At dusk, the Three Little Ones got into a carriage and left the Imperial Palace.
Chief Steward Shang was still driving for them.
However, on the way back, the atmosphere in the carriage was inevitably a bit somber.
"Li Xuan, why did it take so long?"
"What did you and Imperial Father talk about?"
Ankang Princess asked curiously.
She had thought that this time coming to Ganlu Hall, she might be able to see Emperor Yongyuan, but in the end, she didn't even get to meet him, waiting in a side hall for an entire day.
When someone came to inform them, it was already time to leave.
To be honest, Ankang Princess naturally felt some disappointment, but she buried this disappointment deep in her heart.
Li Xuan looked at Ankang Princess, then at Yu'er, and seeing both of them looking at him with worried expressions, he didn't know how to speak.
"How should I tell these two girls about today's events?"
Li Xuan couldn't help but fall into a dilemma.
But some things always had to be faced, and Li Xuan currently had no ability to safely protect the two girls under his wings.
In this situation, Ankang Princess and Yu'er could only be forced to follow Li Xuan, constantly pushing forward and growing together.
Li Xuan pondered for a moment, then silently wrote in front of the two girls.
He recounted everything about Emperor Yongyuan summoning him today, as well as the information he obtained regarding the current Imperial Court.
Only the matter concerning Consort Xiao was concealed by Li Xuan.
He felt that it was not yet time to bring up this matter, and it wouldn't be too late to talk about it later when he found a suitable opportunity.
Li Xuan secretly glanced at Ankang Princess; she was currently staring intently at Li Xuan's tail tip, afraid of missing a single word.
"Let's talk about it later."
Li Xuan sighed inwardly, focusing only on narrating the current situation.
After a long time, seeing Li Xuan's tail tip finally stop, the two girls looked at each other in a daze, speechless for a moment.
At this moment, the carriage slowly stopped, and Chief Steward Shang's voice came from outside.
"Your Highness, we have arrived."
During Li Xuan's narration, the journey back seemed extraordinarily short.
The Three Little Ones had just felt like they had just gotten into the carriage, but now they had already returned to Xingqing Palace.
Li Xuan silently gave Ankang Princess and Yu'er a look, signaling them to stay calm for now and discuss matters later.
The two girls immediately tidied their appearance, rubbed their cheeks, making their expressions look more natural.
Upon returning to Xingqing Palace, after an early dinner, the Three Little Ones quickly hid in their room.
Chief Steward Shang smiled at this scene and didn't say much.
Back in the room where only the Three Little Ones were present, Ankang Princess and Yu'er also fell silent, not knowing what to say.
According to what Li Xuan had told them earlier, their current situation was far from good.
"Your Highness..."
Yu'er called out, full of worry.
But Ankang Princess shook her head, placed her index finger on her red lips, then went to get a brush, dipped it only in clear water, and began to write on the table.
"We should still communicate by writing from now on."
"After all, these words cannot be spoken freely."
On the way back, the most shocking thing Li Xuan told them was that Prince Zheng was actually plotting a rebellion.
Prince Zheng's name, even Ankang Princess, who had lived deep in the palace for a long time, had heard of it, but people had always praised Prince Zheng's virtues, and no one had ever linked him to being a traitor or rebel.
Ankang Princess handed a brush to Li Xuan and Yu'er respectively, then continued to write on the table:
"Li Xuan, what do you think we should do?"
Although Li Xuan was the youngest among the Three Little Ones and was a cat, they had long been accustomed to treating Li Xuan as their backbone.
The head of this small family in Jingyang Palace had quietly become Li Xuan a long time ago.
Li Xuan coiled the brush with his tail and then wrote down his thoughts.
"Prince Zheng holds the advantage; he doesn't need us."
"Empress Wu wants Zhen Zhao Princess Princess to ascend the throne and has even less room for us."
"Although Emperor Yongyuan is the weakest, he therefore needs us the most."
"Moreover, he is your Imperial Father after all; at least there's no reason for him to harm you."
As Li Xuan spoke, he looked up at Ankang Princess, wanting to see what she thought.
If Ankang Princess had another idea, Li Xuan was willing to listen to her opinion.
