Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The first order of business after the marriage was to move.

The next morning, Lu Maomao returned to the village in a carriage, accompanied by two servants from the Yu family. Hunter Lu's house was on the edge of the village, close to the mountains, requiring several steep slopes to reach. The mountain path was narrow and rugged, and due to its extreme remoteness, few people ever visited. Even tax collectors wouldn't risk venturing into such deep, wild woods, which was why Lu Maoer's status as an unregistered resident had remained hidden for so long.

Actually, Lu Maoer didn't live in the most remote area; there were homesteads even deeper on the mountain slopes. As long as there was a relatively flat spot, humans' remarkable capacity for creation could carve out a dwelling. This inspired in Lu Maomao both respect and pity for those who could only hide—respect for their will to survive, and pity for their bleak futures.

Lu Maomao didn't have much luggage to pack. The belongings in the Lu household belonged to Hunter Lu and Lu Maoer, holding neither practical value nor sentimental attachment for him. He was only going through the motions to cover up the fact that he wasn't the real Lu Maoer and to prevent the Yu family members from thinking he lacked human warmth. Lu Maomao felt he was no longer just a cat wearing human skin but was becoming more and more human, weighing gains and losses and considering pros and cons with human reasoning.

A trace of nostalgia flickered in Old Cat's eyes. He was the cat raised by Hunter Lu's father and, by a stroke of fate, gained sentience and left the Lu family. In between his cultivation, he occasionally returned to visit. Having witnessed the passing of three generations of the Lu family, his ties to them were now severed.

After completing one final task, Old Cat would return to the mountains and forests to continue pursuing his own path.

Lu Maomao took the clothes still in good condition, along with Lu Maoer's slingshot, Hunter Lu's bow and arrows, and the remaining two antelope hides and three rabbit pelts from the house. He also took the last of the coarse grains, as he wouldn't be returning for a while, and leaving the food would only let it spoil.

All the items to be taken were packed up, just filling one wicker trunk.

The Yu family servants had learned from the steward that both Old Master Yu and Fifth Master valued this Young Master Lu highly, so they kept their mouths shut and simply did whatever Lu Maomao asked.

Descending the mountain and on the road out of the village, Lu Maomao encountered the village chief.

Many villagers had seen Lu Maomao return with people, but fearing that the County Clerk had finally grown impatient and sent men to follow Lu Maomao back to raid the home, they all hid and didn't show themselves. Only the village chief, having received word, hurried over with others to meet Lu Maomao.

The village chief wasn't coming to stand up for Lu Maomao, but as a fellow villager, he needed to know whether Lu Maoer was safe or in trouble to set his mind at ease.

However, the situation wasn't what the village chief had imagined.

Lu Maomao led the way, with two men who looked like servants following behind, carrying a wicker trunk. It was clear that Lu Maomao held the leading position among the three. This didn't look like a property confiscation or sending someone to the mines.

"Mao'er, where are you going? Where are these two men from?" the village chief asked.

The village chief had helped the previous Lu Maoer, so Lu Maomao's attitude toward him remained quite respectful. "Village Chief, my household registration has been recorded; I'm no longer an unregistered person. The dispute with the County Clerk has been resolved in the county town through the mediation of the Yu family's Old Master. These two young men are servants from the Yu family, here to help me move."

"It's good that it's resolved, very good. But why move? Have you found your family? Are you... a member of the Yu family?" the village chief asked instinctively.

"No, whether my birth parents are still alive is only known by Heaven. Who knows where to find them. Old Master Yu was the buyer of my father's tiger skin twenty years ago. I went to his door to beg for help in pleading my case with the County Clerk. Unexpectedly, the Old Master took a liking to me and wanted me to marry into his family as a live-in son-in-law. I'm a poor boy with nothing; their willingness to accept me is an honor. So I agreed, and Old Master Yu helped resolve my registration issue," Lu Maomao said happily. Ever since finalizing the marriage with Xiaoyu yesterday, he had wanted to find someone to properly boast to. But aside from Old Cat and the big white cat, he couldn't find anyone in the Yu family to talk to. The cat had to hold it in, but upon meeting the village chief, he couldn't help talking a bit more.

