Seeing this color, Li Xuan naturally thought of Fat Orange.
Li Xuan's surprised cry also attracted the attention of Cat Overlord and the others.
The Three Little Ones saw Li Xuan appear and happily came over to rub against him, greeting him affectionately.
The kitten, whose eyes had not yet opened, was neglected to the side.
Li Xuan leaned over and asked the three of them:
"Meow? (Whose cub is this?)"
But his eyes were fixed on Fat Orange.
These Three Little Ones were all male cats, and when Li Xuan walked on the walls with them, he would inevitably see their little bells.
It certainly wouldn't be Cat Overlord or Niu Niu who gave birth; it was most likely someone's romantic debt.
From the color, Fat Orange was the most likely candidate.
However, Fat Orange was shaking his head in denial, and Cat Overlord and Niu Niu also looked as if it had nothing to do with them.
After Fat Orange's explanation, Li Xuan finally learned that this Little Cat was picked up by them a few days ago in the Imperial Garden.
Someone had given birth to the kitten and then disappeared.
At that time, this little fellow was meowing in the flower bushes and was first discovered by Niu Niu, who was chasing butterflies, and then carried back.
The Three Little Ones searched the Imperial Garden but couldn't find the little fellow's biological mother, so they had to take care of it themselves, even getting some milk from other female cats, which kept the little fellow from starving.
As Cat Overlord and the others spent more time with Li Xuan, they gradually gained intelligence, not to mention how smart Fat Orange already was.
After being helped by Li Xuan many times, they also developed the concept of mutual help and building good relationships with their own kind.
And Fat Orange was already skilled in this, becoming even more interested when he saw the Little Cat, as he believed that training from a young age would surely yield better results.
This is how the Three Little Ones, who used to roam the Imperial Garden, ended up taking care of a baby.
However, judging by their expressions, Cat Overlord's patience was almost at its limit, Fat Orange was as laid-back as ever, and only Niu Niu was the happiest, able to play with the Little Cat.
Li Xuan found the whole story amusing.
They lay on the grass in the Imperial Garden, basking in the sun comfortably, chatting about recent events around the Little Cat.
This little fellow, whose eyes hadn't opened yet, sniffed around with his nose, slowly moving on the ground, making "ying ying" sounds.
The Little Cat somehow crept to Li Xuan's feet, sniffing him continuously. His tiny body climbed onto Li Xuan's paw, trying to climb even higher.
Li Xuan let the little fellow mess around on him, and when it was about to fall, he would gently support it with his tail, allowing it to continue climbing.
Before long, the little fellow had climbed onto Li Xuan's head, holding one of his ears and vigorously "fighting," having a great time.
"Hehe, the Little Cat smells so good, milky and fragrant."
Li Xuan sniffed, quite fond of the little fellow on top of his head.
The little fellow also had white paws, a very delicate appearance. He wondered whose cub it was.
"Meow? (Have no other cats come looking for it these past two days?)"
Cat Overlord and the other two shook their heads in unison.
"Meow. (Since that's the case, we'll raise it.)"
Li Xuan said, then looked up at the little fellow on his head, whose eyes were still tightly closed.
"This fur color, this milky scent..."
Soon, a good name appeared in his mind.
"Meow! (From now on, we'll call him 'Cheese'!) "
"Meow? (Cheese?)"
Cat Overlord, Fat Orange, and Niu Niu all tilted their heads and asked in unison.
"Meow. (It's a delicious food of this color.)"
Li Xuan casually explained, not expecting the Three Little Ones to understand.
As a result, Niu Niu instantly picked up on the keywords, immediately salivating, drooling all over the ground.
Li Xuan was instantly speechless. To say Niu Niu was stupid, sometimes his reactions were really not slow.
Li Xuan silently protected Little Qi Si with his tail, fearing that Niu Niu would have ideas about him.
Although Niu Niu wouldn't go so far as to eat this little fellow, if it were held in his mouth and tasted, it would be too pathetic for Little Qi Si.
Fat Orange raised a paw and silently closed Niu Niu's drooling mouth.
Cat Overlord glared fiercely, making Niu Niu shrink his neck, appearing pitiful.
After Li Xuan instructed the three of them to take good care of Little Qi Si, he started chatting about other things.
After Cat Overlord successfully condensed blood, his physical condition improved day by day, and he could now easily chase away hunting dogs that came to cause trouble.
Fat Orange was steadily improving, constantly progressing towards blood condensation.
As for Niu Niu...
Never mind, let's not talk about him.
These past few days, with no Yu'er to cook meat for them, their meals had been a bit worse.
But with the Three Little Ones' current abilities, mice were plentiful.
This also showed the advantage of mice reproducing quickly.
As for their original surveillance mission, they hadn't forgotten it. They would observe Deng Weixian's movements whenever they had time.
