“Oh dear, this cat sheds so much.” Bi Qing had held it all night and now looked at her clothes covered in cat fur.
Even Li Xi didn’t dare hold it now, but the kitten, having been fed goat’s milk by her, kept rubbing against her feet, sniffing with its nose and then nuzzling its head against Li Xi’s boots, leaving them covered in yellow cat fur as well.
Li Xi blinked her eyes: “Sister Bai Cha, check my eyes—I think some cat fur got in there too.”
Bai Cha and the others quickly gathered around, carefully removing the cat fur from Li Xi’s eyes. But the kitten persisted, still trying to rub against Li Xi, even when picked up and moved away.
Li Xi said: “Find a comb and brush out the loose fur from this cat.”
Afraid the cat might be sent away, Bi Qing hurriedly picked out a few combs from her dressing table and began grooming the cat. Fortunately, the kitten seemed used to it, turning from side to side to be brushed. In no time, a pile of cat fur had accumulated.
After a thorough brushing, the kitten no longer left a trail of flying fur with every step.
Bi Qing was delighted: “That’s much better. I’ll tell Sister Chun Tao about this method later.”
Looking at the pile of fur, Bi Qing couldn’t bear to throw it away: “We could keep it to stuff a quilt—it might even be warm.”
The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became: “Yes, yes, that’s what we’ll do. Cat fur must be warmer than reeds.”
Bai Cha looked at the pile of fur and covered her nose: “Then you’d better pack it up properly. If it’s not stored well, it’ll fly everywhere. We serve in front of our master—don’t think just because we’re out of the palace, there are no rules. Next time you hold the cat, you must wear a cloth cover. What would people think if they saw the Senior maid serving by Her Highness’s side covered in cat fur? From now on, you’re in charge of the cat!”
Cat fur is light and flies everywhere if not stored properly.
Bi Qing looked at the fur, still reluctant to part with it. She even planned to ask Sister Chun Tao to collect the fur from Niangniang’s cat as well. Over time, they might really be able to make a quilt.
Li Xi looked at the fur and offered them an idea: “Then twist it into a wool ball to play with.”
Bi Qing shook her head: “I just want to make a quilt.”
She had always been stubborn since childhood, and no one could change her mind.
Suddenly, Li Xi had another idea: “Then why not spin it into wool yarn and knit sweaters? Sweaters are better than quilts—you can wear them. I’ve heard the Western Regions are extremely cold. By the time winter comes, you might even finish knitting a sweater.”
The more she talked, the more excited she became: “First, wind the yarn.”
Hearing this suggestion, Bi Qing’s heart immediately stirred: “I don’t know how to make wool yarn. What do you use to spin it—a loom?”
When girls get together to discuss such topics, they can quickly become engrossed.
Li Xi thought for a moment: “Find a stick.”
She tried twisting strands of cat fur into thread and winding it around the stick.
But it didn’t work out—Li Xi’s hands-on skills were exceptionally poor.
Bi Qing, however, was the most adept at handiwork. She took the stick and began winding the cat fur layer by layer around her hand. At first, she struggled, with some sections becoming thicker at the joins, but gradually she got the hang of it. Soon, the clump of cat fur in her hand was transformed into a smooth, evenly thick thread.
Several little heads gathered around in amazement.
“Wow.”
“Wow!!”
“Amazing, Bi Qing! How are you so good at this?”
In the adjacent room, Chun Tao was also troubled by the cat shedding fur, but since Lady Wu adored the cat so much, she could only groom it more frequently.
Yet with so much fur coming off each time, she worried whether the cat would lose its good looks in the future.
Lady Wu laughed, “You’re all so childish. People lose hair every day too, but how many go bald from it? Since the fur sheds and flies everywhere anyway, it’s better to groom it clean. This cat is indeed beautiful, but it sheds far too much.”
She both adored the cat and dreaded getting covered in fur. Yet this cat was remarkably clever—from the moment it arrived, it seemed to know who its master was, settling before Lady Wu and refusing to leave.
Lady Wu reached out and stroked the cat’s head. The cat purred contentedly from its nose, appearing thoroughly pleased. This delighted Lady Wu immensely, making her wish she could scoop it into her arms and cover it with kisses. Apart from the adorable Li Xi in his childhood, no creature had ever evoked such fondness in her.
Just then, the door was knocked.
Xia Guo went to open it and found Li Xi standing outside. “Your Highness, what brings you here so late?”
“Sister Xia Guo,” Li Xi asked with a smile in his eyes, “Have you groomed the cat yet?”
Xia Guo pointed helplessly inside. There, the freshly groomed cat lay on its back, completely unguarded, with its front paws tucked in and large innocent eyes gazing toward the doorway. Beside it was a pile of cat fur.
Li Xi immediately scooped up the fur in his hands.
Lady Wu usually overlooked many things, but when her own child pulled such mischievous stunts, she had to intervene. Having remained silent until now, she promptly rose to her feet.
“Chili, what are you doing with that fur? Put it down at once.”
Li Xi had no intention of letting go. Chuckling mischievously, he dashed outside and ran straight back to his own room.
Fuming, Lady Wu ordered the maids to chase after him.
Chun Tao and the others followed. As soon as they entered, they saw Bi Qing and several others gathered around an orange long-haired cat, still grooming it. The cat, however, was no longer as docile as before; under Bi Qing’s relentless handling, it meowed pitifully.
“You little imp, why are you tormenting the cat for no reason?” Chun Tao scolded as she entered, pinching Bi Qing’s ear.
