Chapter 167: Sympathy and Touching
“Meow——”
"Okay, okay, I'll give you some dried fish, be good."
Inside the elegant house, Song Yunchu leaned against the windowsill and fed dried fish to the kitten inside through the gap in the cage.
After eating the dried fish, the kitten licked its mouth and looked at Song Yunchu eagerly.
Song Yunchu continued to feed it patiently, and then tentatively put his finger into the cage.
The kitten leaned over the edge of the cage and rubbed against her fingertips.
Bai Zhu was a little surprised. "When I brought the cage into the house, the secret guards brought by Your Majesty reminded me that the cat was afraid of strangers and had to be locked up for a few days. I couldn't let it go. But I saw that it didn't seem to be disgusted by you, my lord."
"During the dinner, Xiaobao was always hovering around me. Maybe the kitten smelled the same kind of scent on me."
Song Yunchu smiled calmly and scratched the kitten's chin with his fingertips. "In my hometown, there is a saying called cat-attracting physique. Some cats may judge which type of people are easier to get close to by intuition, and have different reactions to different people. Maybe I am more attracted to cats."
As Song Yunchu spoke, he opened the cat cage.
The kitten seemed to have a good impression of her, so she would let it out first and see. If it caused trouble, she could just catch it and keep it in the house for two more days.
And the result did not disappoint her. After the kitten got out of the cage, it did not run around. Instead, it slowly walked to her hand, rubbed against her, and looked at the food box in Bai Zhu's hand.
Seeing this, Bai Zhu took a step forward and wanted to hand over the food box, but the kitten bent its body cautiously and took a step back.
Bai Zhu was puzzled when he saw this.
The adult and he saw the kitten at the same time. He wanted to feed the cat like the adult did, but the kitten didn't like him. It was strange.
Song Yunchu chuckled. "Maybe you spend a lot of time with your boss, and you smell like a dog, so it doesn't like you. Some cats are hostile to dogs."
The leader is not an honest dog. She always likes to yell and scare people for no reason. Although she has ordered her servants to treat the leader well, she does not often contact the leader and only goes for a walk when she is in a good mood.
"Okay, don't be depressed. There are still so many days to come. You will get used to it after feeding it for a long time."
As Song Yunchu spoke, he raised his hand to stroke the white cat's fur.
"I forgot to ask your majesty what its name is... Well, since you gave it to me, let me give it a name. From now on, it will be called Diao Chan."
It must be said that the birthday gift from the Dog Emperor was indeed the most special. She also roughly looked through the gifts from others. They were either luxurious treasures or rare medicinal materials such as century-old mountain ginseng. She had no shortage of these things.
She had the highest official rank, so the guests could only give her items that they thought were valuable, as a token of their appreciation. She asked the butler to record them one by one, and then pick out some valuable items as return gifts for them on their birthdays.
As for the gift from the Dog Emperor...was it a coincidence, or did he intentionally inquire about her preferences and then specially find a beautiful cat for her?
If he really put a lot of thought into it, then she wouldn't be so perfunctory when it comes to his birthday.
He is the king of a country, and she really couldn't think of what he lacked for a moment.
She suddenly understood the distress her subordinates felt when they gave her gifts.
The next day.
Song Yunchu got up early as usual and wanted to ask the servants to prepare the almond bird's nest that Jun Liluo often ate. However, he learned from the servants that Jun Liluo had left the Prime Minister's Mansion half an hour ago.
"His Majesty said that he felt a little dizzy when he woke up this morning. The hangover soup in this mansion is not as effective as the one in the palace, so he went back to the palace. His Majesty also said that you drank a lot of wine yesterday, and you may feel dizzy when you wake up today. The court is not busy these two days, so you can rest in the mansion today."
Song Yunchu raised his eyebrows slightly when he heard this.
The Dog Emperor was still dizzy when he woke up this morning, which shows that he has a very poor alcohol tolerance.
She vaguely remembered that he had a low alcohol tolerance, but she never expected that he would get drunk after just one jar.
I don’t know if he still remembers what he said when he was drunk yesterday when he wakes up today.
Thinking back to the sincere and expectant look in his eyes when he asked her if she was willing to be his family, her little look was so pitiful.
He had no relatives or friends, so he longed for companionship. If he meant a stable relationship between the monarch and his subjects, and wanted her to remain his confidant, she would be happy to do so.
