Chapter 205: Details Determine Success or Failure

 Chapter 205: Details Determine Success or Failure

At the stable, Dong Yuanyao watched Daohua and Xiao Yeyang laughing and chatting, getting along naturally and harmoniously. She nudged Zhou Jingwan beside her. 

"Jingwan, have Daohua and the Young Prince always been this close?" 

Zhou Jingwan glanced in their direction, then turned back to feed the horses, nonchalant. "Yes, Daohua is quite fun, everyone enjoys spending time with her."

She smiled at Dong Yuanyao .

"Sometimes, I think you and Daohua are alike. Both of you love to tease and joke around, and, well, both enjoy dressing as men when going out."

Dong Yuanyao glanced at Daohua again. "My brother says the same thing, but I don’t think I’m as bold as her. I wouldn't dare joke around like that with the Young Prince."

Zhou Jingwan nodded in agreement. "I wouldn't either."

Dong Yuanyao asked, "Do you think she’s not afraid of the Young Prince getting upset?"

Zhou Jingwan shrugged. "I don’t think the Young Prince is that petty. Besides, it’s just playful banter."

Dong Yuanyao fell silent for a moment before changing the subject. "By the way, I noticed the rouge Daohua uses to tease the Young Prince is different from the one we usually use. Do you know where she got it? It looks like it’d be more convenient to carry around."

Hearing this, Zhou Jingwan immediately set down the feed, clapped her hands, and pulled out a small golden tube from her pouch. "Here it is."

"This isn’t from outside. Daohua made this herself. She calls it lipstick. It’s definitely more portable than the usual rouge boxes."

She opened the lid, twisted it, and a red stick of rouge appeared.

Dong Yuanyao , fascinated, took it and examined it. "This is so unique."

Zhou Jingwan eagerly nodded. "My mother said the same thing."

Dong Yuanyao returned the lipstick to her, hesitating. "Jingwan, does Daohua have more of these? I’d like to buy one from her."

Zhou Jingwan tucked the lipstick back into her pouch. "Daohua runs a rouge shop, so she should have more. I’ll ask her later." She resumed feeding the horses while gently patting them.

"Actually, the Young Prince is a pretty good person. You see, he just gave us such fine horses."

Dong Yuanyao was speechless. "Don’t you realize? We’re just an afterthought. The Young Prince’s true interest is always Daohua."

Zhou Jingwan blinked in surprise. "Really?" She smiled knowingly. "I get it now. Daohua’s family isn’t as wealthy as ours, so the Young Prince is helping her out."

Dong Yuanyao had an urge to facepalm. Never mind. She decided not to waste her time explaining to someone so slow on the uptake.

"The water in this lake feels so refreshing!"

Xiao Yeyang glanced at Daohua, who was bending down to play with the water at the lake’s edge. "This water flows from the spring at Mount Wuhua’s peak."

Daohua’s eyes lit up as she looked toward the mountain peak. "How long does it take to climb to the summit?"

Xiao Yeyang replied, "There’s a direct mountain path. If we don’t stop, it’ll take a little over half an hour. Why? Do you want to check out the spring?"

Daohua nodded eagerly. "Yes! I want to see if the spring water is clear. If it is, I’d like to take some back to brew some wine." The natural minerals and trace elements in spring water are much better than well water.

Xiao Yeyang frowned. "Brewing wine takes a lot of water, doesn’t it?"

Daohua shook her head. "I won’t need much. Just enough for a few barrels of medicinal wine. My grandmother suffers from rheumatism. I found a remedy that says medicinal wine made with spring water works better."

Xiao Yeyang looked at her, speechless. "A remedy? You’d use a random prescription on your grandmother?"

Daohua paused, then reassured him, "Don’t worry. I wouldn’t joke with my grandmother’s health." She then checked her pocket watch. "It’s only 2:15 p.m. We still have time to make the round trip."

Xiao Yeyang saw Daohua looking at the mountain with longing and hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Alright, I'll go with you."

"Then I'll ask Jingwan and the others if they want to come up," Daohua immediately asked Wang Man'er to check with Zhou Jingwan and the others.

Xiao Yeyang replied, "Don't bother asking. They definitely won't come up. After riding horses for half the day, who would still want to climb a mountain?"

Sure enough, after a while, Wang Man'er returned, shaking her head.

