Well, she had no more arguments.

Since she retired, Old Madam Yan had developed the habit of sending the servant to gather all kinds of gossip, and then telling it to her. As a result, she knew more and more, no longer like when she lived in the countryside, just caring about her own small plot of land.

Ah, it was getting harder and harder to fool her now.

Seeing that her granddaughter had no retort, Old Madam Yan couldn’t help but feel a bit smug. The frustration she had been feeling had also faded quite a bit.

There was a saying her granddaughter had mentioned before... what was it?

Ah, yes. "Live and learn."

In the past, she hadn’t thought much of it, but now the more she thought about it, the more she realized how true it was.

After moving to her eldest son’s side, in order not to embarrass him, she had quietly been studying etiquette and manners. She would also send the servant to inquire about news from various families.

At the last birthday banquet of Old Master Zhou, she had even managed to engage in a few conversations with the other elder ladies.

Thinking of her youngest daughter far away in the capital, Old Madam Yan sighed. She wasn’t sure if her eldest son would be able to rise any further. If not, then they would have to rely on the support of Wen Xiu and the others to back up their aunt.

(End of Chapter)