Chapter 22 - Chapter 22: Chapter 20, Acting l

Chapter 22: Chapter 20, Acting l Translator: 549690339 After arriving in Linyi County, Daohua finally settled down with her parents. Though life was not as carefree as when she was in the Yan Family village, it was still quite warm and cozy. Perhaps out of guilt for not raising their eldest daughter by their side since childhood, both Madam Li and Yan Zhigao were very kind to Daohua. On the tenth day after their arrival, Yan Zhiyuan and Yan Zhiqiang came back. In the main courtyard, left wing room. “Your second uncle and third uncle, having waited a long time for you without any news, worried that something had happened to you on the road, so they proposed to go and meet you. Unfortunately, they missed you.” As Madam Li spoke to Daohua with a smile about the reason the two brothers were not around, she inserted a delicate beaded flower into Daohua’s hair. After fixing it in place, she pulled Daohua up and looked at her with a satisfied face for a while. To this, Daohua was quite helpless. It seemed that every mother liked dressing up their daughter. These days, almost daily, Madam Li personally inquired about her dressing and adornment. Seeing her daughter neatly dressed, Madam Li said with a motherly smile, “Come, accompany mom to the old lady’s courtyard to greet your second and third uncles.1‘ As soon as the mother and daughter arrived at Songhe Courtyard, they heard someone sobbing loudly. “Mother, it is my filial failure that has caused you to suffer.” In the main room, Yan Zhiyuan was kneeling on the ground, clutching the legs of the elderly Madam Yan, crying bitterly. And the honest and sincere Yan Zhiqiang stood on the side, with his eyes reddened, watching his mother. Upon entering and witnessing this scene, Daohua immediately felt an urge to facepalm. Her honest third uncle, ah, why not step forward and show some filial piety! Look at the second uncle, his tears and snot mixed together, showing such filial devotion and longing for his mother! And him, just standing there watching, what’s the meaning of that? If one didn’t know better, they might think he didn’t care for his own mother at all. “Mother, after leaving Linyi County, I have been searching along the main roads toward the provincial city, asking around everywhere, sparing no inn or temple for rest, but still, I wasn’t able to find you. I am incompetent!” Yan Zhiyuan, sobbing as he spoke, detailed all the things he had done along the way, his physical exhaustion and inner urgency narrated with even greater care. Whether intentionally or not, during this time, he only mentioned himself and did not bring up Yan Zhiqiang at all. The elderly Madam Yan, deeply moved, personally wiped the tears and snot from Yan Zhiyuan’s face. Daohua watched with a look of admiration. What a picture of motherly kindness and filial piety! If it weren’t for her dear third uncle standing there like a fool, she might have been moved by the deep emotions between the mother and son. It was time for a real acting performance! Daohua let go of Madam Li, pinched her own thigh hard, and in an instant, her almond eyes were filled with a mist of tears. Then she quickly ran to Yan Zhiqiang and called out affectionately with a sobbing voice, “Third Uncle, Daohua missed you so much.” These words broke the moment of motherly kindness and filial piety, and both the elderly Madam Yan and Yan Zhiyuan paused, turning their heads to look at the ignored Yan Zhiqiang. The others in the room were also startled and turned their gazes uniformly in that direction. There, Daohua, with her arms around Yan Zhiqiang’s arm and her eyes brimming with tears, said, “Third Uncle, how did you become so thin? We’ve only been apart for less than two months. Haven’t you been eating well and sleeping well?” Upon hearing this, some people’s faces in the room began to look a little strange. Seeing Daohua looking at him with such concern, Yan Zhiqiang was very happy, feeling that his niece’s affection was well-placed. He reached out and rubbed her head, laughing, “Third Uncle is fine. I’ll gain it back in a couple of days.” Daohua squeezed out a few pear-shaped tears, “I know Third Uncle must have been exhausted from going to meet Grandmother, me, and big brother. Tonight, Daohua will make you some dumpling soup.” Yan Zhiqiang’s dark cheeks burst into a smile immediately, “That’s great, you’ll