"In that case, it’ll just be the two of us. Should we race to see who climbs faster this time?"

Xiao Yeyang decisively refused, "I don't race with people who like to cheat."

"You're too serious. A race is just for fun, isn't it?"

"But the loser has to give a prize."

"..."

Daohua and Xiao Yeyang, along with Defu and Wang Man'er, chatted and laughed, and it didn't take long to reach the top of the mountain.

"How is it? Is it good?" Looking at the clear spring water, Xiao Yeyang turned to Daohua.

Daohua nodded in satisfaction. "It's perfect. I thought it was just an exposed spring pool."

Xiao Yeyang said, "Since it's good, after we go down, I'll have Defu send people to collect the spring water and deliver it to you."

Daohua quickly shook her head. "No need. It's too much trouble for you. I'll just have Xiao Liu come and get it."

Xiao Yeyang felt speechless. This person probably didn't know that outsiders aren't allowed on the main peak of Wuhua Mountain, right?

"Don't you need it for your medicinal wine? If you're really hesitant, just send me a bottle of the wine after it's brewed."

Daohua was puzzled. "What do you want the medicinal wine for?"

Xiao Yeyang replied, "My maternal grandfather has been leading troops outside for years and suffers from rheumatism. If the medicinal wine you brew really works, I'll send it to him."

Daohua paused. "Then I'll send you two bottles."

Hearing this, Xiao Yeyang felt both relieved and speechless. She’s generous with others, but who knows how effective the medicinal wine is.

After confirming that the spring water was usable, they enjoyed the scenery on the mountaintop for a while before heading back down.

"Hey, there’s another villa on the mountain!"

When they climbed up, Daohua hadn't noticed, but on the way down, she spotted the villa at the mountain peak.

Xiao Yeyang paused for a moment but didn't say anything.

Daohua craned her neck to take a look and asked, "Is that another royal villa?"

Xiao Yeyang casually nodded, giving off an air of not wanting to discuss it further.

Seeing this, Daohua didn't ask more questions. She continued to smile and walk down the mountain.

When they reached halfway down the mountain, they noticed a pavilion by the road with some people in it.

"Madam, madam, what happened? Wake up!"

"What should we do? Madam fainted! We need to get a physician!"

"But it's just the two of us here. How do we get her down the mountain?"

Inside the pavilion, two maids were anxiously supporting a lady wearing a veil, looking flustered and at a loss.

Daohua didn’t approach to help, but instead, she watched the three of them carefully. When she saw Xiao Yeyang rush toward the pavilion, she quickly grabbed his arm. "What are you doing?"

Xiao Yeyang's face showed clear concern and urgency. Being stopped by Daohua, he impatiently said, "Can’t you see someone has fainted? I’m going in to help!" He tried to step forward again.

Daohua pulled him back and whispered, "These three have problems. We can't go in."

Xiao Yeyang froze, thinking that Daohua had noticed something. He turned and asked blankly, "What problems?"

Daohua glanced at the three people in the pavilion and frowned. "One, a woman going out wouldn’t be accompanied by just two maids. When my family wasn't wealthy, my mother would take two or three matrons with her just in case."

"Two, those two maids are pretending to be worried. Their acting is too poor. If they were really anxious, why are they wiping their eyes? If they're so desperate, they should shed some tears."

In the pavilion, the three people with excellent hearing immediately heard Daohua’s words. Mei Xue, who was supporting Guo Ruomei, quickly stopped pretending to wipe her tears.

"Three, that lady is not fainting. Look, she's still holding something in her hand. How could someone who has fainted still have the strength to hold something?"

Guo Ruomei, who had been pretending to faint in the maids' arms, let go of the object in her hand, and a telescope fell to the ground.

Seeing this, Daohua immediately grabbed Xiao Yeyang and ran down the mountain.

Yes, they were running.

Xiao Yeyang was from the royal family. Who knew if these three were here to assassinate him?

Behind them, Defu stood frozen, watching as his master was dragged away by Miss Yan, then turned to glance at the three in the pavilion with sympathy before quickly chasing after them.

After they left, Guo Ruomei sat up, quietly watching the rolling telescope on the ground.

Mei Xue and Xue Shuang lowered their heads, looking frustrated and too afraid to speak.

(End of this chapter)