Chapter 155: Sick

 Chapter 155: Sick 

At the foot of the main peak of Wuhua Mountain.

Looking at the majestic and imposing royal palace, Li Xingnian, who prided himself on having seen the world, felt a little uneasy: “Wenxiu, Daohua, do we really have to go in?”

Daohua nodded: “Since we've come this far, of course we should meet him before we leave.”

At the entrance of the palace, a group of guards with swords were on duty. When they saw Daohua and the others, they immediately stepped forward to stop them: "This is the royal palace. Unauthorized people are not allowed to approach. Leave quickly."

Yan Wenxiu glanced at Daohua and stepped forward, saying, “Brother guard, we are classmates of the young prince. We’ve come specially to pay him a visit.”

The guard waved impatiently: “Hurry up and leave. The young prince has ordered that no one is allowed to meet with anyone, no matter who they are.”

During the New Year, several groups of people had come, and because they had let a few in, the young prince, who had been in a bad mood, gave them ten flogs, and their bottoms were still sore.

Seeing this, Daohua took out the Qilin jade pendant from her waist: “This is the young prince’s jade pendant. Please pass the message for us. If you’re worried about the young prince being upset, you can also find Eunuch Defu.”

The guard took the jade pendant and looked at it, shocked. He quickly returned it to Daohua, speaking politely: “Please wait a moment. I will report to him right away.” With that, he hurried into the palace.

Daohua put the jade pendant away and placed it in her pouch.

Li Xingnian felt uneasy: “Do you think we can get in?”

Daohua thought for a moment: “We should be able to. We’re visiting him, and we’re doing a favor for Xiao Yeyang. He’s probably bored these days, and it won’t be bad to come and chat with him for a while.”

Soon, the guard returned with Eunuch Defu.

Looking closely, Defu was still panting as he walked.

Upon seeing Daohua, Defu’s face lit up with joy: “Miss Yan, happy New Year! I’m here to wish you a happy New Year!”

Daohua smiled: “Eunuch Defu, happy New Year to you too!” She said, lifting the food box in her hand, “I brought some food for Xiao Yeyang. Where is he?”

Defu’s expression immediately turned serious: “The young prince is in his room. A few days ago, he practiced martial arts early in the morning and caught a chill. He’s sick right now.”

Daohua’s face changed with surprise: “What? He’s sick? Let’s go, quickly take me to see him.”

Defu nodded quickly and led Daohua into the palace.

Yan Wenxiu, Yan Wenkai, and Li Xingnian, who were ignored, exchanged glances: “…”

Fortunately, the guard had good judgment and said to the three: “Please come in.”

The Yan brothers nodded and calmly entered the palace. As for Li Xingnian, the oldest of them, he seemed a little more anxious.

Don’t blame him—he had mostly dealt with merchants, and had only seen a few high officials. This was his first time getting so close to the royal family, so as long as he didn’t make a mistake, he’d consider himself lucky.

Once they entered, the guard wiped the non-existent sweat from his forehead and thought to himself, Thank goodness I didn’t offend these people earlier. Not many people are greeted by Eunuch Defu personally.

In the main hall of the palace.

Xiao Yeyang, who had been lying weakly on a chaise lounge reading a novel, immediately jumped up when he heard that Daohua and the others had arrived. He ordered his servants to help him change clothes.

By the time Daohua arrived, Xiao Yeyang had regained his usual appearance, though his face looked a bit pale.

Daohua stood a few steps away from him, carefully inspecting his face. With a furrowed brow, she asked, “Your health seems fine. How did you get sick from practicing martial arts?”

Xiao Yeyang was happy to see Daohua and didn’t mind her concerned look as he casually replied: “It’s nothing serious. I just sweated a bit and didn’t change clothes in time, caught a chill. I’m almost better now.”

Daohua was silent for a moment.

Spending the New Year alone outside must have been lonely. Perhaps he had gotten up early to practice martial arts in order to vent his frustrations.

Thinking about the sad fate of the child who had been left behind in the family in the role play, Daohua couldn’t help but feel sympathy for Xiao Yeyang.

Poor child!

Seeing Daohua’s gaze, which seemed to carry some inexplicable emotion, Xiao Yeyang hurriedly changed the subject: “By the way, what made you come to visit me?”

Daohua snapped back to reality, calling Wang Man’er to set down the food box: “I’ve been saying I wanted to invite you for hot pot, but I never had the chance, so I brought the hot pot seasoning.”