Although Li Xuan hadn't mentioned it recently, he hadn't relaxed his attention on Deng Weixian.
After all, he was Yu'er's younger brother, and also the first master who guided Li Xuan in cultivation.
Deng Weixian was doing quite well now. In terms of cultivation, he had Zhao Bugao, whose identity was already clear, diligently teaching him, and in terms of work, Wang Suyue also trusted Deng Weixian greatly.
It was said that they had now moved into Caiyun Palace and had a sizable courtyard.
Although it was still not comparable to those Consorts who had independent palaces, it was clear that with Wang Suyue's foundation, her future achievements would be considerable.
As for the originally pampered and willful Liang Chuchu, after being thoroughly refined since entering the palace, she had also reined in her temper. She now recognized reality and wholeheartedly assisted Wang Suyue.
After all, Wang Suyue was now her greatest reliance for survival in the palace.
Other than that, Cat Overlord and the others had nothing else special to report.
Upon hearing this, Li Xuan couldn't help but nod, praising Cat Overlord and their recent work, and taking out many small dried fish from the di hong bone ring as a reward.
Dried fish, as food, could no longer provide any useful help for their cultivation, but as a snack for grinding teeth, it was still deeply loved by Little Cat.
After guiding Cat Overlord and the others on their future work, encouraging them to cultivate well and take good care of Little Qi Si, Li Xuan left the Imperial Garden, telling them that he would visit them whenever he entered the palace and to take good care of themselves.
Li Xuan had been staying in Xingqing Palace recently, so he couldn't look after them every day.
But with the current abilities of the Three Little Ones, there would be no danger for them staying in the palace.
Previously, dogs would always bully them, but now even the palace dogs couldn't beat them.
As for other masters, there was even less reason to make things difficult for a few cats.
Li Xuan put down Little Qi Si from his head, then left the Imperial Garden under the reluctant gaze of Cat Overlord and the others.
...
After leaving the Imperial Garden, Li Xuan thought for a moment and realized that all the matters that needed to be handled had been dealt with, so he went to the Internal Affairs Bureau, intending to take a carriage back to Xingqing Palace.
Upon arriving at the Internal Affairs Bureau, Li Xuan said he was returning, and Zhao Feng immediately arranged a carriage for him.
The coachman responsible for taking Li Xuan out was an old acquaintance, none other than Xu Lang.
Li Xuan was quite satisfied with Xu Lang; he was observant, understood feline intentions, and was a promising young man.
"Li Xuan, when the Lotus Pond is completed and Imperial Physician Xue conducts the next cultivation experiment, I will send someone to find you again."
Zhao Feng said to Li Xuan while Xu Lang went to prepare the carriage.
"Oh, and also, the Sun Moon Yin Yang Pond can help me with my cultivation. Can you arrange it for me?"
Li Xuan smiled slightly, showing a "you know what I mean" expression.
"Oh, there's such a thing?"
Zhao Feng heard Li Xuan mention it for the first time and immediately paid attention.
"Don't worry, I will mention it to His Majesty and inform you then."
"If you come to cultivate, you don't need to take a carriage. I'll make arrangements then and set up a route for you to enter the palace on your own."
Li Xuan was delighted, not expecting Zhao Feng to be able to arrange such a thing.
Every time he entered the palace, passing through those few palace gates always required a long inspection, wasting a lot of time.
If Li Xuan could enter and exit on his own, it would save a lot of time.
While they were talking, the carriage outside was ready. After Li Xuan bid farewell to Zhao Feng, he got into the carriage returning to Xingqing Palace.
Who would have thought that on such a luxurious carriage, the only passenger was Li Xuan, a Little Cat.
"Lord Li Xuan, please get in the carriage."
Xu Lang lifted the curtain, inviting Li Xuan into the carriage with a respectful attitude and attentive service.
"Meow, woo! (Young man, you have a future!)"
Li Xuan nodded and jumped into the carriage.
Although Xu Lang didn't understand what Li Xuan was meowing, he clearly sensed that Li Xuan was in a good mood, and he himself felt delighted.
"Lord must be encouraging me!"
Xu Lang secretly thought, suppressing one corner of his mouth, then drove the carriage out of the palace.
...
As the sun was setting and night fell, the carriage finally returned to the front of Xingqing Palace.
But before the carriage could even enter Xingqing Palace, Xu Lang, acting as the coachman, turned back and said to the inside of the carriage:
"Lord, there's someone lingering outside the Xingqing Palace gate. It seems to be that young lady who sells rope knots in the West Market."
While speaking, Xu Lang silently slowed down the carriage, being exceptionally thoughtful.
Upon hearing this, Li Xuan pushed open the carriage window curtain with his head, poking out his small head to look outside.
