Chapter 272: Isn’t It Too Good?

 Chapter 272: Isn’t It Too Good?

The next day, Yan Yishuang didn’t show up for class, and the Yan family immediately understood that Yan Zhigao had implicitly agreed with Daohua’s punishment for her.

In the classroom, Yan Yihuan and Yan Yile arrived early. Seeing that Daohua and the Li sisters hadn’t come yet, they began to whisper to each other.

"After third sister returned to the courtyard yesterday, she had a huge outburst. I bet she got scolded by our uncle when she went to the front courtyard!" Yan Yile said with a grin.

Yan Yihuan pondered for a moment. "This is third sister's own doing." She paused before continuing, "The front courtyard is where Uncle works, and there are many men there. We sisters really shouldn’t have gone there."

"Even if Aunt had something to discuss, she should have sent a servant to ask Uncle."

"Third sister ran to the front courtyard crying like that, not only did she lose face herself, but she also embarrassed the Yan family."

Yan Yile nodded. "True, Uncle cares a lot about his reputation. Third sister making such a scene was really unwise." A sneer appeared on her face. "She thought that, just because Uncle dotes on her, she could continue acting as she pleased. But we’ve all seen it, Uncle doesn’t have the same patience and affection for them anymore, but she still doesn’t realize it."

Yan Yihuan was silent for a moment. "Uncle must be disappointed in third sister and fifth brother now."

Yan Yile sneered. "Who wouldn’t be? If it weren’t for this time when Big Brother and the others were trapped at Xingyun Prefecture, I wouldn’t have known that they even thought of replacing Big Brother."

"Now that Big Brother is back, it seems like he doesn’t care for third sister and fifth brother as much as before. His attitude towards them is very indifferent."

Yan Yihuan said, "When they were in trouble, her younger siblings actually thought of replacing them. Anyone would be unable to forgive that!"

Yan Yile shrugged and sighed. "Concubine Lin has been confined for three years, with no one speaking up for her. Who knows how long third sister will be punished?"

At this point, Yan Yihuan didn’t reply.

Just then, Daohua and the Li sisters arrived.

"Big sister, Cousin Zixuan, Cousin Zixin!" Yan Yihuan stood up and greeted them.

Yan Yile, after a moment of thought, also stood up and smiled in greeting.

Seeing the warmth from them compared to usual, the Li sisters exchanged a glance and quickly returned the greeting with smiles.

Daohua smiled. "Teacher Shen will be here soon. Let’s sit down."

After that, Yan Yihuan became a little more talkative. She would proactively discuss poetry and needlework with the Li sisters, and when she noticed their lack of etiquette, she would kindly correct them.

Seeing her older sister behave this way, Yan Yile didn’t want to seem too different and often tried to chat and joke with the Li sisters as well.

Daohua noticed the two girls trying to get along and decided not to dwell on past matters. Seeing them interact harmoniously with her cousins, whenever Zhou Jingwan came over, Daohua would invite them all to Daohua Pavilion for some light conversation.

In no time, the five girls were getting along much more comfortably and happily than before.

One day, when Yan Zhigao finished his official duties and was leaving the office, he happened to see Daohua and the others leaving class together. Seeing the five girls chatting and laughing, with Yan Yile even affectionately linking arms with Zixin, their heads leaning together to whisper, his expression subtly changed.

He quietly watched the girls leave before sighing. "Have I spoiled Yishuang and Wenbin too much in the past?"

Wenbin was fine—he studied at the state school, met many people, and had some experience. Though he had some small thoughts, he was still somewhat restrained.

But Yishuang was really a bit too spoiled!

She openly made things difficult for her legitimate mother’s niece—what gave her the audacity?

His wife was virtuous, but it was impossible for her not to mind such things. He had heard that Concubine Lin's meals were downgraded from four dishes and one soup to two dishes and one soup, and there was no more meat at every meal.

The trouble caused by his daughter had also made his wife suffer.

