Chapter 172 - Chapter 172: Chapter 155, Sick_1

Chapter 172: Chapter 155, Sick_1

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At the foot of the primary peak of Wuhua Mountain.

Staring at the majestic and imposing Royal Palace, even Li Xingnian, who prided himself on being worldly, felt somewhat intimidated, “Wenxiu, Daohua, are we really going in?”

Daohua nodded, “Since we’re here, of course we need to meet him before leaving.”

At the entrance of the Royal Palace, a squad of knife-carrying bodyguards was on duty. Seeing Daohua and the others, they immediately stepped forward to stop them, “This is the Royal Palace; idlers and others are not allowed near. Leave at once.”

Yan Wenxiu glanced at Daohua, then stepped forward and said, “Brother bodyguard, we were classmates with the Little Prince, and we have come specifically to see him.”

The bodyguard waved his hand impatiently, “Go away, go away, the Little Prince has instructed that he will not see anyone, no matter who it is.”

During the New Year period, several groups had already visited, and just because they had let one group in, the furious Little Prince had punished them with ten beatings. To this day, their buttocks still ached.

Seeing this, Daohua took out the Qilin Jade Pendant from her waist, “This is the Little Prince’s jade pendant. Please trouble brother bodyguard to announce our visit. If you’re worried about the Little Prince’s blame, you can also find Eunuch De Fu.”

The bodyguard took the jade pendant and looked at it, startled in his heart. He quickly returned the jade pendant to Daohua and said politely, “Please wait a moment, I’ll report this immediately.” After saying that, he turned and ran into the Royal Palace.

Daohua put away the jade pendant and placed it back in her pouch.

Li Xingnian felt somewhat uncertain, “Can we get in?”

Daohua thought for a bit, “We should be able to.” They had come to pay a visit, taking into account Xiao Yeyang’s dignity. That fellow must be bored these days, so isn’t it good for them to come over and chat with him for a while?

It didn’t take long for the bodyguard to return with Eunuch De Fu.

Upon closer inspection, Eunuch De Fu seemed a bit breathless as he walked.

Seeing Daohua, De Fu’s face was full of surprise, “Miss Yan, happy New Year! I wish you well on behalf of myself here!”

Daohua smiled, “Eunuch De Fu, happy New Year to you too!” As she spoke, she lifted the food box in her hand, “I brought some food for Xiao Yeyang. Where is he?”

De Fu’s face fell, “The Little Prince is in his room. A few days ago, he caught a chill while practicing martial arts early in the morning. He’s been ill.”

Daohua’s face showed shock, “What, he’s sick? Let’s go, take me to see him quickly.”

De Fu nodded immediately and led Daohua into the Royal Palace.

The ignored Yan Wenxiu, Yan Wenkai, and Li Xingnian: “….”

Fortunately, the bodyguard was observant and said to the three men, “Please come this way.”

Yan Wenxiu and his brother nodded slightly, entering the Royal Palace composedly, whereas the eldest, Li Xingnian, looked quite unsettled.

Don’t blame him; his past contacts were mostly with merchants. He had hardly seen any high officials, and being close to the Imperial Family for the first time, it was good enough that he didn’t make any mistakes.

After they entered, the bodyguard wiped the non-existent sweat from his forehead, thinking thankfully that he hadn’t offended these people, since there weren’t many who could have Eunuch De Fu personally come out to welcome them.

The main hall of the Royal Palace.

Xiao Yeyang, who was originally lying listlessly on the chaise longue reading storybooks, jumped up the moment he heard that Daohua and Yan Wenxiu had arrived, ordering the servants to help him change.

By the time Daohua arrived, Xiao Yeyang had reverted to his usual demeanor, except his face was a bit pale.

Daohua, standing a few steps away from Xiao Yeyang, examined his complexion carefully, frowning, “Your body isn’t that weak, how did you get sick just from practicing martial arts?”

Xiao Yeyang, happy to see Daohua, and seeing her concerned gaze, said nonchalantly, “It’s not a serious illness; I just sweated a bit and didn’t change my clothes in time, catching a slight cold. I’m almost fully recovered now.”

Daohua was silent.

Being alone outside during the New Year must have made him feel particularly lonely and isolated. He must have gotten up early to practice martial arts to vent his irritation, right?

Thinking of the tragic fate of the child left behind by the family’s madam in the play “Abandoning the Husband,” Daohua once again started to feel sympathetic towards Xiao Yeyang.

Poor child!

Xiao Yeyang was puzzled by Daohua’s stare and hurriedly sought a topic, “So, what made you think of visiting me?”

Daohua came back to her senses and beckoned Wang Manman to set down the food box, “I’ve been saying I wanted to treat you to hot pot, but there was never an opportunity, so I brought the seasonings for making hot pot over.”

