Long Aotian’s Beautiful Butler Has Run Away chapter 77

Chapter 77: Ten-Color Cloth

“Young Master Lu, how did you find me here? Is there something urgent?” Rong Xie asked.

Ever since the auctioned assets were dealt with, Rong Xie had rarely seen Lu Yinglin. At first, Lu Yinglin would wander around the area, finding opportunities to grab a meal or stroll down the street with Rong Xie. Later, presumably busy with business, Lu Yinglin hadn’t appeared for a long time, and their interactions had faded.

“Junior Brother Rong, I’ve accomplished something big this time. You’ll have to treat me to thank me,” Lu Yinglin said with a smile.

“What big thing?” Rong Xie looked expectant. “Has your elder brother come out of seclusion?”

“Oh… not yet. I haven’t gone to the Xuantian Sect yet,” Lu Yinglin said. “It’s the matter we’ve been thinking about—the Lightning White Orchid. I’ve found a buyer!”

Before Rong Xie could speak, Lu Yinglin felt a chilling gaze sweep over him, causing him to shudder involuntarily. He looked to the side and saw that strange Old Servant again.

“This is…?” Lu Yinglin sized up the Old Servant suspiciously.

“This is Uncle Wang from Grand Secretary Wang’s residence. He helped me a great deal today,” Rong Xie smiled.

“Oh?” Lu Yinglin raised an eyebrow.

Rong Xie told Lu Yinglin about having clothes made and mentioned he was taking the Old Uncle to see his house so he would know where to deliver them.

“Such a small matter as making clothes—just tell me, and I’ll have someone from the Capital’s Clothing Workshop make them for you.” Lu Yinglin dismissed it lightly. “It’s a perfect excuse to take you to the Capital for a tour. I guarantee a route different from anyone else’s. And about the Lightning White Orchid—”

“Cough cough cough cough cough!” The Old Servant suddenly broke into a violent fit of coughing, as if choking on something. Rong Xie hurriedly supported him, patting his back to smooth his breathing.

Lu Yinglin quickly stepped aside. The Snow-Wave Brocade robe he had just changed into today featured incredibly expensive embroidery; he couldn’t let this old fellow dirty it.

“Uncle Wang, how do you feel?” Rong Xie asked worriedly while rubbing the Old Servant’s back. “Why are you coughing so badly all of a sudden?”

The Old Servant couldn’t spare the breath to answer, coughing violently as if he were about to cough up a lung.

Sponsored

Seeing this, Lu Yinglin made an excuse to slip away first. He arranged to meet Rong Xie for dinner at a restaurant in the North Gate Market, then closed his folding fan and left in a hurry.

As soon as Lu Yinglin left, the Old Servant suddenly recovered without medicine. He raised his head, breathing smoothly, his face barely even red.

Rong Xie was surprised but relieved. He had been genuinely worried the Old Servant might not catch his breath and pass out just now.

“Uncle Wang, you scared me to death. Why did you cough so badly?” Rong Xie asked with concern.

“This old slave doesn’t know either. I’ve always been healthy. Perhaps the smell on that gentleman just now was too pungent,” the Old Servant said in a muffled voice.

“Smell?” Rong Xie was puzzled. “You mean the incense?”

“Probably.” The Old Servant cleared his throat. “Young Master, could you give this old slave a cup of water to moisten my throat when we get to your home? My throat feels terribly uncomfortable.”

“Of course. My home is just ahead. Uncle Wang, please follow me.”

The two turned into a quiet alley and arrived in front of a small bamboo gate. Rong Xie unlocked it, peeled off the spirit talisman on the door, and invited the Old Servant inside.

Rounding the screen wall, they entered a small courtyard enclosed by trees. In the center lay a small pond. Beside the pond stood a simple bamboo pergola, under which sat a reclining chair and a small tea table. A scroll of books was placed face down on the table next to a night lamp.

Walking past the pond and up the steps, they passed through a floral-pendant gate. White walls flanked them, lined with planted flowers and trees—plum blossoms, crabapples, peonies. The plants were small and exquisite, their branches pruned meticulously. Against the white walls, they looked like a series of small flower-and-bird paintings.

