Chapter 118
Chapter 118: He Only Likes Giving You Gifts
After the last of those chattering young misses finally left, the tea room sank into blessed quiet.
Xiao Man had barely rolled up her sleeves to deal with the aftermath when a cool, solitary figure appeared in the doorway.
Lin Qing Xuan stepped inside, his gaze sweeping over the wrecked table in a single, silent pass.
“You didn’t save me any fish-shaped noodle soup today?”
Xiao Man didn’t even lift her head. She gathered bowls and chopsticks with quick, practiced hands.
“Didn’t save any.”
“We had guests. I made a mixed pot. I didn’t set up a separate vegetarian meal just for you.”
She paused, then added, almost too casually, “If you’re hungry, I’ll have Stone bring you a bowl of plain noodles from the main kitchen.”
The instant the words left her mouth, Lin Qing Xuan’s face darkened. The air around him seemed to drop several degrees.
“From now on, the Auspicious Cloud Residence will close its doors to visitors.”
The order was crisp and final. Beneath it lurked a thin thread of sulk.
Xiao Man’s hands stilled. She finally looked at him.
His brows were drawn tight, displeasure plain in his eyes.
“They come, and you’re busy from dawn to dusk—cooking, seasoning, running yourself ragged.”
“They leave, and you’re stuck cleaning up the entire mess.”
“All day, you only revolve around them.”
“Huh? This is what you’re angry about?”
Xiao Man almost laughed. His temper didn’t scare her in the slightest.
“I promised those three misses a few days ago. I had to host them properly.”
Even as she spoke, she couldn’t help privately gloating, her mind tallying a neat little number—two thousand taels—while her hands kept moving.
“What two thousand taels?”
Lin Qing Xuan’s voice rose sharply. He strode forward, crowding her space, gaze keen as a blade.
“How do I not know about it?”
He looked like a small husband catching his wife hiding private money—furious, flustered, and far too earnest.
“Meow!”
A black shadow shot down from the rafters and landed neatly on the table.
“And I don’t get a share again, do I?”
Tuan Tuan reached out a paw, scraped irritably at an empty bowl, then bared its teeth in loud objection.
It flicked a glance at Lin Qing Xuan—and, for once, shockingly, stood on his side.
“That silly Buddhist Scion finally got something right for once!”
“You should shut the doors and refuse visitors! Don’t let those noisy women come back! If they come, drive them off—drive all of them off!”
The black cat planted its paws like a tiny tyrant, bristling with authority.
“If you won’t chase them, this Cat King will do it myself!”
Xiao Man couldn’t help laughing at the cat’s swagger.
“You? Where did you run wild today, then?”
“Hmph.”
Tuan Tuan snapped its tail in a proud flourish and began licking its paw like a monarch grooming a crown.
“This Cat King went to sun myself under First Madam’s eaves. While I was there, I heard that old hag whispering to her trusted aide.”
“She said tomorrow she’s taking you to the Azure Cloud Temple.”
As it finished, those golden eyes slid slyly between the two of them.
“She said she’ll take your birth charts—yours and this Buddhist Scion’s—and have Abbess Xu Ci personally read them!”
The cat dragged out the words with gleeful relish.
“If you ask me, there’s no need to find any abbess. You two are tied together by fate—neither of you is getting rid of the other. It’s only you two fools who can’t see it.”
“You filthy cat. What nonsense are you spouting? Shut up!”
Heat rushed into Xiao Man’s cheeks. Embarrassed and annoyed, she lifted her hand to grab it.
Lin Qing Xuan moved first.
He caught Tuan Tuan by the scruff and lifted it clean off the table.
Looking down at the cat kicking indignantly in his arms, then up at Xiao Man’s flushed, furious face, Lin Qing Xuan’s lips curved—just barely.
“It… isn’t wrong.”
For the first time, he found the nonsense of this so-called heart demon strangely agreeable.
“You two…”
Xiao Man stared at the pair—one calm as if nothing could touch him, the other smug as if it had won a battle—and felt her head start to buzz.
“Out. Both of you, out!”
She jabbed a finger toward the door and shoved them along, flustered to the point of fury.
“Lin Qing Xuan, if you want plain noodles, go tell Stone yourself! I don’t have time to cater to you two!”
