Chapter 169: The Good Man's Charms

 Chapter 169: The Good Man's Charms

Yan Wenxiu saw that Dong family’s young lady was left speechless by his younger sister’s teasing and quickly stepped forward, pulling her aside.
"That's enough!"

Yan Wenxiu glared at Daohua, who was still trying to get close to Dong Yuanyao, and immediately stopped her.   

Daohua pouted. "Look at all of you, with such long faces. If someone didn't know any better, they’d think I did something terribly wrong. I’m just joking with Sister Dong, that’s all."

Upon hearing this, Dong Yuanyao widened her eyes and pointed at Daohua. "So, you knew I was a girl from the start, and you were deliberately trying to anger me, huh?"

Daohua quickly shook her head, looking serious. "I just really like Sister Dong, so I wanted to leave a strong impression."

At this, Xiao Yeyang and the others all turned their gazes upward.

To lie so blatantly, this was next-level!  

However, the impression she left was certainly unforgettable; it seemed that Dong Yuanyao wouldn’t be forgetting this for a while.

"Hmph!" Dong Yuanyao stomped her foot. "Who asked you to like me?"

Daohua shrugged. "This is not my fault. I can only blame you for being too beautiful, making me fall in love at first sight and forgetting everything else."

Hearing this, Dong Yuanyao didn’t know whether to respond or stay silent, her mouth pouting as she stared unhappily at Daohua.

"Hehe~"  

Dong Yuanxuan stepped in awkwardly to smooth things over, smiling at Dong Yuanyao. "Looks like you’ve met your match today. Let’s see if you dare to tease anyone like this again!"

Dong Yuanyao pouted, proudly replying, "Others want me to tease them, but they can’t even get the chance!" 

On the side, Daohua rolled her eyes. So, she was supposed to thank her for coming all the way here to tease her, as if she were honored?

Dong Yuanxuan shook his head and turned back to Daohua with a smile. "This is my younger sister, Dong Yuanyao. She’s one year older than you, so you two should get along well from now on."

Daohua glanced at Dong Yuanyao, who did the same.

Their gazes met for a brief moment, but immediately darted away in the opposite direction.

Seeing the two girls turn their heads at the same time and ignore each other, Dong Yuanxuan felt a headache coming on. He exchanged a glance with Yan Wenxiu, who gave him a knowing look.

Yan Wenxiu glanced at his sister, who had her hands behind her back and her head held high as if she had won a great victory, and then shook his head.

Seeing that he didn’t intervene, Dong Yuanxuan was a bit frustrated but had no choice but to continue.

No matter what, his sister had started it.

"Yuan Yao, you’re the older one. You should show some patience toward Yan’s younger sister, okay?"

Dong Yuanyao gave Daohua a sideways glance and snorted, saying nothing.

Dong Yuanxuan then looked at Daohua. "Younger sister Yan, I know you’re a generous person, so don’t mind your older sister’s behavior, okay?"

Daohua looked at Dong Yuanyao and smiled. "Don’t worry, Big Brother Dong. I really like Sister Dong. I’ll be nice to her."

"Uh..."

Dong Yuanxuan decided to stay quiet. He was afraid that if he said anything more, he wouldn’t be able to handle it.

Dong Yuanyao snorted, "Sweet talker."

Daohua immediately fired back, "Can’t compare to your rudeness." She scoffed at how Dong Yuanyao had raised her chin with a fan earlier. If she had a fan today, she would have returned the favor.

"Hmph!"

Dong Yuanyao angrily glared at Daohua, then turned around and refused to look at anyone.

Seeing this, Daohua smiled and, noticing Xiao Yeyang looking at her, immediately flashed him a victorious grin. 

Xiao Yeyang felt a bit embarrassed and quickly diverted his gaze.

At this moment, Li Zixuan and Li Zixin walked over. "Cousin, you scared us to death just now."

Daohua then showed an apologetic expression. "Sorry, I should have told you earlier."

