At the foot of the mountain, Dong Yuanxuan and the others, leisurely leading their horses, saw Daohua and Xiao Yeyang running down the mountain in a panic and thought something must have happened, so they immediately spurred their horses over.
Upon arriving, Dong Yuanxuan leapt off his horse and hurriedly asked, âWhat happened? Is something wrong?â
Daohua let go of Xiao Yeyangâs hand, took a few breaths, and then said, âWe encountered three ill-intentioned people halfway up the mountain.â
Dong Yuanxuanâs face changed instantly, and Su Hongxin also ran over quickly. If anything happened to the Little Prince, neither of them would get off easily.
âWhat kind of people?â
Daohua shook her head with a serious expression, âI donât know, but it was clear those three were up to no good. They feigned fainting to lure us into a trap. Luckily, I was sharp enough to see through their scheme, or who knows what might have happened.â
Nearby, Xiao Yeyang, with a complicated and hard-to-describe expression, glanced at Daohua who still looked worried and afraid.
âWhat? This canât be ignored. To think scammers have come to Wuhua Mountain. Where are they? Quick, letâs go catch them.â Yan Wenkai rolled up his sleeves, ready to rush up the mountain.
Yan Wenxiu, seeing that Xiao Yeyang and De Fu were silent with only his sister showing urgency, thought there might be more to the story and quickly stopped his brother from going.
Dong Yuanxuan and Su Hongxin, seeing Xiao Yeyang turn his head away uncomfortably and De Fu with a wooden expression, immediately felt a twinge of unease.
No outsiders should be on the main peak of Wuhua Mountain. Could they have encountered that person living in the other courtyard?
Seeing Dong Yuanxuan and others not moving, Daohua frowned and said, âThere are three people on the mountain planning to target Xiao Yeyang, and youâre not going up to investigate? This time Xiao Yeyang was lucky to have me with him and didnât fall for their trick, but what about next time?â
âI think, for safetyâs sake, itâs best if you thoroughly investigate. Otherwise, itâs hard to have peace of mind.â As she spoke, she turned to Xiao Yeyang and asked in a low voice.
âDo you still have the itching pills and sleeping powder I gave you? If youâre out, I can make some more for you. Itâs good to have them on hand for self-defense.ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Members of the Imperial Family are noble indeed, but they are all too easily trapped in kidnappings and assassination attempts.
Xiao Yeyang was touched by the concern in Daohuaâs voiceâhe knew she truly worried about his safety. However, thinking about whom she was being cautious and defensive against, he was at a loss for words.
After a long silence, Xiao Yeyang finally spoke, âI still have them. You donât need to make more. Besides, with De Fu here, itâs not that easy for me to be caught.â
Daohua disagreed, âHave you forgotten how you were lured out of Beijing by human traffickers last time? De Fu should have been with you then too, and yet you were still taken.â
Xiao Yeyang didnât know what to say, â⦠I was careless that time.â
Daohua spoke earnestly, âThatâs why, having discovered suspicious people this time, we should thoroughly investigate and nip any security risk in the bud. Never be complacent about your safety, never forget that danger can lurk at every corner.â
After finishing, she looked toward Dong Yuanxuan and the others, signaling that they could go up the mountain to capture the suspects.
Uhâ¦
Dong Yuanxuan and Su Hongxin both looked at Xiao Yeyang at the same time.
With Daohua being so earnest, Xiao Yeyang also felt a headache coming on, âA madam with her two maidservantsâthey couldnât really hurt me. Why donât we just let it go?â
As soon as he said this, Daohua sensed something was amiss and looked at Xiao Yeyang with confusion, âAre you so unconcerned about your own safety?â
As she spoke, she stroked her chin and narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing Xiao Yeyang. It had all happened so suddenly before, she hadnât had time to consider all the details.
Feeling uncomfortable under her gaze, Xiao Yeyang quickly averted his eyes.
