“Did we disturb you?”

Disturb? Who’s “we”?

Ah Yan’s round eyes, reflecting a clear fiery anger, were stunned for quite a while, and he inexplicably followed Song Suiyuan’s train of thought.

Right, Song Suiyuan wouldn’t have thought that the person from last night was him, so people are people, cats are cats. Song Suiyuan thought the cat was being lazy and grumpy because it was disturbed by the so-called “two people” making a racket last night.

A cat’s little brain couldn’t come up with such a perfectly logical reason!

The yin and yang harmony, a common thing, humans always have this concept. Not to mention the cat Ah Yan, who disregards human ethics. He wasn’t angry about the act itself with Song Suiyuan, but because he woke up this morning with a sore butt.

Previously, his father and dad taught him only four words about this matter—be happy. Last night, Ah Yan fought with Song Suiyuan and managed to get on top without much effort. The pain felt during their tussle was all avenged. Although he ended up babbling nonsense, calling for his dad, Ah Yan was overall quite happy!

But that was yesterday. Today, Song Suiyuan isn’t in pain! Only the cat is!

Song Suiyuan is too much!

Ah Yan blinked his eyes. The fact that the cat can turn into a human still needs to be hidden. The excuse Song Suiyuan gave was too good to waste, so he waved his little white paw righteously: “Meow meow…”

You even threatened to clip the cat’s nails! Beast!

Song Suiyuan, being practical, could guess what it was saying and returned to his gentle and normal demeanor, apologizing, “It was my fault, Ah Yan, please forgive me, okay?”

After throwing a big tantrum, Ah Yan decided to let it go, tucked his paws, and lay down on Song Suiyuan’s lap. His beautiful cat eyes were full of arrogance, as if saying, “Let’s see how you act.”

Song Suiyuan, confident in his own reasoning, was completely led astray by the little white cat.

So he not only disturbed Ah Yan’s sleep but also threatened it, thoroughly offending it.

After clarifying these things, Song Suiyuan temporarily gave up looking for clues from the little white cat and even arranged a feast to apologize, personally holding it in his arms to feed it.

While feeding it, Song Suiyuan chatted leisurely, “Ah Yan is the smartest little cat I’ve ever met. Since you can understand human speech, surely you can communicate with people too? Hmm?”

Ah Yan, lying on his back enjoying being served, made a meaningless noise in response.

Hmph, trying to get information, but the cat doesn’t understand~

If it were a human, its smug little look would be annoying, but unfortunately, it’s a well-behaved and pretty little white cat, making it hard to really get angry at it.

Song Suiyuan lowered his eyes and scratched its fluffy chin, his long fingers sinking into the not-too-long white fur, making each other look even whiter.

No rush, it’s only been a day, there’s plenty of time.

———

Having set the itinerary to depart for Sanghua Mountain tomorrow, planning to stay there for a few days, Song Suiyuan wanted to spend some time with his mother, He Jinlan, today.

He Jinlan, born in the Marquis of Loyalty’s mansion, is the second legitimate daughter of the second branch, with a family background matching that of Song Wenxing. The two met in their youth, and after marriage, they were a perfect match.

However, He Jinlan was injured during the birth of Song Suiyuan, and the doctor declared that she would have difficulty bearing children in the future. At that time, people believed that having many children brought happiness, and Song Wenxing only had two children, Song Jingle and Song Suiyuan. Later, the mansion took in two concubines, resulting in one illegitimate son and three illegitimate daughters.

Despite having concubines, Song Wenxing still focused his heart on his wife.

Since Song Suiyuan could remember, He Jinlan retained her innocent and lively nature in front of him.

When Song Suiyuan arrived, He Jinlan was comparing a list with her maid, saying, “Keep this pair of gold hairpins with jade inlays. It was the first gift from the eldest young master, and I like the white jade on it.”

Song Suiyuan stepped over the threshold, gesturing for the maid to remain silent and quietly walked to He Jinlan’s side, glancing at the list in her hand for a moment before commenting, “Mother kept all the good things, who are the rest for?”

He Jinlan was startled, her fingers trembling, and after realizing it, she clutched her chest and scolded, “Song Suiyuan! Why do you walk without making a sound, trying to scare your mother to death…”

“Mother, mind your words.” Song Suiyuan interrupted her, giving a slight bow to apologize, and asked, “What are you doing?”

He Jinlan: “…”

She also remembered that her husband didn’t like her talking about life and death.

She waved her hand at her bowing son, reluctantly explaining, “I’m making a betrothal gift list for you. How could I keep all the good things? What kind of person would that make your mother?”

She sneaked a glance at Song Suiyuan’s collarbone, oh, still there.

Song Suiyuan had guessed upon entering, and it turned out to be true. He thought for a moment and threw a difficult question to his mother, “Mother, I like the southern wind.”

He Jinlan frowned and turned her head, “What nonsense are you talking about?”

Song Suiyuan’s peach blossom eyes were inherited from He Jinlan, but they lacked her clarity.

In other words, his mother’s eyes were too pure.

Song Suiyuan didn’t answer, he just smiled and changed the subject, “Has elder sister written back recently? Father’s tonic is running out, we should ask Doctor Kang to come to the capital.”

“Yes, it’s about time. I’ll write to Jingle later. Speaking of which, it’s been two months since we received her last letter.”

In He Jinlan’s heart, nothing was more important than Song Wenxing’s health. Upon hearing this, she set aside the jewelry list and began to talk to her son about how Song Wenxing still had an appetite this summer, as he usually fell ill every year due to loss of appetite.

Song Suiyuan spent half an hour with his mother, chatting, and before leaving, He Jinlan touched her temple, her beautiful peach blossom eyes full of confusion, “What did you mean by liking the southern wind earlier?”

