Retired Villainess Transmigrates into a Cannon Fodder

The Strongest Fox-Demon (48)

She subconsciously looked at Bai Yi, and the disdain toward her in her heart burst out uncontrollably.  She reminded herself repeatedly that she was her son’s noble person, who could help him become the prime minister, and only then did she suppress her resentment. She said with a forced smile, “I see. Then, I’ll wait for Chu Xiang. I mean, I’ll wait for Mrs. Li’s return and ask her. You know that our family has come to the capital, and there’s still some days before the exam. I should find something to occupy myself.”

Li Yufeng nodded, said that he still had to study, and went back to his room.

Zhuang Yulang dragged Zhuang Liu into the house, and said in displeasure, “Mother, what are you doing? How can I get along with Brother Li in the future?”

Zhuang Liu sighed. “Do you think I’m not terribly ashamed about it? Our two families live under the same roof. We don’t frequently see each other, but our gap is so big. However, what can we do? We can’t just sit idle and eat till we run out of fortune. Bai Yi said that her money is almost used up. What can I do? I have been searching for work in the past days but no one has hired me for any kind of job. Bai Yi hasn’t found any either, has she?”

She wanted to blame Bai Yi for not even bothering to search for work, but because she was their noble person, she insisted on swallowing her complaints.

Bai Yi sensed that Zhuang Liu was dissatisfied with her, but she didn’t quite understand why. She walked up to Zhuang Yulang and said with a smile, “Brother Zhuang, Xiang’er and I are like sisters. How about I open a teahouse with her?”

When Bai Yi said ‘Open a teahouse with her’, she meant exactly that. However, when it fell in Zhuang Yulang’s ears, he thought she was low-born and was speaking nonsense. She has no money. Why should she and Chu Xiang open a teahouse together? She was an orphan who knew nothing about doing business or managing people. How could she work with Chu Xiang? Would she go to work serving tea and water to Chu Xiang? If his mother and future wife both went to work in Li Yufeng’s wife’s teahouse, how could he hold his head up in front of Li Yufeng?

Li Yufeng was either rich or noble and he was not from the same world as him. The only reason he could get along with Li Yufeng on an equal footing was because Bai You asserted that he could become the prime minister. Since he would be the future prime minister and Li Yufeng wanted to be admitted to the imperial examination, he certainly has the confidence to face him, who might be his subordinate.

However, it was different when his family members went to their teahouse to work. The teahouse was the private property of Li Yufeng’s wife, so wouldn’t he become far more inferior to him? It was simply shameless!

Seeing that Zhuang Yulang was unhappy, Bai Yi grabbed him and asked, “Brother Zhuang, what’s wrong?”

How could Zhuang Yulang voice his inner thoughts? He got up and said, “Anyway, you are not allowed to go. I will go to study.”

Zhuang Yulang flicked his sleeves and went back to the room, leaving Bai Yi and Zhuang Liu looking at each other. Zhuang Liu was entirely biased. She didn’t think her son was unreasonable. She just felt that Bai Yi was incapable of making her son happy, so she couldn’t help muttering, “Mister Li is really lucky. I can’t believe Chu Xiang brought such a large dowry to their marriage. She is truly his noble person.”

Zhuang Liu took a look at Bai Yi and went back to her room. Bai Yi felt that her glance spoke loads of content, all of which were unpleasant. She frowned, feeling quite unhappy deep inside. She picked up the snow-white little fox and went out, and went to Bai You’s house with a turn around the bend.

Bai You and Chu Xiang were sitting in a bamboo grove playing chess. Li Yufeng, who had just excused himself on the grounds of studying, was also sitting next to Chu Xiang to watch the game.

Seeing Bai Yi coming, Chu Xiang waved to her and said, “Come quickly, Yiyi. We have just been talking about you. I’ve seen you going out with that scholar often in the past days. Are you having fun?”

Bai Yi sighed and sat on the other side of Chu Xiang. Chu Xiang turned her head to observe her. “What’s wrong? Are you unhappy?”

Bai Yi hugged the little white fox, supported her chin with one hand and said, “Why do mortals always have so many thoughts? Despite feeling suffocated, they choose to keep things to themselves. If they don’t talk about it, how can others guess what they are thinking? It’s so annoying.”

Chu Xiang dropped a piece on the chessboard and shook her head. “Not only mortals have complicated minds, but any living creature who is living together with others is the same. Only us, demons, are relatively fewer, and we don’t like staying with other demons.”

With a folding fan in his hand, Li Yufeng gently fanned her and added with a smile, “I have a rough idea what’s going on this time. Zhuang Liu asked me just now if I could give her a job in the teahouse. I remember how she always looked down upon you, so I informed her that you opened this teahouse with your own dowry. Before I came here, she said she would ask you after you return.”

Bai You joined in with some understanding: “So that’s the case. If my guess is right, the Zhuang mother and son must have felt displeased.”

Bai Yi was surprised and said, “How did you know? That’s exactly the case. Both of them are not happy anymore. Brother Zhuang was obviously happy when we were outside, but when we came home…Why? Bai You, do you know why?”

Bai You looked at the chessboard, put down the chess piece in his hand, and smiled at Chu Xiang. “I lost, Sister Xiang is good at chess.”

Chu Xiang waved her hand, took the teacup from Li Yufeng and took a gentle sip. Bai You turned to Bai Yi and said, “My guess is that the teahouse made Zhuang Yulang feel inferior. It made him realize that he was far behind Brother Li and Sister Xiang, and felt upset. After all, he usually gets along with Brother Li on an equal footing. My guess about his mother is much more accurate. She has always been displeased with you. Knowing now that Sister Xiang has a lot of dowry, but your money is running out, the contrast naturally made her very dissatisfied.”

Bai Yi frowned and hugged the little white fox unhappily. “If it weren’t for me, they would be suffering even more. I have already spent a lot of money for them, and I have taken over the house chores to make it easier for them. Why are they still not satisfied?”

Chu Xiang chuckled and answered, “A man whose heart is not content is like a snake which tries to swallow an elephant. It just so happened that you met two people who don’t know how to be grateful or satisfied. But isn’t it easy to make them happy now? Give them whatever they want, it’s not like you don’t have it.”

Bai Yi snorted. “That’s right. Don’t they just want riches and honor? I can open a shop, too!”