In the afternoon, Jiang Yanyi brought a bamboo basket to Feng Mansion to catch cats.
Feng Shuo and his staff were discussing matters in the study, so she went directly to his yard. The guards at the gate must have been instructed by Feng Shuo, so even though Feng Shuo was not in the yard, they still let Jiang Yanyi in respectfully.
Jiang Yanyi placed the jerky and dried meat he brought with him on the table in the inner room and said to the servant standing at the door, "These are for the prince. Please tell the prince."
Last night, Feng Shuo rarely opened his mouth, and it was just to ask for some snacks. How could Jiang Yanyi ignore him? When she came over, she wrapped some jerky and dried meat in oil paper.
The servant knew how much Feng Shuo valued Jiang Yanyi, and said with a smile on his face: "Don't worry, Miss Jiang, I will tell the prince as soon as he comes back."
Jiang Yanyi felt embarrassed by the servant's enthusiastic attitude. He nodded and said "thank you", then went to move the cat's nest to the asparagus fern bush.
It was very cold, and even with the warmth from the floor heating, a thin layer of snow covered the tops of the asparagus fern outside the wall. Feng Shuo ordered his men to build partitions to block the top of the cat's nest, so that no snow would accumulate.
It was not easy to find food in the snow, and Jiang Yanyi came to feed her every day, so the mother cat did not go out anymore. She stayed in the cat bed every day to feed the kittens. When Jiang Yanyi picked up the mother cat, she only meowed twice, without any hostility as before.
The mother cat eats well and has plenty of milk, so the kittens are all fed and become plump and round, like little balls of fluff.
There were only four kittens in the cat's nest, and one cream-orange one had disappeared somewhere.
She searched the yard outside but couldn't find it. She also looked in Feng Shuo's room but still didn't see it.
"Ciba, where are you?"
"Ciba?"
Ciba is the name Jiang Yanyi gave to the little fat orange.
She searched all the places where the kittens often played, but still couldn't find Fatty Orange. She couldn't help but worry that the little Fatty Orange had been playing in the snow for too long and was frozen in the snow without anyone noticing, and was finally covered by the heavy snow.
It’s so cold today, you’ll freeze to death.
The more Jiang Yanyi thought about it, the more worried he became.
At this moment, the guard's voice suddenly came from the gate: "Your Majesty."
Jiang Yanyi turned around and saw Feng Shuo walking towards the gate. He was wearing a brocade robe with gold brocade patterns and his black hair was tied up with a gold-carved Ruyi crown. He looked very majestic. Xing Yaoben followed Feng Shuo and waited at the gate when he saw Jiang Yanyi in the yard.
Feng Shuo saw that Jiang Yanyi was still a little surprised, but when he saw the cat she put in the cage, his eyes suddenly understood: "Are you going to take the cat with you?"
Jiang Yanyi nodded: "Hanging sausages in the kitchen attracted mice."
She said a little frustratedly: "But the glutinous rice cake is gone."
Feng Shuo frowned slightly and thought for a while before he remembered that ciba was the orange kitten.
He asked, "Have you looked in the room?"
"I looked under the desk, under the cabinet, and under the bed."
Feng Shuo didn't know what he remembered, and his expression was a little strange. He said, "Wait a moment."
He entered the house and Jiang Yanyi followed him in. He found a pair of clean cotton boots for indoor wear from the corner of the bed and pulled out a little orange cat that was sleeping soundly from one of the boots.
The little orange cat was suddenly poured out of the warm boots, rolled in a circle on the ground, then moved its sleepy eyelids, cried twice in a baby voice, and walked with its short legs to lie back in the boots to continue sleeping.
Jiang Yanyi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He walked over and picked up the fat little orange boy: "Ciba, you little rascal, I called you for so long and you didn't even respond."
The chubby orange cat meowed twice in her hand, as if it was acting coquettishly.
Jiang Yanyi put the kitten into the bamboo basket as well, then smiled and said to Feng Shuo, "It turns out it crawled into your boot. I was wondering why I couldn't find it."
Feng Shuo always had a cold face, and seemed unwilling to pay attention to these little things, "Annoying little beast."
Jiang Yanyi knew that the man was just talking like that. She had seen him handling government affairs when he would climb onto the table and lie on the document he was reading like a kitten.
He lifted the cat away, and the next second the ball of fluff came over on its short legs and continued to lie down.
He glared at the kitten coldly, and the kitten meowed in a baby voice. In the end, he had no choice but to change the document to read.
Jiang Yanyi didn't expose him. He picked up the bamboo cage and smiled, "Then I'll go back first."
Feng Shuo nodded, and looked at her with eyes that were slightly deeper than usual.
When Jiang Yanyi walked to the door of the room, he suddenly called her: "Jiang Yanyi."
"Huh?" Jiang Yanyi turned around when he heard the voice.
He always called her by her full name, as if he wanted to distinguish her from millions of people through this name. There was an indescribable feeling in it.