“Since you’re sick, how about a spicy hot pot to help you sweat it out? Maybe the chill will go away!”

Having been taking medicine, Xiao Yeyang felt his mouth was tasteless. Upon hearing about the hot pot, his interest was piqued: “Great! Let’s have hot pot for lunch.”

Daohua, remembering that Xiao Yeyang was spending the New Year alone and was sick, nodded and said, “I should let my uncle know first.” She had originally planned to just drop off the food and chat for a bit before leaving.

Only then did Xiao Yeyang remember that Yan Wenxiu and the others were there. He immediately said, “Let’s go, let’s go out and see your uncle.”

Soon, Xiao Yeyang led Daohua to the living room, where Yan Wenxiu and the others were waiting.

“The commoner pays his respects to the young prince!”

Upon seeing Xiao Yeyang, Li Xingnian immediately stepped forward and bowed.

Xiao Yeyang raised his hand: "No need for such formalities. You are Daohua's uncle, so there's no need to stand on ceremony. Please, feel free."

Li Xingnian suppressed the shock in his heart.

Just because I’m Daohua’s uncle, I don’t need to be so formal?

Daohua noticed her uncle standing still and took the initiative to pull him back to sit down, smiling as she said, "Uncle, the young prince wants to have us stay for lunch. What do you think?"

Li Xingnian hurriedly replied, "If the young prince invites, how could we refuse?"

Daohua had carefully prepared the hot pot base, and since it was Xiao Yeyang's first time trying this style of eating, coupled with the cheerful conversations from the Yan brothers, he enjoyed his lunch very much.

Defu, who was standing by, noticed that his master had finally smiled and let out a long breath of relief.

The young prince’s sickness, supposedly due to a chill, was more likely the result of emotional distress.

Back in the capital, although life in the royal residence wasn’t ideal, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor doted on him, so Xiao Yeyang didn’t mind too much.

But now, leaving the capital and seeing other families reunite, with fathers and sons living harmoniously, while he was all alone—it was no wonder that the stark contrast affected him so much.

"Little sister, this hot pot is so delicious! Why didn’t you make it at home?" Yan Wenkai, who had just tasted the hot pot, was a little dissatisfied. "Before we go back to school, you must make it again, or else..."

Daohua smiled and responded, "Or else what?"

Seeing his sister’s provocative look, Yan Wenkai was momentarily stumped. "Or else, I won’t find you any flower seeds!"

Meanwhile, hearing that this was the first time Daohua had made the hot pot, Xiao Yeyang's mood unexpectedly brightened. He turned to Daohua and said, "It’s fine. If your fourth brother doesn’t find any, I’ll find them for you."

"Young prince, you can’t be biased!" Yan Wenkai immediately pouted.

Defu smiled as he watched Xiao Yeyang joke with the Yan siblings. After a moment, he discreetly tugged on Yan Wenxiu’s sleeve, signaling him to step aside.

Yan Wenxiu glanced at his uncle, Li Xingnian, who nodded, and then followed Defu outside. "Eunuch Defu, is there something you need?"

Defu bent his waist in a bow, and Yan Wenxiu quickly helped him stand up. "Please, Eunuch Defu, speak your mind. If it’s something I can do, I will certainly help."

Defu sighed deeply. "This year’s New Year has been rather unpleasant for the young prince, as the minister was delayed with affairs. I was wondering if the two young masters and Miss Yan could stay here and accompany the young prince for a while?"

Yan Wenxiu was slightly stunned. He hadn’t expected that this was what Defu wanted to talk about.

Defu continued, "I know you’re planning to go with your uncle to the provincial capital, so it won’t take long—just one day. Seeing the young prince so happy today, I took the liberty of asking."

Yan Wenxiu snapped back to attention and immediately smiled. "That sounds great. When I entered the palace, I was so stunned by the scenery here that I was already thinking about how to stay and enjoy it."

Upon hearing this, Defu laughed.

The eldest young master of the Yan family certainly knew how to speak.

"Then I will go tell the young prince right away. He will definitely agree."

Hearing that Yan Wenxiu wanted to stay and visit the palace, Xiao Yeyang had no objections and smiled at Daohua. "The winter scenery in the palace isn’t that impressive, but in spring, that’s when the palace is at its most beautiful."

Daohua glanced at her older brother, then at her uncle, who was still smiling, and replied, "Then you’ll have to accompany us for a good tour this afternoon."

(End of chapter)