Li Xuan followed the Two Chief Eunuchs to Ganlu Hall, where he found the lights still on.
Emperor Yongyuan was as diligent as ever, working late into the night every day.
After stating their purpose at the front of the hall, they were soon granted an audience with Emperor Yongyuan.
Only when they stood before Emperor Yongyuan did he put down his imperial brush, look up, and ask, "Was today's operation successful?"
Since the Two Chief Eunuchs had mobilized so much of the Internal Affairs Bureau's power, Emperor Yongyuan had naturally been informed long ago.
Without Emperor Yongyuan's tacit approval, the Internal Affairs Bureau could not have arbitrarily launched an operation of such a scale.
"Your Majesty, we did not fail your expectations."
"The operation was successfully completed, and Bamboo Five Peaks, the Prince Zhengs Mansion's consecrator, died on the spot."
"Li Xuan also captured five trailing shadow guards during the operation."
Zhao Feng stepped forward, respectfully reporting the results of today's operation.
Finally, he did not forget to add a crucial point.
"The shadow guards were captured alive!"
Emperor Yongyuan was momentarily stunned upon hearing this, then turned to glance at Li Xuan.
Li Xuan immediately puffed out his chest proudly, silently conveying with his expression, "That's right, it was Grandpa who did it!"
Seeing Li Xuan's appearance, Emperor Yongyuan immediately burst into hearty laughter, his laughter echoing through the hall:
"Hahaha..."
"Good, good, good..."
"Excellent!"
Everyone present could clearly sense the triumphant feeling in Emperor Yongyuan's laughter.
"Zhao Feng, is Bamboo Five Peaks really dead?"
"Dead!"
"And you captured five living shadow guards from the Prince Zhengs Mansion?"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"Hahaha..."
Emperor Yongyuan had clenched his fists at some point, repeatedly exclaiming "Good" in his mouth.
After laughing heartily for a while, Emperor Yongyuan gradually calmed down and then inquired about the aftermath.
"Is the aftermath also proceeding according to plan?"
Zhao Feng organized his thoughts and then answered earnestly, "Your Majesty, today's operation left no flaws, and afterward, we will claim responsibility for it in Chen Tan's name."
"The only unexpected event today was Li Xuan suppressing the Five Elements Reincarnation phenomenon after Bamboo Five Peaks's death, which might delay the Prince Zhengs Mansion in confirming Bamboo Five Peaks's death by a few days."
"This period might also be a good opportunity."
Zhao Feng subtly offered a suggestion.
Emperor Yongyuan immediately looked surprised and asked the two, "Didn't you say that the Five Elements Reincarnation after an Upper Three Ranks martial artist's death is unavoidable?"
"What exactly happened?"
Zhao Feng immediately explained how Li Xuan had absorbed the True Qi that dissipated after Bamboo Five Peaks's death, causing Emperor Yongyuan's eyes to widen.
"Li Xuan, come here!"
Emperor Yongyuan beckoned to Li Xuan.
Li Xuan was not polite and directly jumped onto the imperial desk.
Emperor Yongyuan reached out and stroked Li Xuan's body, exclaiming in surprise, "You're already about to reach Serene Qi Realm!?"
This time, it was Li Xuan's turn to be stunned.
Zhao Feng had not yet reported that he was already in the Serene Qi Realm, yet Emperor Yongyuan had figured it out just by touching him a few times.
Li Xuan had always found Emperor Yongyuan's strength somewhat unfathomable.
Emperor Yongyuan did have True Qi fluctuations on him, but normally, he seemed to be only at the Middle Three Ranks.
However, sometimes, Li Xuan would occasionally feel a special pressure that would cause the Yin Yang True Qi within him to fluctuate as well.
But such signs were very rare, having only occurred once or twice before.
Li Xuan had initially thought that there were Great Inner Experts hidden within Ganlu Hall to protect Emperor Yongyuan.
Now, it seemed Emperor Yongyuan's own strength was quite mysterious.
Li Xuan did not shy away and immediately asked,
"How did you know meow?"
Emperor Yongyuan smiled slightly, saying mysteriously, "I naturally have my own methods."
