Chapter 68: The War of Cats and Dogs

Hearing the dog barks, Little Bean widened his eyes and tracked the sound. At the corner of the Tang family's courtyard wall, he discovered a previously filled and abandoned dog-hole.

The hole had been stuffed with bricks and stones, but the grass and soil around it had been carefully cleared away, exposing gaps smaller than a fist between the masonry, through which the other side was clearly visible.

On the other side of the hole, afraid of getting dirty, Qin Mu had rolled up his cuffs and gathered his lapels. He carefully knelt his knees on two sheets of paper, leaned forward with his rear sticking up, and continued to bark.

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"
"Meow, meow, meow!"
"Woof, woof, woof!"

The two of them finally connected.

Separated only by the dog-hole, face-to-face, eye-to-eye.

Little Bean tilted his head with a smile and peered inside, "Little Young Master, so this is what you look like!"

The first two times, Qin Mu had been atop the wall, so Little Bean could only see half his face; now, through the dog-hole, he could see him clearly.

Qin Mu also tilted his head and smiled, "Exploding Bean, what do I look like to you?"

"I think you look like Mistress An! Mistress An is very pretty!"

Qin Mu: "...My mother is naturally pretty! You could've just said I'm pretty!"

Secretly delighted, he hated that everyone else always said he looked just like his father. He utterly loathed that remark, yet felt helpless about it—he couldn't exactly peel off his face and put on a new one.

Only Little Bean had any discernment, knowing that since he came from his mother's belly, he ought to look like his mother.

Little Bean curled his lip. "What's the use of a man being pretty? You can't trade it for silver to buy candy!"

Qin Mu's lips moved; he wanted to say that his father's handsome appearance had later relied on that good skin to forge ties with many noble and prominent families.

Feeling that crouching was tiring, and unconcerned if his clothes got dirty, Little Bean simply slumped sideways onto the muddy ground. "Little Young Master, if you don't let me speak today, I'm leaving. Last time Mistress An asked me to pass along a message to you, and I didn't say it. I got scolded when I went back!"

Qin Mu was startled. "My mother gave you a message to bring last time?"

Little Bean nodded, though from Qin Mu's angle it just looked like he wiggled twice as he said, "Last time, Mistress An asked me to come and ask you if you needed anything. Like, did you need food or daily supplies? You could ask for money too, though she doesn't have much, just enough to give you a few copper coins to dismiss the servants. She also asked if you could leave the house, and how you could manage to do so. Mistress An can pick you up outside!"

Hearing Little Bean rattle off a string of words, Qin Mu instantly felt a breath block in his throat. "My mother told you to say all this, so why didn't you tell me a single word when you came last time?!"

Little Bean blinked innocently. "You're the one who told me to shut up!"

"You clumsy bean!"

Qin Mu was dying to grab and beat him up, but he couldn't reach him through the dog-hole. He could only grab a handful of dirt and sand and fling it through the opening.

Unprepared for Qin Mu to strike, Little Bean took it square in the face, his mouth and face full of dirt. Spitting out the grit with frantic *ptoo, ptoo, ptoo* sounds, he cried out, "I'm kindly helping you pass a message, and you throw dirt at me! Take this!"

"Swish!" A handful of dirt was thrown right back, showering the back of Qin Mu's neck.

"You jerk!"

Qin Mu was furious. These past few days, his anxiety had ruined his appetite and robbed him of sleep, and it was all because this Little Bean couldn't deliver a message properly.

All the pent-up grievance of the past few days welled up instantly, and he scooped up another handful of soil and flung it outward.

Little Bean refused to yield either. Soon, it was blow for blow, sending grass clippings and moss flying everywhere.

Inside and outside the dog-hole was a scene of total devastation!

By the time the surrounding dirt had all been scooped away and both of them were covered in soil from head to toe, they finally stopped, laughing heartily.

The battle couldn't continue through the dog-hole; most of the dirt on them was just what they'd thrown at themselves, and any further fighting would mean burying themselves alive.

Yet, through Little Bean's antics, Qin Mu felt as though he had truly become a six-year-old child again.

Ever since returning to this body several months ago, his gloomy mood instantly improved, and even the indescribable venom and resentment in his chest dissipated considerably.