"You married into the Yu family?"

The village chief's pupils widened slightly in surprise. Just a few days ago, his whole family had been speculating on how Lu Maoer would find a way out, brainstorming endlessly without coming up with a good solution. Who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, Lu Maoer had arranged to marry into a family? A family that could make the County Clerk back down couldn't be an ordinary one. Mao'er had climbed onto the high branch of a wealthy family. The village chief turned to look at the two servants. He hadn't looked carefully before, but now he noticed that even the clothes worn by the Yu family servants were better than those of their farmhands.

"Yes, I married into the Yu family," Lu Maomao said.

"Is your registration really recorded?" the village chief asked again.

"Of course it's recorded. Our Old Master retired from the position of Minister of Works. The Eldest Master is a high official in the Ministry of Personnel in the capital. It's just helping with registration, not doing anything illegal. The County Magistrate would still grant this favor," the servant Yu Maizi chimed in.

Registering hidden households was the main official business across the entire prefecture recently. Anyone who went to register within a certain period could obtain household registration. It was just Lu Maoer's bad luck to encounter Clerk Huang.

The other servant, Yu Guzi, wasn't to be outdone. "Our Old Master and Fifth Master both think highly of Young Master Lu, so naturally they addressed his urgent needs first and helped him resolve his difficulty immediately."

Lu Maomao looked at the village chief and remembered the dozen or so pounds of grain in his trunk. He had the two servants open the trunk and took out the grain to give to the village chief. The village chief refused, but Lu Maomao insisted. After a few back-and-forths, the grain was finally given.

Lu Maomao wiped sweat that wasn't actually on his forehead. Human social niceties were truly exhausting for a cat.

The village chief invited Lu Maomao and the two Yu family servants to his home as guests, but Lu Maomao, eager to return, declined. The village chief and his men escorted Lu Maomao and the others to the main road. Seeing the Yu family's large carriage, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly: Mao'er really was different now.

"Mao'er, no matter what, Dashi Village is your roots. If you miss your father or the villagers, you can come back anytime."

Lu Maomao glanced at the village chief and said, "I will."

"Mao'er's luck has turned," the young men who had come with the village chief began talking all at once after Lu Maomao and the Yu family members left.

"Mao'er's good days are still ahead."

"He might even get an official post. Doesn't the Yu family have someone serving as a high official? Arranging a minor post for Mao'er would be easy."

"But the Yu family has male heirs, right? Why would they want Mao'er to marry in?"

"Who knows? Maybe their son or daughter isn't quite right. Mao'er has gotten clever too. He said so much, but we still don't know if he married into the Yu family's son or daughter."

"How did Mao'er get chosen by the Yu family's Old Master? I think I'm not bad either. Why hasn't some great master chosen me to be a live-in son-in-law?" someone jealous of Lu Maomao said sourly.

"You? You haven't even figured out how to serve your future father-in-law yet, and you want to be someone's live-in son-in-law?"

"I'm still better off than Mao'er, who has no parents."

"Maybe Mao'er's birth father was someone capable."

"If he were really capable, how could he abandon his child?"

"Let me tell you, Mao'er's origins might really be something significant. When Hunter Lu first found little Mao'er, it was my mother-in-law who fed him rice soup. Just the swaddling cloth used to wrap the baby was extraordinary," several women whispered among themselves, discussing Lu Maomao's background. When someone becomes successful, those familiar with them often like to reminisce, either recalling or fabricating special aspects from their memories to prove that person's extraordinariness and their own good judgment. These people are commonly known as Monday morning quarterbacks.

Lu Maomao didn't know that with his appearance today, Lu Maoer immediately transformed in everyone's mouths from the unlucky Mao'er of the past into someone with a background and good fortune. His experience became the talk of the village. For a long time afterward, villagers visiting relatives would tell the story of their village's Lu Maomao, who went from being an unregistered person to the live-in son-in-law of an official's family. Lu Maomao became a legendary figure in other people's mouths.

