Chapter 253: Sparring

 Chapter 253: Sparring

Under Xiao Yeyang's watchful eyes, Daohua finished the dumpling soup completely, even letting out a satisfied burp after finishing.

"Are you full?" Xiao Yeyang asked.

Daohua, afraid that Xiao Yeyang might offer to make more, hurriedly replied, "I'm full, really full, not only full but stuffed!" She paused, then added, "Thank you!"

She had been so busy that she nearly forgot her birthday. Her big brother, third brother, and fourth brother were all around, but she didn’t expect that Xiao Yeyang would be the one to remember her birthday.

Xiao Yeyang smiled but said nothing.

Daohua glanced at the darkened sky and stifled a yawn. "I’m going to sleep now. You should rest too. Though you’re better, your body still needs time to recover."

Xiao Yeyang nodded. "Alright."

After Daohua left, Xiao Yeyang looked at the empty bowl that had held the soup and smiled at Defu. "Daohua finished all of it, so I think the longevity noodles turned out alright."

Defu stayed silent.

How could he respond to that? It was clear that Miss Yan had eaten it to spare her master’s feelings, not because it was tasty.

Seeing his master so pleased, Defu wisely kept quiet.

"Where's the Young Prince? Why hasn't he returned yet?"

Yan Wenkai looked at Xiao Yeyang’s room, noticing the door was closed and the lamp unlit, which made him wonder.

Dong Yuanxuan thought for a moment and said, "I haven’t seen the Young Prince this afternoon."

Yan Wenkai frowned. "The plague in the city is under control now. There’s nothing urgent to deal with, right?"

Yan Wenxiu considered it and replied, "The Young Prince might have other matters."

Yan Wenkai nodded but didn’t say anything more.

After a while, noticing that Yan Wenxiu, Yan Wentao, and Zhou Chengye were still not leaving, he spoke up. "Aren’t you guys going to bed? I’m already sleepy."

Yan Wentao, usually quiet, spoke up then, furrowing his brow. "I keep feeling like there’s something I need to do, but I just can’t remember what."

Yan Wenkai immediately asked, "What is it?"

Yan Wentao scratched his head. "I just can’t remember!"

Seeing this, Yan Wenkai waved his hand. "Never mind, it’s probably nothing important. What we should think about now is whether we can leave the city for the Mid-Autumn Festival."

This made Yan Wentao recall something, and Yan Wenxiu, hearing "Mid-Autumn," suddenly remembered the significance of the day.

"Today is our older sister's birthday!"

Upon hearing this, Yan Wenkai froze, and Dong Yuanxuan, who had been wiping the chessboard, froze as well and quickly looked toward Xiao Yeyang’s room.

"Oh no, how could I forget?" Yan Wenkai exclaimed, smacking his hand. "It’s already so late. It’s too late to celebrate sister’s birthday now!"

"Too late for what?"

At that moment, Xiao Yeyang, accompanied by Defu, returned.

Yan Wenkai glanced at him and said, "Today is my older sister’s birthday, but we all forgot about it."

Xiao Yeyang smiled. "I thought it was something serious. Well, it’s getting late. Everyone should go back and rest now." With that, he took Defu and went back to his room.

Yan Wenkai stared blankly, then muttered, "It’s our sister’s birthday, and the Young Prince acts so nonchalant about it."

Dong Yuanxuan’s eyes flickered, and he smiled. "If you really care, you can give Miss Yan a birthday gift later."

Yan Wenkai shook his head. "It’s not the same. No matter how good the gift is, it can’t compare to being with her."

At these words, everyone looked at Yan Wenkai.

Feeling the sudden attention, Yan Wenkai shifted uncomfortably and took a step back. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

Su Hongxin was amazed. "Wenkai, I didn’t know you had such a sensitive side!"

Seeing that everyone was surprised, Yan Wenkai became a little proud, puffing out his chest and raising his chin. "Heh, there’s more about me that you guys don’t know."

