Chapter 209: Chapter 191, Heart-to-Heart Talk_1
The sight of Madam Li busily tending to matters, and concubine Lin reaping the benefits without lifting a finger, left Daohua feeling downhearted. She sat listlessly in the pavilion, absentmindedly fiddling with the chess pieces.
“I was wondering where you had gone off to, turns out you’ve come here to find some quiet,” Xiao Yeyang approached with a comfortable gait.
Daohua glanced at him, surprised, “Weren’t you playing cards with the third brother and the others? How come you’re out here?”
Xiao Yeyang sat down across from Daohua and, waving his fan, said, “That card game was a bit interesting at the start, but once you get the rules down and can remember the cards, winning every time is no fun.”
Daohua was speechless. So, he was complaining about it being too simple, “You could choose not to remember the cards.”
Xiao Yeyang gave a shrug, “That’s beyond my control, once I see them, they’re memorized.”
Daohua pouted, “Here you are showing off to me.”
“I’m just telling it like it is,” Xiao Yeyang glanced at Daohua, puzzled. She had been all smiles when he left, so why had she become unhappy in such a short time?
“Who has upset you?”
As Daohua looked at Xiao Yeyang, she wanted to vent her frustrations, but when she thought about him being a bona fide ancient, raised with the convention of having multiple wives and concubines and unlikely to understand her feelings, she lowered her head, “No one has upset me, I’ve just made myself unhappy.”
Xiao Yeyang looked at Daohua, then glanced at the chessboard, and suggested with a smile, “How about a few games? It’ll be nice to see if your skills have improved.”
Daohua initially had no enthusiasm, but seeing that Xiao Yeyang simply wanted to cheer her up, she nodded, “Alright, but you’ll have to go easy on me. Otherwise, I’ll stop playing.”
Xiao Yeyang was momentarily speechless. When had he ever had to be threatened before playing a game of chess?
Oh well, considering today was this fellow’s birthday, he decided not to take it to heart.
The two of them began to play.
Xiao Yeyang saw that the white pieces Daohua held were played haphazardly, and she seemed distracted. He couldn’t help but correct her moves as they played.
“What’s really wrong with you? You’re like frostbitten eggplant, not at all like yourself.”
Daohua looked up and asked curiously, “Not like me? Then how do you think I should be?”
Xiao Yeyang paused, then actually cast down his eyes in thought.
What was Daohua like?
Funny, bold, not quite like the other demure or delicate ladies, she radiated a unique vitality.
Her expressive eyes always seemed to warm one’s heart when she smiled, like a burst of sunshine piercing through to the soul.
And her infectious laughter, upon hearing it, involuntary joy would follow.
Somewhat willful, a bit indulgent, with a manly carefreeness.
When she was quiet, she could be so graceful, like a delicate flower under the moonlight, charming and heart-stirring…
Seeing Xiao Yeyang become lost in thought before her, Daohua had to shake her hand in front of his face, “Hey, what are you daydreaming about?”
Xiao Yeyang came back to reality. Daohua’s perplexed face came into his view, and for a moment, his breath caught, feeling a slight discomfort upon recalling the image of Daohua that had popped into his mind just moments before.
“Ahem~”
He quickly fanned himself with his folding fan, averted his gaze, and said, “Anyway, it’s not the frown you have now. You should be smiling every day.”
Daohua scoffed, “How could I possibly smile every day? Now, let me ask you, you’re the privileged Little Prince, do you stay happy every day?”
Before giving Xiao Yeyang a chance to respond, she went on, “Even someone like you has moments of unhappiness, let alone me.”
Xiao Yeyang glanced at Daohua, her brows knit with gloom, and asked again, “What exactly is wrong? Tell me, and I’ll go avenge you.”
Hearing this, Daohua smiled faintly, “It’s really nothing. I was just upset when I saw my father taking food to his concubine.”
Xiao Yeyang immediately relaxed, dismissively saying, “I thought it was something serious. Is this trivial matter worth sulking over here?”
Hearing Xiao Yeyang’s indifferent tone, Daohua’s brows furrowed, “Shouldn’t I be angry? My mother works tirelessly managing our home, and yet my father directs his attention and love to a concubine who has contributed nothing. By doing this, where does he leave my mother?”
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Humble Family's Daughter Has A Spatial Pocket!