Editor: Sahloknir

Shi Qing spent the whole day working on his ‘artwork’.

Sometimes he smiled, and sometimes he frowned and pondered. Sometimes he pulled the maidservants who were in charge of the fabrics over to ask them about the properties of various fabrics.

During this time, he also pulled Jiang Bieyu over to pat him for half a day, making the maidservants tremble with fear.

The most people in the tailor’s shop did before they made clothes was measure the body. Why when it came to Qing-er did he size his subject up like a butcher slapping the meat to see where to cut?

The maidservants were terrified that something might happen to Qing-er, so they sent someone to Shi-furen’s courtyard to report the news.

When she arrived, Shi-furen was quite happy because Father Shi had finally acceded to her tears and pledged to intervene on Shi Xi’s behalf. She didn’t take the maidservant’s words seriously. She thought they were blowing things out of proportion.

“My Qing-er is the young master of the Shi family. What is a bit of paper and ink to him? If he wants to do it, then let him as long as he doesn’t get hurt or tired.”

As long as Shi Qing can stay at home and recuperate, not to mention drawing his own clothes and making them, even if the house is demolished, the Shi family could still afford to pay for it.

At most, they’ll build a second residence if this one becomes uninhabitable.

As you can see, there was a good reason the Crane City Shi family’s little master had a reputation for being overbearing.

Since the female master of the courtyard agreed to it, there was nothing the maidservants of Shi Qing’s courtyard could do, even if they believed their Qing-er was being too serious about this.

When Shi Qing finished the picture, he beckoned Jiang Bieyu over with a smug look on his face.

“Come and have a look, this is what you’ll be wearing in the future.”

Jiang Bieyu came over and looked at the sheet of rice paper obediently.

On the paper, a rough garment was depicted.

‘Rough’ as in Shi Qing’s painting skills were too sensational.

To draw an analogy, if an ordinary person drew a cat, Shi Qing would draw a cat that was on fire.

In short, his drawing made people become speechless.

Fortunately, Shi Qing has the self-awareness to note on the side in words what kind of fabric should be made into what shape for each part.

All in all, the preparation was very serious, but the result was disastrous.

Yet the little master looked at Jiang Bieyu with the utmost confidence. His pretty face inherited from Shi-furen was full of pride.

“Doesn’t it look good?”

Jiang Bieyu was silent for a few seconds.

“Yes.”

The little master got a satisfactory answer, so he immediately smiled. The expression softened his features and made him look harmless. His beautiful eyes were filled with starlight, as if they contained the brightest of stars.

Who would’ve thought this kind of pure and clear smile could come from Shi Qing, a person notorious for being a dandy in Crane City.

Even Jiang Bieyu was a bit taken aback.

But the little master he was speaking with paid him no mind. He picked up the rice paper and handed it to the maidservants.

“Follow this pattern and the notes marked on the side. If there’s anything you don’t understand, be sure to ask me. Don’t make any changes on your own. This is the first time I’ve designed my own clothes, so you’d better not mess it up for me, got it?”

The maids were all puzzled at these ‘designs’, but seeing the proud look on the little master’s face, they had no choice but to curtsy and say,

“We understand.”

All in all, they could only try to compensate on their own to make something that actually looked like clothes for Jiang Bieyu. It didn’t matter if he lost face, but Qing-er would be implicated if he wore this thing outside. Then the entire Shi family would be humiliated.

Although the clothes were technically for Jiang Bieyu, he was very sensible and didn’t make any comments. He just behaved like a robot, following each order he was given to the letter.

After the clothes were drawn, the little master went straight back to his bed and played with the cat whose nails had been clipped by the servants. He only noticed that Jiang Bieyu was still here when he looked up after a while. The man remained at the table, silently focused on grinding ink.

Amused, the little master laughed, “I’m not even drawing anymore, so what are you still doing there?”

Jiang Bieyu’s hands didn’t stop, but his eyes looked up to the youth sitting on the bed who was holding a cat and smiling at him.

“You didn’t ask me to stop.”

“So you won’t stop until I say so?”

When the little master heard his answer, he became even happier, just like the man had expected. He laid down with the cat on his arms and rested his head on the pillow. “Then keep grinding.”

Jiang Bieyu obediently continued with his eyes downcast.

Seeing him get in bed, the maidservant who carefully covered him with a blanket and tucked him in whispered, “I didn’t expect this fierce looking giant to be so loyal and honest inside.”

The little master softly stroked his cat and asked the woman who had spoken, “Do you think he is loyal?”

