Chapter 170: Who is Daohua?

 Chapter 170: Who is Daohua? 

"Little sister, where did you and the Young Prince actually go tonight?" On the way back to the Li residence, Yan Wenxiu still asked with concern.

Daohua replied, "We didn’t go anywhere, just casually looked at the lanterns on the street."

Yan Wenxiu gave her a deep look. "Although the Young Prince is familiar with our family, he is still an outsider. In the future, when I’m not with you or Wen Kai, you should avoid going out alone with him."

Daohua knew that her actions tonight were a bit reckless, so she nodded obediently. "Big brother, I’m sorry for making you worry. Don’t worry, from now on, wherever I go, I’ll tell you in advance."

Seeing her response, Yan Wenxiu didn’t say more.

After returning home, when her uncle and aunt heard about Daohua and Xiao Yeyang getting separated during the lantern viewing, they called her aside for a lecture.

Daohua knew she was in the wrong and listened attentively, looking genuinely apologetic.

Fan Shi smiled and said, "Alright, this girl knows her limits. It’s probably just an unexpected situation tonight. Let’s not make too much of it."

Daohua nodded eagerly.

When she saw Xiao Yeyang hurriedly leaving with Defu, her first instinct was to catch up. But when she caught up with him, she had already drifted quite far from her brothers. Wanting to return and inform them, she worried Xiao Yeyang wouldn’t wait for her, so she simply followed him instead.

Li Xingchang spoke up, "Even so, you must remember this lesson. The provincial capital may be relatively safe, but it’s not without its dangers."

Daohua responded, "Uncle, aunt, I understand. I won’t make the same mistake again."

Li Xingnian smiled, "Alright, everyone’s been out all day. We’re all tired, go and rest."

Upon hearing this, Daohua immediately grabbed her two cousins and left the room.

Watching Daohua hurry out, the adults inside couldn’t help but laugh.

"This girl, normally she seems like a little adult, but once she makes a mistake, she immediately shows her true self."

"Children, who isn’t afraid of being scolded?"

On the sixteenth day of the first month, the Daohua siblings stayed at the Li family home and spent a relaxed day with them.

On the seventeenth day, the three of them set off for Xingzhou, once again escorted by Li Xingnian.

At the Li residence’s gate, after bidding farewell to the Li family, the siblings climbed into the return carriage.

Li Zixuan and Li Zixin watched the carriage gradually disappear, their faces full of reluctance.

Fan Shi smiled and asked, "Can’t bear to leave Daohua, huh?"

Li Zixin immediately stepped forward, linking arms with Fan Shi. "Mother, cousin is so fun! She’s never boring to be with, and she knows so many things!"

She began counting on her fingers. "She can take care of flowers, brew wine, even make rouge and powder. The skin cream she brought us is even better than what’s sold at the ladies’ store."

"And she can do arithmetic!" Li Zixuan chimed in.

Li Zixin quickly nodded. "Yes, cousin’s mental arithmetic is faster than even big brother’s!"

Jiang Shi laughed, "Daohua’s cleverness is undeniable. If she were a boy, it would be even better."

Fan Shi immediately interjected, "What’s wrong with her being a girl? I think it’s great that Daohua is a girl. Having such a clever, lively, and smart daughter, younger sister would be dreaming with a smile on her face."

The group chatted as they walked back into the house.

"Time really flies, the academy will be starting soon."

In the carriage, Yan Wenkai lifted the curtain, looking at the lively street with reluctance.

Li Xingnian smiled, "You’ve had so much fun these past few days, it’s time to focus and go back to studying. Next year, for the Lantern Festival, I’ll bring you back to the provincial capital again."

Yan Wenkai immediately clapped his hands in excitement. "Yes, yes! Uncle, you can’t go back on your word!"

Li Xingnian shot him a teasing glare. "When have I ever gone back on my word?" Then, he looked at Daohua, who seemed a little drowsy, and lowered his voice.

"Lower your voice, your aunt said that the three girls talked until late last night, and she wants your sister to sleep for a while."

Upon hearing this, Yan Wenkai stopped speaking and focused on looking outside the carriage.