Li Xuan was not surprised that Xu Lang recognized Xiao Cui.
After all, it was Xu Lang who showed great power in the West Market, teaching a lesson to Lord Xiong and others from the Money Gang.
Xu Lang should also have an impression of Xiao Cui and her grandfather, who were involved in the incident.
Li Xuan poked his head out and, at Xu Lang's indication, saw Xiao Cui, looking conflicted, hiding in the alley in front of Xingqing Palace.
Judging by her appearance, she seemed intimidated by Xingqing Palace and dared not approach easily.
"Lord, do I need to invite Miss Xiao Cui over?"
Li Xuan immediately meowed, shaking his head at Xu Lang.
Xu Lang promptly stopped the carriage and went into the alley to "invite" Xiao Cui over.
Xiao Cui only felt a blur before her eyes, and she was brought before a luxurious carriage that looked somewhat familiar.
"Meow!"
Li Xuan happily greeted Xiao Cui.
"Eh, Li Xuan?"
Xiao Cui looked at Li Xuan in a daze, exclaiming softly.
At this moment, Xu Lang silently released his hand that was holding Xiao Cui's arm.
Earlier, to save time explaining and fearing that Xiao Cui would run away, he had simply picked her up and brought her over.
"You, you are the guard brother from back then."
Xiao Cui turned to look at Xu Lang and also recognized him.
After all, Xu Lang's actions at that time left a very deep impression on Xiao Cui.
Xu Lang silently nodded, maintaining his cool persona.
Li Xuan came out of the carriage, then stepped onto Xu Lang's shoulder, and then wrote words on his back with his tail.
Xu Lang was silent for a moment, then asked, "Miss Xiao Cui, do you have something to discuss by coming to Xingqing Palace?"
"Ah, that's right!"
"I have something to ask Miss Li, I wonder if it's convenient now?"
Xiao Cui asked somewhat nervously.
Ever since she agreed to Princess Ankang's proposal last time, Xiao Cui had been paying attention to news in the West Market. She had recently compiled some information and wanted to show it to Princess Ankang to see if she would be satisfied.
Princess Ankang had previously told Xiao Cui to come to Xingqing Palace to find her once she had news.
Firstly, it was a way of revealing her identity, and secondly, it was to see Xiao Cui's determination.
Li Xuan and Princess Ankang did not want Xiao Cui to get involved in their affairs without fully understanding the situation; at least they wanted her to be mentally prepared beforehand, so that she wouldn't feel like she had unknowingly boarded a pirate ship later on.
After hearing Xiao Cui's purpose, Li Xuan had Xu Lang invite Xiao Cui into the carriage to wait.
Then he himself directly climbed into Xingqing Palace to find Princess Ankang and Yu'er.
At this time, Xingqing Palace was filled with Flower-Clothed Eunuchs brought by Chief Steward Shang, who were already accustomed to Li Xuan's climbing antics.
Li Xuan quickly found Princess Ankang and Yu'er. They were currently playing Five in a Row, taking a break during their cultivation.
This chessboard, gifted by Emperor Yongyuan, was indeed worth its value; it could not only be used to practice Stone Flicking Technique but also for entertainment.
"Li Xuan, you're back."
"Do you want to play a couple of rounds too?"
Princess Ankang happily greeted Li Xuan upon his return.
Li Xuan also wanted to play, but that could wait.
He first told them about Xiao Cui waiting outside, and the two girls immediately put down their chess pieces and walked out.
"Xiao Cui is here!"
"Let's go take a look."
Princess Ankang pulled Yu'er and walked out.
To be honest, she had been somewhat afraid that Xiao Cui would not dare to contact her again due to the pressure.
After all, the task they asked Xiao Cui to do seemed simple, but it contained hidden risks.
No one could predict the future.
Princess Ankang also couldn't say whether Xiao Cui's choice was right or wrong.
But at least, Xiao Cui still came to find her today, proving that Xiao Cui was willing to share hardships and become someone on the same boat.
The Three Little Ones arrived outside Xingqing Palace. At this time, Xu Lang had already driven the carriage into the alley. Seeing them come out, he immediately came forward to greet them.
When they entered the carriage, they saw Xiao Cui waiting nervously inside.
"Miss Li, you're here!"
Seeing Princess Ankang appear, Xiao Cui seemed much more at ease, and a smile appeared on her face.
Princess Ankang didn't say much, just silently stepped forward and held Xiao Cui's hand.
She noticed that Xiao Cui's hand was somewhat cold and trembling slightly at this moment.
But when Princess Ankang held Xiao Cui's hand, the trembling slowly stopped.
"Xiao Cui."
Princess Ankang called out, then nodded heavily.
Silently, the two completed an important agreement.
From now on, Xiao Cui was Princess Ankang's person.