Although he had said to wait a moment, Xu Qinglian had already decided to make this brat, who knew neither the height of heaven nor the depth of earth, stand obediently outside for half an hour. He deliberately took his time getting out of bed. By the time he had dressed, washed, and tidied himself up, he had dawdled away nearly enough time. Xu Qinglian sauntered toward the back gate and met Xu An coming toward him. Looking smug, he asked, "Is he still outside?"
Xu An said quietly, "He's eating noodles from the stall across the street!"
Xu Qinglian frowned and walked to the gate. A bench stood across the entrance, with a young man sitting on it, his back to the gate. He held a large bowl of beef noodles and was thoroughly enjoying himself. Who else could it have been but Hu Xiaotian?
Hearing footsteps behind him, Hu Xiaotian turned around and flashed a smile brighter than the morning sunlight. "Lord Xu, have you had breakfast?"
Xu Qinglian wore a long face and offered him no pleasant expression. He shook his head.
Hu Xiaotian called out, "Boss, bring another bowl of noodles!" With the noodle stall right across the street, ordering delivery was wonderfully convenient.
Xu Qinglian truly did not know whether to laugh or cry. He gave a dry cough. "Lord Hu, as officials appointed by the court, isn't it somewhat improper for us to sit outside eating noodles with people passing to and fro?" Though Xu Qinglian's appearance left much to be desired, he cared deeply about his public image. In fact, this was an ailment common to officials. What official did not care about appearances? Even those who secretly engaged in every filthy form of thievery, debauchery, fraud, and deception still cultivated a gleaming