Chapter 74 Feeding the Puppet Gu Breakfast

Huangfu Yue slept soundly all night, dreaming a long, beautiful dream. If not for Ying'er knocking on the door to wake her, she would have continued sleeping and dreaming.

"Miss, I'll help you comb your hair," Ying'er said respectfully after helping Huangfu Yue wash her face.

Huangfu Yue nodded and sat down at the dressing table. She was staying in the best room, which had all the necessary furniture, including a dressing table for ladies.

"Is everyone up?" Huangfu Yue asked, looking at the maid who was undoing her disheveled hair in the bronze mirror.

"Everyone is up except for the second young madam and Miss Ying," Ying'er replied while picking up a comb and starting to brush Huangfu Yue's long hair.

"Is my second sister-in-law still sleeping with Ying'er?" Huangfu Yue asked, glancing at the window that Ying'er had pushed open earlier. The sun was already high in the sky.

"Yes. Perhaps because they traveled all day yesterday, the second young madam wants to sleep in a bit longer with Miss Ying," Ying'er said. "However, I saw the wet nurse and maids serving the second young madam and them go to wake them up several times. When I brought you water for washing your face just now, I saw the maids serving them go to wake them up again. They should be up soon."

Huangfu Yue said nothing, not blaming Xu Yuqing for sleeping in with her daughter, as she herself had also overslept and was only just getting up to wash and dress. However, it was already late morning, and she hoped Xu Yuqing and the others would hurry up and not sleep any longer. After breakfast, they would depart from Midian Town to continue their journey once she bought carriages.

There would surely be carriages for sale in Midian Town. She planned to buy several large carriages so that all the masters and servants of the Dai Royal Residence would have a vehicle, allowing them to travel faster and leave the capital far behind as soon as possible. News of the national treasury's theft would likely reach here soon, and the repercussions would extend to this place. She estimated that not only would the capital be strictly investigated and sealed off, but nearby areas and towns like this one would also be thoroughly searched and blocked by the authorities to find suspicious individuals. Given their identity, they could not afford to be investigated; doing so would expose them. Therefore, they needed to get as far away from the capital as possible to be safe.

"Miss, your hair is done. Where are your hairpins and combs? I'll help you put them in," Ying'er said, her movements swift and efficient. She had quickly styled Huangfu Yue's hair into a simple bun.

"They're by the pillow. Please get them for me," Huangfu Yue said, reaching up to touch her bun, a hint of satisfaction in her eyes. Although the bun looked simple, it was elegant and beautiful, showing that Ying'er had put effort into it.

"Miss, I only found one wooden hairpin by the pillow. There should be another wooden hairpin and a wooden comb. Did you put them somewhere else?" Ying'er returned with one wooden hairpin.

"The other wooden hairpin and comb are in my Qiankun bag. I thought it would be too much to wear two hairpins and a comb while in mourning, so one hairpin is enough… Please help me put this hairpin in," Huangfu Yue said. She had originally intended to say the other wooden hairpin and comb were lost last night, but she knew Ying'er would insist on helping her find them. When Ying'er last saw her last night, she was still wearing the other wooden hairpin and comb. If she said they were lost, they would surely be found in the room with a bit of searching. However, she had lied, so they would never be found, and it would only lead to Ying'er searching in vain. Not wanting Ying'er to waste her efforts, she changed her story to say she had put the hairpin and comb into her Qiankun bag.

"Alright," Ying'er believed her mistress without a second thought and immediately helped her put in the wooden hairpin.

"Miss, I'm truly beautiful. Even with just one wooden hairpin, I look like a celestial being!" Ying'er praised. The county princess was the most beautiful person she had ever seen! The county princess was still young, yet so beautiful. When she grew older and fully blossomed, how stunning would she be!

Huangfu Yue curved her lips slightly and instructed, "Go and see if my second sister-in-law and them are up yet, and if Grandmother, my other sisters-in-law, and my little nephews and nieces have had breakfast. If not, please ask them to have the kitchen prepare breakfast. It's time for breakfast now."

"Yes. Miss, you should have breakfast too. After I check on everyone, I'll ask the innkeeper to have the kitchen prepare breakfast and bring it to you, alright?" Ying'er said, nodding.

"Alright."

"Miss, is there anything you'd like to eat?"

