Chapter 217: Chapter 199, Horse-Riding Attire_1

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“Eh, why has the boat stopped moving?”

Seeing the boat suddenly slow down and stop, Daohua immediately stood on tiptoe and stretched her neck to look outside, then saw some disturbance at the harbor.

At this moment, Qin Wu walked over.

Qin Wu was skilled and careful, and now, as long as Yan Zhigao went out, he would bring him along.

“Miss, the master wishes for you to return to the cabin. It seems someone has fallen into the water ahead; the boats have blocked the harbor, so we might have to wait a bit before going ashore.”

Daohua nodded. The number of people out and about for the Double Ninth Festival was large, and the various boats squeezed together indeed made accidents more likely.

Glancing at the boats gradually approaching theirs, Daohua pulled Zhou Jingwan into the cabin.

Once inside, they bowed to Yan Zhigao and the others, then headed straight to the window and peered out.

“Eh, Daohua, look quick—isn’t that your brother and mine? What are they doing? Are they rescuing someone?” Zhou Jingwan suddenly pointed towards the harbor and spoke.

Daohua quickly looked over and spotted Yan Wenxiu and Zhou Chengye among the crowd.

It couldn’t be helped—amidst the chaotic and noisy dock, Yan Wenxiu and Zhou Chengye, calmly directing the mooring of the boats, truly stood out like cranes amongst chickens.

Moreover, both of them were handsome, with a genteel and elegant demeanor, which easily distinguished them from the crowd.

“It’s them. They seem to be helping maintain order!”

Elsewhere, Yan Zhigao and Zhou Family’s senior master also noticed Yan Wenxiu and Zhou Chengye at the dock.

Seeing the two young men giving commands to the boatmen to dock and evacuate with composure, both fathers showed expressions of satisfaction.

“Wenxiu nephew is becoming more and more capable, quite having the style of brother Yan,” stated Zhou Family’s senior master, praising Yan Wenxiu first.

Yan Zhigao, although proud of his eldest son’s excellence, humbly responded, “He still can’t compare to Chengye’s steadiness. Wenxiu has much to learn from him.”

Indeed, due to their different environments growing up, Zhou Chengye, accustomed to grand scenes from a young age, was somewhat more thorough and steady than Yan Wenxiu in some aspects.

Afterward, the two elderly fathers went on to compliment each other’s children, with the other invited guests chiming in now and then.

The dock was swiftly restored to order, and before long, Daohua and her group could disembark.

“Whose young master is that?”

“If they hadn’t helped, who knows how long we would have been stuck here?”

“With their appearance and manners, they must surely be from aristocratic families, no?”

As Daohua and Zhou Jingwan disembarked, they overheard conversations from people on another boat.

The two girls exchanged a glance, then turned to look, and saw a group of girls around fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing veiled caps, gazing in their direction from the neighboring boat.

“Do you think they’re eyeing your brother or mine?” Zhou Jingwan whispered with a hand covering her mouth.

Daohua paused for a moment, “Perhaps they’ve taken a liking to both.”

Zhou Jingwan giggled softly, then with a grown-up air, lamented, “Sigh, my brother is also of age to talk about marriage.” Glancing at Zhou Chengye, who was greeting everyone, she whispered, “Let me tell you, my mother has secretly started looking for a daughter-in-law for him.”

Daohua suddenly realized, “Is that why your family has been hosting banquets lately, setting your sights on some girl?”

Zhou Jingwan took offense, “How can you say setting sights? It’s called mutual selection.” She nudged Daohua, “I remember Yan, your elder brother is just a year younger than mine; has your mother started looking for candidates for him?”

Daohua thought for a moment, “My mother did mention it before, but then there was no further move. Perhaps she wants my brother to focus on his studies quietly for now.”

Her stepfather, because of the grain matter, was said to have received the emperor’s commendation. Moreover, from the frequent interactions with other families over the past year, it seemed likely that he would climb higher in rank after fulfilling his current post.

Her mother wasn’t arranging matters for her brother, probably waiting until her stepfather received a promotion to look for suitable matches.

After all, by doing so, there would be a wider range of choices and the prospects would likely be better.

At this point, Yan Wenxiu, Zhou Chengye, and Yan Zhigao’s party completed their greetings and then approached Daohua and the others.