have to make a lot because Third Uncle has a big appetite and can eat a lot.” “Me too, me too!” Yan Wenhui, who was only 6 years old this year, looking quite robust, rushed over, looking up at his big sister, “Sis, Wenhui also wants to have dumpling soup.” Daohua smiled and tapped the little guy’s head, “Don’t worry, our adorable Wenhui won’t be left out.” “Neither will I, I also love the dumpling soup made by my little sister.” Yan Wentao also walked over with a smile. “What’s dreg soup?” Yan Wenkai approached with a curious face. Yan Wentao immediately boasted with pride, “Let me tell you, the dreg soup Daohua makes is so delicious, unbelievably tasty. My great-uncle said it’s so good that you could even swallow your own tongue.” Yan Wenkai doubted, “Really? Is that true?” “Really, really,” Yan Wenhui testified, raising his hand. Yan Wenkai made up his mind on the spot, “Then I want to eat it too.” Yan Wenhui: “And my mother, my mother wants to eat it too.” Yan Wentao: “And grandma, grandma’s teeth aren’t good, she needs to eat dreg soup as well.” Yan Wenkai immediately chimed in, “And my eldest brother, who buries his head in books every day, he needs to nourish his brain.” Upon hearing this, Yan Wenxiu was covered in dark lines. Where on earth did this silly brother of his get the idea that dreg soup could nourish the brain? Everyone else in the room:… Wasn’t this supposed to be a touching scene of a mother and child reuniting? How did the atmosphere change all of a sudden? Yan Zhiyuan stood beside Old Madam Yan, taking a serious look at the niece he had seldom met. Not bad at all, she diverted everyone’s attention away from him in just a few sentences and also highlighted the filial piety of uncle number three. This niece is quite clever. Old Madam Yan watched her grandchildren playing around her and then waved to her third son. Yan Zhiqiang immediately walked over, “Mother!” Old Madam Yan looked at her son, whose cheeks were hollowed out, and patted his hand, “You’ve worked hard.” Yan Zhiqiang grinned, “Not at all. The only hardship was not catching up to mother, making you go through trouble.” Old Madam Yan: “Mother wasn’t troubled, Wentao carried mother all the way here.” Later, seeing that the mother and sons had almost finished talking, Madam Li pulled Daohua over to Yan Zhiyuan, “Daohua, come, pay your respects to your second uncle.” Daohua sighed inwardly. Here we go, time to kneel again. In this ancient era, she could tolerate other things, but this constant kneeling was something she could not get used to. Unfortunately, circumstances were stronger than people, and she had no choice but to bow. “Daohua pays respects to second uncle, you’ve had a long journey.” Yan Zhiyuan, with a full smile, helped Daohua up and looked her over, “So this is Daohua. She’s really beautiful, even more so than those noble girls from aristocratic families.” Madam Li frowned slightly, “Second uncle flatters her too much. Daohua is just a little girl. How can she be compared with young ladies from aristocratic families? Please don’t say such things in the future.” A woman’s beauty can be a disadvantage if she doesn’t come from a powerful family. Although their father was a Seventh-rank County Magistrate, there were far too many officials with higher ranks than him. Sensing Madam Li’s displeasure, Yan Zhiyuan agreed repeatedly with a smile. It was then that Yan Zhigao spoke, “Second brother, third brother, why did you come back so late? Did something happen on the road?” Yan Zhiyuan immediately turned toward Yan Zhigao, “Big brother, it’s exactly as you said. After we arrived at the provincial city and during our search for mother, we heard a piece of news. The Imperial Court has sent someone to provide disaster relief. We stayed in the provincial city to find out more.” Yan Zhigao nodded, “I already know about this. The County Governor’s Office received the news a few days ago.” Yan Zhiyuan smiled and asked again, “Big brother, do you know how high-ranking the official the Imperial Court sent for disaster relief is?” Yan Zhigao: “Hmm?” He really did not know this as his connections in official circles were not wide, leaving him rather in the dark. Yan Zhiyuan was somewhat excited, “It’s Prince Rui, the Emperor’s brother.” Yan Zhigao immediately stood up in shock, “What?!” A prince coming down in person for disaster relief was indeed a rare event!