That night, Ganlu Hall.
"Did Imperial Physician Xue truly say that?"
Emperor Yongyuan frowned, asking Zhao Feng below him.
"Your Majesty, it is absolutely true."
"Imperial Physician Xue was unwilling to disclose the specific details to this old servant, but his attitude was exceptionally firm. It seems that Ankang's illness holds significant research value for his medical texts."
Zhao Feng reported truthfully.
Although he disliked Imperial Physician Xue's attitude towards him, he would never mix his subjective emotions into such matters.
After hearing this, Emperor Yongyuan pondered for a moment, then said:
"If he cannot cure Ankang's illness, then he is useless."
Emperor Yongyuan shook his head regretfully.
"But Your Majesty, Imperial Physician Xue said he could make Ankang's body healthier."
"Just that alone should be enough to comfort Li Xuan."
Whether it was Emperor Yongyuan or Zhao Feng, even though there might still be several years, they were already preparing for what would happen after Ankang was gone.
For people like them, planning ahead was already a habitual operation.
"Even if we can guarantee Li Xuan's future, do you still believe he will choose to abandon our Great Xing because of Ankang's problem?"
Emperor Yongyuan's tone held a hint of displeasure.
Zhao Feng also sensed Emperor Yongyuan's mood, and his heart tightened, but he still bit the bullet and spoke his true thoughts.
"Ankang's experiences these past few years, I'm afraid, cannot be compensated for in the short term."
"Although Li Xuan is quite intelligent, he is only one year old after all."
"He will weigh the pros and cons, but given his relationship with Ankang, the probability of him acting on impulse in the end is still higher."
Evidently, Emperor Yongyuan did not like this answer.
"Isn't there still that palace maid, Yu'er?"
Hearing Emperor Yongyuan ask this, Zhao Feng hurriedly knelt down and advised:
"Your Majesty, unless it's absolutely necessary, you must not choose this path."
"Doing so would completely cut off the possibility of Li Xuan sincerely submitting to Great Xing."
"At that time, it would definitely not be a good outcome for Great Xing."
Emperor Yongyuan pressed his temples, a headache forming.
He wasn't unaware of such logic, but his time was increasingly limited, which greatly eroded his patience.
"Forget it."
"Since that's the case, grant Imperial Physician Xue's request. Furthermore, keep an eye on others."
"Ankang becoming healthier will surely make some people anxious."
Zhao Feng's expression became serious, and he immediately accepted the order:
"Your Majesty, rest assured, the safety of Jingyang Palace, our Internal Affairs Bureau will certainly ensure it is foolproof."
Emperor Yongyuan waved his hand and casually said:
"Alright, I'll leave these matters to you."
"Recently, you must ensure the palace remains peaceful."
Zhao Feng understood Emperor Yongyuan's meaning, then exited Ganlu Hall.
As soon as Zhao Feng stepped outside, he saw Chief Steward Shang waiting there.
"Godfather."
Zhao Feng stepped forward and greeted him.
Chief Steward Shang nodded, and then the two, father and son, walked side by side away from the place, heading towards the Internal Affairs Bureau.
Along the way, Zhao Feng truthfully reported the instructions from Ganlu Hall to Chief Steward Shang.
"Godfather, I'm afraid we'll be busy for a while now."
Zhao Feng sighed with a worried frown, seemingly finding the upcoming situation tricky.
"The Internal Affairs Bureau is meant to ease His Majesty's worries. Being busy is good, being busy is good."
"Fenger, being busy is always better than being idle."
Chief Steward Shang comforted his adopted son.
The figures of the two gradually disappeared into the shadows.
...
Jingyang Palace.
Li Xuan sat on the eaves, his eyes closed, looking up at the blazing sun in the sky.
Although his eyes were closed at this moment, he could still clearly sense the sun's position.
Li Xuan silently circulated the Yang Deficiency Qi Induction Method, performing the process of refining essence into qi.
However, this process was extremely slow and tedious. Even today, Li Xuan still hadn't cultivated that trace of Yang-attributed true qi within his body.
[Yang Deficiency Qi Induction Method: 23%]
Li Xuan hadn't even completed a quarter of this cultivation method's progress.
A long while later, Li Xuan completed today's cultivation of the Yang Deficiency Qi Induction Method, and the cultivation method's progress jumped from twenty-three to twenty-four.
But when he cultivates the Yin Weak Qi Gathering Technique again at night, the progress of the Yang Deficiency Qi Induction Method will drop by 0.5 again.
In other words, on average, he can only gain 0.5 progress for each cultivation method.
Calculating this way, if he wants to cultivate these two cultivation methods to the perfected realm and complete the cultivation of the Qi Sensing Realm, it will probably take at least half a year.
And in half a year, the coldness within Ankang's body will likely strengthen two or three times.
Thinking of this, Li Xuan couldn't help but feel a surge of anxiety.
And ever since he learned through Imperial Physician Xue that Ankang's current body couldn't even withstand a single cold outbreak, Li Xuan dared not delay helping Ankang absorb the coldness even more.