“`

“Perfect timing, you’ve been ill, haven’t you? A hot and spicy hotpot might just help you sweat it out, and who knows, it might even cure your cold!”

Having taken medicine for his illness, Xiao Yeyang was already complaining about the lack of taste in his mouth. Hearing Daohua mention hotpot, his interest was immediately piqued, “Sounds good, let’s have hotpot for lunch today.”

Daohua, thinking of Xiao Yeyang who was not only spending the New Year alone but was also sick, nodded and said, “I need to tell my uncle first.” She had originally planned to drop off the stuff, chat for a bit, and then leave.

Only then did Xiao Yeyang remember that the three from the Yan Family had come, and he said at once, “Let’s go, come out and meet your uncle.”

Soon, Xiao Yeyang had brought Daohua to the living room, where the three Yan Wenxiu were waiting.

“Your humble subject pays respects to the Little Prince!”

Upon seeing Xiao Yeyang, Li Xingnian immediately came forward to offer his respects.

Xiao Yeyang raised his hand slightly, “No need for formalities, you are Daohua’s uncle and there’s no need to be constrained here, just be at ease.”

Li Xingnian suppressed the shock in his heart.

Just because he was Daohua’s uncle, he didn’t need to be overly formal?

Seeing her young uncle standing motionless, Daohua stepped forward, took his arm, and helped him sit down again, then chuckled and said, “Uncle, the Little Prince wants to invite us to stay for lunch. What do you say?”

Li Xingnian hurriedly said, “It would be our pleasure to accept the Little Prince’s invitation.”

…

Daohua put a lot of effort into preparing the hotpot base, and as Xiao Yeyang was seeing this style of eating for the first time, combined with the company and banter of the Yan Wenkai brothers, he found himself genuinely enjoying lunch.

The servant De Fu, who was attending to them on the side, also heaved a deep sigh of relief upon seeing his master finally smiling.

The Little Prince was sick, supposedly with a cold, but it might as well have been a case of pent-up frustration.

Back in Beijing, even if the Prince’s life wasn’t perfect, he had the Empress Dowager and the Emperor’s doting in the Imperial Palace, so the Little Prince wouldn’t feel too bad.

But now, having left the capital and seen other families enjoying their reunions and filial piety, while he himself was all alone, such a sharp contrast surely couldn’t have been easy on the Little Prince.

“Big sister, this hotpot is so delicious, why don’t you make it at home?” Yan Wenkai was slightly unhappy, only having just tasted the hotpot, “Before we start school, you must make it once more or else…”

Daohua laughed and intercepted, “Or else what?”

Yan Wenkai, caught by his sister’s challenging gaze, felt a little out of breath, “Or else, I won’t help you find flower seeds!”

On the side, Xiao Yeyang, upon hearing that this was Daohua’s first time making hotpot, felt inexplicably better and said to her, “It’s okay, if your fourth brother doesn’t look for them, I will help you find them.”

“The Little Prince can’t be partial though!” Yan Wenkai immediately responded with a sullen face.

De Fu, watching Xiao Yeyang laughing and chatting with the Yan siblings, gave it some thought and covertly pulled at Yan Wenxiu’s sleeve, signaling him to step outside for a moment.

Yan Wenxiu glanced at his uncle Li Xingnian and seeing him nod, went out with De Fu, “Eunuch De Fu, is there something you need?”

De Fu bowed, and Yan Wenxiu quickly helped him up, “Please speak, Eunuch. If it’s within my power, I’ll get it done.”

De Fu sighed, “This New Year, because the Governor was detained by some matters, the Little Prince has been quite unhappy. I was hoping, if it were possible, to request the two young masters and Miss Yan to stay and keep the Little Prince company?”

Yan Wenxiu was taken aback, not expecting De Fu to be talking about this.

De Fu continued, “I am aware that the two young masters and Miss Yan have plans to visit the provincial capital with their uncle, and we wouldn’t ask for a lengthy delay, just one day. Seeing the Little Prince so genuinely happy today, I took the liberty of making the request.”

Yan Wenxiu came back to his senses and immediately responded with a smile, “That’s fine by me. As soon as I entered the Royal Palace, I was stunned by the scenery and was wondering how I could stay on to admire it more.”

De Fu couldn’t help but smile at his response.

The eldest son of the Yan Family certainly had a way with words.

“Then I shall go and inform the Little Prince immediately. He is sure to agree,” said De Fu.

Hearing that Yan Wenxiu wanted to stay and tour the Royal Palace, Xiao Yeyang had no objections. Turning to Daohua with a smile, he said, “The winter scenery here in the Royal Palace does fall a bit short. It’s in the spring when it becomes the most beautiful.”

Daohua glanced at her eldest brother, then at her uncle, whose face always carried a smile, and said, “Well then, you’ll have to give us a good tour this afternoon.”