After walking along the white wall for a while, they saw a door on each side leading to different rooms. Rong Xie led the Old Servant toward the flower hall on the left, invited him to sit at the tea table, took out a newly bought teacup, and poured him a cup of hot tea.

Since entering, the Old Servant had been looking everywhere. Only when Rong Xie faced him would he slightly retract his wandering gaze, feigning an honest and simple demeanor. At this moment, Rong Xie turned away again to pull up the bamboo blinds on the window and push it open. Outside was the pond they had just passed; from this angle, it possessed a unique, secluded charm.

The Old Servant watched, somewhat entranced.

Rong Xie turned back and saw the Old Servant sitting there in a daze, having not drunk a sip of tea. He asked, “Is the tea perhaps too hot?”

Sponsored

“Oh, it’s just right.” The Old Servant lifted the cup and gulped it down in one go.

“Don’t drink too fast, be careful of choking…” Before Rong Xie finished his warning, the Old Servant had already placed the empty cup on the tea table with a clack.

The Old Servant stood up. “Young Master, this old slave will take his leave now.”

Remembering the Old Servant mentioned having business later, Rong Xie didn’t detain him further. He saw him out, then returned to tidy the tea table and used a transmission talisman to contact Wang Mu.

Shen Bingsi left Zhuli Lane and walked all the way toward the Lanyuan Villa District.

Images of what he had just seen kept tumbling through his mind: the bamboo gate, the flower corridor, the tea hall overlooking the small pond, the neatly organized tea cabinet, the row of teacups of various sizes and styles on the cabinet, the bamboo blinds painted with simple patterns, the glazed windows polished to near transparency… Rong Xie’s new home was no worse than Huanxue Villa. It even had a different kind of charm—something Shen Bingsi would call “lived-in warmth.”

Huanxue Villa once had such warmth too, only Shen Bingsi had never paid attention to it. When he sat at the tea table in the flower hall, he would see the potted flower branches stretching in the wind beneath the windows. One or two tea toys—literati walnuts, clay frogs, or something else—would be placed by his hand. He found them interesting and enjoyed it all, but he never considered that these things didn’t just grow there naturally.

Now, he knew.

He knew why he always felt empty inside Huanxue Villa now. Even though Shen Yan and the others were managing the villa according to Rong Xie’s instructions, cold adherence to rules was different from genuine care.

It turned out that after separating, the one who couldn’t go on wasn’t Rong Xie, but himself.

A wave of irritability rose from his heart.

Clamoring noises ahead interrupted Shen Bingsi’s train of thought. Shen Bingsi looked up and found he had already reached the northwest corner gate of the Lanyuan Villa District.

Shen Bingsi guessed who the noisy people were. The reason he hadn’t stayed long at Rong Xie’s place was precisely for this matter—he had claimed the title of a servant at the Lanyuan Villa District but hadn’t coordinated with the actual owners yet. If the clothing shop owner went there, he would inevitably be rebuffed.

Of course, Shen Bingsi didn’t care if the shop owner hit a wall or two; he just didn’t want to delay Rong Xie’s affairs.

Shen Bingsi quickened his pace toward the southwest corner gate. As he walked, his figure turned into a streak of golden light and vanished within the high walls of the Lanyuan Villa District.

Sponsored

In the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, the commotion at the northwest corner gate subsided. A steward of the Lanyuan Villa District came out, exchanged a few words with the shop owner, and had someone accept the three bolts of cloth.

“I thought that old fellow was a fraud, didn’t expect him to have such face,” the shop owner muttered to his two assistants on the way back. “Even the steward of the Lanyuan Villa District came out personally. It seems he really is a senior figure. You two, whenever you see that young master in the future, make sure to treat him well, understand?”

The two assistants thought to themselves, The one who didn’t treat him well was you, Boss.

As they spoke, the three arrived at the entrance of the alley and saw a familiar figure standing there.

