Chapter 107: There is Room For the Poor Daughter
.png)
Chapter 107: Being Bullied
On the fifteenth day of August, Yan Wenxiu, Yan Wentao, and Yan Wenkai returned home.
After freshening up, the three brothers headed to the old lady’s courtyard.
“You’ve lost weight. Has studying at the academy been too hard for you?” The old lady looked at her three grandsons, who had become somewhat thinner, with a face full of concern.
Yan Wenxiu smiled and replied, “Grandmother, studying at the academy isn’t hard at all. It’s just that we’ve just changed our environment, and we’re not quite used to it yet. Once we adjust, everything will be fine.”
The old lady, still holding onto her eldest grandson, scolded, “You child, don’t spend all your time studying. You need to make time to exercise. Only with good health can you accomplish great things.”
Yan Wenxiu respectfully listened, always smiling and nodding in agreement.
Meanwhile, Yan Zhigao and Madam Li looked on with satisfaction at their increasingly mature eldest son.
After the old lady finished chatting with Yan Wenxiu, Madam Li was about to ask him about life at the academy when Yan Zhiyuan cut in first, saying, “Wenxiu, look at your second brother—he’s stuck studying with some ordinary teachers at the local school and hasn’t made much progress. Now that you’re back, maybe you can find time to tutor him.”
Hearing this, Madam Li immediately furrowed her brows. Although her eldest son hid it well, she could see the exhaustion in his eyes. After all, the academy had given them a two-day break, and this was the perfect time for Yan Wenxiu to rest. Yet, his second brother had to bring up something so tactless.
Fortunately, the old lady, concerned about her eldest grandson, immediately dismissed the suggestion, saying, “Didn’t the eldest already hire a tutor for Wenjie and Wenbin at home? There’s no need for Wenxiu to tutor them. He’s only back for two days—he should rest and recover his strength.”
After saying this, the old lady ignored Yan Zhiyuan and turned to Daohua. “These next few days, make some good food for your three brothers. Look at them, they’ve all lost weight.”
Daohua smiled and nodded.
Afterward, Yan Zhigao began asking Yan Wenxiu about the academy. Yan Wenxiu spoke only about his studies and some interesting things that had happened, with Yan Wentao and Yan Wenkai occasionally adding a few comments. The atmosphere in the room quickly became warm and cheerful.
Daohua, sitting beside the old lady on the veranda, watched her three brothers' expressions carefully. The eldest brother was always stoic, so she couldn’t read much from his face, but she could easily tell that the third and fourth brothers were forcing smiles.
Life at the academy probably wasn’t as good as they made it out to be.
“Grandmother, I’ll go check on how the food is coming along. I’ll also bring the wine we made.”
The old lady smiled and nodded.
As Daohua left the room, she glanced back at Yan Wentao and Yan Wenkai, signaling them to follow her.
Understanding the signal, Yan Wenkai immediately stood up and said to the old lady, “Grandmother, I’ll go help my eldest sister bring the wine.”
“I’ll go too!” Yan Wentao followed suit.
Watching the two grandsons leave, the old lady smiled and said to Yan Wenxiu, “Look at your third and fourth brothers, their spirits are so high. You should learn from them and exercise more often.”
Yan Wenxiu nodded. “Grandmother, I will.”
Outside the courtyard, Daohua waited for Yan Wentao and Yan Wenkai to join her before leading them to Daohua Xuan.
“Big sister, is the wine you made good?”
Inside the house, Yan Wenkai had been sitting upright, but once outside, he immediately relaxed and spoke casually.
Daohua smiled. “You’ll find out in a moment.” Then, she glanced at the two of them and asked, “Third brother, Fourth brother, how is life at the academy?”
At these words, both Yan Wentao and Yan Wenkai fell silent.
Daohua immediately added, “What’s wrong? Is the academy not good?”