Lin Qing Xuan was pushed out into the corridor, still holding the wriggling cat.
He stood there facing the door that slammed shut with a hard bang, looking oddly at a loss—like a pitiful husband driven out by an angry wife, child still in his arms.
Just then, Stone entered from the courtyard. Seeing his young master’s dejected face, he hurried over.
“Eldest Young Master, what’s wrong? You haven’t eaten yet, have you? I’ll fetch vegetarian food from the main kitchen right away.”
Lin Qing Xuan lowered his gaze and tipped his chin toward the cat.
“And bring it some shrimp.”
“Meow! Meow!”
Tuan Tuan stopped struggling immediately. Its golden eyes lit up. It rubbed its head against Lin Qing Xuan’s wrist and purred shamelessly.
Lin Qing Xuan carried Tuan Tuan back to the study and set it on the desk.
His gaze fell on a string of red sandalwood prayer beads lying there—still undelivered—glowing softly beneath lamplight.
He rubbed the cool beads between his fingers, hesitation tightening in his chest.
“Tuan Tuan. Do me a favor.”
The black cat stretched lazily and gave him a sidelong look.
“Oh? What is it? Don’t you usually call me heart demon, or curse me for animal abuse? Did the sun rise in the west today? You’re actually asking me for help?”
Lin Qing Xuan’s ears warmed faintly. He picked up the prayer beads and held them out.
“Help me… deliver these to Xiao Man.”
“Tsk. Why don’t you go yourself?” Tuan Tuan’s disdain practically dripped off its whiskers.
“Last time, she didn’t like what you gave her.”
Lin Qing Xuan’s voice dropped, suddenly boyish, suddenly awkward.
“I can deliver them,” Tuan Tuan said, eyes turning bright with calculation. “But tonight I’m entering someone’s dream. It’s been too long since I properly did it. My mind’s being ruled by this body’s instincts—I think about catching mice all day. It’s boring.”
“Fine. Do whatever you want.”
The moment Lin Qing Xuan agreed, Tuan Tuan snatched the beads in its mouth, leapt from the desk, and vanished through the doorway like a streak of black lightning.
It raced straight for Xiao Man’s small kitchen.
By the time it arrived, Xiao Man had already finished cleaning up and was washing her hands.
With a soft thump, Tuan Tuan hopped onto the stove.
Xiao Man shot it a look of pure disgust.
“Get down. This is where I cook. Aren’t you ashamed to put your filthy paws up there after running all over?”
Strangely, for once, the cat didn’t talk back.
Xiao Man blinked, suspicious. Then she looked up—and met Tuan Tuan’s golden eyes, and the thing clamped in its mouth.
A string of red sandalwood prayer beads.
She reached out and took them from the cat’s mouth.
“Why did you steal Lin Qing Xuan’s prayer beads?”
The moment its mouth was free, Tuan Tuan scoffed, offended.
“I’m clean! I use cleansing spells every day—cleaner than you.”
“And those beads were given to you by that wooden Buddhist Scion. I didn’t steal them.”
It licked its lips, then tossed out a line like a thunderclap.
“If this Cat King were going to steal anything, I’d steal you. Who cares about some broken beads?”
Xiao Man’s heart missed a beat.
She stared down at the beads. They still held a faint trace of warmth, as if they’d been in someone’s hand moments ago. Without thinking, she slipped them onto her wrist.
They fit perfectly.
“He only likes giving things to you,” Tuan Tuan said, voice suddenly sharp in its bluntness. “He doesn’t give gifts to just any miss.”
Heat rushed up Xiao Man’s neck.
That damned cat.
How could it hear everything?
Before she could find words, Gui Zhi—the second-rank maid from First Madam’s courtyard—stepped into the kitchen.
“Miss Xiao Man.”
Gui Zhi dipped into a neat curtsey and delivered her message without flourish.
“First Madam orders: tomorrow she is going to the Azure Cloud Temple to offer incense. You will go with her. Be at the manor gate early in the morning and wait.”
Xiao Man’s fingers tightened around the prayer beads.
So the cat truly hadn’t been lying.
She nodded. “Understood. Thank you, Sister Gui Zhi.”