The Three Little Ones had been chatting in the courtyard for a long time when Yu'er suddenly said:
"By the way, Your Highness."
"Shouldn't we take out the things in the di hong bone ring?"
"I see there are quite a few items that Your Highness might be able to use."
Li Xuan's heart stirred upon hearing this; since he woke up, he hadn't had a good look at what was inside.
Previously, he had only taken a rough glance through the di hong bone ring and hadn't had the chance to lay everything out for a proper inventory.
Li Xuan tapped his tail lightly on the table, and the contents of the di hong bone ring instantly poured out, piling up into a mound.
This simple and practical treasure really satisfied him greatly.
A pile of precious jewelry and a few strange objects suddenly appeared on the table.
The majority were jewelry pieces, each finely crafted and of great value.
Taking out any one of them and selling it for several thousand or ten thousand taels of silver would be easy.
Not to mention that there were one or two truly extraordinary pieces among them.
Especially that plum blossom-shaped ruby necklace, which could even warm the body; it was perfect for Ankang to wear.
Although her body was no longer as cold as before, she still liked warm things, presumably out of habit.
Ankang played with the ruby necklace; it was clear she liked this piece of jewelry very much.
After all, she was a young girl; how could she not like shiny, beautiful things?
Previously, there were no conditions in Jingyang Palace, and Ankang couldn't wear these things.
Although there were a few heirlooms left by Consort Xiao, Ankang was unwilling to take them out.
Now it was better; with these pieces of jewelry, and all of them being Advanced goods, Ankang could finally dress up a bit.
"Your Highness, put it on and try it out."
Yu'er suggested from the side.
"This..."
Ankang hesitated slightly and couldn't help but look at Li Xuan.
As a result, she saw Li Xuan looking at her with full encouragement, even meowing urgingly.
"Meow, meow! (Wear it, wear it!)"
Only then did Ankang put on the necklace to try it.
Against her cold, white, and tender neck, that splash of fresh red plum blossom became the most beautiful embellishment.
The unique, charming glow of the ruby made Ankang look even more graceful, perfectly complementing her.
For a moment, Li Xuan and Yu'er felt as if they saw the late Consort Xiao.
Unexpectedly, just a single piece of jewelry could change Ankang's temperament so much.
"Will it look a bit awkward?"
Ankang asked with some trepidation.
Because she saw that Li Xuan and Yu'er were both staring at her blankly, saying nothing.
"Meow! (Beautiful!)"
"Your Highness, this ruby necklace was born for you."
Both the human and the cat said sincerely.
Ankang's face immediately flushed red.
If it had been someone else praising her, it would be one thing, but being praised by Li Xuan and Yu'er, whom she spent every day with, made Ankang especially shy.
"Really?"
"Your Highness, wait for me, I'll go get the bronze mirror."
Yu'er said and hurried into the room to retrieve the mirror.
She felt that if Ankang couldn't see how beautiful she was right now, it would be a real pity.
Not long after, Yu'er came out carrying the bronze mirror and handed it to Ankang.
Ankang took the bronze mirror and looked, only to be stunned on the spot.
Li Xuan and Yu'er were both looking forward to Ankang's reaction.
But the next moment, they saw Ankang suddenly place the bronze mirror face down on the table, her eyes slightly red.
"Your Highness, what's wrong?"
Seeing that Ankang's mood was off, Yu'er asked hurriedly.
Ankang pressed her lips together tightly, shook her head, and forced a smile:
"It's nothing, sister Yu'er."
"Just..."
"It's too beautiful."
Although Ankang said so, she had already taken off the ruby necklace and put it back on the table.
"Sister Yu'er, I'm a bit tired, I'm going to lie down for a while; call me when it's time to eat."
Ankang said this, and without waiting for Yu'er's response, she stood up and walked back to her room.
"Your Highness..."
Yu'er couldn't help but call out softly, but received no response.
Li Xuan and Yu'er couldn't help but look at each other, their eyes filled with worry.
They didn't quite understand why Ankang was suddenly so low-spirited.
"Li Xuan, what do you think happened to Your Highness?"
"Did I say something wrong?"
Yu'er started to blame herself while talking to herself.
Li Xuan didn't know what was wrong either, but he silently turned his gaze to the bronze mirror on the table.
He had seen clearly before that Ankang was quite happy before looking in the mirror.
But after looking in the mirror...
"The mirror!?"
A flash of inspiration crossed Li Xuan's mind, making him realize what was going on.
He tapped Yu'er with his tail, then pointed to the bronze mirror, and slowly wrote two characters on the table.
"Consort Xiao."
Seeing the two characters Li Xuan wrote, Yu'er immediately understood what was going on.
"That's it, I see that when Your Highness wears this ruby necklace, she can't help but think of Consort Xiao."
"Not to mention Your Highness..."
After realizing why Ankang was in low spirits, Yu'er felt even sadder.
"Your Highness..."
Li Xuan silently stroked Yu'er's hair with his tail.
Being stirred by the scene was an unavoidable thing.
