Chapter 717: One-Night Miracle! I (1/2)

Chapter 717: One-Night Miracle! (I)

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

”Gift?”

Bai Siling and Zhao Yatong glanced at each other, unable to speak. Evidently, this pair had not expected this move from Wang Chong. The two quickly turned around to curiously gaze at the approaching soldier with his two cages.

Wang Chong had never given them a gift before, so they couldn't help but be filled with anticipation.

The soldier quickly arrived and put down the cage.

Upon pulling away the silk, the pair were each greeted by a fluffy little ball of snow-white. Their eyes instantly brightened in surprise and joy. ”This is… a Persian cat?”

Right now, the most popular and beloved pet of all the upper-class women of the capital, from the imperial clan to the high-class nobility, was the Persian cat from the Abbasid Caliphate. This animal had a docile and friendly personality, so excessively charming that the upper-class women would spoil them rotten.

But the Abbasid Caliphate was more than ten thousand li from the capital, and Persian cats were extremely expensive and sensitive. As a result, most of them would die en route.

A Persian cat was essentially priceless in the capital.

And those purebred Persian cats raised by the imperial household were the most revered of all and known as Imperial Persian cats.

The Persian cats that Wang Chong had found for them were pure white, without the slightest impurity. They also had very special eyes, one of deep blue and the other of amber, and were so adorable that one immediately wanted to hug and embrace them. They were precisely those most cherished Imperial Persian cats.

The pair had also seen such a cat with Princess Nihuang, and neither of them had expected Wang Chong to give them such a special gift.

”So cute!”

”So beautiful! Look at how it uses its claw to wash its face and comb its fur.”

”I know! Look at that! It licked my hand! Haha, it tickles!”

……

In an instant, the two women were completely focused on the Persian cats, squatting on the ground and playing with them. As for Wang Chong, he had been momentarily forgotten.

Bai Siling and Zhao Yatong might have appeared valiant and formidable, and were hailed as woman heroes, not like those fragile girls who spent all their time in their rooms, but they were still girls. Just like the rest, they liked cute and fluffy pets.

Wang Chong had catered to their pleasures with this gift.

It's fine as long as I got them the right thing.

Wang Chong inwardly smiled in understanding at this sight.

He had requested Yang Hongchang to send these two Imperial Persian cats from Talas in the Western Regions. Yang Hongchang had worked the Silk Road for many years and knew quite a few Arab merchants. While it was hard for others to obtain Persian cats, it was no problem for Yang Hongchang. Arabs were natural merchants, and as long as there was enough money, they could even get Imperial Persian cats.

After a while, after apparently remembering something, Bai Siling took the white Persian cat out of the cage and stood up, turning curiously to Wang Chong. ”That's right. Wang Chong, aren't Persian cats very delicate? And they're not used to the climate of the Great Tang. How did you manage to get them?”

”Give me ten thousand taels and I'll tell you the answer,” Wang Chong teased.

”Bastard!”

Bai Siling's brows flared and she immediately seemed ready to give him a beating.

”Haha, okay, don't hit me. I'll talk,” Wang Chong said, smiling. ”Persian cats like cleanliness. You must promptly clean their cages, and they have to be exceptionally clean. If the cage isn't clean, they won't eat. In addition, you will occasionally have to give them some grass juice.”

Persian cats enjoyed cleanliness even more than humans. From a certain perspective, they had a sort of mysophobia. Not many people knew this, so the fact that many of the merchants selling these cats were filthy and didn't take very much care of the cats meant that many of the Persian cats would die.

If one knew this trait of the cats, selling them became much easier.

After handling the living arrangements for the two cats, Bai Siling and Zhao Yatong also settled their clan guards down, adding them to the garrison of the City of Steel.

On this excursion to Wushang, Bai Siling and Zhao Yatong had brought no small number of experts with them—their combined numbers exceeded five hundred. This was formidable support.

The strength of the support from the two clans spoke for itself.

After taking a stroll on the city walls, Bai Siling finally couldn't hold back her question. ”Oh, that's right. Wang Chong, you've prepared everything here, so why aren't you putting everything into constructing the city instead of building those houses and inns?”

”Exactly. This city is too big. Such a big place will require a massive effort and years to build, but why don't you seem in a hurry?” Zhao Yatong voiced her agreement.

While inspecting the premises with Wang Chong, the two had gradually begun to notice something strange. After the foundation and the first level of the City of Steel had been completed, the construction speed had clearly slowed, with many of the workers being transferred to work on the inns, restaurants, and tea houses meant for the merchants. This seemed very strange.