Chief Steward Shang saw Li Xuan looking at him with a speechless expression, opened his mouth, but the words he had prepared could not come out.
He never expected that Li Xuan would actually shake his head.
"Is it because you do not want to hide this from Ankang and Yu'er?"
Li Xuan nodded immediately.
Such a simple reason left Chief Steward Shang with no way to refute it.
"What is to be done?"
It had been a long time since Chief Steward Shang felt so troubled.
For many years, he had never botched a task entrusted to him by Emperor Yongyuan.
But today, it seemed that Chief Steward Shang's record was about to be broken by Li Xuan.
Finally, Chief Steward Shang sighed helplessly and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.
The mysterious Aura that had previously spread out from him gradually dissipated.
As the Aura dissipated, it didn't take long for Zhao Feng to walk back.
"Godfather, are you done already?"
His expression was somewhat surprised.
Chief Steward Shang shook his head and continued, "There was a slight mishap; let us go see Your Majesty."
Chief Steward Shang could not make the decision on this matter himself; he needed Emperor Yongyuan's approval.
"Li Xuan, come with us to Ganlu Hall."
Li Xuan's eyes flickered. He had heard the name of this place several times and knew it was Emperor Yongyuan's sleeping quarters.
"I didn't expect to meet Emperor Yongyuan so soon."
This time, Li Xuan nodded without much hesitation.
He was quite curious to see this father of Ankang and see what kind of person Emperor Yongyuan really was.
Seeing that Li Xuan had agreed this time, Chief Steward Shang secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He was really afraid that Li Xuan would refuse him again.
Zhao Feng, standing by, also turned solemn upon hearing they were to see the Emperor.
He had not expected that the conversation between his godfather and Li Xuan would encounter obstacles.
But if he knew that the conversation between the man and the cat had been strangled before it even began, he would likely be even more surprised.
"Let's go."
Chief Steward Shang extended his arm to Li Xuan.
Li Xuan was not polite; he walked along Chief Steward Shang's arm and stood on his shoulder.
Then, the Two Chief Eunuchs leaped into motion, causing Li Xuan to narrow his eyes.
His tail subconsciously wrapped around Chief Steward Shang's shoulder, fearing he would be blown off by the strong wind pressure.
"What terrifying qinggong."
Chief Steward Shang was not only incredibly fast but also completely silent.
Zhao Feng followed closely behind, not falling a single step behind.
When they arrived near Ganlu Hall, their speed slowed down, and they began to adjust their clothes. By the time they reached the palace entrance, they had just finished tidying up.
"The two old men are quite elegant with this routine."
Li Xuan couldn't help but praise them inwardly.
After arriving at Ganlu Hall, they immediately had the eunuch at the door announce them, requesting an audience with Emperor Yongyuan.
Not long after, Emperor Yongyuan's lamp-lighting eunuch, Wang Xi, came out to greet them personally and led them into the hall.
Upon entering, Li Xuan's first impression of the place was that it was dark.
"Is Emperor Yongyuan too stingy to light a lamp?"
From afar, he saw the only source of light in the hall.
Behind a massive desk, a burly, heroic-looking middle-aged man wearing a crimson dragon robe sat there reviewing memorials.
"Is he Ankang's father, Emperor Yongyuan?"
Li Xuan stood on Chief Steward Shang's shoulder, carefully observing Emperor Yongyuan.
Emperor Yongyuan looked to be in his thirties or forties and was very well-maintained.
It was just that his temples were already streaked with gray.
Those gray hairs were quite incongruous with his youthful face.
Emperor Yongyuan ignored them as they entered and continued to review the memorials seriously.
Chief Steward Shang and Zhao Feng stood respectfully to the side, waiting quietly.
"He looks like a diligent emperor."
Li Xuan silently evaluated him.
Time passed second by second, but no one felt impatient.
Even Li Xuan was the same; he watched this emperor of Great Xing silently, wanting to discern more.
After getting tired of watching Emperor Yongyuan, Li Xuan shifted his gaze and began to observe Ganlu Hall.
To be honest, it was quite different from what Li Xuan had expected.
It was not very luxurious here; in fact, compared to other palaces, it appeared quite plain.
Except for the eight dragon-carved pillars in the hall that were quite imposing, everything else could only be considered average.
"Aside from taking too many concubines, this guy seems alright."
Li Xuan had just seen a batch of newly entered Talents at Yan Qu Hall and felt that he had definitely not wronged Emperor Yongyuan on this point.
"A lecherous emperor who works hard?"
After observing for a while, Li Xuan had already labeled Emperor Yongyuan.
After a long while, Emperor Yongyuan finally closed the last memorial and wearily rubbed his brow.
A trusted eunuch stepped forward to collect all the memorials and immediately sent them out.