Then, Emperor Yongyuan asked Li Xuan about other matters:
"Li Xuan, do you think you can repeat this process now?"
"If several more Rank Three martial artists die in front of you, can their Five Elements Reincarnation help you directly ascend to Rank Three?"
Upon hearing this, Li Xuan felt that the question was a bit off.
"Big Brother, what do you want to do?"
Li Xuan wanted to ask that, but after thinking about it, he just gently shook his head.
"My True Qi is chaotic now meow."
"Absorbing more will cause problems meow."
"Only having True Qi but no comprehension meow."
"No, no meow."
Li Xuan also expressed his truest thoughts.
Moreover, he felt that if he nodded, Emperor Yongyuan would probably do something dangerous.
The way Emperor Yongyuan had just asked, it was as if Li Xuan only needed to nod, and he would immediately go and kill several Rank Three experts for him.
Perhaps Emperor Yongyuan already had a list in his mind, and there were probably many Rank Three experts on it who deserved to die.
"Is that so..."
Emperor Yongyuan's tone was filled with regret.
Seeing his appearance, Li Xuan immediately comforted him:
"We don't kill experts meow."
"But you can get me new cultivation methods meow."
"Yin Yang True Qi cultivation methods meow."
As a result, Emperor Yongyuan rarely showed an embarrassed expression, saying,
"For now, it's best we don't provoke the Martial Arts Holy Land."
Seeing Emperor Yongyuan's cowardly demeanor, Li Xuan knew that he couldn't afford to provoke the Martial Arts Holy Land.
Li Xuan rolled his eyes at him, everything conveyed without words.
Emperor Yongyuan silently pushed Li Xuan to the side of the imperial desk and said to Zhao Feng,
"Zhao Feng, you just said there's a time difference we can exploit?"
Li Xuan was pushed aside, but the whites of his eyes facing Emperor Yongyuan grew even wider.
Zhao Feng pretended not to notice the scene on the imperial desk and continued to speak honestly,
"According to this old servant's knowledge, the Prince Zhengs Mansion's consecrators have clear divisions of labor. Now that Bamboo Five Peaks's whereabouts are unknown, they will certainly dispatch new consecrators from other places to investigate."
"The Prince Zhengs Mansion does not have ample manpower in the capital, so perhaps new opportunities will arise."
Emperor Yongyuan nodded, but then asked,
"If this connection isn't severed in time, will it cause the Prince Zhengs Mansion to trouble the Red Scarf Squad and the Money Gang?"
In Emperor Yongyuan's view, these two forces were now his left and right arms in the capital for reaching out to the common people.
Especially the Money Gang, if it could be completely controlled and its branches spread throughout the world could be used, it would be a great help.
If it were destroyed by the Prince Zhengs Mansion at this critical moment, it would be a net loss.
"Your Majesty, there is indeed such a risk. Therefore, we must exert sufficient official pressure on the Prince Zhengs Mansion."
"Regarding Belgrade's escape from the Ministry of Justice Prison last time, the Internal Affairs Bureau publicly announced that it is still under investigation. We can issue a warrant at any time for the two Prince Zhengs Mansion consecrators who assisted Belgrade in escaping that day."
Chief Steward Shang, who had been silent, looked at his adopted son with satisfaction.
Zhao Feng was nominally the Chief of the Internal Affairs Bureau, so unless His Majesty specifically questioned him, Chief Steward Shang never interrupted during procedural reports, overstepping his bounds, even if the Chief of the Internal Affairs Bureau was his adopted son.
Both publicly and privately, he clearly understood his position, guiding his adopted son's growth while never stealing his thunder.
The father-son bond between Chief Steward Shang and Zhao Feng could be considered a beautiful story in the palace, the most important point being that both of them were clear-headed individuals.
Otherwise, most people would not be able to handle such a situation.
Most likely, at first, they would be loving father and filial son, but gradually, resentment would grow, and eventually, they would become enemies.
Emperor Yongyuan recalled, saying,
"I remember one of them was Bamboo Five Peaks, right?"
"Exactly, Your Majesty!"
Receiving Zhao Feng's affirmative answer, Emperor Yongyuan nodded, also smiling.
"A good idea, worth a try."