He was still six years old; he was still a child, and he should act like one.

Abandoning all inhibitions now, caring nothing if his clothes got dirty and earned him another scolding, Qin Mu simply flopped down onto the muddy ground, pressed his face close to the dog-hole, and asked, "Little Bean, how did my mother get the money to rent a house? Tell me everything you know! I won't hit you!"

Little Bean wrinkled his nose. "I'm not scared of you. You can't beat me anyway, I was just letting you win earlier!"

Qin Mu quickly conceded defeat. "Yes, yes, Big Brother Bean let me win. Hurry up and tell me!"

Little Bean puffed out his chest proudly. Having received An Chunfeng's instructions, he shared everything he knew. "Mistress An stays up late every night weaving knots to sell for money! She was a bit scared living in the big courtyard all by herself, so she hired my eldest brother to be a servant and keep watch at the door!"

He had visited An Chunfeng's parlor and seen threads everywhere. His eldest brother had said that Mistress An's silver was earned by staying up late every night weaving knots; it was hard-earned and must not be wasted.

Qin Mu asked again, "What did your eldest brother do before, and how old is he?"

Little Bean counted on his fingers, frowning. "My eldest brother used to be an apprentice at the agency; Mistress An met him when she went there to rent a house. My brother is fourteen, and he can drive a carriage. He's super impressive. My second brother, Black Bean, is thirteen, even more impressive—he can pick me up with one hand and walk a long way without even panting."

"Hahahahaha!" Qin Mu laughed so hard he clutched his stomach and rolled around.

"You're hopeless, you really are a fool. I'm going to tell Mistress An that you've got a screw loose."

Little Bean pressed against the dog-hole, watching the fair, tender little young master inside crying and laughing at the same time, and shook his head with a sigh: what a pity that such a pretty doll was crazy.

Qin Mu wiped away tears of laughter. "You're the one who's crazy, you exploding bean."

Insults aside, he crept back to the dog-hole, and the two began whispering secrets.

Yet within moments, they were arguing again.

Qin Mu gnashed his teeth. "That's my mother, and the big meat bun you ate was mine!"

It wasn't really about the meat bun; it was just that Little Bean had mentioned Mistress An praising him for being good and specifically buying buns for him.

Little Bean shot him a sidelong glance. "I don't believe it. You live in the West City, doesn't your family buy big meat buns for you to eat?"

"They don't, and this isn't my home either! Wherever my mother is, that's my home!"

"Oh! You really are pitiful, locked up here every day!" Little Bean licked his lips, his eyes narrowing as he recalled the deliciousness of the big meat bun.

Seeing his greedy look and hearing him call his confinement pitiful, Qin Mu's anger flared anew. "You had two big meat buns, and you didn't even think to save one for me."

Little Bean retorted grumpily, "You're arguing over a single bun? When I go back, I'll tell Mistress An to buy you a big meat bun next time, along with the roast chicken and braised pork from Desheng Restaurant. Mistress An bought those for me to eat before, they were so good!"

Qin Mu flew into a rage. "That's my mother! My mother! Everything you eat is mine!"

Little Bean curled his lip. "Stingy-puss, I'm not talking to you anymore. My brother is moving us today, and from now on I'm going to live with Mistress An every day. Mistress An is even going to supervise me taking a bath every day! And change my clothes and trim my nails."

Qin Mu looked ready to cry again. "Mistress An is my mother, she won't trim your nails."

Suddenly, a thought struck him. He instantly dropped the childish bickering, turned solemn, and said, "Tell your brother to come over tomorrow, I have important business to discuss."

"What business? Tell me too!" Little Bean pleaded eagerly.

"No, you're too young, you don't understand anything. Remember, make your brother come tomorrow—the strongest one!"

With that, Qin Mu stood up, casually patted the dirt off his clothes, held his head high, and walked away, ignoring Little Bean—who was left yelling frantically right by the dog-hole with his eyes wide in suspense.

Seeing that nobody was on the other side of the dog-hole, Little Bean curled his lip. "Hmph, stingy-puss. Just watch, when I get back I'll tell Mistress An that you were crying and laughing like a pissing yellow dog, and make everyone laugh themselves to death over you!"

With a toss of his head, he left as well.