Yan Wentao, who never hid anything from Daohua, spoke up, “It’s not that the academy is bad, it’s just that there are too many students from influential families and high-ranking officials. Their status is so much higher than ours.”
Daohua immediately understood what he meant, her expression turning anxious. “Did they bully you?”
Yan Wentao quickly reassured her, “Don’t worry, we weren’t bullied. The academy has rules that prohibit fighting. We’ve just been putting up with some pressure.”
Many things had to be endured in silence to avoid causing trouble for the family.
Unfortunately, arrogant and overbearing students often came from powerful families, and they were hard to confront.
Daohua let out a sigh of relief.
At this point, Yan Wenkai spoke gloomily, “We’re alright. We’re studying martial arts, so while martial artists tend to be hot-headed, at least they’re straightforward. They don’t hide their intentions.”
“It’s the eldest brother’s situation that’s tough. They say scholars are sneaky, and I didn’t believe it before, but now I understand. Scholars like to make trouble in secret.”
Daohua furrowed her brows. “Is the eldest brother also being difficult?” Honestly, she wasn’t boasting, but her eldest brother was very good-looking—gentle, refined, and polite. A person like that should be well-received anywhere.
Yan Wentao quickly reassured her, “It’s not that bad, he’s not really being bullied, just somewhat isolated.”
Yan Wenkai sighed, “We entered the academy late, and our family background isn’t that impressive, so the academy people are just ignoring us. You know, Eldest Brother’s knowledge is excellent, so of course, people are jealous.”
“If it weren’t for the fact that Brother Zhou visited Eldest Brother twice, we wouldn’t even know how badly he was being isolated by his classmates!”
Daohua’s heart sank. She hadn’t expected things to be like this at the academy. After hesitating for a moment, she asked, “Third brother, Fourth brother, have you seen Xiao Yeyang at the academy?”
Even if Xiao Yeyang didn’t do anything, as long as people knew they were acquainted with him, the others at the academy would likely think twice before bullying them.
At the mention of Xiao Yeyang, both Yan Wenkai and Yan Wentao fell silent.
After a long pause, Yan Wenkai finally said in a low voice, “Big sister, after going to the academy, I realized how far apart our family is from the Young Prince!”
Yan Wentao nodded in agreement.
“Did something happen?” Daohua quickly asked.
Yan Wenkai shook his head. “It’s not a big deal. It was just once when we saw the Young Prince’s carriage on the street. My third brother and I wanted to greet him, but we almost got mistaken for troublemakers by his guards and almost got arrested.”
If it weren’t for Eldest Brother arriving in time to explain that they were students from Wangyue Academy, he and Third Brother would probably have been thrown into prison.
....
This novel is translated by the Eternal Novel Hits translators. Please read it at https://eternalnovelhits.blogspot.com
....
At the time, when the Young Prince had visited the Yan family, he hadn’t felt much. He knew the man was of high status and had to be treated cautiously, but he hadn’t felt any particular reverence. However, that incident, with swords drawn right in front of him, made him realize how untouchable members of the royal family were.
Offending the Young Prince meant the guards would just kill them, and no one would speak up for them.
Daohua was horrified by what she heard. Although Yan Wenkai spoke casually, she could imagine how dangerous the situation must have been. She couldn’t help but ask, “Did Xiao Yeyang not recognize you?”
Yan Wentao shook his head. “The Young Prince probably didn’t even notice us.”
He had too many people around him—guards and various people trying to curry favor with him.
In fact, they had seen the Young Prince when they first arrived at the academy. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get close to him. Only the students in his class were allowed near him during his lectures.
After seeing the Young Prince’s entourage at the academy, Yan Wentao finally understood why Brother Zhou had said that the Young Prince had been so kind to their family when he visited.
When the Young Prince had been at the Yan family’s house, he had been quite approachable.
(End of Chapter)
►►CLICK HERE FOR ADVANCE CHAPTERS◄◄
Comments
Post a Comment