Chapter 157: Two Lonely People

 Chapter 157: Two Lonely People  

After drinking some chicken soup and having some snacks, Daohua felt even less like moving and nestled by the stove, leisurely basking in the warmth.

The sky was still a little bright at this time, and dinner was still some time away.

Daohua was content to stay where she was, but the others were not so patient.

“It’s boring staying inside. Let’s go out for a walk. I saw a training ground in the palace just now. How about we go check it out?” Yan Wenkai said loudly.

Xiao Yeyang, seeing that Daohua showed no interest, waved his hand dismissively. “If you want to go, go on your own.”

“Don’t be like that. It’s no fun going by myself,” Yan Wenkai said, glancing quickly at his older brother, hoping he would go with him.

Unfortunately, Yan Wenxiu, a weak scholar, was not interested in swordplay or martial arts. He shrugged at Yan Wenkai, signaling he didn’t want to go.

Helpless, Yan Wenkai turned to his uncle.

Li Xingnian smiled. “I’ll go with you.” He was also curious about what the royal training ground looked like.

Yan Wenkai immediately cheered up, pulling Li Xingnian out of the room.

Once they left, the room became quiet again.

It was rare for Xiao Yeyang to initiate a conversation. “I have many books in my study. Would you like to take a look?”

Daohua’s interest was piqued. “Do you have any storybooks?”

Yan Wenxiu immediately replied, “Didn’t Mother say you’re not allowed to read those?”

Daohua pouted and sat back down, unwilling to go.

Although she didn’t like being overly controlled, she still had to show respect to her elder brother in public.

Seeing this, Xiao Yeyang couldn’t help but smile and looked at Yan Wenxiu. “I only have some travel books and books on local customs. It’s fine to take a look.”

Yan Wenxiu didn’t argue further.

Xiao Yeyang signaled to Daohua, indicating she should follow him.

Daohua immediately got up again, raising an eyebrow as if to say, “You’re really on board.”

Seeing her expression, Xiao Yeyang smiled inwardly and led them to the study.

“Wow, you have so many books here!”

Upon entering the study, Daohua was struck by the rows upon rows of bookshelves.

This was ancient times, and books were precious since there were no printing presses. Collecting enough books to fill a room like this must have taken a lot of effort.

Of course, it wasn’t surprising, since this was a royal palace.

As Daohua scanned the bookshelves, she turned to Xiao Yeyang and asked, “With so many books, how many have you read?”

Xiao Yeyang pointed to the front shelves. “I’ve finished the books on military strategy and geography.”

Daohua was surprised. She hadn’t expected Xiao Yeyang to have read so many books.

Beside her, Yan Wenxiu was also in awe.

One could gauge the strength of a family by its collection of books. The Yan family’s collection could hardly fill even two shelves here.

Even though he was studying diligently, his knowledge didn’t compare to that of the sons of prominent families.

Daohua then went to find her favorite storybooks.

Meanwhile, Yan Wenxiu and Xiao Yeyang picked up a book on strategy and began discussing it.

At this moment, Yan Wenxiu realized that the young prince, who mainly focused on martial arts, actually had such a broad range of knowledge. Many of his arguments and insights were novel and unique.

This made Yan Wenxiu even more aware of his own shortcomings in terms of learning.

In the past, he had always thought of himself as knowledgeable, but since meeting Xiao Yeyang, Dong Yuanxuan, and Zhou Chengye, he realized there were always people more talented than him.

His previous sense of excellence had come from being in a small circle, but once he stepped outside, he realized how vast the world was, and how many talented individuals there were.

After discussing with Yan Wenxiu for a while, Xiao Yeyang discovered that Daohua was fiddling with his chessboard. He immediately put down the strategy book and let Yan Wenxiu look on his own, while he walked over to Daohua.

"What's this, you know how to play chess?"

Daohua was inspecting whether the chess pieces were made of jade when Xiao Yeyang's teasing voice came from above.

She looked up and saw Xiao Yeyang looking at her with a half-smile, a smug look on his face that seemed to say, "You don't understand, so why pretend?"

"Who said I don't know?" she replied, her tone lacking confidence.

Xiao Yeyang raised an eyebrow. "Really? How about we play two rounds?"

"Bring it on, who’s afraid?" Daohua immediately sat down.

Seeing this, Xiao Yeyang also sat down.

Daohua noticed Xiao Yeyang’s confident expression and started to feel uneasy. She only knew how to play five-in-a-row, and she played it just to pass the time for fun. After thinking for a moment, she said, "I'll set the rules for the game."

Xiao Yeyang smiled and made a polite gesture, as if to say, "Please go ahead."

Soon, Daohua explained the rules of five-in-a-row.

Xiao Yeyang laughed, "So simple? I thought you'd come up with some complicated rules!"

Daohua: "...". She suddenly had a bad premonition that she was going to be crushed.