“Is he not? Qing-er, he hasn’t stopped grinding ink since you asked him to because you never told him to stop. Although he is fierce looking, he seems to be somewhat honest in nature.”

The maidservants following Shi Qing were all sold to the Shi family at a young age. They were all taught to serve their master well, so in their eyes, loyalty was a very high compliment.

Shi Qing smiled as he looked at the man who seemed to have lost all his edges.

He still had the same looks and height as before. However, because he deliberately looked down to conceal the sharpness that shouldn’t be there and pretended to be dull, the maidservants working inside the room were obviously not as afraid of him anymore.

It seems that Jiang Bieyu’s planning to settle down in the Shi family for now.

When he was first brought here, he must have thought that the Shi family intended to hold him responsible, so there was no reason to hide his intimidating aura.

Now that he knew that Shi Qing didn’t intend to do anything to him for the time being, and that he wanted Jiang Bieyu to sign an indenturement contract, this guy went along with it.

This dull look is all an act. A rather good one, but still.

Shi Qing yawned and decided to take a nap. He hugged his cat and lazily closed his eyes.

He didn’t say anything to the busy maidservants in the room, but the servants who always paid attention to their master all quietened themselves as much as possible so as to not disturb Shi Qing.

The room was quiet for a while.

“Meow…”

The big fat cat that was in Shi Qing’s arms jumped down from the bed. The maidservants were afraid that it would wake Shi Qing up, so they hastily offered it small dried fishes. However, the cat just sniffed it before rejecting it. Raising its tail proudly, it strode on all fours towards Jiang Bieyu, who was still silently grinding ink.

This was understandable. After all, Jiang Bieyu was the only stranger in the room.

Jiang Bieyu also noticed that the cat was coming for him. He raised his eyes to look at it.

It was a typical long haired Persian cat. Jiang Bieyu had seen Persian cats before, since they were the breed most popular with the ladies and young misses in Crane City. However, all the cats Jiang Bieyu had seen were dainty and had to be held in someone’s arms everywhere they went.

This one was very different. It had a very dominant and fierce looking face.

In a twist of fate, this usually hard to love feature made it a beloved pet of the of the Shi family.

Because the highest-ranking person in this courtyard favoured it, even the maidservants and servants did not dare to neglect it. Thus, this cat was very arrogant.

The way it looked at Qing-er was full of disdain. It towered over him like a king.

It wanted to make it clear to every outsider that this place right here. Was. Its. Territory!

The cat king jumped onto the table aggressively.

Before it could give its opponent a piece of its mind, the man who had been made harmless and dull by mechanically grinding ink raised his eyes slightly and gave the Persian cat in front of him a faint look.

“Wu!”

As if intimidated by a fierce beast, the cat king subconsciously took a step back before darting off the table and scuttling its way back to the bed. It buried its head in the bedding with its cat butt exposed, quiet as a chicken.

“Huh? What’s wrong with the cat?”

One maidservant noticed the cat’s movements. She glanced at Jiang Bieyu curiously.

Jiang Bieyu looked up and said softly, “That cat is very well behaved. It wants to be with its master even when sleeping.”

So it wanted to keep Qing-er company…

Absolved of her doubts, the maidservant nodded, saying quietly, “That goes without saying. Qing-er is very good to that cat, so it’s normal for it to like Qing-er.”

Jiang Bieyu nodded thoughtfully, “You’re right.”

“It should like and be loyal to a master that treats it well.”

So when Shi Qing woke up from his nap, he saw the man still grinding ink under the candlelight.

Perhaps noticing his gaze, Jiang Bieyu raised his head and looked at Shi Qing with eyes filled with loyalty.

Nestled in the warm blanket, the little master shivered hard.

This guy…

What game is he trying to play now?

Author’s Corner

It’s been edited, la. I’m not allowed to write about warlords, so this small world’s background had to change.

It’s set in an alternative Ancient China where the world is in turmoil and everyone is expanding their territories. At the same time, the western countries are also developing and fighting amongst themselves. Our Gong will be able to ride a white horse and wear a military uniform at a later stage, but!

He’s not a warlord, he’s a general.

Emphasis: This small world is entirely created by the author. It has nothing to do with any actual historical events or figures. This author just wanted to make the Gong and Shou into Mary Sues that have a sweet romance

The first part of the story has been changed, so it may look a bit like the world where the Gong was a prince. However, the original relationship and plot will remain unchanged, and it will still be written as originally intended.

Good night everyone~