Among the palace maids, Bai Cha and Chun Tao held the highest rank, both being senior maids who had served Lady Wu for years. Between them, Chun Tao, who remained by Lady Wu’s side, held greater authority. Her commands sometimes carried more weight than even Li Xi’s.
But this time, with her ear pinched, Bi Qing protested, “I was just grooming the cat!”
The poor cat, finally freed, let out a plaintive meow and scurried over to hide behind Li Xi.
Li Xi quickly handed the large handful of cat fur to Bi Qing. “Here, take this. Stop tormenting it, or you might really groom it bald.”
Bi Qing and the others took the newly acquired fur and began spinning it into wool yarn.
Under Chun Tao’s astonished gaze, the cat fur seemed to work like magic in their hands, transforming into a long, evenly thick strand of yarn. The fur from one cat had already been wound into a small ball around a stick. The freshly groomed fur, still fluffy, was evenly drawn out and attached to the existing yarn, then wound around the ball above it.
Bi Qing beamed with pride. “See, isn’t this interesting?”
So this was what the little imps had been up to.
Chun Tao grew intrigued. “After winding it, what can you do with it?”
Bi Qing replied, “His Highness has already asked the craftsmen to make tools for knitting sweaters. They’ll be ready by tomorrow.”
Chun Tao said, “You want to use cat fur to knit sweaters? This yarn probably isn’t enough!”
The group exchanged glances. These two cats were so small—even if shaved completely, they wouldn’t yield much fur.
“Buy a few more cats.”
“Then our whole room would be covered in fur.”
Li Xi thought of something: “This naturally isn’t enough, but we could have someone bring some wool over.”
Everyone stared in astonishment. Wool? Could wool be used for this too?
Li Xi rolled her eyes. How much fur could a cat possibly have? Even shaving them bald wouldn’t make a single wool sweater. As for the best material for knitting sweaters in later times, it was naturally wool. Who had ever heard of dog fur sweaters or cat fur sweaters? It was always wool sweaters or cashmere sweaters.
Indeed, women all loved these kinds of handmade crafts. The next day, Lady Wu received freshly spun wool yarn balls and found it quite miraculous.
Just moments ago, it was fur flying everywhere, but now it had turned into strands of yarn.
The women exclaimed in unison, “Wow!”
Chun Tao, who had been serious just moments before, immediately changed her tune: “Wool can be made into yarn too?”
Bi Qing asked, “Do sheep shed fur like cats?”
She had seen sheep before—the Imperial Kitchen kept a few ewes.
Li Xi hadn’t expected that wool sweaters didn’t exist in this era. It seemed none of the women had heard of them.
In the palace, there were few occasions to feel cold. In winter, they mostly used various animal furs for warmth. Indoors, charcoal fires were lit, and when going out, they always carried hand warmers. However, Commoners couldn’t afford furs—they had to use more readily available reed fluff instead.
Furs were expensive, requiring the killing of an animal to obtain the hide.
In comparison, wool garments would be much more affordable. They wouldn’t harm the livestock—every year, just before summer arrived, the wool could be sheared from the sheep and made into wool yarn, which could then be knitted into sweaters. Aside from the labor involved, obtaining wool was almost cost-free.
Li Xi opened her mouth to speak: “The other day when I went out, I noticed the sheep had very thick coats. They don’t need to maintain their fur and appearance like Little Yellow and Little White do. As for how to clean the wool after shearing, we’ll have to ask you sisters. I imagine sheep have much more wool, so we could definitely produce more yarn. Anyway, we still have a few days left on this journey. You can prepare more yarn to pass the time on the road.”
Chun Tao was deeply tempted: “Is that possible?”
Bi Qing echoed, “Is it?”
Li Xi replied, “Why wouldn’t it be?”
After all, they would be staying in Shazhou City for a few more days to prepare supplies for the upcoming journey and to rest for a while.
But the next day, Li Xi seemed to have forgotten all about it as she brought the noodle stall owner to the Courier Station.
Upon inquiry, it turned out she had hired him.
Shopkeeper Ma entered the Courier Station in a daze and was led to the back kitchen.
Li Xi was accustomed to ordering people around. She stated her purpose clearly, explained her requirements, and then, hands on her hips, declared, “I brought you here to play with dough.”
Shopkeeper Ma was even more confused. Although he worked with dough all day, he didn’t consider himself particularly skilled at playing with it.
But since Her Highness had paid for his services, he would do whatever she asked.
So, under Li Xi’s instructions, Shopkeeper Ma and Imperial Kitchen Master He began kneading dough.
Li Xi was also enthusiastic, adding a lot of lard and salt to the mixture. She even had a sudden inspiration and tossed in a few eggs.
The maids, having no cat fur to play with these past few days, were eager to try their hand at kneading dough too.
But Li Xi refused them—she didn’t want cat fur mixed into the dough.
Kneading dough requires great strength, and seeing Shopkeeper Ma’s forehead break out in sweat instantly dampened my enthusiasm for kneading.
After the dough is kneaded, it needs to rest, which again requires a significant amount of time.
Shopkeeper Ma placed the kneaded dough in a basin and covered it with a cloth before finally asking timidly, “May I ask what Your Highness intends to use the dough for?”
He didn’t believe that going through all this trouble was just to give them some dough to play with.
That didn’t make sense, it really didn’t make sense.
Author’s Note:
As usual, ten small red envelopes for this chapter.