Li Xuan knew that these people were up to no good again.
But he clearly remembered the purpose of his trip.
Seeing that they had talked for a long time without getting to the main point, Li Xuan extended a paw and touched Emperor Yongyuan, then presented his paw to him, performing a small bamboo shoot blooming.
Emperor Yongyuan frowned, not knowing what Li Xuan meant.
Li Xuan could speak quite fluently now, but he just wouldn't say anything, just letting Emperor Yongyuan guess.
Zhao Feng broke into a cold sweat when he saw Li Xuan's gesture to Emperor Yongyuan and quickly explained,
"Your Majesty, Li Xuan is asking for credit for himself."
"It's also this old servant's fault. I promised to ask for credit for Li Xuan earlier, but then got caught up in official business and almost forgot."
Li Xuan was immediately furious. Was asking for credit for him not official business?
Li Xuan's furious expression made Emperor Yongyuan and the Two Chief Eunuchs laugh.
"Haha, Li Xuan, don't worry, I certainly won't treat you unfairly."
"It's just that your standards are higher now, so I have to think about what can catch your eye."
Emperor Yongyuan looked at Li Xuan, a thoughtful expression on his face.
Seeing that Emperor Yongyuan had taken his matter to heart, Li Xuan was relieved.
Although he was somewhat eager for the reward, he was not in a desperate hurry.
His cultivation had indeed reached a bottleneck, and after this, the greatest help might be other Yin Yang True Qi cultivation methods.
But these things were all stored in other Martial Arts Holy Lands, and he couldn't rush to get them.
Emperor Yongyuan had also just said that now was not the time to provoke the Martial Arts Holy Land.
Other than that, only some rare natural treasures could help Li Xuan improve his strength.
As for Jingyang Palace, it lacked nothing now, and the threats to Jingyang Palace were also threats to Emperor Yongyuan.
Weren't they currently striving to gain their own sense of security?
After appeasing Li Xuan's emotions, they discussed and finalized the remaining details, leaving Ganlu Hall an hour later and going their separate ways.
Li Xuan returned to Jingyang Palace and found that the two maids had already fallen asleep.
He had been busy with matters outside the palace these past few days and hadn't spent much time at home.
Now that Bamboo Five Peaks was dead, Li Xuan felt much more relaxed. He got into bed, hugged Ankang Princess's head, and fell asleep.
Ankang Princess, in her sleep, suddenly felt her head warm up. She mumbled a few words, smacking her lips, and then fell back into a sweet sleep.
...
The next day, Li Xuan was woken up by Ankang Princess rubbing his belly.
"You stinky Li Xuan, you didn't even say hello when you came back."
"You've been running around outside from morning till night lately, do you have a little female cat in the Imperial Garden?"
Ankang Princess questioned.
Li Xuan yawned, stretched, and then pouted at Ankang Princess.
"How can a little girl like you understand the great work I'm busy with outside?"
Although Li Xuan only thought this in his heart, his disdainful look was keenly caught by Ankang Princess.
"Oh, you Li Xuan, what kind of look is that you're giving me!"
Ankang Princess tightly gripped Li Xuan's front and back legs with both hands, then buried her face in Li Xuan's soft belly, rubbing back and forth relentlessly.
The little girl's method of petting cats had been unique since she was little, and Li Xuan was already used to it.
While petting Li Xuan, Ankang Princess also mimicked a villain's sinister laugh, at least the atmosphere was quite strong.
"Little Cat is born to be petted."
"Mwahahaha..."
Ankang Princess was so engrossed in petting the cat that she became quite perverse.
Just then, Yu'er came in with a basin of hot water and happened to see this scene.
However, Ankang Princess showed no sign of shyness and even greeted loudly,
"Sister Yu'er, come and pet Li Xuan together!"
Yu'er was expressionless, shaking her head gently. She calmly placed the washbasin down, then turned and closed the door, sprinting onto the bed.
"Li Xuan, as a Little Cat, you must serve Her Royal Highness the Princess well."
"You haven't served her these past few days, so now you must make up for it all!"
Yu'er, as the head maid of Jingyang Palace, began to teach Li Xuan what rules were.
