064 Betrothal a Cat (Part 2)

As if in response, the soft and tender "meow" came from the bundle in his arms, and Little Chubby nodded in agreement.

He cautiously loosened his grip and lifted a corner of the coarse cloth, revealing a small, tiger-striped kitten. Its eyes were open, but instead of the common amber, they were a rare shade of watery green. Its nose was pink and its fur much lighter than the typical tiger-striped cat. Seeing Shen Tang, the kitten timidly meowed and nestled further into Little Chubby's embrace, while Chu Yao furrowed his brows.

Shen Tang's attention was entirely focused on the cat. She carefully brushed her fingertips over its soft fur, remarking, "Is this cat a household pet or a stray?"

Little Chubby replied, "It's from our mother cat."

Shen Tang inquired further, "Why bring it out? Shouldn't such a young kitten be kept with its mother?"

Little Chubby's mood darkened for a moment upon hearing this. He lowered his gaze to the cat and explained, "Father and mother said we couldn't keep it and wanted to get rid of it."

"Not allowed to keep it? Is the cat unwell and difficult to care for?"

Shen Tang continued, "What's wrong with its eyes? They're so beautiful."

The kitten, with its mesmerizing green eyes, looked up at her, melting her heart.

Just as she was about to speak, she heard Qishan's gentle inquiry from above, "Has this kitten found a home yet?"

Little Chubby shook his head, and Shen Tang was left puzzled by this unexpected turn of events.

She was taken aback by Qishan's gentle tone, a stark contrast to his usual demeanor. As she looked up, she was horrified to see a gentle smile on his face.

Terrifying!

Shen Tang struggled to control her expression for a moment.

To her surprise, Qishan continued, "Excellent! Please wait a moment. I will consult the almanac and choose a suitable day for a betrothal."

Shen Tang exclaimed in confusion, "Betrothal?"

She asked, "Who are you betrothing?"

Qishan replied nonchalantly, "Naturally, I am betrothing this little cat. It resembles a raccoon I once had."

His gaze drifted, filled with reminiscence and nostalgia.

Shen Tang was at a loss for words.

Why betroth a cat?

Not only did Qishan solemnly arrange the betrothal, but he also consulted the almanac to choose an auspicious day. The time was set for tomorrow, a propitious day for weddings. He even drew a lifelike portrait of the cat on the betrothal letter and asked an elderly woman to go out and buy some dried fish and two bags of salt.

Efficient and decisive, he wore an unmistakable look of joy as if preparing to become a groom.

Shen Tang was left speechless.

This was beyond absurd.

While Qishan busied himself, Shen Tang and Chu Yao borrowed the kitchen and carefully cleaned the freshly purchased ingredients. Qishan demonstrated his baking skills, and Shen Tang was amazed to see a man cooking in this era. She offered to help but was politely declined.

"Isn't it said that gentlemen stay away from the kitchen?" he remarked.

Not only was he proficient in cooking, but he was also quite skilled.

Chu Yao wiped the oil from his hands with a cloth and teased, "These scraps from the butcher have already been prepared. Is there any need to stay away? Besides, we're not born into wealth. If we can't cook, how can we expect to make ends meet?"

He now served under Shen Xiaolang.

He knew his place, serving rather than being served.

In this era of simple cooking and limited seasoning, with food mainly boiled, roasted, or steamed, the flavors were bland. However, Chu Yao had a secret technique. While most commoners shunned the stench of offal, he knew how to prepare it, and with his special seasoning, the taste was exquisite.

"Wulang, taste my cooking," he invited Shen Tang without hesitation.

Shen Tang indulged herself in a bowl of noodles.

To be precise, it was a rough version of knife-cut noodles.

Or, you could call it, hand-torn noodles.

Simply kneading the flour into a dough and then slicing it into pieces, while lacking the chewiness of traditional noodles, for Shen Tang, who had been eating pancakes for so long, it was nothing short of a delicacy. Little Chubby also enjoyed it, slurping up every last bit of soup from his bowl.

In the afternoon, they followed Chu Yao to learn.

Not from textbooks, but from martial arts.

Shen Tang was puzzled.

Chu Yao, a former scholar of literature, was now teaching martial arts instead of his forte?

With one preparing for a betrothal to a cat and the other teaching martial arts in the courtyard, Shen Tang found herself once again with nothing to do.

So—

After lying down like a dead fish for a moment, she suddenly sat up—too bored! With nothing to do and no one to talk to, she might as well set up a stall to sell wine and make a living! With a goal in mind, Shen Tang's motivation surged.

"Mr. Wu Hui, I'm going out to set up a wine stall." With those words, she dashed off like a streak of lightning, as if something were chasing her from behind. Chu Yao could only manage to remind her, "Don't get drunk," before she disappeared. Whether she heard him or not was uncertain.

The same spot as yesterday.

But there were more varieties of wine this time.

Not just Dukang wine, but also the grape wine "Glowing Cup of Grape Wine", the rice wine "Green Ants Brew", and the "Lanling Wine with Tulips and Amber Light". Others would be unlocked later. Unfortunately—

She was a wine maker and couldn't taste any of it.

"I'm truly distressed," Shen Tang sighed again, "Asking how much sorrow can a man have, it's like a eunuch entering a brothel."

"Ha—"

Laughter came from above.

Shen Tang looked up and saw a familiar figure. She felt wary

. Wasn't this Mr. Gu, the consumptive from the Moon Palace?

"Mr. Shen, are you selling wine?" he asked.

"Otherwise? Should I be sunbathing?" Shen Tang gestured to the signboard beside her, which read "Wine."

Wasn't he asking the obvious?

"Would Mr. Gu like to buy some wine?" she asked.

"How much?" he inquired.

Shen Tang replied, "Two and a half catties of grape wine for four hundred and fifty copper coins, and three hundred for other wines, no bargaining."

Mr. Gu readily paid, but it was a large piece of silver.

Shen Tang was slightly surprised.

Before she could even think, she suddenly wondered if this man could read minds. With a slight stiffening of her expression, she subtly withdrew her hand, her face calm as she said, "Are you taking all of this back yourself after buying so much wine?"

"When did I say I would take it back myself? For such a large transaction, could I trouble Mr. Shen to deliver it?" he replied calmly.

"Of course," Shen Tang said.

The customer is God, and the worker has no objections.

Mr. Gu's eyelids drooped slightly, his expression indifferent. He said, "Alright, then please deliver it to the Yao Spirit Pavilion."

Shen Tang asked again, "Where is the Yao Spirit Pavilion?"

Mr. Gu suddenly revealed a meaningful smile.

"The Brothel, the Xiaocheng Brothel," he said.

Shen Tang's heart skipped a beat.

Qishan's judgment of Tang Meimei's possession of the imperial seal was not based on her ability to transmute objects; the cause and effect were mistaken. It was his observation of the high-ranking Wenxin emblem that led to the conclusion of her possession of the imperial seal (only feudal lords could possess a Wenxin emblem). With the premise of "possession of the imperial seal," her ability to transmute objects, coupled with the improvement of the soil by "Zhou Yuan Huilie," led to the judgment of the feudal lord's way being "agriculture."

Others, without knowing the premise of "possession of the imperial seal," even if they witnessed the transmutation of objects, would be surprised but would not doubt anything. After all, the quantity of objects produced was limited by the consumption of Wenxin, and this ability was considered somewhat trivial by many people. Besides reducing living costs and avoiding starvation, it had little practical use.

Chu Yao, on the other hand, believed in destiny. Shen Tang spent three taels to heed the warning hints he gave based on his "scholarly way."