Chapter 67

Chapter 67

Lu Maomao returned home, and Yu Maizi handed him a gift list. "Son-in-law, this was sent over by the eldest young master."

"Which male cousin from Uncle's family married out?"

"That's the one."

"I remember when we first came back, Aunt said that cousin's youngest son had caught a cold, and the cousin was busy taking care of the child, which is why he couldn't come to pay his respects to the old master. Did he come today because the little nephew has recovered?"

"I heard the young cousin recovered from his illness two days ago. The eldest young master wanted to visit the old master during his official leave, but he didn't expect the old master to have taken you and Young Master Xiaoyu to the Three Purities Temple. Servants from the main branch said the eldest young master will come again in a couple of days to visit Young Master Xiaoyu."

Lu Maomao noted this.

The legitimate son from the eldest uncle's family was named Yu Heng, whose age placed him between the second and third brothers among the siblings. He was seven or eight years older than Lu Maomao and Xiaoyu.

Yu Heng was the eldest son of the County Princess and the grandson of a princess. He had been doted on since childhood and later married into the Changping Earl's household as the eldest daughter-in-law. He now had two children: an elder daughter aged five and a younger son aged three and a half.

When the old master and Xiaoyu returned to the capital, the younger son had caught a chill and contracted a fever, so he couldn't come back. As soon as the son recovered, he sent word home. His mother had already replied that the old master and Yu Xiaoyu would not be at the residence that day. However, having just gone through the hardship of nursing a sick child, he wanted to see his mother and thus still came today. Before leaving, he said he would visit his grandfather and Xiaoyu again in a couple of days.

Lu Maomao didn't know what this cousin's temperament was like, but he clearly realized that with their return to the capital, Xiaoyu would begin interacting with relatives. The number of people Xiaoyu would have to meet would increase, which posed a challenge for him. Lu Maomao wasn't sure if Xiaoyu could handle it.

So he decided to incorporate cat-raising into the daily routine.

Even if these kittens couldn't help Xiaoyu, comforting him and making him happy would be good enough.

After school that day, Lu Maomao pulled Yu Changhao along. "Changhao, let's go to the market and see if there are any cats for sale."

"Brother-in-law, are you planning to raise cats?"

"I intend to give Xiaoyu a few."

"Doesn't Brother Xiaoyu already have a cat?" Yu Changhao said.

He had seen Brother Xiaoyu's cat. That white cat was very well-behaved; wherever Brother Xiaoyu went, the white cat obediently followed behind him, even more clingy than a dog.

"One isn't enough."

"Why raise so many? I don't think Brother Xiaoyu seems that fond of cats. That white cat is so well-behaved, yet I've never seen him hold it."

"That's because Xiaoyu's favorite cat is me."

With him around, Xiaoyu naturally wouldn't hold any other cat.

White Cat: With the Cat King around, it wouldn't dare let Xiaoyu hold it either. The Cat King even gets jealous of its cat grass.

Yu Changhao: ...

Yu Changhao said speechlessly, "Then, Brother-in-law, by giving cats to Brother Xiaoyu, aren't you sending rivals to compete for his affection? Why not give something else, like dogs or parrots?"

Cats and dogs are sworn enemies, so no dogs.

Smaller parrots could be considered.

But the most important thing right now was to cultivate informants. "They wouldn't dare compete with me for affection."

Fine, whatever you say.

Yu Changhao accompanied Lu Maomao to the market, but as they had left school a bit late, many pet shops had already closed. The two wandered through several streets before finally finding one shop.

Lu Maomao curiously walked in and then discovered a whole new world.

They already sold cat beds, cat food, cat trees, and cat toys!

He had always thought the pet economy was a modern phenomenon, never expecting that ancient people had already started this business. There's nothing new under the sun; modern people are just playing with what their ancestors left behind.

"Shopkeeper, what is your cat food made of?"

Seeing the two well-dressed young masters enter his shop, the shopkeeper eagerly stepped forward to greet them. "Customers, we have several types of cat food here. The best is made from cooked chicken, dried small fish mixed with egg yolk, glutinous rice, and milk."

How luxurious.

"The next grade is made from dried small fish, beans, and barley mixed together. We also have milk cakes for very young kittens. Would you like to buy some, young masters?"

"No, not needed for now."

"Given your family's wealth, making cat food yourselves wouldn't be much trouble either. We also offer grooming services for cats and dogs. Would you be interested, young masters?"

"What is grooming?"

"That's bathing, trimming fur, cleaning ears, and clipping nails."

They even have pet grooming. The cats in the capital live quite well.

Then the shopkeeper revealed a standard smile and said, "We can also help with neutering and castration."