The two maids kissed and hugged Li Xuan, their small hands moving constantly over his body.
Li Xuan's fur was exceptionally smooth, his physique was neither fat nor thin, and more importantly, he didn't shed, making him very easy to play with.
Such a perfect Little Cat naturally only had the fate of being severely tormented.
"Meow~ wooo~~~"
Inside the room, a long wail echoed, lingering for a long time.
...
After a long while, the tightly closed door opened again.
Li Xuan's entire fur stood on end, making him look much fatter.
But even so, Li Xuan still hooked his mouth, revealing a confident smile.
He looked back at the two maids inside, who were panting from exhaustion, and extended a hind leg to close the door.
"With just this much skill, you want to pet me?"
Li Xuan strutted proudly with a waddling gait.
Although the two maids' strength was no longer what it used to be, the gap between them and Li Xuan was still huge.
In terms of endurance, only Ankang Princess was somewhat capable; Yu'er was simply no match.
Li Xuan only needed to resist a little to make the two maids breathless and quickly surrender.
Moreover, these two maids had no martial ethics; as soon as they realized they couldn't handle Li Xuan, they would pet Li Xuan's fur in reverse, making him look like he did now.
But these were minor issues; Li Xuan had his own ways to solve them.
Li Xuan immediately picked a direction and shot up with a whoosh.
Under the strong wind, his fur instantly returned to its place, becoming incredibly smooth.
If he had to lick it himself, who knew how long it would take.
Ever since Li Xuan achieved success in his cultivation, he had relied on the wind to groom his fur, saving both time and effort.
Li Xuan arrived at Chief Steward Shang's courtyard and found Chief Steward Shang also doing his morning exercises.
He had checked on his way and found that Zhao Feng was not in the Internal Affairs Bureau, so he could only come to Chief Steward Shang.
Chief Steward Shang finished his exercises and couldn't help but tease,
"Li Xuan isn't here to rush His Majesty's reward, is he?"
Li Xuan immediately shook his head and grinned.
"Joke, what kind of cat do you take me for?"
"Am I that impatient?"
Li Xuan muttered inwardly, then got to the main point.
"Notify Yang Wanli meow?"
Chief Steward Shang understood Li Xuan's meaning and, after thinking for a moment, said,
"Indeed, he should be notified, but he is being monitored, so I'm afraid Li Xuan will have to go personally."
Yang Wanli was an important participant in the plan, unlike the others.
He knew many of the early details, but if he wasn't told about Bamboo Five Peaks's death, he might overthink things and cause negative effects.
If it were anyone else, Chief Steward Shang would not agree, as not knowing truly makes for a more convincing performance.
But Yang Wanli was different; being half-informed could easily backfire.
Seeing Chief Steward Shang agree, Li Xuan then said,
"I can't transmit my voice well now meow."
"So I want to ask Chen Tan to write a letter meow."
Chief Steward Shang couldn't help but show a surprised expression and said to Li Xuan,
"Li Xuan, you seem quite concerned about this Yang Wanli."
Although Li Xuan had been the one to contact Yang Wanli before, Yang Wanli had only heard Li Xuan's one-sided account and then chose to believe it. Although there had been one instance of conveying their secret code between him and Chen Tan, Yang Wanli had, after all, not been able to personally confirm Chen Tan's safety.
Yang Wanli had performed very well in this operation; it could be said that he played a crucial role.
Li Xuan thought that since he and Chen Tan were so close, he would inevitably worry about Chen Tan's safety, so he took this opportunity to have Chen Tan write a personal letter to Yang Wanli to report his safety.
Chief Steward Shang immediately saw through Li Xuan's meddling, but he didn't say much. Instead, he immediately took Li Xuan to where Chen Tan was temporarily staying.
On the way, Chief Steward Shang uncharacteristically admonished Li Xuan,
"Li Xuan, I am very pleased that you can treat people with such sincerity."
"But I must remind you, and don't think I'm being long-winded."
"Sincerity is precious, but it should not be given lightly."
"Before having expectations, you must be prepared to not grieve if you lose it, and not rejoice if you gain it."
Li Xuan nodded thoughtfully, but ultimately did not understand why Chief Steward Shang would suddenly say such a thing.