Chapter 204: Feelings

 Chapter 204: Feelings 

"We're not playing anymore, not playing anymore, I can't run anymore. Xiao Yeyang, can we make peace?"

After chasing Xiao Yeyang for a while and then joining in on the group’s playful banter, Daohua was finally exhausted and couldn’t keep up. While dodging his attempts to catch her, she repeatedly begged him for mercy.

Xiao Yeyang was not having it. "Now you want to make peace? Why didn’t you do that earlier?"

Daohua, panting, responded, "You started teasing me first! I was just retaliating."

Xiao Yeyang wiped his face, noticing the lipstick on his hands, and grumbled, "You can retaliate, but why smear lipstick on my face?"

Lipstick was something only women used! How embarrassing for a man to have it smeared all over his face!

Daohua shouted, "Because that’s all I had on me!"

Yan Wenkai, who was caught between them, was sweating heavily from the chase. He quickly spoke up, "Your Highness, let me say something fair. My big sister didn’t do anything wrong. You were the one who started teasing her, and she retaliated. It’s only fair."

Daohua hid behind him, nodding in agreement. "Exactly!"

Xiao Yeyang glared at Yan Wenkai. "You better keep quiet."

Daohua was already too tired to run any longer. She began backing up and shouted, "Su Ge, Jingwan, sister Dong, you have to stop him! I’m going to take a break!"

Daohua found a spot off to the side, not caring about the dirt on the ground, and plopped down. She took out a handkerchief to wipe away the sweat.

Seeing her flushed face and the sweat dripping down, Xiao Yeyang knew she was genuinely exhausted. After some persuasion from everyone, he slowed down and stopped.

Defu quickly jogged over, offering a wet wipe. 

Xiao Yeyang took it, wiped his face, and then walked towards Daohua.

Seeing him approach, Daohua immediately became alert. "Xiao Yeyang, you got bird feathers all over my head, and I painted your face. We’re even now! If you keep chasing me, I’ll be really angry."

Xiao Yeyang was a little speechless. He sat down beside her. "You really know how to turn things around."

When he showed no further intention to chase her, Daohua relaxed. She fanned herself with the handkerchief, feeling the heat from running.

As the two of them calmed down, the others started laughing and heading towards the barbecue stand to prepare some food.

"Help me check if my face is clean now. Is there still any lipstick left?"

Xiao Yeyang turned his head and looked at Daohua.

Noticing the faint reddish tint on his face, a subtle layer of makeup that made him seem a little more delicate than usual, Daohua almost burst into laughter. However, remembering that doing so might make him angry, she restrained herself.

She leaned in closer, examining his face carefully, and pointed to the area near his ear. "There’s still a little here."

Xiao Yeyang wiped again with the wet wipe.

Seeing that he wasn’t wiping the right spot, Daohua extended her hand. "You’re not doing it right. Give it to me, I’ll do it for you."

Xiao Yeyang glanced at her, then handed her the wet wipe.

Daohua took it naturally and started wiping his face, focusing on the task at hand.

The lipstick Daohua made had a small amount of medicinal herbs mixed in, so it wasn’t easy to remove. It took some effort to get it off.

As she carefully wiped his face, Xiao Yeyang felt an indescribable emotion spreading in his chest—something faintly joyful and a little embarrassed.

"All done!"

Daohua glanced at Xiao Yeyang 's face. Seeing there was no more rouge, she handed the wet tissue back to him, clapped her hands, and stood up. "Let's go, time for some grilled meat. We've been running around all day, and I'm starving." 

Xiao Yeyang stood up as well and nodded. "Yeah, I'm a bit hungry too."

This time, in addition to the barbecue, Daohua also prepared some black rice porridge.

"This is black rice from my estate, just harvested this year. I added some white fungus, lilies, and rock candy. You should all try it and see if it tastes good."

Black rice isn’t grown widely, and most grain shops don’t sell it, so it’s a relatively rare food.

"Let me try it!" 

Zhou Jingwan quickly took the black rice porridge that Daohua offered and eagerly scooped up a spoonful. As soon as she tasted it, a look of enjoyment appeared on her face. "Hmm, soft and sticky, fragrant and delicious, it's really good."

Seeing her like this, everyone couldn't resist and soon began eating their own porridge.

Xiao Yeyang took several bites before nodding. "It really tastes great."

Daohua smiled. "I grew a lot of it. If you like it, I'll send you a cart of it later."

Xiao Yeyang didn’t refuse and smiled as he nodded.

Black rice was tribute rice, something he often ate in the palace. However, after coming to Zhongzhou, he hadn’t been able to find it for sale, so he rarely ate it.

Nearby, Su Hongxin, seeing Daohua thinking only of the Young Prince when she had something good, immediately protested, "Sister Yan, don’t forget about us!"

Dong Yuanxuan also nodded. "Right."

Zhou Chengye didn’t speak up, as he knew that with his sister around, they would never lack food. Whenever there was something delicious at Sister Yan’s place, his sister would always show up at the door.

Daohua laughed. "Don't worry, I haven’t forgotten."

After eating the skewers and drinking the porridge, they sat aside chatting to digest.

Daohua noticed that Dong Yuanyao had gone to feed her new foal, so she pulled Zhou Jingwan to feed her own horse.

"Do we have to feed the horse ourselves every time?" Daohua asked as she placed some feed in front of the red date.

Dong Yuanyao replied, "Not every time, but since we just got this horse, feeding it ourselves now will help us build a bond with it. When we ride it later, it will be easier to control."

Daohua nodded. "That makes sense."

At that moment, the others also came over to feed their horses.

Xiao Yeyang, leading his prized steed, walked over to Daohua. "There's a lake outside the stables. The grass there is particularly lush. Let’s go feed the horses there."

Daohua brightened. "Okay!" She turned to Zhou Jingwan and Dong Yuanyao, "Come with us!"

Zhou Jingwan immediately shook her head. "I'm full and don't want to move. Sister Dong, you and Daohua go."

Dong Yuanyao also shook her head. "I don’t want to move either." In front of the Young Prince, she always felt restricted, so she wouldn’t go out of her way to make herself uncomfortable.

Seeing this, Daohua didn’t insist, taking the horse and following Xiao Yeyang out of the stables.

The lake was just a few hundred meters outside the stable. It wasn’t large, but it looked like a blue gem embedded in the earth.

When Daohua and Xiao Yeyang arrived at the lake, a gentle breeze blew, sending ripples across the surface of the water.

With the breeze, the green grass swaying, and the clear sky, Daohua felt incredibly relaxed. Without thinking, she spread her arms, closed her eyes, and basked in the tranquility of the moment.

Seeing her like this, Xiao Yeyang smiled silently, letting the horses graze by the side. He picked up a stone and threw it into the lake, then asked, "Are you alright now?"

"Hmm?" Daohua opened her eyes in confusion, looking at Xiao Yeyang. "What do you mean? Is something wrong with me?"

Xiao Yeyang paused for a moment. "Last time, your father sent food to his concubine, didn’t that make you angry?"

Daohua suddenly realized. "Oh, that’s what you meant!" She shrugged. "As long as my mother doesn’t mind, I’m not bothered by it."

Xiao Yeyang remained silent for a while, watching the ripples on the lake before saying, "I’ve been thinking about it recently, and I feel like you were right. My father should be protecting his wife if he has other children to care for."

Daohua was taken aback, tilting her head to look at Xiao Yeyang.

She felt like there was something more to his words.

Not hearing her reply, Xiao Yeyang turned to see her puzzled expression, then smiled and said nothing further.

(End of this chapter)