"I need to find a way to speed up my cultivation progress."
"Heavenly treasures with Yin and Yang attributes, though rare, are not entirely nonexistent."
"I'll go ask the Two Chief Eunuchs of the Internal Affairs Bureau again."
Li Xuan now set the cultivation times for the two cultivation methods at noon and midnight.
At these two times, he could feel that cultivation was somewhat easier.
After completing today's cultivation of the Yang Deficiency Qi Induction Method, Li Xuan headed straight for the Internal Affairs Bureau.
Previously, he had also spoken to the Two Chief Eunuchs of the Internal Affairs Bureau, asking them to keep an eye out for usable heavenly treasures.
But at that time, Zhao Feng had clearly stated that Yin and Yang attributed heavenly treasures were extremely rare and very valuable.
Of course, the Yin and Yang attributed heavenly treasures Zhao Feng mentioned here were all single-attribute Yin or Yang attributes.
After all, throughout the world, those who dared to cultivate both Yin and Yang like Li Xuan were exceedingly few.
Even for a single Yin or Yang attribute, only those who were true prodigies would even dare to consider it.
Therefore, most of the heavenly treasures on the market that could aid in cultivating Yin and Yang attributes were single-attribute.
In Li Xuan's special case, he could not consume such heavenly treasures, otherwise, the progress of the other attribute would drastically drop, and it would be extremely difficult to regain balance then.
Moreover, back and forth, Li Xuan would most likely just waste two types of Yin and Yang attributed heavenly treasures, and his own progress would not improve at all.
Therefore, what Li Xuan needed were Yin-Yang balanced heavenly treasures, which were even rarer.
However, such heavenly treasures generally weren't of much use for cultivation, and their nature was relatively mild, so they didn't hold much value for other cultivators.
"I wonder if Old Zhao has any news?"
Li Xuan arrived at the Internal Affairs Bureau with a troubled expression.
He went straight to Chief Steward Shang's courtyard but couldn't find him.
Li Xuan sniffed around the Internal Affairs Bureau for a long time before finding the scent of the two in a room that looked like a study.
He meowed outside, then used his head to push open a window, hooking his paws onto the window's edge to peer inside.
Inside the room, Chief Steward Shang and Zhao Feng couldn't help but smile at the cat's head peeking in through the window.
"Li Xuan, stop clinging there, come in."
Chief Steward Shang waved to Li Xuan.
After receiving permission, Li Xuan was not polite. One of his hind legs immediately hooked onto the window's edge, and then with a strong push, the entire cat easily flipped into the window.
"Haha, you're quite skilled at climbing through windows, aren't you?"
Zhao Feng, at the side, couldn't help but tease him.
"Meow! (Of course!)"
Li Xuan proudly lifted his head; this was his special skill.
Back when he hadn't even started cultivating, he often climbed around the imperial palace, so he was more than familiar with it.
It seemed Chief Steward Shang and Zhao Feng had just been discussing something here.
Li Xuan noticed some letters and a map on the table.
"Huh, this looks like a map of the capital?"
Li Xuan jumped onto the table, and seeing that the Two Chief Eunuchs had no intention of avoiding him, he openly started looking.
"Meow? (What are you doing?)"
Li Xuan tilted his head.
"This is not something a Little Cat like you should know."
Zhao Feng rubbed Li Xuan's round head, saying with a laugh.
Li Xuan impatiently bit back, but Zhao Feng still dodged him.
"Hmph, he's pretty quick to dodge!"
Li Xuan cursed inwardly.
As his cultivation continuously broke through, it naturally narrowed the gap between him and Zhao Feng, but to bite Zhao Feng's hand, he still needed to work harder.
"Li Xuan, you came to us because you have something, right?"
At this moment, Chief Steward Shang asked Li Xuan.
Li Xuan didn't dawdle and directly stated his purpose, picking up the brush on the table and writing a line of characters.
"So, it's about the heavenly treasures."
After learning Li Xuan's intention, Chief Steward Shang and Zhao Feng exchanged silent glances.
"Speaking of our current matter, it truly has some connection to the heavenly treasures you need, but we haven't received definite news yet."
Li Xuan's heart stirred immediately; he hadn't expected his timing to be so coincidental.
"Li Xuan, do you remember the Ping An Trading Company I took you to last time we left the palace?"
Chief Steward Shang asked Li Xuan.
Li Xuan immediately nodded.
That was Li Xuan's first time leaving the palace, and Chief Steward Shang, under the guise of going out to purchase goods, brought a team of people to the Ping An Trading Company in the capital.
According to Chief Steward Shang, Ping An Trading Company was one of Emperor Yongyuan's properties and an important base for them to gather intelligence outside.
At that time, after Chief Steward Shang completed his disguise inside Ping An Trading Company, he then took Li Xuan to the Four Treasures Grain Shop located in Baoning Ward.
Now that Chief Steward Shang brought this up again, it seemed their current problem was related to Ping An Trading Company.