The cold wind blew in from the door, bringing with it the fine snow, blowing the crabapple-colored silk shirt on Jiang Yanyi. There was a smile between her eyebrows that had not yet disappeared, and it was bright and lively.
Feng Shuo stood in the shadow of the house, and she stood in the halo of light at the door. One was black, and the other was white, like two worlds that would never intersect.
Feng Shuo asked: "You said before that you hid many things from me, so what about now?"
Jiang Yanyi was stunned for a moment, remembering that he was just a lonely soul from another world, his eyes dimmed slightly: "There is only one thing, about my past, when I think the time is right, I will tell you without reservation, okay?"
Feng Shuo pulled the corner of his lips and said, "Okay."
After getting his answer, Jiang Yanyi walked out carrying the bamboo basket containing a litter of cats. He did not look back and just sighed softly.
She knew Feng Shuo's feelings for her, but she was not sure how deep his feelings were. The ancients feared ghosts and gods. If she confessed her true identity to him, would he be able to accept it
Jiang Yanyi felt like a monster in Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, but she was lucky that if she didn't speak, no one would be able to see through her identity.
But if she exposed herself on impulse, she couldn't imagine what would be waiting for her. Maybe she would lose everything she had now. Whether it was her relatives, lovers, or friends, they would be afraid of her, stay away from her, and even want to burn her to death to prevent future troubles.
Chu Changping was very kind to her, but this kindness was not for her, but for his real niece. Jiang Yanyi longed for family affection, but she was also very sober. She treated her original relatives as her own relatives, and also regarded them as benefactors.
She tried her best to give back whatever her original relatives gave her. This was also the reason why Chu Changping asked her to be a rich lady again, but she still wanted to open a shop to make money. Blindly enjoying the benefits brought by her original identity would make her feel like a desperate thief.
If she was more selfish, she could probably lie to Feng Shuo for her whole life and not mention that she was a lonely soul in another world. But she couldn't get over the hurdle in her heart - since he was the one she decided to spend her life with, she shouldn't lie to him.
To say it or not is her attitude towards this feeling; to accept it or not is Feng Shuo’s right to choose.
It’s not the right time yet, and she is still hesitating. She needs to think it over and find a suitable time to confess everything to Feng Shuo.
The courtyard, which had just been swept in the morning, was covered with a layer of snow again. Jiang Yanyi's footprints fell on the snow, deep and shallow, spreading into the distance.
She didn't know that Feng Shuo was sitting in the house, staring at her back with a deep and paranoid look.
Xing Yaocai came in holding a pile of names and said, "Master, we have been searching all night and almost all the streets and alleys have been checked. Only the south of the city is still being searched house by house."
There are mostly poor families in the southern part of the city, and all kinds of people gather there. There are also many illegal residents, so it is quite difficult to find someone.
Feng Shuo lowered his eyes and asked, "Where did Lu Linyuan start his investigation?"
Xing Yao said: "South of the city."
This was a coincidence. In addition to the south of the city, there were several other places in Xizhou where good and bad people were mixed. His people spent a whole night to investigate other places and locked on the south of the city, but Lu Linyuan started directly from the south of the city.
It is not ruled out that Lu Linyuan intuitively thought that the south of the city was more convenient for hiding people, but Feng Shuo had a trace of doubt in his heart, and if there was any disturbance, that doubt would only be magnified several times.
He said, "Send someone to secretly watch Lu Linyuan and see which street in the south of the city he starts his search from."
Xing Yao was about to leave when Feng Shuo suddenly stopped her and said, "Find the letter about the Jiang family's daughter that you found earlier."
He had only focused on the part about her and Lu Linyuan, and had not finished reading the rest.
Although Xing Yao didn't understand why his master wanted to investigate Jiang Yanyi again, he quickly opened the secret compartment of his bookcase and found the pile of letters that Feng Shuo needed from a pile of neatly organized letters.
He put it on Feng Shuo's desk, but Feng Shuo didn't move. He leaned back in his chair, frowned, and said, "Step aside."
Xing Yao withdrew respectfully.
Feng Shuo was the only one left in the huge room. He stared at the pile of letters on the corner of the desk with an unfathomable look in his eyes.
Since he had promised Jiang Yanyi that he would tell him when she was willing to do so, he shouldn't have secretly investigated her past.
But the uneasiness in his heart followed him like a shadow, urging the haze to grow. He was like a gambler who had reached the end of his road, and this was a gamble he absolutely could not afford to lose.
***
Jiang Yanyi brought a litter of cats back to the yard and temporarily set up the cat's nest in the woodshed.
The kittens had just arrived at the new place and were a little scared. They didn’t dare to move around and huddled beside their mother cat, being particularly well-behaved.
Jiang Yanyi made a plate of cat food and brought it over. When the mother cat was eating, the kittens gradually became bolder. Two of the kittens were already learning to eat the meat soup like the mother cat, but because they didn't master the technique well, the soup got all over their faces. The kittens shook their faces and threw the soup on their brothers and sisters next to them.
It was cold so Jiang Yanyi didn't dare to give the kittens a bath, but after dinner the mother cat licked their fur patiently, so Jiang Yanyi didn't worry about her mother anymore.
