Bai Xiao, in Princess Yuan An's arms, instinctively felt a stir of unease.
Princess Yuan An could only timidly say, "Oh, is that so...?"
As she spoke, she gently comforted Bai Xiao in her arms.
Although she liked Li Xuan very much, Bai Xiao was a pet she had raised since childhood, and she couldn't abandon Bai Xiao just to hold Li Xuan.
Seeing that Princess Yuan An still had some conscience, Li Xuan meowed at Bai Xiao.
"Meow. (Your little owner still has some conscience.)"
"Meow?"
Bai Xiao tilted its head, not understanding Li Xuan's meaning.
It didn't have Li Xuan's intelligence, so it couldn't understand the conversation between Ankang and Princess Yuan An.
Earlier, Bai Xiao's unease and agitation were purely from sensing emotions.
Although Bai Xiao couldn't understand human speech, sensing emotions was no problem for it.
Now, after being comforted by Princess Yuan An, it had quieted down and stopped moving around.
Princess Yuan An could only sigh to herself as she watched Li Xuan nestled in Ankang's arms.
She had originally thought that if she just talked nicely with Ankang, she would be able to hold Li Xuan, get closer to him, and perhaps build a good relationship.
However, she hadn't expected that the seemingly gentle Ankang also had her own personality.
"Thirteenth Imperial Sister isn't as easy to talk to as the rumors say."
She had heard from other Imperial Princes and Princesses that Ankang was always gentle with everyone, speaking softly and kindly.
Even if someone spoke harshly to her face, Ankang wouldn't hold a grudge.
But now it seemed that when it came to cats, she had her own principles.
"People with other cats can't hold him? It sounds like I'm two-timing."
The more Princess Yuan An thought about it, the more unpleasant she felt.
Seeing Princess Yuan An feeling frustrated, Li Xuan found it amusing. He even deliberately showed off, meowing sweetly in Ankang's arms, kissing, hugging, and rubbing his face, making Princess Yuan An's eyes red with envy.
Li Xuan secretly observed Princess Yuan An's reaction, and his little flirtatious glances made Princess Yuan An's heart itch.
Princess Yuan An bit her cherry lips, suppressing her impulse, but her mouth twitched occasionally, almost unable to contain her foolish grin.
Since childhood, she had no resistance to cute small animals, especially Little Cats.
Even more so for a superb cat like this one, who knew how to grasp people's hearts.
"You're so charming, but I like it~"
Princess Yuan An couldn't help but chuckle foolishly, muttering softly.
"Hmm? What did you say, Imperial Sister?"
Ankang hadn't heard clearly, only finding Princess Yuan An's demeanor a bit strange.
At this moment, another voice interjected, "Princess Yuan An, wipe your drool; it's about to fall to the ground."
Princess Yuan An was startled and instinctively wiped her mouth, but it was only slightly damp, not that exaggerated.
She glared angrily at the speaker, blurting out without hesitation, "Eighth Brother, what's it to you?"
"Go play with your Falcon!"
Eighth Prince said helplessly, "How many times have I told you, mine is a falcon, not a Falcon."
"And you should call me Eighth Brother, not 'Old Eighth'; you need to be polite."
Princess Yuan An snorted and retorted, "Do you think Eighth Brother sounds good? I think 'Old Eighth' is better."
Compared to her attitude towards Ankang, Princess Yuan An's attitude towards Eighth Prince could be described as downright nasty.
But Eighth Prince didn't pay too much attention, speaking to himself, "It's too cold here; I didn't bring A Xiang."
Princess Yuan An continued to mock, "'Old Eighth' paired with 'A Xiang'—what kind of names are those?"
She shook her head with a 'tsk tsk tsk,' clearly immensely disappointed with her Eighth Brother, who was terrible at naming things.
Eighth Prince wagged his finger, defending himself, "First, I don't want to be 'Old Eighth'."
"Secondly, names should be simple and easy to remember."
"Look at your white cat, what's it called, Bai Xiao? I think Tangyuan would sound better."
As Eighth Prince spoke, his hands were not idle; he secretly stroked Bai Xiao, taking the opportunity to pet the cat.
Princess Yuan An immediately slapped away Eighth Prince's perverted hand, turned to shield Bai Xiao, and didn't forget to make a face.
"Hmph, I won't let you touch it!"
Goodness, Princess Yuan An was much more direct than Ankang.
"Tsk, how stingy."
Eighth Prince rubbed his reddened hand, complaining.
But looking at the cute and well-behaved Little Cat in his two Imperial Sisters' arms, he couldn't help but feel a little envious.
Had he not brought his Falcon today?
No, he had brought it to the entrance, but the Falcon found it too cold and flew back home.
Could Eighth Brother, as an older brother, really tell his Imperial Sisters about that?
Eighth Brother also had his pride.
Bored by himself, Eighth Prince joined his two Imperial Sisters who had their pets.
"Princess Yuan An, didn't your Empress Mother forbid you from attending the Imperial Garden gathering?"
"Did you sneak in by yourself?"
Eighth Prince asked curiously.
Upon hearing this, the Three Little Ones were all a bit surprised.
They only now realized that Princess Yuan An's birth mother was Empress Wu.
"Old Eighth, if you can't speak properly, then shut your mouth!"
Princess Yuan An gritted her teeth and shouted at Eighth Prince.
Her gaze subtly swept over Ankang, and she saw a surprised expression on Ankang's face.
Princess Yuan An couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
Everyone in the imperial harem knew that Empress Wu disliked Ankang.