"I want to eat wontons. Ask the kitchen to cook a bowl of wontons for me," Huangfu Yue said after thinking. "Oh, and while you're at it, ask the kitchen to prepare breakfast for Feng Maoyuan and them, as well as the servants." She couldn't let Feng Maoyuan and the servants go hungry.

"Yes."

After Ying'er left, Huangfu Yue walked to the window and looked outside. The sky was a clear azure, cloudless and vast, perfect weather for traveling. However, since it was summer, clear skies meant hot weather, and the carriage would be stuffy, but there was no alternative.

Not long after, Ying'er returned and reported to Huangfu Yue that Xu Yuqing and her daughter were up and washing. Zheng Taifei, Yang Wanqian, Zhu Jiayi, and Zhong Liangshu, along with their children, were all having breakfast in their respective rooms. She had also asked the waiter to have the kitchen cook a bowl of wontons for her and prepare breakfast for Feng Maoyuan, his subordinates, and the servants.

A short while after Ying'er's return, the waiter knocked on the door with the wontons. Ying'er opened the door, took the wontons, placed them on the table, and invited Huangfu Yue to eat. Huangfu Yue sat at the table and began to eat. Seeing Ying'er standing by to serve her, she said, "I don't need your service here for now. Go and see if the servants' breakfast is ready, eat your breakfast, and then come back." There was only one bowl of wontons here, and it was awkward to have Ying'er watch her eat. She felt uncomfortable with Ying'er constantly observing her.

"Yes," Ying'er agreed obediently without refusal and left.

Huangfu Yue was finally alone in the room and could eat her wontons freely. She ate heartily. "So fresh!" Huangfu Yue murmured. The wontons were three-delicacy flavored, exceptionally fresh, and very delicious, suiting her palate perfectly. Huangfu Yue scooped up a spoonful of soup and put it into her mouth; the soup was also fresh, delicious, and good to drink. Because Huangfu Yue was in a hurry to finish breakfast and go buy carriages, she couldn't eat slowly and savor the wontons. She wolfed down the entire bowl in a few bites. She took out a handkerchief to wipe her mouth and was about to pick up the bowl and leave the inn when she suddenly remembered that on the way back to Midian Town last night, Xiao Hei had told her to remember to feed the Puppet Gu every morning and not let it go hungry, trying to feed it three meals a day. Huangfu Yue decided to go into her space immediately to get chicken meat from the supermarket. Xiao Hei had said that Chang Qing always fed the Puppet Gu chicken meat.

Huangfu Yue went straight to the cooked food section of the supermarket. The cooked food section had a lot of chicken, such as roast chicken, cold chicken, fried chicken, chicken legs, chicken meatballs, braised chicken feet, and braised chicken gizzards. After browsing, Huangfu Yue picked up a plate of shredded cold chicken and decided to feed the Puppet Gu chicken shreds. Xiao Hei said that Puppet Gu preferred chicken shreds.

Huangfu Yue left the supermarket and went to the jar containing the Puppet Gu. She opened the jar and poured the entire plate of chicken shreds into it. Xiao Hei had said that although the Puppet Gu was small, it could eat a lot, about a jin of chicken meat per meal. Huangfu Yue wanted to see if the Puppet Gu was as voracious as Xiao Hei had said. After pouring the chicken shreds, she didn't rush to cover the jar and leave but stayed to observe carefully.

She saw that upon seeing the chicken shreds, the Puppet Gu immediately crawled into them. Since the Puppet Gu was too small to see its mouth, she couldn't tell how it ate the chicken shreds. However, after a while, half of the chicken shreds had disappeared, indicating that it had eaten half of them. Huangfu Yue looked on with surprise. "Goodness, this little thing is amazing! It ate so much chicken shreds in such a short time. This amount of chicken shreds is many times its body weight."

Huangfu Yue continued to observe. After another three or four minutes, all the chicken shreds had disappeared. The Puppet Gu had eaten all the chicken shreds, but its size had not changed; it remained the same as before, not growing even slightly larger from eating so much chicken. Huangfu Yue sighed inwardly, marveling at its strangeness, and wished she could study the Puppet Gu thoroughly. However, she was in a hurry to buy carriages and could not delay any longer. With a hint of regret, she decided to study the Puppet Gu later and left to buy carriages.