Chapter 647: Chapter 583, Minds in Accord_1 Chapter 647: Chapter 583, Minds in Accord_1 Xiao Yeyang had been keeping an eye on Daohua and, seeing that the recent disturbance hadn’t affected her, he retracted his gaze and looked down towards the estuary below.

At this moment, the Dragon Boat Race had begun, with over ten dragon boats striving hard to sail across the surface of the river.

When officials gathered together, they couldn’t help but show off their knowledge, and with everyone bringing their younger family members this time, someone suggested that the youngsters write thematic poems for others to assess.

This suggestion was met with unanimous approval, and soon, the sounds of reciting poetry emanated from the men’s side.

Seeing the men’s side bustling with activity, Madam Guo suggested that the young ladies present should also write poems.

Since this was an opportunity for the girls to show their faces, naturally, none of the madams declined.

Only Madam Li and Madam Dong gave their daughters a discreet glance.

Upon hearing that everyone had to write poems to be judged by the men on the opposite side, both Daohua and Dong Yuanyao immediately felt uneasy.

“I’m going to embarrass myself terribly this time!” she said.

Seeing Daohua mumbling despondently, Su Shiyu couldn’t help but let out a suppressed giggle, “It’s just a thematic poem, what’s so difficult about that?”

Daohua gave her a woeful look, “You’re a top student; you wouldn’t understand the troubles of a poor student.”

Dong Yuanyao nodded wholeheartedly in agreement, “Exactly.”

After pondering for a bit, Su Shiyu whispered, “How about I help you both write them? You can just read them out when it’s time.”

Daohua and Dong Yuanyao’s eyes lit up instantly as they nodded in unison, urging Su Shiyu to hurry up.

While Su Shiyu was deep in thought, some women had already stood up and started reciting their poems.

It was none other than Jiang Wanying.

Once she finished reciting her poem, she received praise from everyone.

Daohua glanced over, lost interest immediately, and focused intently on Su Shiyu, “Sister Su, hurry up. You have to write three poems by yourself, and I don’t know if there’s enough time?”

Dong Yuanyao said, “We can wait until everyone has finished reciting before reading ours; we should have enough time.”

With her handkerchief in hand, Su Shiyu quickly formulated a poem and promptly whispered it to Daohua and Dong Yuanyao.

At that moment, Wang Manman, who was sitting nearby, saw Yan Wenkai from across the way gesturing to her. She glanced at her own daughter and then quickly walked towards the pavilion’s entrance.

Soon, Wang Manman returned, and upon her arrival, she promptly tugged at Daohua.

Daohua looked over, “What’s the matter?”

Wang Manman secretly passed the piece of paper she had in her hand to Daohua.

Upon receiving the note, Daohua immediately looked around guiltily to ensure no one was watching, and only when she saw that everyone’s attention was on the poem-reciting ladies did she lower her head and hastily unfold the paper.

Seeing the spirited handwriting on the note, her lips instantly curled into a smile, and she happily said to Su Shiyu, “Sister Su, you don’t need to help me write a poem anymore.”

Dong Yuanyao glanced at her, reached out to snatch the paper from Daohua’s hand, “Let me see.”

Daohua shook her head and quickly hid her hand behind her back.

Dong Yuanyao pouted and said, “It’s not like I won’t guess who wrote it for you, I don’t even care to look.” She then continued to discuss the previous poem with Su Shiyu.

With a smile, Daohua ignored them and quickly memorized the poem from the note.

Not far away, Guo Xueming did not vie for attention with the other young ladies but took this opportunity to quietly observe everyone. She noticed the subtle movements of the trio and also saw Yan Wenkai pass a note to Daohua.

But…

As far as she knew, the fourth son of the Yan family was not adept at writing poetry.

Guo Xueming looked towards Yan Wenkai, who was standing next to Xiao Yeyang, Dong Yuanxuan, and others, her eyes shifting slightly.

When it was Daohua’s turn to recite her poem later on, Guo Xueming listened intently.

The poem was indeed thematic, but it lacked any brilliance. However, the casualness and audacity in the lines did rather suit Yan Family’s eldest daughter’s personality.

This couldn’t have been written by Brother Yeyang, could it?

Someone who understood Yan Family’s eldest daughter so well must be Yan Wenkai himself.

Guo Xueming breathed a sigh of relief and shifted her attention back to the other young ladies.