No wonder noble families emphasize the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children. Favoring the illegitimate ones not only harms the relationship between siblings but also fosters desires within them, ultimately hurting both others and themselves.

Recalling his past attitude towards his children, Yan Zhigao felt regretful.

His eldest daughter didn’t get along with Concubine Lin, but in the end, it was his fault. He had neglected his wife, and his daughter had to stand up for her.

Looking at the silent master, Steward Sun lowered his gaze and didn’t dare to speak.

After a long silence, Yan Zhigao finally said, "Yishuang really needs to be disciplined properly."

Otherwise, if this continued, he was afraid she would offend his wife completely.

After all, when it came to the marriage arrangements for their children, it still relied on his wife to handle the matters.

Steward Sun remained silent, knowing that the master didn’t really want his opinion. He quickly looked in the direction of Shuangxin Courtyard and inwardly sighed.

A concubine was always a concubine—there might be a few years of favor, but it wouldn't last long.

Since the Yan brothers had missed nearly three months of classes, by the end of October, they hadn’t returned home. Therefore, Daohua had to send food to them in November.

Looking at the carts of food prepared by Daohua, the Li sisters were both surprised.

Li Zixin looked at the carts full of goods and asked, "Yiyi, can the three cousins really eat all this? Vegetables, fruits, rice, noodles, pickled vegetables—everything's here."

Daohua smiled. "It's not just for my big brothers. The last two carts are for Xiao Yeyang, and the one in the middle is for Brother Dong and Brother Su."

After that, Li Zixuan noticed Daohua had also asked the servants to bring out two jars of fermented rice.

A jar was loaded onto the carriage of the three cousins, and another jar onto the carriage of the young prince. As for the sons of the Dong and Su families, they didn’t receive any.

Seeing this, Li Zixuan’s eyes flickered slightly.

The fermented rice was made by her cousin herself, and it tasted exceptionally good. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much of it. She glanced at the jars and saw only five in total.

One jar had already been opened at home, another had been given to the Zhou family’s young lady, leaving only three jars.

Her cousin was so generous, giving an entire jar to the young prince!

After a moment of silence, Li Zixuan couldn’t help but speak up, "Yiyi, aren’t you being a little too kind to the young prince?"

Daohua was momentarily stunned, then let out a soft laugh. "What’s the big deal? Xiao Yeyang has helped our family a lot, and he’s been good to me. He’s also been supporting Big Brother and the others. I don’t have anything valuable to repay him, so I can only prepare more food for him."

There was another reason—ever since she learned about the situation at the Prince Ping’s residence from Dong Yuanyao, she felt that Xiao Yeyang was actually not having it easy. He was far away, with an uncle who was often not around, so she just thought she should take care of him a little more whenever she could.

Li Zixuan responded, "Vegetables aren’t expensive usually, but they are quite rare in winter."

Their family also had warm rooms, but the vegetable yield was really low, and the variety was pitifully small. Only in the past couple of years, with the seeds from their aunt’s family, did they have a little more to eat in the winter.

But even then, they could only supply their own family. They certainly wouldn’t dare to send something like this to others, like how her cousin was doing.

She couldn’t help but wonder how many warm rooms her cousin’s estate had built.

Also, the food at her aunt’s house seemed to be better than what they had at home.

Daohua didn’t seem to care. "So what? If Xiao Yeyang wants vegetables, he can definitely get them." She paused for a moment and then proudly added, "But they definitely won’t be as good as mine."

"You know, it’s his lucky day that he got to know me. Putting everything else aside, he’s sure to have good food," she said, laughing at herself.

Seeing that her cousin didn’t think there was anything wrong with her actions, Li Zixuan had to suppress the strange feeling rising in her heart.

She was fifteen this year, and her mother and aunt had already started looking for a match for her, so it was inevitable that she would think more about certain things.

Maybe her cousin was still young and hadn’t figured it out yet?

---

(End of chapter)