Emperor Yongyuan, as usual, leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed, and Wang Xi stepped forward to massage Emperor Yongyuan's head.
At this moment, a loud meow rang out in Ganlu Hall.
"Meow!"
What is going on? Still pretending to be busy!
Li Xuan, having waited for a long time, meowed with dissatisfaction.
At this, the hall became deathly silent; one could hear a pin drop.
Li Xuan could clearly feel Chief Steward Shang's body sway slightly beneath him, but his face remained calm as an ancient well, as if nothing had happened.
Zhao Feng, to the side, was the same.
However, Wang Xi, who was massaging Emperor Yongyuan, couldn't help but tremble.
Emperor Yongyuan opened his eyes and slowly sat up straight.
"Your Majesty, please forgive this old slave; my hands were clumsy and disturbed Your Majesty."
Wang Xi quickly moved to the side and knelt to plead for forgiveness, without mentioning Li Xuan's meow at all.
Emperor Yongyuan waved his hand, telling Wang Xi to withdraw.
Wang Xi apologized repeatedly and crawled out of Ganlu Hall; his speed was actually much faster than Zhao Feng's.
Watching Wang Xi's movement—sliding out of Ganlu Hall without moving his body—Li Xuan was amazed.
"What kind of martial art is this!?"
It was the first time Li Xuan had seen someone perform such a strange movement technique, and he was so shocked he couldn't close his mouth.
At this time, Emperor Yongyuan, ignoring Li Xuan's shock, said, "What, tired of waiting?"
Upon hearing this, Chief Steward Shang and Zhao Feng knelt down in unison, not daring to make a sound.
Li Xuan no longer stood on Chief Steward Shang's shoulder; he jumped down and leisurely hopped onto Emperor Yongyuan's desk.
Previously, it was piled high with memorials, but now they had all been taken away, so it was much cleaner.
Besides the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, only the massive Imperial Seal stood out.
"Is this the Imperial Seal of Great Xing?"
Li Xuan couldn't help but take a few more looks.
"What? Do you want it?"
This was also the first time Emperor Yongyuan had seen Li Xuan; he had long heard of this Spirit Beast and was therefore very curious.
Li Xuan shook his head silently and sat upright in front of Emperor Yongyuan. He curled his tail around himself, revealing the di hong bone ring.
He looked at Emperor Yongyuan to see what he had to say.
That's right, Li Xuan believed that what Chief Steward Shang wanted to convey was Emperor Yongyuan's will.
Emperor Yongyuan also watched Li Xuan silently, his overbearing Aura gradually revealing itself to pressure Li Xuan.
The Aura of a sovereign of a nation was indeed extraordinary, but Li Xuan was just a cat now.
Emperor Yongyuan's Aura was not even as substantial as that of a high-level expert.
Li Xuan immediately closed his eyes, pretending to doze off.
Seeing this reaction, Emperor Yongyuan's Aura instantly dissipated; he felt like he had punched a pile of cotton.
He had thought that since this cat possessed intelligence, he could use his Aura to suppress it and gain the upper hand.
As a result, Li Xuan acted like an ordinary cat, closing his eyes and ignoring him completely.
Aura is something mysterious and elusive, largely a form of self-suggestion.
But if the other party treats you like air, unless the Aura comes from something life-threatening, it won't be very effective.
If a beggar doesn't know the person in front of him is the emperor, he would at most think you have an extraordinary bearing.
But if he knew the emperor could easily control his life and death, the beggar would be scared out of his wits.
Ultimately, only death can make people afraid.
Besides life and death, what else is there to be afraid of?
Emperor Yongyuan looked at Li Xuan, who was pretending to doze, and couldn't help but frown.
Chief Steward Shang and Zhao Feng had been observing their reactions in trepidation. Seeing the stalemate, Chief Steward Shang quickly reported, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. This old slave is incompetent and did not dare to make a decision on a matter, which is why I brought the Spirit Beast Li Xuan to see Your Majesty to seek your holy will."
Chief Steward Shang spoke very respectfully.
Usually, when reporting to Emperor Yongyuan, Chief Steward Shang would be respectful, but he wouldn't intentionally use flowery language.
He was speaking so formally now to make Li Xuan behave respectfully.
Although Chief Steward Shang knew Li Xuan's intelligence was extraordinary, it was precisely because of this intelligence that it was likely he had opinions about Emperor Yongyuan.
Chief Steward Shang only hoped Li Xuan would be better behaved and not cause trouble.
Otherwise, if the relationship between the two sides became rigid, it would be good for no one.
Li Xuan needed Emperor Yongyuan, and Emperor Yongyuan also needed Li Xuan.
They could perfectly well be in a mutually beneficial relationship.