Lu Maomao felt a chill in his nether regions. He stopped browsing the shop and quickly stated his purpose. "Shopkeeper, do you only sell these items here and not kittens?"

"We sell them too, but only on auspicious days each month. If you wish to invite a cat home, you can come on those days with a betrothal gift."

The shopkeeper told Lu Maomao the dates, what kinds of cats would be available, and the required betrothal gifts.

"This is really too complicated," Lu Maomao sighed as he left the pet shop.

At the same time, he felt he had gotten a raw deal. Those cat servants hadn't been this ceremonious when inviting him home. No wonder his connections with them never lasted long.

Yu Changhao also looked like he had gained new knowledge.

"I never thought the small matter of raising a cat would have so many intricacies."

Lu Maomao patted his shoulder. "You have to be serious about anything you do."

"I've learned my lesson."

The two got along like brothers and found their carriage to go home.

Before Lu Maomao could "betroth" his kittens home, his identity as a live-in son-in-law had already spread through the private school.

The students in Teacher Mei's private school either had status or wealth to be able to study there. He didn't refuse students from ordinary families, but he had high requirements for the students' personal qualities. Whether powerful and influential or without money or status, they were held to the same standard. However, most of the enrolled students still came from well-off backgrounds because their families had started teaching them to recite texts and ancient poems from the time they could walk, giving them a head start over many others.

These students learned about Lu Maomao's situation through their own networks. Originally unfamiliar with this newcomer, they now treated him with even greater reserve, intentionally or unintentionally keeping their distance.

Lu Maomao didn't notice at first. He was extremely busy. At school, just listening to the teacher's lectures and dealing with the large amount of homework already occupied most of his time. When he returned home, the old master sometimes made him write extra essays. He simply had no time to manage interpersonal relationships.

Moreover, such relationships were useless even if established.

People of different statuses coming together, apart from the rare few who genuinely appreciate each other, usually involves mutual exploitation based on each other's value.

He had no demands of others, nor did he wish to be used by them.

Lu Maomao didn't realize he was being isolated until he noticed others discussing things without him during breaks.

His only thought was, thankfully these people had some decency—no verbal or physical bullying, just the cold shoulder, which was nothing.

Yu Changhao was also grilled by his study partner. "Changhao, that's really not cool of you. I had to hear about something this big from other people?"

"What's so big about it?" Influenced by Lu Maomao, Yu Changhao had a very optimistic mindset.

"Your brother-in-law is the one who married *into* your family, right?"

"Yes."

"What kind of decent person *marries in*? Listen, everyone says he's taking advantage of your sick brother. Once your brother gets better, he'll abandon him. You'd better keep an eye on him."

"Brother-in-law wouldn't do that."

"You can't judge a book by its cover."

"Brother-in-law said he wants to surpass Li Bai and become the ultimate live-in son-in-law. Until he surpasses Li Bai, he won't treat my brother poorly." Yu Changhao also brought up Li Bai.

He found Li Bai a handy name to drop—no wonder his brother-in-law liked mentioning him.

Qu Xing's mouth dropped open. "Your brother-in-law wants to surpass Li Bai? I don't think he'll ever manage that in his lifetime."

"I think so too," Yu Changhao said.

"Can it really work like that?"

Qu Xing scratched his head, utterly confused as to why mentioning Li Bai made his study partner believe his brother-in-law (the live-in son-in-law) wouldn't turn bad.

On the way back, Yu Changhao told Lu Maomao that his classmates had already found out about his status.

"Don't worry about it, I noticed a while ago."

"Brother-in-law, does it bother you?"

"Why would it? We're not on the same path. They don't need anything from me, and I don't need anything from them."

When Yu Changhao returned home, he followed Lu Maomao to see the old master. Finding Yu Changan there as well, he told him about the matter. The young boy thought it was important. If his brother-in-law lost motivation, his fifth brother could step in. He wondered if he should also tell his second brother.

"Listen to your brother-in-law. He can handle it," Yu Changan said.

"Fifth Brother, you really understand me."

Before Lu Maomao could finish feeling touched, Yu Changan shifted the topic. "You really can't make friends anywhere, can you?"

"Who says? I get along well with Yu Xu, Yu Yu, and Changhao."

"That's because you're practically family."

That seemed to make sense.

"You don't even have a single fair-weather friend."

"Pfft, if I really went out to eat, drink, and have fun, you'd probably make me copy millions of words as punishment."

"Good that you know."

Since neither his fifth brother nor his brother-in-law took the matter seriously, Yu Changhao didn't make a big deal out of it. However, when his second brother and father asked about his brother-in-law's studies with the teacher, he brought up the incident and specifically highlighted his brother-in-law's attitude. Both his second brother and father seemed quite satisfied with his brother-in-law's broad-mindedness and patience.