Vol 9 Chapter 157 (1/2)
Chapter 157
VOLUME 9 CHAPTER 157: DON’T TELL ME THIS IS THE SIEGE OF XINYE (6)
Meng De POV
I looked at the wooden tray by the side and saw that there were about 5-6 bamboo scrolls placed on it. The bulk of them seemed to include the names of those who had aced the recent examinations. There were so many names the scrolls seemed to covered by ink.
“Mao Jie, Cui Yan, have you both taken a look at these?” I asked as I looked at my 2 retainers who were busy with their own work at this time.
“Un?” Cui Yan said as he looked over, “I saw a bit of it, yes.”
When he finished, he returned to his work. Cui Yan is a renowned official that we recently recruited from the north. I only spoke a bit with him then but felt like he would be a good addition so I recruited him and his colleague Mao Jie to be my personal a.s.sistants. I have to say, Cui Yan is one of the few capable males serving under me.
He is already over 30 years of age but he looks decent and his dressing is rather good as well. He keeps a moustache but it’s just the usual ‘八’ moustache and he looks very cultured with it. In short, he looks exactly like the sort of famous male official I used to see in paintings when I was young. And like most people of his age, he is already married. But because I have not yet worked with him for a long while, I have not seen his wife nor have I heard him mention her.
“Cui Yan, I’m thinking of having a banquet tonight, join me.” I said casually. I did not actually have any intention of having a banquet and I knew what answer he would give me of course.
“No can do. My wife has asked me to come home early today.”
“Un? What’s the matter?”
“It’s my turn to cook dinner today.”
Un… I see.
“You really love your wife huh?”
“It was an arranged marriage by my family. I feel good about her and I’ve gotten used to it over time.”
“I see…” I said, unsure how I ought to continue the conversation.
This happens a lot whenever I speak with him. He is capable, there is no doubt about that, but there is some sort of generation gap between us. Yuan used to joke that an older man is better but I do not feel that way in the least. Nevertheless, his meticulous and easily understandable personality is fit for the position I have given him.
“Mao Jie, deal with the rest of the name lists.” I said as I turned to my ‘mascot character’ after an awkward conversation with Cui Yan.
“… Me again?” Mao Jie replied after a few seconds as she looked up.
Mao Jie’s hair on both sides is always pointing up, either because she is born like this or her sleeping posture is bad, and looks like she has some animal ears. Of course, she has normal human ears where they should be.
“But of course. These things were your job to begin with anyway.” I said as I tidied my desk, feeling more at ease speaking with Mao Jie than with Cui Yan.
“Alright. *Chacha*” Mao Jie said as her ‘animal ears’ rubbed against each other. No matter how you looked at it, they really did seem like animal ears especially when they moved. I never get bored of them. And that is why we all see her as our mascot character. She is simply too cute.
Though she is rather serious at work, she slacks off a lot as well. Sometimes, I even see her lying down on the floor in front of the doorway soaking up the sun. She really does seem like a small animal now that I think about it.
“Good.” I said as I finished tidying up my desk and sighed as I got up.
“Is my lord going off?”
“Un, after being ind
oors for the entire day, I would like to go out and grab a meal while I’m at it.” I said as I tucked my hands into my sleeves and checked if I had brought money before going around the desk, “You both should take a break soon as well. If you keep staying indoors, you will start getting moldy.”
“Your retainer understands.”
“Alright~”
The difference in gender made their voices easy to differentiate but even without it, I could tell who was who just by their responses.