After all, Li Xuan couldn't make decisions for Ankang Princess on these matters.
Ankang Princess lowered her eyes, thought quietly for a moment, then nodded, leaving a trail of water stains on the table with the brush.
"Li Xuan, you are right."
"The only one we can rely on now is Imperial Father."
After a pause, Ankang Princess's expression became a little helpless, and another line of writing appeared on the table.
"But what can the three of us do?"
"Aside from the Yin Yang True Qi you cultivated seemingly concerning the nation's fate, we don't seem to have the ability to influence this chess game."
What Ankang Princess said was also the truth; in this chess game concerning the world's situation, the three of them combined could only barely be considered a chess piece.
And it was estimated that they would have to be placed in a remote corner, inconspicuous.
"In the coming time, Ankang, you and Yu'er should cultivate diligently."
As he wrote this sentence, Li Xuan seemed to understand Chief Steward Shang's mood when he had previously advised him to focus on cultivation.
Although the Yin Yang True Qi on Li Xuan's body was important, his strength was not enough to influence the situation; truly, besides doing what was at hand, there were no other choices.
"During this time outside the palace, I will try to contact some other forces."
"In the worst-case scenario, it might still leave us a way out."
After finishing writing, Li Xuan felt that these two sentences were too depressing, so he immediately added:
"But we don't need to worry too much. Emperor Yongyuan and the stewards are not fools; since they dare to challenge Prince Zheng, they naturally have their own confidence."
Ankang Princess and Yu'er nodded silently, but how much comfort this sentence actually provided, Li Xuan had no way of knowing.
After explaining what happened at Ganlu Hall today to the two girls and discussing the future plan, Li Xuan told them to stay put in Xingqing Palace, and he secretly slipped out again.
Just as he had said earlier, he had to go find a retreat for them.
Moreover, what happened today also made Li Xuan understand that no one was trying to attack Ankang Princess at all.
Chief Steward Shang told Li Xuan that Empress Wu wanted to threaten Ankang Princess.
Li Xuan believed that it was probably being spread this way in the palace now.
As for which side started spreading it earlier, it was no longer important.
Emperor Yongyuan got the result he wanted.
Perhaps accustomed to being the weaker party, Emperor Yongyuan always resorted to unscrupulous means to gain an advantage for himself, thereby increasing his chances of winning.
"Hmph, these methods are quite well-played."
Li Xuan stepped on the wall of Xingqing Palace, looked in the direction of the Imperial Palace, snorted coldly, and then leaped into the deep night of the capital.
...
"Your Highness, Li Xuan has gone out."
Yu'er closed the opened window crack and then said to Ankang Princess.
"Mm, Yu'er sister, did we bring the chessboard?"
"Since we're not sleepy yet, why don't we practice some chess?"
When they left the palace this time, they also brought the special chessboard for practicing Stone Flicking Technique, as it was one of their few pastimes.
Now, the external pressure made them feel even more urgent, and they dared not relax in the slightest.
...
On the other side, after Li Xuan left Xingqing Palace, he headed straight for Hu Yu House.
He remembered that a few days ago was supposed to be the day Hu Yu House was auctioned.
After Li Xuan handed the deeds to Hu Yu House to Aymu, he didn't know if she had handled the matters of Hu Yu House.
And tonight, Li Xuan went to find Aymu to test the power behind her.
If they had enough strength, perhaps they could become a retreat for the Three Little Ones in the future.
But trust needed to be accumulated slowly, and Li Xuan could only move around more to see if there was any room for mutual help.
Li Xuan skillfully climbed onto the roof of Hu Yu House; business seemed good here today, and it was exceptionally lively below.
But he wasn't here to watch Western Region Girl dance today; he had serious business.
Li Xuan walked silently on the roof tiles, about to climb in through the window, when he heard voices talking in the room below.
Listening, it seemed Aymu was talking to a man.
Li Xuan could tell from the voice that the man was not Fang Muyang.
"Oh, I haven't seen Aymu entertain guests for a while; it seems she's open for business today."
Li Xuan, adhering to the principle of not disturbing others' work, decided to wait on the roof for a while before going down.
However, as the conversation between the two continuously entered Li Xuan's ears, it gradually made him uneasy.
