Wen Xin suddenly lowered her voice and asked the two beside her, “Zilong has stopped making noise and fussing. He is very well behaved now, and so eager to come out. Could it be that he is just looking for him?”
Looking for him? Song Pingping, leaning on a broom, looked puzzled. She walked over quickly and called out, “Hey, little moustache. Have you had contact with it before?” She pointed towards the puppy.
Yu Qing wanted to say he had never seen it, but given how clingy the puppy was, claiming otherwise would not make sense. So he said, “I only saw it twice while sweeping these past two days. Later, when someone came looking for it, they took it away.”
Song Pingping looked doubtful. “Is that really all?”
How could Yu Qing answer? He could only force himself to say, “Yes.”
Song Pingping turned around, pushed the broom into Xiao Hong’s hands, then pulled the bag of “dog food” Xiao Hong was carrying and handed it to Yu Qing. “Hold this.”
Yu Qing took it blankly, gave it a casual squeeze, unsure what was inside or what it meant.
Song Pingping said, “Inside is specially made food for it. You feed it to him.” Her tone was firm.
Yu Qing had no choice but to tear open the bag, pull out a semi-translucent amber gel-like sphere, about the size of a quail egg. It felt elastic when squeezed, and he had no idea what it was made of. He slowly squatted down, brought it to the puppy’s mouth, and lightly touched its lips.
The moment the puppy saw the thing, it clearly showed reluctance. It whined softly, turned its head, and took two steps back.
Yu Qing pushed it forward again, letting the amber sphere touch its mouth once more.
The puppy looked up and stared at him, its expression rather aggrieved. After its mouth was touched several times, it finally unwillingly opened its jaws, took the sphere in its mouth, chewed a few times, and then raised its head to swallow it.
The three women were utterly shocked by this scene!
It ate it? This time it was not forced down its throat. It ate it willingly!
The three women wore expressions of utter disbelief, looking as if they had seen a ghost.
They knew how difficult it had been to feed the puppy after weaning. It had cried and made a fuss all day long. Now it was so docile in front of an outsider, and not just any outsider, but a servant, a low-ranking servant at that.
The three women wanted to say, how is this possible?
After swallowing the “dog food”, the puppy rubbed against Yu Qing’s feet, bit onto his trouser leg, and pulled at him, as if saying, I ate it, can we go back now?
Yu Qing looked up at the ladies’ reactions, seemingly asking if it was alright now.
However, the three women’s reactions were rather strange. He could not figure out what they wanted. It distracted him so much that he lost interest in secretly watching Wen Xin. He slowly stood up and tentatively asked, “May this servant leave now?”
The three women’s eyes were still fixed on the ground. They saw the puppy biting Yu Qing’s trouser leg and dragging backwards with all its might, undoubtedly using every ounce of strength it had. Yet it was far too small to move him at all. It stopped, wagged its tail at him, and seeing his lack of reaction, bit down and tried dragging again.
Yu Qing naturally knew the puppy wanted to return to his courtyard. He could have easily ignored it. The real question was what the three women meant. He tried again, saying, “This servant still has work to do.”
“Work?” Song Pingping looked up and asked, “What work?”
Yu Qing pointed to the courtyard gate several dozen paces away. “I am in charge of a storage courtyard.”
Song Pingping flicked her head towards the inner courtyard. “Forget about the storage courtyard. Let us go. Come with us.”
As soon as she said this, Wen Xin and Xiao Hong understood what she meant. They had found a solution for the puppy’s refusal to eat. They could simply let this man help feed it.
Yu Qing was taken aback. His eyes flickered slightly as he looked at Wen Xin, secretly rejoicing inside.
Xiao Hong, however, spoke up. “Sister Pingping, the household servants have their own rules. This area falls under Manager Feng of the West Storage Courtyard. We cannot just take his people away without permission.”
Song Pingping said, “Simple. Go quickly and call Manager Feng over.”
Xiao Hong immediately looked at Wen Xin, who nodded slightly, agreeing with the idea.
“Alright. Wait for me. I will be back soon.” Xiao Hong dropped the broom, lifted her skirt, and ran off.
Yu Qing kept a calm exterior, but the thought of staying together with Wen Xin filled him with quiet excitement inside.
“I say, why are we standing in the middle of the path? That…” Song Pingping pointed to the nearby courtyard gate, glanced at Yu Qing’s waist token, and said, “Niu Youqing, let us go see your courtyard.”
Wen Xin looked at the puppy still tugging at his trousers on the ground, and nodded as well.
Yu Qing immediately bent down, picked up the broom from the ground, and started walking. The puppy instantly let go, hopping happily alongside him. As for Wen Xin and Song Pingping, he did not even glance at them properly.
This scene left the two women speechless. They felt as if they had raised an ungrateful creature.
While climbing the courtyard steps, the puppy’s round body and short legs struggled. The steps pressed against its belly, making it look as if it was using all its might to hop and crawl up. Anyway, once it followed Yu Qing through the open courtyard gate, it became very cheerful and started darting and running around the yard, searching everywhere.
Wen Xin, who had reached the steps at the entrance, felt hesitant and delayed entering.
Song Pingping looked back, understanding her hesitation. “Oh, do not worry. We are not a lone man and woman. Am I not here with you? It would look quite bad if people passing by saw you standing at the doorway.”
Wen Xin pressed her lips together slightly, then finally tried stepping inside.
Upon entering, the two women saw it was indeed a very small courtyard residence, truly a place for storing odds and ends.
The atmosphere here, within the splendid and polished Wen estate, felt like another world entirely. The flowers, grass, and trees outside the courtyard were all meticulously trimmed.
