However, his actions were quite consistent.
He left early and returned late!
Every day he left before dawn and didn’t come back until it was completely dark.
Rat was very disdainful of this routine.
"What’s all this about? It’s just gathering some information; is it necessary to be like this!"
"Making it all mysterious!"
Usually taciturn Tiger chimed in from the side.
"Monsters have always been like this, don’t you know that!"
The implication was that since Monster had managed to gather information before, he should be able to do it again this time!
Rat thought about it, agreed it made sense, and stopped talking.
Tiger put on his official uniform and went to the Yamen.
Xia Tingfeng was on duty in the palace and hadn’t returned.
Only Rat was left in the residence.
Suddenly, he felt very lonely.
Just as he was bored to death, there was a noise at the main gate.
"Who is it?"
Rat ran to open the door.
It turned out... to be Monster!
"What? You’re back so early today? That’s not normal!"
Monster gave him a disdainful look.
"What’s the matter? I’ve been out for two days, shouldn’t I come back earlier today?"
Only then did Rat remember.
"Oh, it’s the third day today, huh? Did you find out anything?"
Monster was secretive.
"Let’s talk inside!"
Rat’s eyes lit up, and he eagerly scampered after Monster.
...
Not long after they entered, Rat’s excited shout echoed from the inner chamber.
"The eldest daughter of General Ni’s family?!"
Monster nodded.
"That’s right. The very one Big Brother met while choosing a gift for Consort Xian Pin!"
"Hmm... I don’t know what they talked about, but in the end..."
All the information that could be gathered, was gathered.
Probably no one heard their conversation, so... Monster didn’t continue to dig deeper.
Rat was very excited.
"So, are you saying we’re about to have a sister-in-law soon?"
Monster nodded.
"Miss Ni must be quite pleased with Big Brother, otherwise... a young lady’s handkerchief wouldn’t just drop so easily!"
Rat grew even more excited.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let’s hurry up and have Big Brother find a matchmaker to propose!"
Monster rolled his eyes at him!
"Propose? Propose my foot!"
"Have you looked at where we live now? Do you expect Miss Ni to live in a place like this? With us guys?"
Rat was speechless. He was right; although Big Brother had bought the place, the title was still in the name of Zheng Mansion.
They couldn’t possibly ask Miss Ni to move into Zheng Mansion under those circumstances.
More importantly, Big Brother couldn’t live with them after marrying!
Monster emphasized.
"So, we must hurry up and have Big Brother buy a new residence!"
"But no need to rush this; true lovers will eventually be united!"
"If they like each other, and it’s a match of equal social status, there’s no way it won’t work out!"
Rat thought about it and calmed down.
"No rush, no rush!"
...
When Xia Tingfeng returned to Zheng Mansion after finishing his duty, it was two days later.
Rat and Monster looked at each other, unable to hold it in any longer.
Then they spilled the beans.
Rat asked cheekily.
"Big Brother, why didn’t you tell us brothers about Miss Ni earlier!"
Monster added.
"Exactly! These past two days, Rat and I have already been scouting around, looking for a residence for Big Brother!"
Thinking of it, he continued.
"There’s a residence on East Street not far from here. It looks quite nice, a tranquil and unique house with three courtyards!"
Rat also chimed in enthusiastically.
"There’s also one on South Street, though it’s a bit larger than the one on East Street, with four main courtyards and two smaller ones!"
"After Big Brother gets a wife, he can still take a concubine and enjoy the bliss of having both!"
Xia Tingfeng listened to every word.
His expression was very calm.
He had known all along that when Rat and Monster got together, no secret was safe.
Sure enough, they knew everything.
While he appeared calm on the surface, he was actually very nervous inside!
Xia Tingfeng hesitated, not knowing what to say.
In the end, with a slightly awkward expression, he said,
"I... COUGH, COUGH! I still don’t know what she thinks!"
"Besides, I don’t have any silver right now. I can’t afford a residence, so let’s talk about getting married later!"
Having said that, he strode back to his own room.
Then... he continued carving his rosewood.
The SHHICK, SHHICK, SHHICK of his carving knife drifted out.
Rat and Monster nodded with understanding.
"Big Brother must be making a gift for Miss Ni!"
Monster shook his head.
"Ah, this won’t do. If you like a girl, you have to speak up. Always working on things in secret like this, she won’t appreciate it! Girls don’t like that!"
Rat glared at him.
"Enough, enough, stop acting like such an expert. How do you know the girl won’t like it? How do you know... Big Brother is... working on things in secret!"
"Have you ever experienced anything like this?"
Monster was indignant.
"I haven’t experienced it, but I understand it!"
Rat shook his head.