But if he really has turned gay, that would be a bit troublesome.
She remembered clearly what he said when he stroked the purple and gold crown on her head.
She had to admit that she felt a little pity for him and was a little touched at that time, but this should be the same mood as when she felt pity for Jiang Rumin and the princess.
Because when she was reading the original novel, she was speaking up for them. Now she was relieved that they had broken away from the setting of the original novel. She had spent the most time with the Dog Emperor, so her friendship with him would naturally be deeper, but she still couldn't let her guard down.
She even thought that if he was her colleague or her subordinate, she might favor him because of his outstanding looks and efficiency. Since they were equal in status, she would not have to worry about being deprived of her rights if she offended him one day. She could date him if she was happy and break up if she was unhappy. What could he do to her?
But he happened to be the king of a country. She had to weigh the pros and cons and could not be too willful. She could not afford to play with the feelings of an emperor.
It is better to be a high-ranking official peacefully; a rich and prosperous future is the most important.
…
"Your Majesty, the hangover soup is here."
In the imperial study, Steward Li brought a hangover-relieving soup to the imperial desk.
He saw that His Majesty's face looked very normal and he didn't seem to be drunk at all.
Jun Liluo didn't even raise his head, and just said, "Leave it there."
Although Manager Li was curious, he did not ask any more questions and stepped aside.
Jun Li Luo reviewed a few more memorials before he picked up the bowl of sobering soup. He took a sip, frowned, and turned around to pour the soup on the bonsai beside the imperial desk.
This stuff really doesn't taste good.
He was not drunk in the first place, and he was just pretending to ask the palace servants to prepare sobering soup. After all, that was what he had said to the people in the prime minister's residence, so he could not leave any loopholes.
He had to make Yun Chu think that he was really drunk last night, otherwise she would scold him in her heart for being an actor.
His alcohol tolerance was indeed not very good, but not so bad that he would get drunk after drinking that small jar. He would have to drink at least half a jar to feel tipsy.
He was so excited last night that he almost kissed Song Yunchu, but he didn't dare to do it, so the moment she turned her head, he could only pretend to be drunk to eliminate her guard.
Sure enough, seeing that he was drunk, she didn't have any bad thoughts, nor did she push him away. She was afraid that he would roll off the roof, so she hugged him to the ground.
After that, she patiently talked to him for a long time, and he vaguely felt that she had developed some feelings for him, but she had not realized it yet.
And he discovered one thing—
Yun Chu is wary of the strong but more tolerant of the weak. As long as she can pretend to be weak and helpless, she may show some tenderness.
Last night he pretended to be drunk and tried to test Yun Chu a little. When she was helping him up, she accidentally kissed his face. Her first reaction was fear of being seen, rather than rejection.
This shows that their relationship is closer than before.
Thinking of this, Jun Li Luo raised the corners of his lips unconsciously.
Seeing that he seemed to be in a good mood, Li Zongguan quickly reminded him, "Your Majesty, you haven't had breakfast since you came back from outside the palace. The imperial kitchen has prepared almond bird's nest and steamed food, please have some."
"Yes." Jun Liluo agreed happily, "Serve the food."
Soon, the palace servants brought in breakfast. Jun Liluo felt quite hungry. Usually, he would eat at most half a bowl of almond bird's nest, but today, he had finished the bowl of bird's nest in front of him without realizing it.
He thought that Yun Chu was used to seeing him giving orders in the court, and the vulnerability he showed after drinking last night actually made her think he was somewhat "cute". Although this word was not suitable for him, it was not unacceptable if she was the only one who evaluated him like this.
Being a steady person like her, there is no way she would reveal what happened last night.
In everyone's eyes, he was still the high and mighty Majesty, but only in her eyes, he was a very special person.
Jun Liluo took a bite of the osmanthus cake in his hand and felt that the cake was much sweeter than usual.
…
"Why are you eating lily porridge and buns again? Can't you try something else?"
In the courtyard at the southwest corner of Prince Yi's mansion, Hu Si Niang looked at the breakfast on the table and couldn't help complaining to the maid, "I've been eating this lily porridge for three days in a row, and I ate this bun yesterday, too."
The maid replied, "Miss, this is the work of Chef Ding. We can't usually eat it if we want to. If you don't like steamed buns, there are also soup noodles and wontons."
"I don't like these." Hu Si Niang said, "Can you make me two desserts? My sisters and I have suffered a lot in order to serve the prince."