Seeing him, the shop owner immediately piled a smile onto his face and walked up. “Oh my, Old Sir, what a coincidence running into you here again. We just delivered the fabric. When might you visit our shop again…”

The Old Servant turned around. The expression on his face was extremely cold, and an intimidating aura radiated from him. The shop owner shuddered and shut his mouth.

“I have a task for you. Regardless of where you get the formulas, from now on, the shop must stock more than ten types of plain-colored cloth. Remember the colors well.”

The shop owner froze, realizing business had come, and nodded hurriedly. “Yes, yes, please instruct.”

The Old Servant glanced at him with a look of utter disdain. “White, ultramarine, kudzu, aqua, moon white, lotus root, beige, cream, light emerald, and black—ten colors in total. Remember them.”

“Yes, yes.” The shop owner agreed while grumbling inwardly: What’s the difference between aqua and light emerald? How do you distinguish between beige and cream? He knew what many of these colors looked like, but he couldn’t dye them at all!

“Have them ready within a month. I’ll come check next time. If you don’t have them, or if the color difference is too great, don’t even think about doing business on the street outside anymore. Understood?”

Having said that, the Old Servant didn’t say anything more and turned to walk into the alley.

The shop owner muttered in his heart. He knew the Old Servant had great influence, but at most, he could stop doing business with his shop. Could he really drive him out of the North Gate Market? His Flowing Red Clothing Shop was the only one of its kind in the North Gate Market. To achieve such a monopoly, it was impossible not to have someone protecting him from above.

“Ghost! Did that old man just walk this way? How did he disappear in the blink of an eye?”

“Aiyaya! In broad daylight, under the bright sun, we’ve offended a Great Immortal!”

Sponsored

The two assistants suddenly started shouting, bowing repeatedly toward the alley where the Old Servant had left. The shop owner was panicked by their shouting and dared not stay longer, ushering the assistants back to prepare those ten types of plain-colored cloth.

Later, Rong Xie arrived at the agreed-upon restaurant.

Before entering, he saw the Old Servant waiting by the door.

“Uncle Wang, what a coincidence. Is your business finished? Would you like to join me for a simple meal?” Rong Xie asked.

The Old Servant shook his head. “This old slave still can’t stand the smell on that little brother, so I won’t disturb you. I came this time to tell Young Master that there are many clothes to be made. I’m afraid they won’t be ready until this time next month. I’ll deliver them to your door then… Young Master won’t be traveling far, right?”

“No, I’ll be home all winter.”

“That’s good, that’s good… It’s cold outside, and there’s nothing much to see in the Capital. Add more charcoal fires at home, and use more bedding,” the Old Servant said.

Warmth filled Rong Xie’s heart as he thanked the Old Servant. He wanted to ask when the Old Servant would be free so he could treat him to a meal, but Lu Yinglin came down from the second floor, fanning himself and greeting Rong Xie enthusiastically.

The Old Servant glanced at Lu Yinglin and hastily bid farewell to Rong Xie. For some reason, watching his retreating figure, Rong Xie felt he looked somewhat pathetic. A strange thought rose in Rong Xie’s mind: Could it be that this Old Servant is somewhat afraid of Lu Yinglin?

But that didn’t make sense; the two of them had no interaction…

“Junior Brother Rong?” Lu Yinglin walked up smiling. “What are you looking at?”

“Nothing, just now…” Rong Xie thought about how the Old Servant and Lu Yinglin seemed at odds with each other, then shook his head. “Nothing. Let’s go up. What did you mean about the buyer for the Lightning White Orchid?”

“Someone is willing to buy the Lightning White Orchid at a high price!” Mentioning his business, Lu Yinglin instantly became spirited. “Thirty-five thousand spirit stones—a full five thousand more than the original purchase price! A buyout price, how about it?”

Rong Xie frowned. “But…” He had only said to pawn it, not to sell it.

Lu Yinglin took Rong Xie’s arm and led him upstairs. “Let’s go, let’s go, we’ll talk upstairs!”

Sponsored