177: naughty

The Emperor emerged from the Empress Dowager's palace, a faint smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Leisurely carrying the black cat in his sleeve, he crossed the entire garden to a palace with a more orderly landscape. He entered the main hall, pushed open the heavy, tall wooden doors, and stepped into a room that looked like a small office or study.

He casually tossed Tu Nan onto a large desk and stood to the side, watching her with an inscrutable expression.

Tu Nan finally escaped his clutches and struggled to stand like a proper cat.

But this was the first time in her life using four legs, not to mention that the world around her had been magnified countless times, and the concentration of information her eyes gathered was completely different.

She found she couldn't even accurately estimate distances.

Just as she stood up and took two steps, her front legs tripped over her back legs. Her chin knocked against the tabletop, and she slid forward a short distance.

On the desk, an exquisite pen with gold-threaded flower patterns was knocked flying by her. It bounced twice on the floor and landed not far from the door.

Someone happened to enter at that moment. Seeing the pen at his feet, he picked it up gingerly, stepped forward to place it gently back on the desk, then retreated and bowed to The Emperor.

"Your Majesty, about the one at the Evernight Garden..."

He had just been requested by Hain, who said Your Majesty was keeping Madam Tu Nan and the Children at the Empress Dowager's for a few more days.

But when he went to the Evernight Garden just now, he didn't see anyone. The footprints in the garden were covered by heavy snow, as if no guest had visited the garden today at all.

Now that Your Majesty had appeared, he wanted to ask for instructions on the subsequent arrangements.

"Yuan Zhe will arrange it, you don't need to worry about it." The Emperor stared at the cat on the desk that was still stumbling while learning to walk, not giving anyone else even a glance.

"What do you think is going on with this cat?" He pointed at Tu Nan and asked casually.

Nan Yifei saw that the Chief Steward, Yuan Zhe, was just standing in the corner with a smile and didn't step forward, so he didn't dare let The Emperor's question go unanswered.

He looked up to observe the black cat walking unsteadily on the table and smiled, playing along.

"Is it a cat from the Empress Dowager's? Then there shouldn't be any problem. Did the maids there feed it something strange?"

"Oh?" The Emperor smiled, his words full of hidden meaning.

"That's hard to say. Perhaps she's intentionally putting on this strange act to try and please me?"

"After all, cats are animals that are quite good at acting cute."

Tu Nan refused to walk anymore. She just worked hard to stand straight on her four legs and glared at The Emperor.

Don't think she couldn't hear the subtext in his words.

"Look, doesn't she look like she can understand my words right now?" The Emperor actually laughed.

He took off his cloak and tossed it to Nan Yifei. With a flick of his robes, he sat in the chair behind the desk, only an arm's length away from Tu Nan.

After staring at Tu Nan for a while, he suddenly detached a pendant with metal tassels from his waist and gently shook it on the desk, speaking expressionlessly.

"Do you understand? Come here."

Tu Nan's eyes were stimulated by the constantly swaying tassels, her pupils shrinking as thin as needles.

Before she could control her instincts, her back legs kicked off and she pounced... and then her chin hit the table again, and she slid right next to someone's hand.

"The instincts are still there," The Emperor teased.

Fury rose in Tu Nan's heart. At that moment, she couldn't control her emotions at all. Her eyes widened in anger, she bared her teeth, and then... she bit down on the ball of that hand's thumb.

"Your Majesty!" Nan Yifei cried out in alarm.

There was really no need for him to worry... Tu Nan... hadn't fundamentally changed just because she turned into a cat.

She was still that useless person who couldn't even bite through food that hadn't been finely processed.

Not only did she fail to hurt the other party, but she was also immediately grabbed by the mouth by a pair of large hands and pressed firmly onto the desk, unable to move an inch.

"Disobedient."

That hateful voice rang out above her head.

Tu Nan was pressed down so hard that only her eyes could move.