"Li Xuan, let's put these things away first."
"I'll go make a bowl of hot honey water for Your Highness, hoping she'll feel better after drinking it."
Ankang liked sweets.
It was just that in the past, the conditions in Jingyang Palace couldn't keep up, so she had to suppress these cravings.
But whenever Ankang felt unwell in the past, Consort Xiao would always find a way to get some honey and make a bowl of hot honey water for Ankang to drink.
Li Xuan and Yu'er both remembered this.
Li Xuan naturally understood Yu'er's intentions.
He swept his tail lightly and instantly put away everything on the table.
It seemed that their Jingyang Palace was used to being poor.
No amount of gold and silver treasures was as useful as a bowl of hot honey water.
...
A few more days passed.
Li Xuan was already able to walk on the ground.
He shook his head and tried his current physical condition, finding it better than ever.
The suffering he endured before hadn't been in vain; in just a few days, he felt clear changes.
Li Xuan had become stronger again.
He was one step closer to the Marrow Refining Realm.
And through his previous experience, he also understood that his Physique was far stronger than that of a Human Race Martial Artist of the same Realm.
Just look at the First Prince and the others.
Although their grades were similar to Li Xuan's, with their Physique, they could only soak in the Sun Flame Pond for a short while.
But Li Xuan could dive to the bottom when the effect of the Moon Yin Pond was strongest.
The difference between the two could naturally not be mentioned in the same breath.
"My body is far stronger than the First Prince and the others."
"Is this my talent as a Beast Race?"
Regarding this, Li Xuan wasn't quite sure.
But he had already clearly felt the difference.
Li Xuan moved around in the courtyard and felt that his body had recovered quite a bit, so he planned to go to the Internal Affairs Bureau.
Li Xuan hadn't forgotten what Zhao Feng had said to him before.
Chief Steward Shang had something to say to him; since his body had recovered, he might as well go and listen now.
Li Xuan turned back and meowed, greeting Ankang, who was reading in the courtyard, and Yu'er, who was practicing martial arts.
Hearing the sound, both of them couldn't help but look at Li Xuan.
"Li Xuan, are you going out?"
Ankang put down her book and asked curiously.
She had only been down for a while that day; by the time they ate, her mood was much better.
Especially after drinking the honey water that Yu'er had specially prepared for her, she was even more moved.
After all, it hadn't been a year since Consort Xiao passed away; Ankang being as lively as she was now was already strong enough.
Occasionally being stirred by the scene was an unavoidable thing, and both Li Xuan and Yu'er understood very well.
Ankang was only twelve years old; when it was her birthday last year, Consort Xiao had just passed away, making her spend her first birthday without her mother.
At that time, there was only Li Xuan and Yu'er in Jingyang Palace accompanying Ankang.
In the biting cold winter, they were neither full nor warm; it was as miserable as it could get.
But even at such a time, Ankang would still comfort Li Xuan and Yu'er.
Outsiders might not know, but in the coldest times, the Three Little Ones, because there wasn't enough charcoal, huddled in one quilt and slept for two months to survive last winter.
Some things, once experienced, cannot be forgotten.
Although Li Xuan possessed spiritual intelligence at that time, his body was too weak.
If it hadn't been for these two little girls, who couldn't even take care of themselves, caring for him wholeheartedly, he wouldn't have survived that winter.
At that time, Li Xuan couldn't even catch a mouse, and it was hard for him to climb a wall; any cat or dog in the palace could bully him.
This was also the reason why he went to steal from the Imperial Kitchen as soon as he had the ability.
It wasn't just Ankang who would be stirred by the scene.
Looking at Ankang reading quietly in the sun, Li Xuan couldn't help but think of that difficult winter.
He nodded to Ankang and meowed gently.
At this time, Yu'er on the side also asked:
"Li Xuan, your body is better now, should I put this bamboo basket away for you?"
"Meow woo —"
Li Xuan immediately changed his tone, jumped onto the table, blocked the bamboo basket, and shook his head repeatedly.
"Haha, it seems Li Xuan likes this new cat bed."
"Sister Yu'er, put this bamboo basket by my bed."
Ankang said.
Yu'er looked helplessly at Li Xuan, who wouldn't stop shaking his head at her.
"Really, Li Xuan, it's not enough that you sleep on the same bed as Her Highness."
"You still insist on having an extra bamboo basket."
But under Li Xuan's insistence, Yu'er could only help him move the bamboo basket to a new position.
Seeing that his bamboo basket was well treated, Li Xuan finally felt relieved and left Jingyang Palace, heading towards the Internal Affairs Bureau.
After climbing over the courtyard wall, he couldn't help but take a deep breath.
"I haven't been out for several days; I wonder if anything fun has happened in the palace recently."
Li Xuan walked on the wall, looking around, watching curiously.
But the palace was still the same as usual, mostly trivial matters and family gossip.
Just like that, he arrived at the Internal Affairs Bureau, but Li Xuan found that Chief Steward Shang was not there.
"Where did he go?"