The maid frowned when she heard this: "Young lady, you are not the master of the mansion, nor are you a guest. You work for the prince, and the prince pays you. You are his subordinates. We servants who do odd jobs are indeed not as good as you, but you can't be so picky about us."
Hu Si Niang's face darkened and she was about to stand up, but Du Niang held her shoulders.
"Fourth sister, these breakfasts are actually quite good. Why do you have to make things difficult for them? If you want to eat sweets, I'll go out and buy them for you later."
Hu Si Niang: “…”
"You are so thoughtful." The maid smiled at Madam Du and turned to leave.
"Sister, why are you stopping me? I want to argue with her."
Hu Si Niang gnashed her teeth, "Didn't the prince say that he would not treat us unfairly? We didn't sign a contract to sell ourselves to him, so I want to be a guest of the prince's mansion, not his subordinate! If he wants us to do something, we can make requests to him. It's not like we don't have the ability. Can't we eat delicacies from the mountains and the sea?"
"Sister, I think what Fourth Sister said makes sense." Hu Sanniang on the side echoed, "We really didn't sign a contract to sell ourselves to the prince. As Fourth Sister said, since he promised to treat us well, our conditions are not excessive."
Poison Lady disagreed with the two sisters' words, "Have you forgotten? The prince gave us silver and jewelry, which are our rewards. If you want to eat good food, I will buy it for you with the silver. Why bother going to the chef to make trouble?"
"But he didn't pay much." Hu Si Niang retorted, "I've inquired about it. The money he gave us is only twice as much as ordinary thugs, but the work we do is far beyond the reach of ordinary thugs. It should be calculated according to the price of hiring a killer. We are top killers, so the reward should be at least five times."
"Fourth sister, you are being unreasonable. We have known the prince for such a long time and we have a good relationship. It is unreasonable for you to ask for such a high price."
"How can I ask for so much? He is not a vendor in the vegetable market! He has a lot of money. We are so tired from running around. If he had just told the cook to serve us well, we wouldn't have to eat the same things all the time. How much do these things cost on the street? When I was in the Song Mansion, every meal was a big table of dishes, and no meal was repeated! This Prince Yi is much more stingy than Prime Minister Song."
When Poison Lady heard this, her expression changed slightly.
Hu Si Niang realized that she had spoken out her true feelings and quickly lowered her head. "Sister, I don't want to compare them, but the prince really doesn't think highly of us. If he is willing to treat me as a distinguished guest, I won't find fault with him."
"Fourth sister, the prince may not be such a considerate person, but Prime Minister Song is even less worthy of your support." After thinking for a while, Poison Lady sighed, "I will talk to the prince later and ask him to give us more compensation. He will agree."
Hu Si Niang didn't talk back, but she had something in mind.
If Prince Yi was half as generous as Prime Minister Song, she would continue to follow him for the sake of her elder sister.
I’m afraid that he will continue to be perfunctory and not take them seriously.
What the four of them didn't know was that their conversation was heard by a pair of ears not far away.
"Did Hu Si Niang really say that?"
Inside the octagonal pavilion, Jun Tianyi listened to his men's reports with a gloomy expression.
Ever since Hu Si Niang came back from Song Yunchu, he ordered the secret guards to disguise themselves as servants and keep an eye on Hu Si Niang's words and deeds in the courtyard where Du Niangzi and others lived.
As he expected, Hu Si Niang was now quite prejudiced against him.
Regarding the sisters' diet, he indeed forgot to instruct the kitchen to treat them well. He never said that he would give Poison Lady a proper status. The servants in the mansion only regarded the sisters as his hired thugs, so they would naturally not be too respectful to them, but they would not be perfunctory either. Hu Si Niang dared to shout like that, probably because she had been recruited by Song Yunchu, which had increased her appetite.
"This woman repeatedly stressed that you don't value them, and the other three have more or less listened to her. Miss Hu may make a request to the prince later. What is the prince's plan?"
"Mrs. Du is indeed loyal to me. I will increase their remuneration without her asking. As for Mrs. Hu Si..."
Jun Tianyi sneered, "This woman has already become disloyal. Giving her several times more benefits may not satisfy her appetite. Besides, such a greedy woman is not worthy of my kindness."
"You mean..."
"Keep a close eye on her, and deal with her when she is alone to prevent future troubles."
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