Seeing this, Daohua fell into thought and then shook her head, âSomethingâs not right here.â
Yan Wenkai, who was clueless, immediately asked, âWhatâs not right?â
Touching her chin, Daohua said, âFirst, the three peopleâs acting was too poor, not at all like trained assassins; they seemed more like clowns sent to amuse us.â
âAnd second, their ages were all wrong. If someone wanted to deal with Xiao Yeyang, they should have sent a young lady, not a madam. It doesnât make sense.â
âPfft~â
An ill-timed suppressed laugh rang out.
Daohua looked displeased at the source of the laughter, âSister Dong, do you find what I said funny?â
Dong Yuanyao collected her smile, kept a straight face, and shook her head, âNo.â She just found it funny that the Little Prince and her elder brothers had been rendered speechless by the eldest daughter of the Yan Family.
Daohua asked, âThen what are you laughing at?â
Dong Yuanyao replied seriously, âIâm just puzzled, why is it not appropriate for the Madam but itâs reasonable for the young lady?â
Daohua blurted out, âOf course itâs because only the young lady can seduce Xiao Yeyang into letting down his guard!â
âYan Yiyi!â
âBig sister!â
Two voices of rebuke rose simultaneously.
Daohua shrank her neck as she looked at her elder brother and Xiao Yeyang, both staring at her angrily.
Oh dear, she spoke without thinking and said what she shouldnât have.
âI was wrong, I wonât dare do it again next time.â
Seeing Daohua admit her fault immediately, Dong Yuanyao leaned on Zhou Jingwanâs shoulder, chuckling, âIâve got to say, I am really impressed with this eldest daughter of the Yan Family, quite amusing indeed.â
At this moment, both Xiao Yeyang and Yan Wenxiu looked at Daohua with a somewhat helpless gaze.
After a moment of silence, Xiao Yeyang said, âAlright, itâs getting late, letâs go back.â With that, he took the lead towards the direction of the guest palace.
Su Hongxin glanced at Daohua and walked to her side, smiling, âMiss Yan is quite something, such a startling idea.â Having said that, he quickly pursued the others.
Daohua furrowed her brows in confusion and looked at Dong Yuanxuan.
Dong Yuanxuan smiled and said thoughtfully, âDonât worry, we will investigate and find out the truth later.â He too left in a hurry.
Daohua then turned to look at her elder brother, third brother, and fourth brother.
Her third and fourth brothers were even more baffled, while her elder brother glared at her in dissatisfaction, âI must write to mother and let her confiscate your storybooks; take a look at what youâve just said!â
Daohua hurriedly begged for mercy, âElder brother, I was wrong. I was just scared and spoke without thinking.â
Yan Wenxiu frowned and considering the reactions of the Little Prince and the others, he asked, âCould it be that youâre mistaken?â
At this moment, Daohua was uncertain as well.
There was no helping it, the reactions of Xiao Yeyang and Dong Yuanxuan were just too abnormal.
Perplexed, she said, âBut those three pretending to faint and deceiving us is real! Who would be so full and idle as to pretend to faint and deceive people?â
Yan Wenxiu fell silent for a moment and then said, âDonât worry about it. It should be nothing serious; Iâll go and ask.â
âWe will also inquire about it,â Yan Wenkai said as he pulled Yan Wentao to run after the others.
In an instant, everyone had left.
Only Daohua was left with Zhou Jingwan and Dong Yuanyao.
âStrange, thereâs something odd going on here!â
Daohua touched her chin, looking at the retreating figures of Xiao Yeyang and his group, and confidently said.
âWhat could be strange?â Zhou Jingwan asked, utterly confused.
Seeing that the two wanted to continue their discussion, Dong Yuanyao quickly changed the subject, âMiss Yan, I heard from Jingwan that you are selling those lipstick rouges, I want to buy one; seems convenient to carry around.â
On hearing this, Daohua had to put her curiosity aside and turned her head to say, âThereâs no need to buy, Sister Dong. If you like it, Iâll give you one for free.â
Dong Yuanyao didnât refuse, smiling, âThen I thank you very much.â
Daohua smiled, âYouâre welcome.â Seeing that Xiao Yeyang and the others had gone far, she quickly said, âAlright, letâs hurry up and follow them, itâs time to go back.â