Struggling to roll her eyes, she looked up. When she finally locked eyes with him, the indifference in his golden eyes was like a bucket of cold water, drenching her through and through.

It made her snap back to reality instantly... what was going on.

She had thought turning into a cat might be a reward from the System, triggered by The Emperor's Talent.

But in fact, had The Emperor used some means to directly lure out her beastly nature?

That's right; after all, being able to transform into a beast form itself requires a certain genetic foundation. A beastman who is too weak couldn't possibly succeed, just like how she didn't even have ears at the beginning.

The Emperor's attitude didn't look like he wanted to reward her. This was clearly a form of suppression or punishment from him.

So... what did he want to judge through Tu Nan's beastly instincts?

The Emperor noticed she had recovered from that anger. He gave a bored sneer, relaxed his strength, and grabbed her in front of him again.

Steward Yuan Zhe stepped forward with a smile and asked The Emperor for instructions.

"Several ministers have arrived. Shall I summon them?"

"Begin. Tell them to keep the nonsense to a minimum." The Emperor toyed with Tu Nan, occasionally rubbing her ears or pressing her paw pads to push out her crystal-clear claws, scraping them back and forth against a type of paper on the desk.

After a while, he stubbornly forced her mouth open and felt her sharp teeth with great interest.

Tu Nan was forced to keep her mouth open, and an involuntary low growl of anger rolled from her throat.

She couldn't gauge this person's next move at all now, and she didn't even know if this man, whose moods were hard to discern, would pull her teeth out with his bare hands.

Was this the person in Hain and Kong Jiamu's words—

The just and tolerant His Majesty the Emperor?

So far... she hadn't seen it at all.

Was it because The Emperor also didn't treat Foster Mothers as his true subjects? Did he think she, Tu Nan, a Foster Mother... was just a breeding slave?

No... Tu Nan didn't believe it. That wouldn't be The Emperor's Heart-Nature.

Then he could only be angry because of the other matter he had called out.

That's right, he was angry.

Not because of his status as Emperor, but because he was assuming the role of Hain and Kong Jiamu's "elder brother"... even though he was a year younger than Hain.

But he had indeed raised the two of them. That kind of support, teaching, and companionship made him react when he learned someone had actually toyed with the feelings of both of them at once.

He was angry... that made sense.

"Your Majesty, good day." Three Male Beasts dressed in solemn and magnificent clothing entered, all of middle age or older.

"Good day. Sit." The Emperor pointed out seats for them. "One hour. Speak."

He efficiently set a time limit for them.

The three were already used to it. One of them immediately spoke: "Your Majesty, there are only two weeks left until the time you selected for the Decoration Ceremony, but Colonel Kong has not yet appeared. He said you sent him on a mission... this... there are still many matters that need him to return and cooperate with."

The Emperor personally conferring honors was such a major ceremony. Not to mention the Military Department's procedures hadn't been completed yet. If Colonel Kong didn't show up, what if something went wrong after the honors were received?

This minister was truly anxious.

"You just want him to come back early, right?" The Emperor stretched the cat on the desk into a long strip and then curled her into a ball, over and over again.

The minister, whose eyesight was already failing with age, only then noticed there was a cat being rubbed by His Majesty on the dark-colored desk.

"That is correct. Colonel Kong's mission... was also assigned by Your Majesty. I wonder if the timing can be coordinated."

The Emperor only thought for a brief moment before pulling out a pen and scribbling on two sticky notes.

With one hand, he flipped them over and quickly crumpled both notes into paper balls, then... placed them in front of Tu Nan.

"Come, choose one for Kong Jiamu."

He waited with great interest for this cat to make a choice.

"Your Majesty?" The old minister was shocked. "How can you be so flippant?"

The Emperor raised an eyebrow.

"Flippant? I think Kong Jiamu is very happy."

"Which one do you choose?" He pinched Tu Nan and pushed her forward... Good question.

You really are being sarcastic... Your Majesty, whose brothers were snatched away.