Chapter 225: I Can

 Chapter 225: I Can

The charcoal and tea set were quickly brought over. Daohua roasted the charcoal for a while, and once her hands warmed up, she began to brew the tea in a leisurely manner. 

Master Shen was quite fond of tea tasting. Sometimes, when she arrived early for class, she would be invited to join a tea session, and she took the opportunity to learn a thing or two.

Xiao Yeyang sat across from her at the stone table, silently watching Daohua's elegant and skilled movements as she brewed the tea.

This person had both an active side and a calm side.

When she was active, she was lively and cheerful; when she was calm, she was gentle and serene.

The combination of movement and stillness didn’t seem contradictory, but instead created a unique harmony.

“Here, try the tea I made!”

Daohua poured a cup of tea for Xiao Yeyang, then widened her eyes, waiting for him to give his opinion.

Xiao Yeyang picked up the cup, took a careful sip, and looked at Daohua’s sparkling eyes, her expectant expression. He smiled faintly. “It’s decent.”

Daohua pouted, poured herself a cup, and tasted it. “It’s obviously good.”

Xiao Yeyang chuckled but said nothing. He then scrutinized Daohua’s expression and asked, “I heard you have a new sister?”

Daohua glanced at him. “You’re well-informed.”

Xiao Yeyang thought, With Yan Wenkai’s big mouth, it would be hard not to know. “Well... you’re not upset about it, are you?”

Last time, when Master Yan sent a plate of pastries to a concubine, Daohua seemed rather downcast. Now that there was another sister, who knew how she might feel?

Daohua poured herself another cup of tea before calmly responding, “Why would I be upset? Even if I were upset, what difference would it make? If she’s to be born, she’ll be born.”

Xiao Yeyang nodded. “I’m glad you think that way. I was just worried you might get stuck in a dead-end, making things difficult for yourself.”

Daohua looked up at Xiao Yeyang, narrowing her eyes. “So you think it’s no big deal if a family has several illegitimate children, is that it?”

Seeing her expression turn slightly unfriendly, Xiao Yeyang was at a loss for words. “I don’t like illegitimate children either, but it’s a common practice. What can you do about it?”

Daohua withdrew her gaze. “If you can’t change others, then change yourself. You can’t just follow along with whatever others do.”

She paused, then raised her eyes, studying Xiao Yeyang. “Since you say you don’t like illegitimate children, will you avoid taking concubines in the future?”

Xiao Yeyang was caught off guard and didn’t reply immediately.

Seeing him stumped, Daohua snorted. “All talk and no action.”

“I can,” Xiao Yeyang responded just as Yan Wenkai walked in, holding a pot of ink chrysanthemums. His loud voice quickly drowned out Xiao Yeyang’s words.

“Big sister!”

Daohua’s attention was immediately diverted, and she hurriedly stood up to meet him. “Where’s your servant? Why didn’t you let him help carry it?” As she spoke, she took the pot of chrysanthemums from him and placed it on the edge of the pavilion.

Yan Wenkai laughed. “I had him go get something else.” He turned to the stone table. “Oh, you’re having tea here. I’ll join you for a cup.”

Daohua smiled and sat back down, quickly pouring him a cup of tea.

Yan Wenkai was someone who rarely used utensils when drinking tea. He tilted his head back, emptied the cup, then smiled at Daohua, holding it out for more. “Good tea. Another cup, please.”

Daohua particularly liked this about her Fourth Brother. She quickly refilled his cup.

Xiao Yeyang shook his head and muttered, “Like an ox chewing peony.”

Yan Wenkai didn’t mind at all, laughing. “I like drinking like this. No need to pretend to be all refined.”

“Fourth Brother, good job!” Daohua gave him a supportive look.

Yan Wenkai blinked and gave a playful smile, signaling that he understood, then began to chuckle.

Seeing the siblings exchanging looks and teasing each other, Xiao Yeyang became slightly displeased and said to Yan Wenkai, "Aren't you supposed to deliver the flowers? Why are you still here?"

Yan Wenkai waved his hand. "No hurry, I’ll drink a couple more cups of tea before going."

Daohua quickly refilled their cups.

"Ai, it would be great if we had some venison. We could roast it this afternoon," Yan Wenkai suddenly said, looking at Xiao Yeyang. "Prince, we’re allowed to hunt in Wuhua Mountain, right?"

Xiao Yeyang shook his head. "My uncle isn’t here, so I can’t enter the hunting grounds."

Yan Wenkai sighed in disappointment and took another sip of tea.

Daohua turned to Xiao Yeyang. "If your uncle isn’t back, doesn’t that mean you'll spend the New Year alone in the palace again?"

Yan Wenkai also looked over.

Daohua continued, "Why don’t you come celebrate the New Year at my place? After all, it’s livelier with more people."

Yan Wenkai immediately nodded. "Yes, yes, Prince, come celebrate the New Year at my house!"

Xiao Yeyang knew they were genuinely inviting him, but he still shook his head. "This year... I won’t be alone, so I won’t come."

Daohua was surprised. "Your uncle is coming back?"

Xiao Yeyang didn’t answer directly but changed the topic. "Speaking of my uncle, I should thank you. If it weren’t for your batch of wheat seeds, my uncle might have faced punishment." He turned to look at Defu.

Defu immediately took out a land deed from his chest and handed it to Xiao Yeyang.

Xiao Yeyang took the deed and handed it to Daohua.

"What is this?" Daohua took it, only to find it was a deed for three thousand acres of land.

Upon realizing this, she hurriedly returned it to Xiao Yeyang, her face full of displeasure. "Xiao Yeyang, what are you doing? Didn’t we agree that we’re friends? Those seeds were a gift from me to you."

Xiao Yeyang quickly explained, "The land deed isn’t from me, it’s from my uncle. He said it was for the wheat seeds."

Hearing this, Daohua’s expression softened. "Ah, it’s from your uncle... well, I can accept that. But three thousand acres is quite a lot. It feels like too much to handle."

Xiao Yeyang glanced at her and said indifferently, "It’s not too much. You helped my uncle a lot. Originally, he wanted to give ten thousand acres, but since we’re not that close, I convinced him to reduce it."

Daohua was stunned, her lips moving as she murmured, then she glared at him with a bit of resentment. "You’ve got some nerve, cutting down the amount by seven thousand acres just like that."

Yan Wenkai also looked dissatisfied. "Yeah, that’s a pretty big cut."

Xiao Yeyang didn’t reply but pushed the deed back towards Daohua.

When Daohua frowned and didn’t take it, Yan Wenkai quickly comforted her. "Big Sister, don’t be upset. When I grow up, I’ll buy more land for you. For now, just make do with this three thousand acres."

Daohua glanced at her straightforward Fourth Brother, feeling a bit speechless. Her Fourth Brother believed everything people said.

Xiao Yeyang didn’t want to dwell on this issue and looked at Daohua. "Tomorrow is your Fourth Brother's birthday. What gift did you prepare for him?"

Yan Wenkai immediately perked up, his face full of anticipation.

Daohua smiled and replied, "A pouch."

At this, Yan Wenkai’s face dropped, clearly disappointed. "Just a pouch?"

Wang Man’er, smiling, reminded, "The pouch was embroidered by Miss using double-sided and triple-thread stitching, and it took her several months to finish."

(End of chapter)