In the meantime, Yan Wenxiu sat nearby, reading a book, occasionally glancing at the two.

He then saw his younger sister’s face darkening more and more, while Xiao Yeyang's smile grew wider, his triumphant expression almost blinding.

"I’m done, done, this is so boring!"

After losing ten games in a row, with each match ending quickly, Daohua started to wonder if her intelligence was negative.

Xiao Yeyang looked at Daohua’s grumpy face and awkwardly scratched his nose.

It seemed like he had overdone it! Should he let her win?

After thinking for a while, Xiao Yeyang said, "You’re playing without any strategy, just going with the flow. It’s a miracle you managed to win. Come on, let’s keep playing, and I’ll teach you how to play."

Daohua noticed that Xiao Yeyang wasn’t so smug anymore, so she turned her attention back to the chessboard.

"Don’t make this move, you should go this way."

"Stop, you need to think three steps ahead when playing chess. If you make this move, I can block you with just two pieces. Do you see it?"

Listening to Xiao Yeyang’s constant chatter, Daohua found it quite interesting. The two of them, piece by piece, quickly filled the chessboard.

"Are you leaving for the provincial capital tomorrow?" Xiao Yeyang asked after Daohua started playing more confidently.

Daohua nodded. "Yes."

Xiao Yeyang asked, "When are you coming back?"

Daohua placed a piece. "After the Lantern Festival."

Seeing Xiao Yeyang suddenly fall silent, Daohua thought he might be feeling down about spending the Lantern Festival alone. After a moment, she said, "Back at home, whenever I felt lonely, I’d keep myself busy. Once I got busy, I wouldn’t have time to think about all those messy things."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yeyang’s gaze flickered. He glanced up at Daohua, who seemed absorbed in the chessboard. It appeared that her words were just casual remarks.

This girl... she’s learned how to speak in riddles with him.

But was she comforting herself just now?

Daohua dropped another piece, blocking Xiao Yeyang’s path, and said, "But you weren’t alone at home; you had your grandmother with you, so how could you feel lonely?"

Daohua didn't look up and kept her eyes fixed on the chessboard. "Of course."

She thought about the isolation she felt after crossing into this era. The loneliness of the spirit was something no one else could understand. Her grandmother had been kind to her, as had her third uncle and aunt, but the vast gap in time and space still created an insurmountable divide between them.

Her thoughts, her ideals, were mostly incompatible with this era.

To survive and fit in, she could shrink herself and retreat. But the human mind could never be erased. Over time, the loneliness in her heart would grow more intense.

After being suppressed for so long, there would inevitably be resistance.

Back at her old home, where she interacted with simpler and kinder people and had little to worry about in terms of interests, she felt freer. But once she came to live with her parents, with so many people around and various interests entangling them, conflicting viewpoints that clashed with hers made her unwilling to conform, and she inevitably began to resist.

That’s how she ended up rebelling against her own father and showing disrespect to her elders.

On the other side, Xiao Yeyang paused for a moment, as though he could truly see the loneliness and desolation in Daohua’s eyes.

Daohua quickly regained her composure. "People have their emotions. Who doesn’t feel disappointed sometimes? But you can’t stay stuck in bad emotions. You have to learn to release them."

"For example, when I’m upset, I like to run to the fields, look at the crops, enjoy the view of nature, and my mood immediately lifts."

Xiao Yeyang seemed to be thinking for a moment, then fell silent for a while before saying, "In all my years, I’ve never met a lady who loves to run to the fields like you."

Daohua finally seized an opportunity to block Xiao Yeyang's move, dropping a piece and saying, "What’s wrong with that? People eat the grains of the earth. No matter how noble your status, you can't escape the land beneath your feet."

Xiao Yeyang smiled. "There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just a little different from the usual noble young ladies."

Daohua countered, "I am who I am, unique in this world. Why should I be like others?"

Xiao Yeyang froze, his hand forgetting to place the piece.

Daohua’s words poured out, as if she had been holding them in for a long time and couldn’t help but continue, "I know that in this world, there are many things I can’t control, so I’ll focus on what I can control."

"I love tending to the fields, so I’ll buy more estates, plant grain, grow flowers and herbs. Once I can support myself, I won’t have to care about the faces of others just because I’m different."

Listening to Daohua’s words, Xiao Yeyang was deeply moved.

He had always known that Daohua was different from others, that she had her own ideas and views on everything, but he hadn’t expected her to say something like this.

If she could become self-sufficient, she wouldn’t need to care about anyone’s opinion!

Xiao Yeyang repeated her words in his mind, the light in his eyes growing brighter.

So what if his father wasn’t close to him? So what if his mother abandoned him?

As long as he was strong enough, why would he need to care about all that?

Meanwhile, Yan Wenxiu, sitting nearby, was also stunned by Daohua’s words, not even realizing he was holding the book upside down.

He realized that he really didn’t understand his younger sister at all.  

(The End of this Chapter)