Wen Xin stood in the middle of the yard without moving about, simply looking around slowly. Song Pingping, however, poked her head around and wandered about. Seeing Yu Qing’s narrow resting room, she curled her lip, clearly showing disdain.
Yu Qing brought over two chairs. Wen Xin smiled and waved her hand upon seeing them, indicating they were not needed. Yu Qing had to put them back, then stood with his hands clasped under the eaves.
He wanted to go over and strike up a conversation with Wen Xin, but he knew that was not something a servant like him should do.
After searching everywhere, the puppy sat on the ground opposite Yu Qing, looking up at him, occasionally whining softly, appearing quite aggrieved.
One man stood under the eaves, one dog sat on the ground. Man and dog faced each other, separated by a drainage ditch.
They did not wait long before hurried footsteps approached. Xiao Hong ran past the gate first, followed by two men.
“Over here.” Song Pingping called out.
Soon, Xiao Hong ran in, took a quick look around the courtyard, and went to Wen Xin’s side. “Miss, Manager Feng is here.”
It was not just Feng Changdian who arrived, but Liu Gui as well. The moment they entered, they hurriedly bowed respectfully to Wen Xin. “Third Miss.”
After telling them to rise, Feng Changdian nodded to Song Pingping in greeting. “Miss Song.”
Song Pingping simply raised her chin towards Yu Qing. “Is this Niu Youqing from your West Storage Courtyard?”
“Yes.” Feng Changdian agreed, looking rather uncertain. He had no idea what was happening. When Xiao Hong found him, she only told him to hurry over, saying the Third Miss was waiting.
Song Pingping said, “Just giving you a heads up. The Third Miss has a use for this man. We are taking him.”
“This…” Feng Changdian hesitated, then cupped his hands and said, “Third Miss, this old servant dares to ask, what do you need him for?”
Song Pingping answered for her, pointing at the puppy facing Yu Qing. “He is suited to help the Third Miss raise her spirit pet. We are taking him. Is there a problem?”
There actually was a problem. Feng Changdian gave a bitter smile, glanced at Yu Qing, and gestured with his hand. “Third Miss, could we speak privately for a moment?”
Wen Xin was surprised. By rights, he should not refuse her. She was about to nod, when Song Pingping suddenly shouted, “Manager Feng, why are you making such a fuss? Can you not just say what you need to say directly? I am only asking you one thing. Will you hand him over or not?”
Feng Changdian had no choice but to explain frankly. “Miss Song, the estate has its rules, and I must follow them. The situation is this. Niu Youqing is a newly recruited servant. For now, he can only serve in the outer courtyard. Every servant entering the inner courtyard must have their background thoroughly investigated. Until we are certain there are no issues, they cannot be allowed to serve inside.
This is a rule established long ago in the estate. If an exception is to be made, this old servant lacks the authority. At the very least, the chief steward must give personal approval.
However, please excuse my frankness. Even if we approach the steward and ask him to agree, it depends on the matter. Allowing Niu Youqing to serve directly beside you, Third Miss, is truly no small thing. Before his background before joining the estate is fully verified, the steward likely will not agree directly. Even the clan head might not easily nod. There must be a proper process.”
Song Pingping, Wen Xin, and Xiao Hong looked at each other. They all understood the meaning. In that case, it really might not be possible. They had oversimplified the issue.
Yu Qing also felt his sweet dream shattering. He silently cursed in his heart. Large households truly have too many rules.
Feng Changdian observed everyone’s reactions, then cupped his hands again. “Third Miss, in this old servant’s view, why not do this? If you are at ease with it, you could leave the spirit pet here in the West Storage Courtyard. We will certainly take good care of it for you. What do you think?”
Song Pingping waved her hand. “Raising it is not something just anyone can do well. You are of no use here. He must be the one to raise it.” She pointed at Yu Qing.
Liu Gui, who had been standing nearby with lowered eyes and a submissive posture, instantly looked uncertain and surprised. He gazed at Yu Qing with a hint of envy, wondering how this man had caught the attention of the Third Miss’s circle. If he passed the Wen estate’s background check and remained after three months, once he entered the inner courtyard, he would likely become someone even Liu Gui would need to flatter.
Feng Changdian paused, then said, “That is simple enough. Then let him raise it right here.”
“Here?” Song Pingping rolled her eyes and retorted, “Is this a place for people to live?”
What she meant was, if it was barely suitable for a person to live in, how could this environment possibly raise a spirit pet?
However, to others, it sounded rather harsh. Yu Qing was speechless. Feng Changdian was also speechless. Both were at a loss for words. How were they supposed to reply?
Wen Xin glanced at Yu Qing, felt apologetic, and hurriedly said, “It is fine. It will work. Just let it be raised here.”
After speaking, Song Pingping also realised she had misspoken. She snorted and said no more.
“Very well.” Feng Changdian forced a smile and agreed. He then turned to Yu Qing. “Niu Youqing, the Third Miss values you and has entrusted you with an important task. You must do it properly. Do not be careless. Can you handle it?”
Yu Qing was puzzled. He had never actually raised such a creature. God only knew how. However, thinking that this might give him frequent chances to see Wen Xin, he replied respectfully, “This servant will certainly do his utmost.”
Feng Changdian nodded. “If you need anything, you can tell Liu Gui, or come directly to me.”
Yu Qing said, “Yes.”
The matter was thus settled.
Outside the gate, Nan Zhu arrived. He had intended to enter the courtyard to inquire whether anyone had entered the secret tunnel last night. Hearing voices from the storage yard, he held back, continued forward, and upon seeing the group in the courtyard, immediately turned away without looking back.