“Keep an eye on your younger sisters. You can’t let anything happen to them, or else I will hold you accountable,” warned Zhou Family’s senior master.

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Zhou Chengye immediately laughed and said, “Dad, rest assured, we definitely won’t let our two sisters come to any harm.”

Yan Wenxiu also followed up, saying, “Father and uncle, please be at ease. There are several gentle young horses recently arrived at the horse field, and with the servants watching over, there won’t be any problems.”

At this point, Yan Zhigao and Old Master Zhou nodded, signaling that they could leave.

…

“Eh, weren’t we going to the horse field? Why have we come to the palace?”

Seeing Yan Wenxiu leading them into the palace, Daohua asked puzzled.

Yan Wenxiu glanced at his sister and the Zhou Family girls’ attire for the day and chuckled, “The horse field is not far from the palace; I brought you here to change your clothes.”

Daohua looked down at her clothes, which were neat and convenient, “Do we need special clothes just to ride a horse?”

Zhou Chengye smiled, “The clothes were specially prepared by De Fu gonggong, it wouldn’t be right to dismiss his kindness. Dong Yuanyao, who arrived earlier, has already changed into them, and she looks very pretty.”

Daohua was taken aback, “Dong Yuanyao? Big Brother Dong’s sister?”

Zhou Chengye nodded and thinking back to the night of the Lantern Festival when the two ladies had met, he almost laughed, “Yes, that’s her.”

Zhou Jingwan tugged at Daohua, “You know Sister Dong?”

Daohua replied indifferently with a nod, “Met her once.” She then whispered, lowering her voice, “That time she was dressed as a man, trying to tease me.”

Zhou Jingwan’s eyes widened and she soon laughed, “Sister Dong is also playful, you didn’t come out worse in the situation, did you?”

Daohua tossed her head back, “Who am I? How could I possibly be at a loss! I teased her right back and left her blushing and speechless.”

Zhou Jingwan looked at Daohua who was full of pride and shook her head, “I used to think I was mischievous enough, but compared to the two of you, I admit defeat.”

Soon, the four of them arrived in front of a palace.

“The horse field is just behind the palace, you go ahead and change your clothes, and someone will take you there shortly,” Yan Wenxiu told the two.

Daohua glanced at the palace, where maids were already waiting, and muttered, “Isn’t this a bit too formal just for riding horses?”

Zhou Jingwan responded directly, “You, you’re just too lackadaisical. Of course, you have to wear riding attire for horseback riding. If it hadn’t been so rushed this time, I would’ve had our embroiderer make me a set too.”

“Now that someone has prepared it for us, why not wear it? Didn’t you hear that Sister Dong is also wearing it? Come on, let’s change quickly, we can’t be outdone by her.” Saying so, she pulled Daohua with her and went inside.

Yan Wenxiu and Zhou Chengye smiled and shook their heads, then turned and walked towards the horse field behind the palace.

“You seem to be quite familiar with Miss Dong from the way Jingwan speaks,” Yan Wenxiu remarked.

“We’ve met a few times. Miss Dong is just like my sister—outgoing—and she gets along well with Jingwan,” Zhou Chengye replied.

….

“Wow, what beautiful clothes!”

Upon entering the room and seeing the several sets of riding outfits laid out, Zhou Jingwan immediately pounced on them.

Daohua was also impressed, picking up a set of robin’s egg blue riding gear, “Isn’t this style similar to that from the grasslands of the North?”

The maid standing by laughed and replied, “Miss Yan has good eyes. The Nomadic Tribes from the northern grasslands are especially skilled in horse riding, so most of the riding gear is modeled after their style—it’s both convenient and attractive.”

Daohua touched the garment in her hand and smiled, “It really is quite beautiful.”

Zhou Jingwan touched this set of clothes and that, her expression reflecting her indecision, “Daohua, help me decide, which set looks better on me?”

Daohua looked and pointed at a pink riding outfit, “This one.”

“Great minds think alike, I also think the pink one looks better.” She picked up the clothes and held them against herself, asking while comparing, “What about you, which one will you wear?”

Daohua lifted the garment in her hand, “I like this set of robin’s egg blue.”

Zhou Jingwan looked up, quickly nodding, “Mm-hmm, it suits you really well. You often wear green and blue, my mother says you look particularly pretty in them.”

“Let’s hurry and change.”