It's mid-autumn in August, with a brilliantly shining sun.
Upon the boundless land, the golden sea of paddy fields under the gentle breeze, raises wave after wave.
Amidst the swaying golden waves, a little girl dressed in a green blouse and skirt, her hair cleverly done up, closes her eyes, spreads out her arms, and indulgently immerses herself in the rich fragrance of the paddy fields.
"Paddy blossom~"
"Paddy blossom~"
A unique sound belonging to a young boy—crisp, carefree, and joyful—echoes from a distance, and with the breeze swiftly spreads into the midst of the waves.
The little girl heard the voice, and her eyes sprang open immediately. With a tilt of her head, she spotted a boy who was as swift as the wind, waving his hand while rushing towards her from the ridges of the paddy fields.
Upon seeing the young boy, the little girl's face lit up with a radiant smile and she waved back at him, "Third brother, I'm here!"
Yan Wentao saw the little girl, joy spread across his face and his long legs took even bigger strides.
Among the golden paddy waves, the little girl dressed in green stood smiling. Her eyebrows were clear yet elegant, her lips were red without lipstick, her eyes were like twinkling stars, and her skin was as smooth as congealed cream.
Even after nine years, Yan Wentao felt that he could never get enough of seeing his elder sister who resembled a celestial maiden from heaven.
"Third brother, why are you here?"
As soon as the boy arrived, the little girl asked with a smile. Her cheeks shining pure white under the strong sun, blushing slightly, making her appear even more adorable and innocent.
"What do you mean why? With such a strong sun, what are you doing out here? Aren't you afraid of getting tanned?"
As soon as Yan Wentao arrived, he took off the straw hat he was wearing and carefully placed it on the little girl's head.
"Look, your face has turned red from the sun, when we get home, grandmother will surely scold you."
The little girl obediently stood still, allowing the boy to put a hat on her. Only after the hat was put on, did she affectionately take the boy's arm, pleading, "If grandmother gets angry, third brother, you have to plead for me."
"You!" Yan Wentao pointed a finger at the little girl's forehead with a mix of doting and helplessness. "Let's go, we should head home. Uncle has sent a letter, grandmother is waiting for you to read it."
"Eh?"
The little girl was stunned for a moment, "Why would he send a letter at this time?"
Yan Wentao shook his head, "It's almost time for the autumn harvest, he probably wants to know when we will head to the county town where our uncle serves."
The little girl gave a noncommittal shrug, indicating that she didn't care about it all that much.
Seeing this, Yan Wentao laughed,"So, you don't want to see your uncle and aunt?"
When the little sister was born, their uncle passed the imperial examination on the same year and was appointed as the county magistrate the next year thanks to his scholars status. At that time, the little sister was young, and the grandmother was not in good health, so it was inconvenient for both of them to follow the uncle when he took office. Therefore, they stayed at home.
And they stayed, for eight years.
Looking at the big sister who had grown to nine years old and had only seen her parents a few times, a pang of sympathy flashed in Yan Wentao's eyes.
"I do want to see them!"
But the little girl responded quite insincerely.
Compared to being confined in a mansion's backyard, she preferred the unrestrained rural life. If possible, she would rather stay in the fields for the rest of her life, living a carefree idler.
By this time, the two siblings had reached the country road, and just like that, the surrounding was suddenly filled with people.
"Oh my, it's Dao Hua and Wen Tao!"
"Uncle San!"
"Old Master Wu!"
"Auntie Liu!"
"Uncle Wu!"
The brother and sister greeted everyone in a sweet and cheerful manner, which brought even broader smiles to the faces of the people around them.
"Under such a blazing sun, why did you two come out?"
"What else could it be? It must be that Dao Hua has come out to inspect their family's paddy field again."
At this remark, everyone burst out laughing happily.
The little girl smiled too, "I have to look after it. We're counting on this harvest.”
"Dao Hua, listen to your auntie, your father is the county magistrate, you don't need to work as hard as us. You should go home and enjoy your blessing."
The little girl smiled back, "Auntie, the magistrate also needs to eat too!"
"Hahaha, look at our Dao Hua, so young and yet already helping with the family, no wonder Old Madam Yan dotes on her so much."
"Isn’t she just loveable? If I had a granddaughter like her, I would dote on her to death."
Hearing the laughter and playful banter of the crowd, the little girl was all smiles, holding onto her elder brother by one hand and inserting the other into the ear of the rice plant. She hopped and skipped towards the most resplendent mansion in the village.
As the siblings walked away, discordant voices immediately swept through the crowd.
"What's the point of trying to win people's favor? She’s just a girl!"
"Lame Liu, you stop slinging mud over here. What has Dao Hua done to offend you?"
"I simply can't stand the lot of you groveling to a mere girl. If her father, the County Chief, had any affection for her, he wouldn’t have left her behind in the old home for eight years."
"If you don't know what you're talking about, don't spout nonsense. Dao Hua is merely fulfilling her filial duties to Old Madam Yan."
"Hmph, that's just a hoax to fool outsiders. Do you believe it too? I've heard that the Old County Master Yan has taken a concubine from a literary family, who gave birth to a pair of dragon-phoenix twins. The daughter of the twins is so beautiful, Old County Master Yan adores her immensely. Dao Hua, having grown up in the village like a country bumpkin, why would Old County Master Yan like her..."
The voice of the farmhand talking was exceptionally loud. Plus, given the sparseness of the countryside, even from a distance, Yan Wentai and his sister could still intermittently hear the others speaking.
"Third Brother, what are you doing?"
The little girl hastily held back Yan Wentai, who was about to go back and argue.
Yan Wentai was big and strong for only being thirteen, almost as tall as an adult man. The little girl had almost failed to stop him.
"I'm going to teach Lame Liu, a man who couldn't say a good thing if his life depended on it."
Seeing Yan Wentai huffing with rage, the little girl suddenly burst out laughing. "Wow, Third Brother is capable now, you're becoming articulate!"
Yan Wentai was famously grudging towards studying. Hearing his sister’s teasing, his anger subsided somewhat.
Seeing the right opportunity, the little girl quickly pulled him back. "Why take outsiders’ idle talk so seriously?"
Yan Wentai reached out, intending to ruffle the little girl's hair, but was blocked by her straw hat. "Dao Hua, you shouldn't listen to their nonsense. You are our Yan family's legitimate first daughter. The concubine’s daughter could never surpass you. Even if... Even if..."
The little girl tilted her head to look at Yan Wentao, whose face had turned red from holding his breath. Her round almond eyes spun playfully before she smiled brightly and asked, "What if?"
Yan Wentao gritted his teeth, "Even if Uncle truly likes that concubine's daughter, don't be afraid. You still have Grandma and us. We definitely won't let you be bullied!"
Upon his words, the little girl let out a dazzling smile revealing her somewhat dazzling white teeth. Her right hand idly flipping through the rice stalks near the field. When she saw the deepening green color of the rice flower in her palm, the laughter in her eyes became even denser.
"Indeed, with Grandma here, how big of an official dad becomes, will he dare to disobey her?" she said without a hint of worry in her voice.
"Rice Flower, you crazy lass, aren't you quickly coming back to this old lady, do you wish to tan into a charcoal?"
The robust cry came from the courtyard more than ten meters away. Listening to it, anyone would know that the speaker must be physically strong.
The little girl shivered slightly and ran towards the entrance with an expression of helplessness. As she ran, she shouted: "Grandma, your beloved little Rice Flower is back!"