But sometimes, the issue of clashing temperaments is not just something ethereal.
Emperor Yongyuan was accustomed to the obedience of others.
But as a cat, Li Xuan might not necessarily follow the rules of the Human Race.
This was also the problem Chief Steward Shang had always worried about.
It was also the fundamental reason why he hadn't arranged a meeting between Emperor Yongyuan and Li Xuan for so long.
It was just that he couldn't make the decision on tonight's matter himself, which was why he brought Li Xuan to Ganlu Hall.
But he never expected that Li Xuan, who had been quite well-behaved just now, would suddenly meow.
That meow almost made Chief Steward Shang's knees go weak.
Li Xuan wasn't intentionally looking for trouble.
Previously, Emperor Yongyuan was reviewing memorials, which was working overtime.
For this, Li Xuan gave Emperor Yongyuan considerable pity and understanding.
But after working overtime, ignoring them while getting a massage was a bit too much.
In Li Xuan's view, this pretense was a bit too obvious.
"Speak, what is going on?"
Emperor Yongyuan couldn't be bothered to argue with a cat and asked Chief Steward Shang directly.
"It is about the di hong bone ring."
"Li Xuan is unwilling to hide this from Ankang."
Once Chief Steward Shang said this, Emperor Yongyuan immediately understood what it was about.
Seeing that they had finally started talking about business, Li Xuan opened his eyes.
Emperor Yongyuan looked at Li Xuan and said to him, "It is safest if only you know about this matter."
"If others know, they will be in danger because of you."
Emperor Yongyuan provided an explanation.
This made Chief Steward Shang and Zhao Feng breathe a sigh of relief.
They were really afraid that Emperor Yongyuan would be stiff in his attitude because he couldn't save face, thus making the relationship rigid.
That Emperor Yongyuan was willing to explain was already a huge concession.
"Your Majesty is still reasonable."
Chief Steward Shang and Zhao Feng exchanged glances in secret and breathed a sigh of relief.
Li Xuan naturally wouldn't intentionally make things difficult for Emperor Yongyuan.
His previous actions were also to see how Emperor Yongyuan would treat him.
If he really angered Emperor Yongyuan, he could just act cute; after all, he was just a Little Cat now.
Now that he saw the seemingly stern Emperor Yongyuan was willing to explain to him, and his attitude wasn't that forceful, Li Xuan felt relieved.
Seeing the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone to the side, he used his tail to pick up a brush and wrote on the paper: "If it will not be detrimental to Ankang and Yu'er, I will agree to the previous agreement with Chief Steward Shang."
Even though he had heard that Li Xuan could read and write, seeing it with his own eyes still opened Emperor Yongyuan's eyes.
His eyebrows couldn't help but twitch, but he controlled his expression and nodded.
"You can decide this matter yourself."
"You can forget about the agreement Chief Steward Shang mentioned to you."
As Emperor Yongyuan spoke, he pulled out a scroll from somewhere.
Li Xuan was stunned; he hadn't expected him to have a storage Magic Treasure on him as well.
"Right, he was willing to give one to me."
Li Xuan thought about it and felt it made sense.
Emperor Yongyuan continued, "This scroll contains the content Chief Steward Shang wanted to tell you."
"After you have read it, decide for yourself whether to tell Ankang the content."
As Emperor Yongyuan spoke, he slowly unfolded the scroll in front of Li Xuan.
The writing on it appeared bit by bit, and Li Xuan's expression gradually became solemn.
What was written on it was about the di hong bone ring.
From the very beginning, it left Li Xuan shocked.
The scroll stated that there were a total of ten di hong bone rings.
Moreover, every di hong bone ring could undergo Fusion with the others.
After Fusion, not only would the storage space become larger, but more functions would be unlocked.
Furthermore, the di hong bone rings were divided into Feather Rings and Foot Rings; the space and functions of the Feather Rings were weaker than those of the Foot Rings.
Among the ten rings, there were six Feather Rings and four Foot Rings.
It was said that after collecting all ten di hong bone rings, one could obtain the Legacy of the ancient Divine Beast Di Hong, which was why countless people in the world coveted this Opportunity.
And this was what Chief Steward Shang had wanted to tell him earlier.
At the end of the scroll, there were also methods for binding the di hong bone rings and for Fusion with other di hong bone rings.
Li Xuan had never expected that the di hong bone ring was not just a storage Magic Treasure, but that such a great Opportunity was hidden within it.
But he could not understand it either.
Since there was such an important Opportunity, why did Emperor Yongyuan want to entrust this ring to him for safekeeping?
His current strength was insignificant; if something went wrong, wouldn't the Great Xing Dynasty suffer a huge loss?
Li Xuan silently looked up at Emperor Yongyuan, hoping to get an answer from him.