Daohua returned to her courtyard, spent some time chatting with Dong Yuanyao, and then went to wash up and sleep.

Perhaps because the plague had been brought under control and everyone was recovering, she slept deeply that night, without the usual worries weighing on her. She slept until the morning light.

The next morning, as the sky began to brighten, Daohua stretched and turned to Wang Man’er. "Man’er, bring me my whip. I haven’t practiced with it in a while, so I need to get some exercise."

The sound of the whip cracking soon echoed through the courtyard.

Dong Yuanyao was woken by the sound. "What’s that noise?"

Her maid quickly replied, "Miss, it’s Miss Yan practicing with the whip. She’s really good at it."

Originally groggy from sleep, Dong Yuanyao immediately perked up and sat up in bed. "Really? Quick, help me get ready. I’m going to watch."

Not long after, Dong Yuanyao stepped outside.

Looking at the courtyard, she saw Daohua expertly wielding the whip, and her eyes immediately lit up with excitement.

When Daohua saw Dong Yuanyao, she quickly put away the whip and apologized, "Sorry, I forgot about you. Did I disturb you?"

Dong Yuanyao smiled and walked over. "It’s fine, I was about to get up anyway." She glanced at the whip in Daohua’s hand. "You’ve been practicing this for a while, haven’t you? It looks like you’ve gotten pretty good."

Daohua was surprised. "You understand the whip?"

Dong Yuanyao shook her head. "I don’t know much about the whip, but I understand the strength behind it." With that, she struck a quick, sword-like motion with her hands, her posture tense and clearly full of power.

Daohua was astonished. "You’re training in martial arts too?" Most of the young ladies Daohua knew, even the favored ones like Zhou Jingwan, were taught to be gentle and quiet. Weapons like swords and whips were strictly prohibited.

Their family wasn’t as strict with these rules, and with her grandmother and mother supporting her, plus the opportunity presented by Qin Wushu, Daohua had a chance to learn the whip.

Dong Yuanyao lowered her hands, smiling. "I’ve always been an active child. When my big brother started training in martial arts, I followed him around and learned. Later, my father saw how much I enjoyed it, so he hired a martial arts teacher just for me, and I’ve been learning swordsmanship for several years."

Daohua said, "Really? I’ve only been practicing the whip for less than two years."

Dong Yuanyao’s eyes gleamed as she looked Daohua up and down. "How about a competition?"

Daohua, excited by the challenge, agreed right away. "How do we compete?"

Dong Yuanyao paused for a moment before replying, "Whips and swords can be dangerous, so let’s go for hand-to-hand combat!"

"Sure!" Daohua eagerly agreed and rolled up her sleeves, ready for a fight.

Seeing this, Dong Yuanyao didn’t feel scared; instead, she was eager to test her skills.

The two of them, one wanting to test her own abilities and the other finally finding someone to spar with, immediately began to fight.

Wang Man’er and Gu Yu stood by, cheering the two on.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yeyang and the others in the neighboring courtyard heard the commotion and hurried over. As soon as they arrived at the gate, they saw Daohua and Dong Yuanyao engaged in a fierce sparring match.

The two were exchanging blows with precision, each strike landing firmly and without hesitation—definitely not playing around.

After watching for a while, Yan Wenkai sighed, "I always thought the older sister was just playing around with the whip, but it turns out... she’s got some real skill."

"Look at that sweeping kick, that backhand punch. Not bad, those punches look like they’d hurt if they landed."

Dong Yuanxuan chuckled, "My sister and Miss Yan train in martial arts, but the focus is more on agility than strength. One practices swordsmanship, the other the whip. If they’ve really honed their speed, we’d have to be careful if we ever spar with them."

Xiao Yeyang nodded. "Yuanxuan’s right. There’s no need for girls to focus on strength the way we do. If they get too muscular, it wouldn’t work. But the way Daohua and them train is just right."

(End of Chapter)