With nothing better to do, Qi Qingyao went to bed again. Lying in bed during a winter day was so comfortable that she ended up getting some nice, rejuvenating sleep. She could even feel the dark eye circles on her face subsiding a fair amount. When she woke up, she suddenly realized how lively the corridor had become— people were moving to and fro when she went out to call the servant to deliver some food.
When the servant came to her room with the food, Qi Qingyao asked, “Mister, I see that the number of customers is increasing.”
“We get a lot of people this time of the year. Not to mention that with the Tianmen Ghost Market ongoing, some of the customers have become penniless after purchasing their goods and can no longer afford to stay in the more luxurious rooms, so they have to switch to other inns. As for those who got rich after selling their wares, they’d come to our inn. They’d wait for the morning of the first day of the new year before rushing to the Koi Temple to light the first incense.” The servant was named Yang Xiaoxun and specialized in serving those in the luxury rooms.
Qi Qingyao pondered a bit before fishing out a copper cash and giving it to the servant. “Mister, is there anyone who has a cat in their arms amongst those who came to stay here?”
“Cat?” After the servant took the money, he smiled flatteringly and replied, “Yes, a few of them even.”
“A few?” To think there actually would be. She was merely asking for the heck of it.
She racked her brains for a bit, thinking about the koi phantom from last night. She was trying to make a guess of the person’s identity and asked, “Is there anyone who looked noble and was wearing expensive clothes?” Jiang Bai had been right—with how rich this person was, they definitely would have dressed well.
“The few guests with cats all looked noble.” After saying this, the servant then added embarrassedly, “Miss, just so you know, those who come to our inn are those who can afford a luxurious stay. Basically all of them were dressed luxuriously.”
“…” Qi Qingyao’s lips twitched.
She was not discouraged and after thinking for a little more, she switched the topic and asked, “Did any of the cats look special? Like, you’d be able to tell that the cat was expensive the moment you saw it!”
“Now that you mention it, there indeed was one!” A very special cat.
“Is there so? Let’s hear it then,” Qi Qingyao said with a smile.
The servant began describing vividly, “There’s a guest who looks androgynous and quite pretty. But the person wore men’s attire so they should be a guy, an extremely handsome one. He was carrying a cat that was so fat you could tell it was fed well from just a look. Its entire body was snow-white, and only the fur on its left ear was golden. It’s really cute! A charmingly naive look.”
“Which room is that guest in, mister~~~” Qi Qingyao’s eyes were open wide and round, shining as she looked at the servant expectantly.
“Seeing that you’re a familiar face, I’ll tell you secretly.”
Rightfully, no information about the guests of the luxurious rooms should be simply leaked out. However, if the woman was likely to bump into them in the hallway anyway, this would not necessarily be considered a breach of information. The servant whispered as he pointed simply in some direction, “It’s the room at the end of the corridor.”
Qi Qingyao thanked the servant and gave him another small tip of copper cash.
After she was done eating and the servant had cleaned up the dishes, Qi Qingyao crept out of the door of her room and in one breath, sprinted toward the room. This was quickly followed by…
“Knock knock knock-”
The sound of the knocks on the door was like rolling thunder.
A moment passed before someone answered the door.
A man dressed like an attendant appeared.
He looked at the beautiful lady outside the door curiously.
Then, he very politely asked.
“May I know who you are?”
Qi Qingyao stretched her neck, trying to peek into the room, “I’m looking for that guy who was carrying a cat.”
This was followed with confusion. “Do you have business with my master?”
“I want him to give me my money back.” Qi Qingyao felt her spirits rising all of a sudden.