Princess Yuan An had originally wanted to naturally keep her identity as Empress Wu's daughter a secret, but Eighth Prince, good for him, blurted it out.
She couldn't help but wonder if Old Eighth had done it on purpose.
But as Princess Yuan An's identity was revealed, the atmosphere between the three suddenly became much more awkward.
Princess Yuan An wished she could find a crack in the ground to hide in.
She had been hoping to get close to Ankang and then get to pet Li Xuan.
Now, look what happened!
The other Imperial Princes and Princesses also noticed the commotion over here.
But most of them merely observed in secret, wanting to see what kind of drama these three would put on together.
Now, seeing the awkward atmosphere, they couldn't help but secretly chuckle.
Eighth Prince had always been carefree, speaking and acting without restraint.
Did he think that just because he didn't care, others wouldn't either?
Just look at Ankang and Princess Yuan An now.
This was the consequence of speaking without thinking.
How miserable Ankang's life had been before, her Imperial Brothers and Sisters knew best.
They saw Ankang's plight once a month in the Imperial Garden; how could they not know?
They even felt that this Imperial Garden gathering was initiated by Empress Wu precisely to show everyone the consequences of offending her.
Therefore, even those who felt pity for Ankang dared not help her, fearing Empress Wu's wrath.
No one would pay such a heavy price for an Imperial Sister who was utterly useless and destined to spend her entire life in the Cold Palace.
Princess Yuan An also felt too ashamed to remain by Ankang's side, softly saying:
"I'm sorry, Thirteenth Imperial Sister."
Then, holding Bai Xiao, she walked to a distance and stood with her attendants.
Eighth Prince laughed awkwardly and said, "Oh dear, it seems I spoke too much again."
Li Xuan looked up at Eighth Prince but didn't feel much apology from him.
He actually thought that Eighth Prince was definitely not foolish, just unconcerned with many rules and regulations.
This guy seemed to want to say what he wanted and do what he wanted.
In other words, he prioritized his own experience.
Rather than thinking Eighth Prince had some special motive, Li Xuan was more inclined to believe that this guy just wanted to come over and say those things.
Didn't you see that after two unapologetic laughs, he continued to linger by their side?
Normal people probably wouldn't get close to those from Jingyang Palace.
After Eighth Prince had made Princess Yuan An leave in a huff, he seemed to forget what had just happened. He curiously scrutinized Li Xuan and even tried to reach out to tease him.
"Hey, hey."
Eighth Prince was quite playful, and he didn't know where he learned it, but his way of teasing the cat was so mocking.
He waved his hand to the right, then feigned a move to the left, just wanting Li Xuan's attention, like a mischievous child.
Ankang glanced at her Eighth Brother, her face full of exasperation. It was only because she needed to maintain her persona that she didn't just walk away with Li Xuan in annoyance.
"This idiot!"
Li Xuan quickly came up with a more fitting assessment for Eighth Prince.
A mischievous glint flashed in Li Xuan's eyes. He pretended to be attracted by Eighth Prince's hand, then unexpectedly gave him a fierce Meow Meow Fist.
"Hiss—"
Eighth Prince gasped, and the Three Little Ones immediately felt a little warmer around them.
"Ankang, why is your cat so strong?"
Eighth Prince shivered with pain, his voice trembling slightly.
Even without extending his claws, a simple punch to his hand made him feel unforgettable pain.
Li Xuan grinned, full of triumphant mockery.
"That's for reaching out, kid."
Ankang nervously averted her gaze, covering Li Xuan's mouth with a small hand to muffle his mockery, and said without batting an eyelid:
"Li Xuan also doesn't like to be touched by those with Falcons."
Eighth Prince quickly said, "I told you, I raise falcons, not Falcons."
"A gyrfalcon, understand? That's a Falcon."
Ankang shook her head honestly, replying expressionlessly:
"Ankang doesn't understand, and Li Xuan probably doesn't either."
Eighth Prince bared his teeth, sucking in a cold breath.
He looked down and saw that the back of his hand, hit by Li Xuan, had already started to bruise.
He then held up his other hand and saw that it was still red.
One of Eighth Prince's hands was reddened by Princess Yuan An, and the other was bruised by Li Xuan.
"So unlucky today?"
Eighth Prince wondered if he hadn't checked the almanac before leaving today; why were both his hands in such bad shape?
Princess Yuan An, observing secretly from afar, felt a great sense of satisfaction seeing Eighth Prince yelping in pain from Li Xuan's blow.
"That's for your loose tongue!"
But the next moment, Princess Yuan An couldn't help but feel a touch of envy.
"I also want to touch Little Black Cat's paw; it must be soft and fluffy."
"Oh, right, Thirteenth Imperial Sister called Little Black Cat Li Xuan earlier."
"So his name is Li Xuan!"
"Knowing Little Black Cat's name means today wasn't a wasted trip."
Princess Yuan An changed her perspective and felt that today wasn't entirely without Harvest.
However, she then began to worry about how to mend their relationship.
Getting along well with Ankang was what Princess Yuan An had initially thought was the easiest way to get close to Little Black Cat.
But now, it seemed this path was also difficult.
Yet, the more difficult it became, and the more unobtainable he was, the more Princess Yuan An couldn't let go of Li Xuan.
As the saying goes, what you can't get is always in turmoil, and those who are favored are always fearless.
Although Princess Yuan An held Bai Xiao in her arms, her heart was already filled with Li Xuan.
"Li Xuan, how exactly can I win you over?"