Exotic Cat House (1)
Early in the morning, the Cat Tea House bustles with activity. Early-arriving guests have already entered their private rooms, and the Cat staff are also awake, randomly choosing their guests for the private rooms.
One, two, three, five are sleepy. The warm sun urges the pear branches to sprout new buds, and they nestle against this spring scenery, looking like dozing supervisors.
The guests who weren't favored weren't annoyed. They left the private room and came to the courtyard, holding a book, standing or sitting, keeping company with the four little ones.
The smarter girls will even take some food and deliberately wave it in front of the cats' noses. If they're lucky, some greedy cats will be awakened and jump into their arms. After that, the kittens are taken away, and the girl and the cat enjoy a peaceful time together.
With He Yi watching over the shop and Fang Bi guarding it, Yan Qing felt quite at ease.
She was going to a banquet at the Cheng family's house that evening, and since she didn't have anything important to do during the day, Yan Qing planned to check on the soup kitchen at the Cat Cat Tea House. She had entrusted the task to Old Man Zhang and hadn't visited it herself yet.
The cat supplies are plentiful; even if the kitten employees wear out ten toys a day, it would still last for more than a month.
Therefore, Yan Qing handed over the task of distributing porridge to Old Man Zhang.
If everything goes well at the cat porridge shop, we can use the remaining time to check out the shops on Zhuque Street. The cat tea house needs a quiet environment, but the cat supplies shop is different; the more people come and go in the area, the more lively it is, the better the sales will be.
Yan Qing had finalized her itinerary and was about to leave when Fang Bi stopped her. Yan Qing assumed Fang Bi was coming with her, but it turned out to be Li Yue Shu looking for her.
Yan Qing hung up the face curtain and went to the private room where Li Yueshu was.
Li Yueshu was showing the princess two gems, one blue and one yellow, each about the size of a finger joint, their brilliance almost blinding Yan Qing.
She'd only ever seen something like this in a museum before. No wonder they're the wicked ruling class!
Yan Qing clicked her tongue in surprise, shook her head, and looked at them.
"Sit down." Li Yueshu noticed Yan Qing and placed two sparkling gems on the table for the princess to play with.
"I wonder what business the princess has with me?" Yan Qing asked as she sat down.
She stroked the princess beside her, her tone casual: "Just a few words, nothing important. It won't interfere with Boss Yan's business, will it?"
"No." Yan Qing was still somewhat wary of her; she knew very little about Li Yueshu. But this might be a good opportunity. "What would the princess like to talk about?"
"Why don't we talk about His Highness Prince Ning first?"
"Rong Xuan?" Yan Qing was a little surprised, but still nodded. "Of course."
"I heard that Miss Yan was rescued by Prince Ning while on a business trip. What a classic tale of a hero rescuing a damsel in distress, a scene often found in storybooks." Her tone was gentle, as if she were genuinely just gossiping.
Yan Qing, not understanding her purpose, continued to agree: "Indeed, I should thank Prince Ning properly."
"How should I thank you?"
This stumped Yan Qing, who didn't reply.
Li Yueshu didn't mind and suggested, "How about you repay me with your body? That's what they love to write about in storybooks."
Um, you mean repay me with your body? It's already pretty good that we haven't turned against each other with swords.
Could this princess be a matchmaker obsessed with storybooks?
"Everyone in the capital knows that Prince Ning and Miss Deng are a perfect match. What is the Princess's intention in doing this?" Yan Qing continued to press, seizing the initiative. "Does the Princess favor Prince Ning, or is she deliberately trying to make things difficult for Deng Chan?"
Yan Qing was answered with a soft laugh.
Li Yueshu continued, "His background isn't good enough to make him my guest of honor. As for causing trouble for Chan'er, quite the opposite."
Upon hearing the first sentence, Yan Qing's pupils dilated in shock.
Rong Xuan is too inconspicuous and innocent in the royal family. When Li Yueshu heard that the two of them were going to be a couple, she didn't think of her becoming a princess, but rather that Rong Xuan would become a princess's attendant.
Should we give Rong Xuan an award for her acting skills, or applaud the princess for her talent?
Yan Qing stopped giving a thumbs-up and asked with a puzzled look, "Could it be that ruining their marriage is a good thing for Deng Chan? In terms of closeness, they are family behind closed doors. Apart from Prince Qi, Prince Ning can be considered a good match for her."
“Boss Yan knows quite a lot.” Li Yueshu picked up her teacup, took a small sip, paused for a moment, and said, “How could you not see that they are not a good match?”
Li Yueshu and Rong Xuan have a good relationship, or at least they are not enemies, according to Yan Qing's guess.
She changed the subject, half-jokingly saying, "It seems the princess and Prince Ning are getting along well, and she's even arranging to find him a good match."
“Mr. Yan, there’s no need to test me. My trip here is not for Rong Xuan, nor for Deng Chan, but only for you.” Li Yueshu’s voice was still gentle, but it contained a lot of information. “You are a smart person, and you should consider my suggestion. How can a mere merchant’s daughter compare to a princess? If you are interested, I can help you in some way.”
"Furthermore, you and Chan'er have a harmonious relationship, but you should know that she is naive, and her future with Rong Xuan is uncertain. You, however, are different—"
That's true. Rong Xuan wasn't a good match for Deng Chan, but she shouldn't be allowed to jump into this fire pit. Yan Qing pretended to be dead and ignored Li Yueshu.