Daohua was indeed a bit sleepy. Last night, her two cousins insisted on sleeping with her, saying they couldn’t bear for her to leave, and she couldn’t refuse, so she agreed.

She, who was used to sleeping alone, had trouble falling asleep and tossed and turned until it was almost dawn before managing to nap for a short while.

The carriage swayed, and Daohua was rocked to sleep. She leaned against Wang Man'er and dozed off.

"Bang!"

Midway through, Daohua, with a stiff neck, forgot she was in the carriage and turned over like she was lying in bed, only to fall off the seat.

"Miss!"

Wang Man'er was startled and quickly helped her up.

Daohua sat up, baring her teeth in pain. Her sleepiness was completely gone. She looked around the carriage and realized that only she and Wang Man'er were inside. "Hey, where are Uncle and my older and fourth brothers?"

Wang Man'er answered, "The master wanted to buy some writing materials, so Second Uncle took them to the store."

Daohua lifted the curtain and saw their carriage stopped outside a bookstore.

She lowered the curtain, stretched a bit, and then leaned back against Wang Man'er's shoulder, planning to sleep for a little longer.

However, the fall left her with a mental block. No matter how she closed her eyes, she couldn’t sleep.

"Why haven't they returned?"

After waiting for a while and seeing no sign of them, Daohua opened the curtain again and poked her head outside. She noticed people were running ahead.

The servant driving the carriage replied, "Someone was beaten up ahead, and Fourth Master and the others seem to have gone to watch."

Daohua furrowed her brow. "Someone's beating people again?"

Just a few days ago, she had seen a merchant being beaten, and now it was happening again? The public order in the provincial capital was really bad!

At that moment, a servant of Li Xingnian came running over. "Miss, the master is waiting for you ahead. He asked me to bring the carriage to meet him."

Daohua nodded, lowered the curtain, and the carriage slowly began moving.

Soon, the carriage stopped, the door opened, and Li Xingnian and Yan Wenxiu entered.

"In these times, nothing is safe. Even people running escort missions are often robbed," Li Xingnian said with a shake of his head.

Yan Wenkai added, "That person was quite pitiful. A grown man, if he hadn’t been pushed to the brink, he definitely wouldn’t have cried so miserably in front of so many people."

"Woo woo~"

The suppressed crying was audible in the carriage. Daohua looked surprised. "Such sorrow, how badly must he have been beaten?" She couldn't help but lift the curtain to look outside.

By this time, the people who had beaten him were already gone, leaving only the man and a few onlookers.

"Alright, stop looking. Let's go!" Li Xingnian patted the door of the carriage, signaling for the carriage to start moving.

"Wait!"

As the carriage passed the beaten man, Daohua suddenly threw open the curtain and leaned halfway out of the carriage. "Brother Xiao Liu?!"

At that moment, Qin Xiao Liu was in a state of extreme despair.

Having lost the goods, the escort team couldn't repay the huge loss. Qin Wu and the others were thrown into jail, and it was said that if they couldn't pay the ransom, they would be exiled.

But the ransom was over a thousand taels of silver. Even if they sold him, it wouldn't be enough.

For the past few days, he'd been wandering around the capital like a headless fly, trying to find a way out. Today, he finally cornered the creditor on the street, hoping to beg him for mercy, asking to release Qin Wu and the others and give them some time to gather the silver.

However, before he could say more than a few words, the creditor's men started beating him up. Before leaving, they threatened that if the silver wasn’t gathered in three days, Qin Wu and the others would be exiled.

Three days.

So little time, it was crushing him. Just then, he thought he heard someone calling his name.

Qin Xiao Liu looked up in a daze.

Then, he saw a carriage stop in front of him, and a girl in a beautiful embroidered dress jumped out and quickly walked toward him.

"Brother Xiao Liu!"

Qin Xiao Liu stared blankly at the girl, who looked like a fairy. For a moment, he forgot how to react.

Daohua waved her hand in front of his eyes. "Brother Xiao Liu, do you remember me? I’m Daohua!"

"Daohua?" Qin Xiao Liu looked at her blankly, "Who is Daohua?"

Daohua: "..." 

(The End of this Chapter)