NOVEL NEXT Chapter 213: Three Fires Set by a New Official (Part 2)
The embroidered ball is mostly made of gold and silver threads, adorned with colorful tassels, with five-colored ribbons tied at the end. Inside, apart from cotton, it is filled with precious spices.
As for Xuan Yu's embroidered ball, it is crafted by renowned embroiderers. Its quality and material are unmatched even by the imperial tailors who make clothes for the concubines in the Imperial Palace.
Hearing the young lady from the Wang Family speak, Xu Qing's gaze fell on Xuan Yu, who was staring at him, and he suddenly said, "This little cat doesn't know the taste of sorrow, doesn't realize how many good days it has left. From now on, whatever it wants to eat, it should eat, whatever it wants to play with, I'll try my best to satisfy it!"
"..."
Xuan Yu looked at Xu Qing in shock, somehow feeling inexplicably uneasy at his words.
The young lady from the Wang Family blinked and said, "Xuan Yu is so well-behaved; if you ever stop wanting to keep it, I'll take it in and raise it."
The two were good at talking, making Xuan Yu feel paranoid, to the point where even the embroidered ball in front of it lost its fragrance!
When the young lady from the Wang Family left, Xuan Yu scurried over to Xu Qing in small steps, asking anxiously, "Xu Immortal Family, what did you mean by those words just now?"
Without turning his head, Xu Qing replied, "How old are you this year? How high is your cultivation? I can take care of you for a while, but can I take care of you forever?"
The barrage of questions left Xuan Yu frozen in place, visibly tensing up.
"You don't want me anymore?" Xuan Yu mustered the courage to ask in return.
What kind of cat talk is this?
Xu Qing turned his head with a bit of annoyance, "You've already cultivated for five hundred years. When the lightning strikes one day, do you expect me to take a jar and collect your ashes?"
Hearing this, Xuan Yu breathed a sigh of relief, "So that's what it's about, you gave me a scare."
Look at this silly cat, not afraid even when lightning is about to strike, yet fearing that Xu Qing might abandon it one day. Who knows what goes on in its little head all day long?
Xu Qing was amused, "Do you have any plans at all?"
Xuan Yu returned to play with the embroidered ball, seemingly indifferent, "While you were away, the incense offerings in the Dharma Realm increased significantly..."
As it said this, Xuan Yu stopped fiddling with the embroidered ball, quietly walked to Xu Qing's feet, hesitated for a moment, and then gently rubbed against him.
Tsk, this clingy little creature.
Seeing the opportunity, Xu Qing was just about to bend down and pet the cat when a duck's quack came from outside the door.
Xuan Yu agilely darted away, leaving only the herbal fragrance carried by the embroidered ball in its wake.
"So, Shopkeeper Xu really has a mysterious cat. I originally thought it was just an excuse for releasing fish."
Zhang Jun stepped off the carriage with a cheerful grin. As he walked into the Funeral Shop, he held a handkerchief to his nose, seemingly not fond of the funeral shop's smell.
But when he found no strange odor inside the shop, only a peculiar fragrance, he finally put the handkerchief down.
"Master Zhang, could it be that you've come specifically to see if there is a cat here..."
Even eunuchs are petty; one moment you please them, the next they find fault with you, and Zhang Jun was no exception.
He chuckled, not feeling embarrassed even when Xu Qing called him out, "Looking for the cat is secondary; my main purpose today is official business."
"Oh? Then please come in, Master. Business has been quite slow, and I'd be delighted if you have business to introduce!"
"Hey, hey!" Zhang Jun quickly interjected, "I'm not here to help you with business; I have some other matters to discuss."
As soon as Zhang Jun finished speaking, the action of Xu Qing pulling his arm to lead him inside turned into steering him out.
"Brother Xu! What are you doing? Besides your funeral business, can't I have other matters to discuss with you?"
"Master, I'm just a small Scholar, the most honest and unambitious person on this street. If you have business, you shouldn't have come to me. I think Chief Zhao of the Government Office is pretty good. If you put in a good word, you might bring him into the palace to be an attendant."
"Zhao Zhonghe?" Zhang Jun's voice became several notches sharper, "I don't want him! That boor is full of foul language and never shows due respect, unable to grasp intentions. When he was at the Government Office, I often saw him getting scolded by superiors."
"Now I'm already a sixth-rank attendant, and what is Zhao Zhonghe now? Isn't he still a lowly constable without rank?"
Xu Qing didn't respond. These eunuchs, having lost some things, place particular importance on other trivial matters, be it fame or fortune, and like to compare such things with others. After all, they have nothing else to boast about.
They can't, like teenagers, compete in who can urinate farther, much less compare who married a more virtuous wife or who birthed more children...
Zhang Jun comfortably sat in the Master's Chair, and as soon as he sat down, he sensed something different, "This chair is not bad; which skilled craftsman made it? I've never sat in such a comfortable chair before."
Even as he spoke with admiration, Zhang Jun's hands were busy, lifting the hand with the White Jade ring and fondly stroking the armrest as if it were a maiden's soft hand.
It's a pity he's a eunuch; he can only find solace in certain other things.
Xu Qing saw through Zhang Jun's intention and read between his words; he wished for Xu Qing to offer the Master's Chair to him!
"Master Zhang has a discerning eye! This chair is indeed exceptional. It was part of a dowry from a merchant family in Qianxi for the bridegroom. Now, isn't that bridegroom the county magistrate of our Linjiang County..."