Not getting a response, she didn't persist. She picked up the yellow and blue gemstones, held them up to Yan Qing's eyes, and asked, "Mr. Yan, which one do you think suits the princess better?"
After carefully comparing them, Yan Qingjue chose the blue one, saying, "This blue one is a better match; it matches the princess's deep blue eyes more."
Li Yueshu nodded in agreement, "Then I'll trouble Boss Yan to make a pendant for the princess that looks like a little leopard. As for the remaining yellow one, Boss Yan can do whatever he wants with it."
Her mention reminded Yan Qing that when the little leopard wanted He Yi's jadeite but couldn't have it, Yan Qing had ordered a piece bought for it. She hadn't expected Li Yueshu to see it and think she was treating it differently.
Is this possible? Absolutely not!
Yan Qing always adhered to the principle of equality among cats, but apart from Little Leopard, none of the other cats were interested in jade, so she didn't buy it for them.
Li Yueshu's action reminded her that just because she didn't like jade didn't mean she disliked other things. Gemstones, white jade, pearls—she would arrange that right away.
Yan Qing is currently very well-off, so he's making arrangements for all the kittens!
After saying this, Li Yueshu focused on teasing the princess, allowing Yan Qing to continue her journey.
As for Rong Xuan's words, Yan Qing let them go in one ear and out the other. The fact that she didn't take advantage of the dark night to stab her in the back was her last act of upholding modern law-abiding education.
After checking around and finding that the cat porridge stall was operating normally without any problems, Yan Qing headed towards Zhuque Street.
Fangbi didn't come along this time. She hasn't been as inseparable from me as before these past few days. I wonder if the mission she received has changed.
But without anyone following her, Yan Qing felt much more at ease, and even the breeze on the road felt much fresher.
I didn't find the shop I wanted, but I did find the rival of Cat Tea House.
Exotic Cat House.
Yan Qing stopped and looked at the four large characters "Upright and Just" on the plaque, as well as the workers coming and going, and thought to himself that trouble was coming.
Her cat-themed tea house became an instant hit. It was no surprise that envious people rushed to imitate it, but this happened way too fast!
The cat supplies shop hasn't even opened yet, and the cat tea house is already going to have to compete with others.
But Cat Tea House won't be easily defeated.
Yan Qing looked around for a while, then stepped away and continued to look at the shops on Zhuque Street.
Judging that it was about time, Yan Qing returned to the tea garden, changed into banquet attire, and boarded the carriage sent by the Cheng family with Fang Bi.
The carriage stopped, and Fangbi helped Yan Qing down from it. At the entrance of the Cheng residence, a large group of people were standing. When they saw Yan Qing get off, Cheng Changfeng raised his arm and greeted them with a smile.
This grand display stunned Yan Qing. Even though it was a life-saving favor, there was really no need for such a show.
While she was impressed, she also felt a little guilty.
However, she quickly forgot about her fear.
An older woman standing next to Cheng Changfeng stepped forward and hugged Yan Qing tightly, saying excitedly, "You must be Qing'er! Really, why did you only come today! We couldn't come when you were at the Prince Ning's residence. After you left the residence, Changfeng said you were busy with your business and that coming would be a disturbance, so I waited for you. I only got to see you today, my good child."
Qing'er, Yan Qing had never heard such a title before, and was also unfamiliar with such care from her elders. For a moment, she did not know how to act, so she just stayed in Madam Cheng's arms.
Madam Cheng had deep lines between her eyebrows and eyes, a testament to the passage of time.
The heartfelt words on the previous invitation, and now the personal welcome, all have their reasons.
Cheng Changfeng was her youngest son, born in her later years.
Yan Qing was thus led into the Cheng residence by Madam Cheng.
She was placed next to Madam Cheng, and everyone in the Cheng family came to greet Yan Qing. Only then did she learn about the internal situation of the Cheng family.
During the meal, Madam Cheng spoke warmly with Yan Qing, making her feel completely at ease.
Then, when it came to Yan Qing making a living all alone in the capital, Madam Cheng patted her hand, her eyes full of heartache, "You are just a young girl, all alone. How easy is it for you to gain a foothold in this dog-eat-dog capital? If anyone bullies you in the future, just come to me. From now on, I will only treat you as a little girl."
These words touched Yan Qing deeply, not for her present self, but for her self from the previous twenty-odd years. The feeling was truly strange. Yan Qing tried to suppress her emotions, but her eyes still uncontrollably reddened.
Seeing Yan Qing like this, Madam Cheng immediately comforted her, "It's my fault, it's my fault. I'm getting old and I tend to talk about these things. I've heard a lot about Qing'er's Cat Tea House lately. What are your plans for the future?"
For the first time since arriving in this world, Yan Qing frankly revealed all her thoughts without trying to guess the other person's intentions.
"The Cat Tea House is doing very well. I plan to open another shop that specializes in cat-related products."
After thinking for a moment, Madam Cheng said, "Have you looked at the shops? There are a few shops on Zhuque Street whose leases have expired and have been taken back these past few days. If you haven't decided yet, why don't you go and see if they're suitable?"
Hearing what Madam Cheng said, Yan Qing put away her sentimental thoughts and began to consider whether she should get involved with the Cheng family.
Suddenly, Cat Number One's voice rang out.
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