Li Zixuan patted Daohua’s hand. "Next time, remember not to run off without telling us."

Daohua immediately nodded. "Cousin, I won’t dare next time."

Dong Yuanyao, seeing Daohua acting so obedient, immediately rolled her eyes. "Pretending to be all sweet."

Daohua glanced at Dong Yuanyao but didn’t bother responding, instead pulling the Li sisters away. "You haven't released your lanterns yet, let’s go release them."

"Sure, sure!" they eagerly responded.

Seeing that the three girls were having fun, Dong Yuanyao also felt a bit tempted and immediately called a servant disguised as a maid. "I want to release a lantern too, quickly bring mine."

Now that they were all playing, Dong Yuanxuan and the others finally let out a sigh of relief.

Li Chenyi leaned toward Yan Wenxiu and said, "Cousin, your sister is really something!" He rambled on about the Dong family girls, and in the end, it was their brother who had to step in and smooth things over.

Yan Wenxiu glanced at Daohua, a smile in his eyes.

Actually, his younger sister was quite fun when she was mischievous.

After being used to refined and proper young ladies, a spirited girl like his little sister was much more appealing.  

After everyone released their lanterns, they gathered together for a while.

"It’s already the hour of the Hai (10:30 PM), we should be heading back!" Daohua said to Xiao Yeyang. Her uncle and aunt must be waiting anxiously.

Dong Yuanyao glanced at the pocket watch on Daohua’s chest, pouting.

She didn’t even have one of those!

Xiao Yeyang nodded, noticing that it was indeed getting late. "I’ll have Zhao Ergou send you back."

Daohua shook her head. "No need to trouble him. There aren’t many people on the street now, we can go back by ourselves."

Xiao Yeyang didn’t listen and called for Zhao Ergou.

Seeing this, Daohua didn’t say anything further. "By the way, where are you staying?"

Xiao Yeyang gave her a sideways glance. "My uncle has a house in the provincial capital."

Daohua nodded. "We’re going back the day after tomorrow. Do you want to come with us?"

Xiao Yeyang shook his head. "My uncle is coming back soon, I need to stay here and wait for him."

Daohua replied, "Alright, then we’ll see each other next time."

After saying that, Daohua turned to Dong Yuanxuan and the others and bid them farewell one by one.

After Daohua and the others left, the rest also returned to their respective homes.

At the Dong residence.

After personally escorting Xiao Yeyang back, Dong Yuanxuan returned home and immediately saw his father still waiting for him.

Dong Jiancheng put down his teacup and looked at his increasingly steady eldest son with a satisfied expression. "Everything went smoothly tonight, right?"

Dong Yuanxuan shook his head and smiled. "Nothing happened. The Young Prince seemed quite happy when he returned to the mansion."

Dong Jiancheng relaxed and nodded, but then furrowed his brows.

Noticing this, Dong Yuanxuan immediately asked, "Father, what’s wrong?"

Dong Jiancheng rubbed his temples, looking a bit weary. "Ma Feiyu was drugged at the Southwind Pavilion. Now, his preference for men has spread throughout the provincial capital, and it won’t be long before the news reaches the capital."

Upon hearing this, Dong Yuanxuan’s face showed a look of disgust. "The Ma family is getting more and more unruly."

Dong Jiancheng shot a glance at his eldest son. "Some things are better kept to yourself, don’t speak them out loud." He paused, then asked with a frown, "It wasn’t the Young Prince, was it?"

Dong Yuanxuan’s heart skipped a beat as he thought about the time the Young Prince and Daohua had disappeared together.

However, he quickly shook his head. Even if the Young Prince was reckless, he wouldn’t take Yan Yiyi to the Southwind Pavilion.

"It wasn’t."

Dong Jiancheng didn’t press further. "That’s good. Ma Feiyu won’t stay in the provincial capital for long. During this time, don’t let the Young Prince run into him."

Dong Yuanxuan nodded. "I understand."

(End of chapter)