"Aymu, you are too impulsive."
The man sighed, and just by his voice, one could hear a full sense of regret.
"I trust my judgment, and you just need to trust me."
Aymu replied lazily.
"This isn't just your personal matter; if you are eliminated, everyone who bet on you will be implicated!" the man shouted angrily.
"It's not like I forced you to bet on me."
Just by the voice, Li Xuan could imagine Aymu's infuriating expression when she said this.
Normally, Aymu was very frivolous, perfectly fitting her identity as a courtesan.
But only when facing Li Xuan would Aymu's attitude do a complete 180-degree turn, becoming incredibly serious while also being extremely respectful to Li Xuan.
This contrast made Li Xuan still somewhat unable to adapt.
"Do you think we are doing this for your sake?"
"Who isn't doing it for your master's..."
The man was furious, but Aymu's light tone directly interrupted his next words:
"Did my master force you?"
"You..."
Li Xuan shook his head, estimating that the man below was about to be infuriated to the point of spitting blood by Aymu.
After listening for a while, he had figured out that the man below was probably not a customer of Hu Yu House, but someone from the same faction as Aymu.
Li Xuan curiously slowly lowered his head, then revealed only one eye to peek into the room.
In the room, opposite Aymu sat a flamboyant uncle, who not only had a fashionable streak of white hair but also striking emerald green eyes.
"This appearance isn't bad at all."
Li Xuan glanced at him and couldn't help but comment on the uncle's looks.
He was a complete 'auntie killer,' with an irresistible charm for mature women, and some young girls would probably also be very attracted to his looks.
"The color of these eyes also suggests Hu people's bloodline."
"And is this faction some kind of 'Appearance Association'?"
"Both Aymu and this uncle can be considered to have excellent looks."
If the power behind Aymu valued looks, then the Three Little Ones could certainly get along well.
Not to mention that Li Xuan himself was a charming, alluring, and enchanting little tomcat.
Ankang Princess and Yu'er's looks were also beyond reproach; they fully deserved the title of beauties.
"Sigh, if only it were that simple."
Li Xuan sighed silently.
But just at this moment, a low shout suddenly came from inside the room.
"Who's there!"
The next moment, the window suddenly opened, and Li Xuan felt a suction force sweeping over his entire body.
However, this force was so weak compared to when Zhao Feng used his True Qi to control him before that it was almost negligible.
Li Xuan's head was still hanging upside down outside the window, only his two fluffy little ears were sucked tightly against his head, making his head look particularly round, like a seal.
"Xie Qingmo, how dare you be disrespectful to the Saint Beast!"
Aymu, who had been smiling playfully like a mischief-maker, immediately became furious after seeing Li Xuan outside the window, propped her hand on the table, and instantly swung herself out, kicking the man squarely in the face with both soles of her feet, completely covering his handsome face with her foot.
At this moment, Li Xuan also felt the faint suction force disappear.
Presumably, that flamboyant uncle was kicked by Aymu and his skill was interrupted.
In just a few days, Aymu's address for him had already elevated from "Lord Li Xuan" to "Saint Beast," and Li Xuan himself dared not imagine what this address would become in the future.
"This girl has a serious cat addiction."
Li Xuan, who was at a loss, could only think this for now.
Seeing that she had interrupted the opponent's skill with her kick, Aymu then exerted a little force with her foot, directly kicking the uncle off his seat.
Then, with a flexible side flip, she leaped to the window, respectfully extending both hands to receive Li Xuan.
"My Lord, why didn't you inform me beforehand that you were coming? Aymu would have gone to welcome you."
Aymu's sincere expression made Li Xuan unable to believe she was joking.
"Uh, there's no need for such formality."
Li Xuan jumped onto Aymu's palm, then casually replied with his tail on her palm.
"Ah~~~"
The next moment, a seductive, lingering moan sounded, scaring Li Xuan into retracting his tail with a whoosh.
At this moment, Aymu quickly covered her red lips with her other hand, but she couldn't hide the hazy look in her beautiful eyes.
"Huh???"
"How can you be a courtesan if you're so sensitive!"
Li Xuan, the cat, spread his paws, looking shocked.