Now that the kitchen is managed by Chef Yao and Aunt Guo, she has completely unloaded the burden and has become a full-time shopkeeper, only in charge of the accounts at the counter.
When the old customers of the store heard that Chef Yao had come to her restaurant and had tasted the stir-fried dishes made by Chef Yao before, they couldn't help but ask if some of Chef Yao's specialties from Lai Fu Restaurant were sold here.
Chef Yao just came today, and Jiang Yanyi hasn't had time to prepare these things. He just made excuses saying that they were still being arranged.
When the work was done in the evening and the people in the store were gathered around to eat the mutton hotpot, Jiang Yanyi mentioned this matter.
She had not planned to sell Chef Yao's specialties before. Firstly, the store mainly sold various types of pots. Secondly, there were already many people ordering dry pot every day. She was afraid that Chef Yao would be too busy to handle the side dishes.
But since a customer asked that, she thought it would be better to ask Chef Yao for his own opinion. After all, those dishes were his signature dishes, and Jiang Yanyi didn’t want to waste his talent.
Chef Yao was a straightforward person. When Jiang Yanyi said that, he said, "How can a chef not make a dish when a customer specifically requests it? Shopkeeper Jiang, you offer me such a high salary, so I, Old Yao, will use all my skills to perform!"
Jiang Yanyi said, "I was worried that you wouldn't be able to handle the cooking. Now that you have to cook, I'll find you a kitchen helper."
Chef Yao waved his hands repeatedly: "This is nothing, boss, please don't look down on me, Old Yao! You might as well save the money you pay for the kitchen help to buy some good wine for the store."
Since Chef Yao said so, Jiang Yanyi didn't insist anymore.
The menu was decided that night. Chef Yao told her the ingredients and seasonings, and Jiang Yanyi wrote them down one by one, and asked Yang Xiu and Bing Shao to buy the ingredients that Chef Yao wanted when they came tomorrow morning. She had all the seasonings in her kitchen, so there was no need to buy more.
Chef Yao made another request: "Boss, can we get a few more knives? Apart from other things, we need to have a boning knife, a chopping knife, and a serrated knife."
Jiang Yanyi was embarrassed because her shop mainly sold pots and she was not very particular about how to cut various ingredients, so she was rather casual about the knife options. A slicing knife and a chopping knife were enough for her.
As soon as Chef Yao brought it up, Jiang Yanyi said, "Buy it. Buy it tomorrow."
Yao the chef said, "I have one more thing to say, boss, please don't think I'm annoying. The knives sold on the market are not as good as those made by a blacksmith yourself. Luo the blacksmith's craftsmanship in the west of the city is considered the best in Xizhou City. If the boss trusts me, you can ask Luo the blacksmith to make a few knives for you."
Luo the blacksmith from Chengxi? Isn't he the blacksmith who made the furnace for me
Jiang Yanyi had a good impression of the blacksmith and said, "Master Yao, don't say that. I don't have enough experience in this area and I still need your advice. I will go to the west of the city to find Luo the blacksmith tomorrow."
The meal was over. When Yang Xiu and the other person went back, Jiang Yanyi gave them the jerky and meat that he had made last night and asked them to take them to Chu Changping.
The old scholar was going his way with them. Ever since it started snowing, Jiang Yanyi was afraid that the old scholar might get into an accident while walking alone, so he always asked them to walk him part of the way, and that was no exception to tonight.
Yang Xiu, Bing Shao and others waited until the old scholar entered the courtyard before turning around and walking back.
Today, the area south of the city was full of soldiers searching house to house. Yang Xiu and Bing Shao were questioned several times by the soldiers along the way.
Not long after they left the old scholar's house, another group of soldiers stopped them, asking about their identities and checking if they had any injuries. The two still cooperated. Although they now lived with Chu Changping's other guards, some secret missions could not be disclosed to the outside world. This was the rule, so the two did not know what the south city was investigating.
After putting on his clothes, he just looked back at the team of officers and soldiers and muttered a few words.
It was when he turned around that Bing Shao discovered that the lights in the old scholar's house were still on.
This is a bit abnormal.
It was not the first time that he and Yang Xiu had sent the old scholar home. The old scholar had been so poor in the past few years that he could not even afford lamp oil, so he had long been accustomed to working in the dark at home. Later, when he went to work in Jiang Yanyi's shop, even though he had money, he still never lit a lamp at night.
Although Bing Shao was taciturn, he was a careful person. He immediately asked, "The old scholar never lights a lamp. Did something happen?"
The author has something to say: Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated nutrient solution during 2020-12-05 15:06:21~2020-12-05 22:05:38~
Thanks to the little angel who cast the mine: only the beautiful scenery and delicious food are not to be missed, yaweik, no harm. 1;
Thanks to the little angels who irrigated the nutrient solution: Meng Meng 20 bottles; Linda 10 bottles; Dormouse, hey~y 5 bottles; Yunshen Yimeng 2 bottles; elle_zj1979, a little flower 1 bottle;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!