Of course, even if Lu Maomao knew about this, he wouldn't be intimidated. As a cat who had mingled in human society for decades, he was already very adept at handling situations where all eyes were on him.

"These things of yours are all shabby. If you wear them out, people will think our Yu family mistreats you," Yu Changan said, ignoring Lu Maomao's displeasure and criticizing the items he had brought back.

"Wear my clothes for the next couple of days." Yu Changan pointed to several garments that had been altered from his old clothes to fit Lu Maomao. "I'll have someone take your measurements in a moment. Once your new clothes are made, they'll be sent over."

Yu Changan's old clothes looked as good as new, made from top-quality fabric. Lu Maomao had nothing to complain about. "New clothes? Can I request a few outfits made of fine linen?"

Yu Changan raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?"

"They're comfortable to wear," Lu Maomao said.

"You really know how to enjoy yourself. Fine, we'll make two sets of everyday clothes for wearing at home. Go change first and let someone tidy you up to see Xiaoyu. I don't know what Xiaoyu sees in you, looking so slovenly." He even pinched Lu Maomao's ear.

Lu Maomao, who had just started thinking Yu Changan wasn't so bad after all due to his agreeable nature, stomped off angrily to change. The altered clothes fit perfectly, leading Lu Maomao to reasonably suspect someone had secretly taken his measurements while he was asleep.

"Ah, indeed, a wild boar can't appreciate fine grain. Even a little country cat dressed in brocade and finery still looks rustic," Yu Changan said, shaking his head and walking away after seeing Lu Maomao emerge in his changed clothes.

It was clearly Lu Maoer who was rustic! What did that have to do with him, Lu Feifan! Lu Maomao grumbled and protested inwardly.

Lu Maomao could brush off Yu Changan's words, but his confidence truly took a hit that afternoon while playing with Yu Xiaoyu. Naturally, Lu Maomao couldn't enter the inner courtyard. They could only play together when Xiaoyu went to the garden or the pavilion.

Today, when Yu Xiaoyu saw the half-rustic, half-refined Lu Maomao, he didn't run straight to him but approached hesitantly. By the time he got close, his face was contorted with confusion. He didn't even engage in his favorite ear-pinching behavior. Yu Xiaoyu looked at Lu Maomao puzzled, "Cat... cat?"

"It's me, Xiaoyu."

"Cat... cat?" Xiaoyu said again.

"It's me, Xiaoyu. What do you want to say?" Lu Maomao asked patiently.

Yu Xiaoyu hadn't yet learned the word for "ugly" and couldn't articulate it, his face looking utterly distressed. Nanny Shisong and Cui Xi, who rarely saw Yu Xiaoyu express himself so vividly, both tried to help voice his thoughts.

"Young Master, Young Master Lu has only changed his clothes. Don't you recognize him?" Nanny Shisong asked.

Yu Xiaoyu didn't respond.

"Young Master, do you feel this outfit doesn't suit Young Master Lu?" Cui Xi said.

Yu Xiaoyu still didn't respond.

While everyone was guessing what Xiaoyu was thinking, the big white cat leisurely remarked, "Cat King, Xiaoyu probably thinks you're ugly!" Before the new clothes, Maomao was just plain but at least not awkward. Wearing Fifth Master's clothes, he looked neither here nor there, so unnatural that even the big white cat felt uncomfortable. Life was simpler as a cat without a human form. All you had to do was groom your fur well and never worry about clothes.

Lu Maomao couldn't believe this brutal truth. He turned Yu Xiaoyu's face toward himself and asked, "Xiaoyu, do you think I'm ugly?"

Yu Xiaoyu's eyes lit up; he knew what to say. "Maomao, ugly!"

Lu Maomao: !!!

Author's Note:

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Lu Maomao: I'm such an idiot. Why did I have to say I was ugly and let Xiaoyu learn it? Now Xiaoyu thinks I'm ugly too.