Chapter 465 - 178: Hiring a Cat
Chapter 465: Chapter 178: Hiring a Cat
Their overindulgence the night before meant Chen Wanqing didn’t wake until the sun was high in the sky.
When she awoke, the bedding beside her was unsurprisingly cold. Jing was nowhere to be found.
She got dressed, pushing through the soreness in her body, and headed to the side room to find Jing.
Their courtyard had two side rooms. She used one for making her incense, while the other had been tidied up to serve as Zhao Jing’s study.
As for De’an, Chen Wanqing had cleaned up the neighboring courtyard for him to live in whenever he returned on his days off.
It was just as Zhao Jing had said. Now that they were married, things got... ahem, quite rowdy at night. It wasn’t proper for a young man like De’an to keep living with them.
It would be awkward for everyone if he happened to walk in on them or overhear something. So, it was better to have him move out sooner rather than later.
So, after they left for the prefectural school, Chen Wanqing made the arrangements. Of course, she had already gotten De’an’s agreement on the matter beforehand.
Chen Wanqing hadn’t even reached the study when Zhao Jing heard her footsteps and came out to meet her.
They met in the doorway, and Zhao Jing expertly wrapped an arm around her waist. His long, slender fingers kneaded her lower back, seemingly by chance, easing her soreness.
"Hungry? Why don’t you eat first?"
"I’m starving. My legs feel like jelly when I walk."
Zhao Jing chuckled. "Are you sure it’s hunger that’s making your legs weak, and not what happened yesterday...?"
"You’re still talking about it! Jing, you said you come back for five days every ten-day period because you miss me. The way I see it, you’re just thinking about *that one thing*."
"Be more specific. What ’one thing’ are you talking about?"
"Stop playing dumb! If you keep pretending, I’m going to ignore you."
"I’ll never do it again, I promise. Please, forgive me..."
Exchanging such sweet nothings, the couple arrived at the parlor in the blink of an eye.
After their late breakfast in the parlor, Chen Wanqing was about to head to her incense room, intending to also shoo Zhao Jing back to his policy essays. Instead, she heard him say, "Why don’t you take a break today? Come keep me company in the study."
Chen Wanqing was curious. "Don’t you have a lot of schoolwork to finish? If I’m there talking with you, won’t it keep you from your essays?"
Zhao Jing led her toward the study. "It’s no problem. The essays can wait. There’s no hurry."
Chen Wanqing couldn’t guess what he wanted to say to her, or what he planned to do. A sudden thought jolted her. ’Could it be that Jing wants to fool around in the study and made up an excuse just to lure me in...?’
Once they were in the study, she realized she had let her imagination run away with her.
Thinking about her own dirty mind, Chen Wanqing blushed and turned away, feeling awkward.
"Come sit over here, it’s warmer in the sun. When the weather gets colder, we’ll have to start lighting the braziers. Don’t worry about buying charcoal; I’ll have blocks sent over beforehand. Wanqing? Hey, Wanqing, what are you thinking about?"
Flustered, Chen Wanqing quickly sat on the stool Zhao Jing pointed to. "Nothing! I wasn’t thinking about anything."
Zhao Jing narrowed his eyes, clearly not believing her. "Really? Then why is your face so red?"
"Is it? I’m probably just flushed from the walk over."
"Is that so?"
"Absolutely. Couldn’t be truer." Fearing Zhao Jing would interrogate the real reason out of her, Chen Wanqing quickly changed the subject.
She spotted a notice on Zhao Jing’s desk with two words written on it: "Cat Wanted."
"Oh? What’s this about wanting a cat? We already have two dogs. If we bring a cat into the house, won’t they fight?"
The puppy they had taken in a while ago was running over to the front courtyard more and more frequently.
It was as if the pup considered itself part of the front courtyard, staying there almost all day. If Zhaocai didn’t start calling for it from the back courtyard after dark, it wouldn’t even think of returning.
That’s right—Zhaocai was the name Chen Wanqing had given the mother dog, and the puppy was called Jinbao.
Zhaocai and Jinbao—to bring in wealth and treasure. The two names exposed her obsession with money.
When Zhao Jing heard the names last night, he’d burst out laughing so hard that she’d started shaking right along with him.
Speaking of Jinbao, every time it had to leave the front courtyard to go sleep in the back, it would put on the most pitiful face. It had even taught itself a skill akin to plugging one’s ears while stealing a bell: it would use its short, stubby paws to cover its ears, making it obvious to anyone what it was trying to do. The puppy’s reluctance to leave was always a hilarious sight.
They say cats and dogs are natural-born enemies, always at each other’s throats if kept in the same house.
’Since we already have dogs, and two of them at that, shouldn’t we hold off on getting a cat for now?’
"Take a closer look," Zhao Jing said. "The notice isn’t for us. I’m writing it for Mr. Yin."
"Does Mr. Yin have a mouse problem? Does he need you to find him a cat? Wait a minute. Jing, don’t tell me you..."