Zhao Feng, who was beside them, took over, briefly explaining the current situation to Li Xuan.
It turned out that a few days ago, Ping An Trading Company's caravan was ambushed by a group of people just as it was about to reach the capital.
Not only were all the goods stolen, but all the people guarding the caravan were also silenced.
Both Chief Steward Shang and Zhao Feng believed this matter was not simple.
The name of Ping An Trading Company was known to everyone in the capital; although the outside world didn't know it was Emperor Yongyuan's property, Ping An Trading Company's influence was not small at all, and its business spread throughout the entire Great Xing.
They truly couldn't imagine who would hijack Ping An Trading Company's caravan near the capital.
To outsiders, this was tantamount to seeking death.
It wasn't that Ping An Trading Company's caravans had never been robbed before.
Those in business always take risks; as the saying goes, wealth is found in danger.
When they carried valuable goods in the wilderness, they would certainly attract bandits and thieves.
But being robbed near the capital was probably the first time since Ping An Trading Company was established.
Therefore, this matter directly alarmed the Two Chief Eunuchs of the Internal Affairs Bureau.
Normally, they would never interfere with the affairs of Ping An Trading Company.
But this time, Emperor Yongyuan personally gave the order, so they could only investigate it thoroughly as quickly as possible.
According to the detailed records in the letters sent, the robbery occurred three days ago at Cross Slope, sixty li outside the capital.
This place was considered a vital transportation hub, with roads leading not only to the capital but also to several other important nearby cities; although in the wilderness, it had a popular inn, with many people and horses coming and going, so it was definitely not a good place to make a move.
But since Ping An Trading Company's caravan was robbed, even the most unreasonable things became reasonable.
The bandits rushed out from the forest, said not a single word, directly slaughtered everyone on the road, and then swaggered away with the goods.
This information was gathered from the inn located at Cross Slope.
Although those bandits killed everyone on the road, they did not attack the inn.
The inn was not far from the scene of the incident, so there were even many eyewitnesses.
After understanding the whole story, Li Xuan wasn't particularly interested.
Although these bandits acted cleanly and efficiently, such a simple robbery would probably not stump the Internal Affairs Bureau.
Li Xuan looked up at Chief Steward Shang and Zhao Feng; he was still more concerned about what Chief Steward Shang meant by heavenly treasures.
Seeing Li Xuan's expression, Chief Steward Shang naturally understood his meaning.
"This caravan previously sent word that they had acquired a Noon Twin Lotus."
"According to the caravan's steward, this Noon Twin Lotus is a heavenly treasure produced by mutation, something unheard of."
"He had also received my message before, which is why he paid attention to this special heavenly treasure that balances both Yin and Yang attributes, and thus paid a high price to bring it back."
"But this time, it was also stolen."
Upon hearing this, Li Xuan immediately felt speechless.
"This is too coincidental, isn't it?"
He finally got news of a related heavenly treasure, only to encounter highwaymen who stole the heavenly treasure.
"Are they targeting me, Little Cat!?"
Seeing Li Xuan so angry that he was almost bristling, Chief Steward Shang quickly chuckled and appeased him:
"Haha, don't be angry."
"I'm guessing the other party wasn't after this Noon Twin Lotus."
"For this kind of heavenly treasure that arises from sudden mutation, its efficacy cannot yet be confirmed, so its value is hard to say."
"Although the caravan's steward spent a lot of money, for a heavenly treasure with Yin and Yang attributes, that was a huge bargain, because no one knew its specific efficacy."
"Therefore, I guess no one would choose to hijack Ping An Trading Company's caravan for something of uncertain value, would they?"
"There's probably another hidden agenda here."
Zhao Feng, who was beside them, also nodded seriously.
They had just received this news, and Emperor Yongyuan's order for them to thoroughly investigate also arrived.
The father and son were just about to send people to depart immediately and clarify the matter when Li Xuan popped his head out of the window.
At this moment, Chief Steward Shang suddenly looked at Li Xuan, then asked him:
"How about it, Li Xuan?"
"Since it concerns your heavenly treasure, are you interested in going along with us?"
Chief Steward Shang's sudden suggestion made Zhao Feng frown, looking at his godfather in confusion.
Chief Steward Shang immediately gave Zhao Feng a subtle wink, and Zhao Feng understood, remaining silent at the side.
Li Xuan was also surprised, not expecting Chief Steward Shang to suddenly invite him.
This was an affair of the Internal Affairs Bureau, which Li Xuan should not have casually interfered with.
But after all, this caravan brought the heavenly treasure he needed.
Although, according to Chief Steward Shang, its efficacy could not yet be confirmed, it was still related to him.
Moreover, as the saying goes, 'no reward without merit,' he could just take this opportunity to repay the favor for this heavenly treasure.
Li Xuan thought for a moment, then nodded and agreed to the matter.
Chief Steward Shang smiled, gently stroked Li Xuan's head, and then said:
"Don't worry, this time you're responsible for helping with the search; as for the hard work, the Flower-Clad Eunuchs will handle it."