Her eldest son was too clever, sometimes a sentence had many meanings. He Jinlan had long given up trying to figure it out on her own and habitually asked him directly.

Song Suiyuan smiled without answering, bowed, and left.

Leaving the not-so-clever He Jinlan to sigh and ask the maid beside her, “What do you think Yuan’er meant…”

…

The next day, just after the lord left for court, another carriage arrived at the mansion’s gate. Song Suiyuan left with the cat while his mother was still asleep.

It took two and a half hours to reach the foot of Sanghua Mountain by carriage, not exactly close, but there were quite a few carriages traveling the same route.

Sanghua Mountain actually has two peaks. One peak has the bustling Yuanguang Temple, and the other has the equally popular Hanyun Temple. Most of the carriages were heading to these two places.

Song Suiyuan brought two travel books with him to pass the time on the road.

After buying a villa at the foot of Sanghua Mountain, he had the carriage modified for convenience. The modified carriage was less bumpy, allowing him to read inside.

The little white cat he brought along had its paws on the carriage window, its round head and eyes looking outside with curiosity, hanging its little body.

After less than a kilometer, Ah Yan jumped back disappointedly, wrapping himself with his tail, planning to nap.

Outside was boring, just trees everywhere.

With the little white cat asleep, Song Suiyuan glanced at it and continued reading his book.

It was a travelogue of the northwest, written by someone from the previous dynasty, long out of print. The author wrote about his two years living in Huaichuan, encountering celestial lakes and snow-capped mountains that never melted.

Speaking of Huaichuan, during the peak of the previous dynasty, the land now occupied by the Hangyi tribe belonged to the previous dynasty. The Hangyi were nomadic people of the grasslands, with no fixed abode, except for a fixed royal city, which they called Soqian in Hangyi language, and Huaichuan in the previous dynasty’s language.

It’s said that the Duke of the State’s name, Wuchuan, has the “chuan” from Huaichuan.

Ah Yan’s master, the heir of the Duke of the State, Yun Xiu, what does “Xiu” mean?

At this point, the age-old question popped into his mind again—what is the origin of Young Master Yun? The Duke of the State and his wife couldn’t have children, yet there was no mention of adopting from any Yun family branch. Based on what happened in the previous life, even though not biological, Young Master Yun still inherited the Duke of the State’s might and bravery.

Song Suiyuan hadn’t turned the page for a while, clearly lost in thought.

The carriage was somewhat bumpy, and Ah Yan couldn’t sleep, so he quietly moved to Song Suiyuan’s side. After waiting for a while and seeing that he hadn’t snapped out of it, he peeked at the page the book was open to.

The cat read two or three lines at a glance.

Su Mountain?

The cat’s home!

“Meow~”

Song Suiyuan was brought back to reality by the cat’s call, just as the little white cat jumped onto him, sitting in front of him with a paw on the book: “Meow meow…”

Daddy said he found Ah Yan on Su Mountain.

Song Suiyuan petted the round head, guessing, “Is Ah Yan reading the words in the book?”

Ah Yan’s paw tapped the page: “Meow…”

Foolish, Ah Yan is the divine cat of Su Mountain!

“Alright, I’ll read it to you.” Song Suiyuan responded as if he understood, but he could only guess to this extent based on Ah Yan’s gestures.

Ah Yan: “…”

However, Song Suiyuan’s voice was warm and low, not too fast, not too slow. As he read word by word, Ah Yan felt as if he had returned to his birthplace, where the snow was white, the world silent, beautiful yet ruthless, with only a small, fragile, and helpless Ah Yan in the world.

…

Song Suiyuan’s voice gradually stopped. Looking down, the little white cat in his arms had fallen asleep, snuggling closer to his waist, seeking the safest, least bumpy spot.

He gazed at the little white ball, a gentle and soft expression quietly appearing in his eyes, a faint smile forming.

At this moment, Young Master Song suddenly realized that he seemed to be overly indulgent with this little white cat.

But there was no need to correct it.

Ah Yan was harmless and clever, adept at taking advantage, and full of secrets. These traits, given that it was a pretty little white cat, all seemed cute, silently occupying one’s mind.

The two-and-a-half-hour journey had a section of road that was muddy from rain the day before, making it difficult to travel. The carriage arrived after noon.

Ah Yan had slept the whole way. Whether it was because he was well-rested or sensed the carriage stopping, he opened his cat eyes upon arrival. Just waking up, he wasn’t as alert as usual, his round eyes showing a hint of ignorance.

Song Suiyuan patted its head, “Get off.”

Ah Yan instinctively used his little paws to cover his head, “Meow!”

The villa at the foot of Sanghua Mountain, the old plaque on the gate still hadn’t been taken down, boldly displaying the words “Wild Garden.”

Unlike the usual orderly estates of the nobility, its layout was a bit chaotic, and the landscape was untamed, with a wildness to it. It didn’t quite match Young Master Song’s style, but Ah Yan liked it very much.

The steward of the villa had already arranged accommodations and, upon hearing that the master had arrived, immediately ordered preparations for lunch.

The food here wasn’t as refined as in Shengjing, but it had the freshest game. The steward, well-versed in the tastes of Shengjing’s nobility, aimed not for exquisite dishes but for authentic flavors.

He thought this way, almost drooling.

However, after waiting for a while in front of the main hall, the young master was nowhere to be seen, so he suppressed his doubts and went out to look.

He searched all the way to the main gate, and from a distance, he saw a figure in a blue robe, standing tall and graceful like jade, looking up at the sky, gently coaxing, “Not hungry? Let’s eat first and then play.”

It was unclear whether the young master was naturally gentle or what, but it sounded like he was coaxing a lady.

The steward followed his gaze upward, and on the high, abandoned flower rack, there was a small white ball… was that a cat?