Over here, after Dong Yuanyao had finished her poem, she squeezed next to Daohua and whispered, “I went through all the trouble of writing you a poem, but it turned out so plain and unremarkable. I had thought he was going to make you an overnight sensation.”

Daohua: “What do you know? A lot of people are aware that I’m not skilled at poetry. If I suddenly produced an excellent piece, wouldn’t that just be blatantly telling others that I cheated? This is just right.”

Dong Yuanyao curled her lips: “He sure understands you.” Just as she was about to say something else, she heard someone calling out.

“Look, the dragon boats are almost at the finish line.”

Daohua immediately pulled Dong Yuanyao and Su Shiyu to the railing, craning their necks to look down.

Suddenly, Dong Yuanyao, excited, gripped Daohua’s arm: “Yiyi, look at the dragon boat in the lead, is that Sun Changze drumming at the front?”

Daohua immediately looked over and then nodded with a smile: “It is Sun Changze. I really didn’t expect him to participate in the Dragon Boat Race.”

Su Shiyu asked curiously, “Who is Sun Changze?”

Dong Yuanyao fell silent: “He is my life-saving benefactor.”

Su Shiyu paused for a moment, then immediately turned her gaze onto the leading dragon boat; after a while, she added, “He looks very spirited, but a bit… a bit…”

Seeing Su Shiyu struggling to find the words, Daohua joined in: “A bit wild.”

Su Shiyu nodded eagerly: “Right, a bit wild, like an untamed stallion on the prairie.”

Dong Yuanyao: “I think that’s quite good.”

Daohua laughed: “It is quite good. He’s quite different from the people around us.”

Just then, two servants suddenly carried over a chest of Silver Barley.

Daohua, with a look of surprise: “What’s this for?”

Dong Yuanyao glanced at it: “For rewarding.”

Daohua frowned: “Rewarding?”

Su Shiyu explained: “Later, when the dragon boat teams come ashore, we can grab Silver Barley and toss it onto the team we like.”

Daohua looked towards where the dragon boats would dock: “Why not give the rewards directly to the people? Why toss it down? What if it falls into the water?”

Su Shiyu did not respond to this.

Dong Yuanyao snorted coldly: “To flaunt a sense of superiority as if one is above the rest. In the eyes of some, throwing money around is a very prestigious act.”

Daohua turned her head to look at the others, seeing many eagerly clutching Silver Barley and anticipating tossing it downstairs, she couldn’t help but knit her brows: “That’s sick!”

At this moment, the dragon boat teams were one by one reaching the shore, with Sun Changze’s team arriving first.

Ordinarily, Dong Yuanyao wouldn’t find anything wrong with throwing money to reward people, as it’s a custom many places observe, but watching Sun Changze standing down there made her feel very uncomfortable at the thought of him bending over to pick up the Silver Barley thrown by the crowd, or even having to dive into the water to retrieve it.

“The dragon boat teams are almost all at the shore. Let’s all take some Silver Barley to reward them,”
Madam Guo said with a smile.

The crowd quickly praised Madam Guo’s generosity.

Just then, Defu came over with a tray full of pouches: “Ladies, my master says that Silver Barley is quite small, and throwing it down might make it hard to find, wasting your generous rewards. So, he thought it would be good for everyone to put the rewards in these pouches for tossing, making it easier for all,”
At this, both Daohua and Dong Yuanyao’s eyes lit up.

Madam Guo had a good impression of Xiao Yeyang this time and promptly laughed, “How considerate of Yeyang to think this through. Let’s put our rewards in the pouches, and if someone isn’t accustomed to it, they don’t have to use a pouch.”

Seeing the pouches, Daohua and Dong Yuanyao’s moods improved somewhat, but noticing many madams still throwing bare, when the maids brought the chest of Silver Barley to them, they each took several pouches, filling each pouch to the brim.

Immediately, half the small chest’s Silver Barley was gone.

Su Shiyu, seeing their actions, felt it seemed inappropriate, as their taking so much left little for others, but in the end, she steeled herself to do the same.

Zhu Qiyun, observing the three of them, and then glancing down at the sweating rowers, also decided to fill her pouches completely.

Soon, everyone started tossing money down.

On the men’s side, Defu approached Xiao Yeyang and quietly informed him of Daohua’s actions.

Xiao Yeyang heard it and the corner of his mouth curved, knowing that guy would dislike such proceedings.

Watching everyone throw Silver Barley downstairs, Xiao Yeyang’s eyes narrowed slightly, and while he couldn’t completely forbid it, using pouches was still a better solution overall.