178: Keys in hand

A tiny mistake was all it took for a flaw to appear in Tu Nan's previous schemes.

It turned out that beneath the identity of The Emperor, the fair and tolerant Your Majesty was also like a father and brother to his two beloved subjects.

...It looked like Tu Nan's situation was quite dire.

But that was not the case.

An Emperor with human warmth was far better than a cold and heartless one.

She was now just missing a turning point.

Of course... she also lacked the opportunity to speak.

A wise person does not fight when the odds are against them; until then... Tu Nan intended to honestly act like a cat.

At the very least, the food and living conditions were not bad.

Living in The Emperor's bedchamber... or more accurately, in a small cubicle outside the bedchamber, in a silk nest prepared for her by the palace steward.

Eating... delicious food, every meal was both nutritious and tasty, set on beautiful white plates... and served to her individually by attendants.

In just three short days, the palace attendants had grown accustomed to her presence in the bedchamber and whispered privately that Your Majesty, who had never liked small animals, had actually taken a fancy to an ordinary-looking black cat.

He never let her leave his side, even when receiving officials.

Tu Nan guessed that The Emperor had influenced everyone, making them unable to recognize that she was actually a Female Beast in animal form... After all, as far as she knew, in the Beast World, distinguishing between beast-men and ordinary wild beasts was an instinct for everyone.

She could not know for the time being if her guess was true, as she was not allowed to stray too far from Your Majesty.

There were plenty of people watching her.

Fortunately, a turning point soon appeared.

"Your Majesty." That day, the steward Yuan Zhe leaned close to the ear of The Emperor, who was reading a report, and whispered a report.

"The Empress Dowager asks when the Two Children staying with her are to be raised. She says Lord Montoya wants to take them out of the palace, saying he is afraid it will delay their study progress."

"Hmph! How ambitious."

The Emperor rubbed his brow as he looked at that Foster Mother curled up in the corner of the study.

He had observed her for several days, but hadn't seen any unusual movement from this Female Beast.

Under the stimulation of his power, she had merely shown a moment of anger and aggression, but lacked the infatuation and sycophancy he had expected; at night, when he left her outside the bedchamber, she didn't think to find an opportunity to get close to him.

Instead, she hid further and further away.

What was this? She had changed stepping stones several times and kept maneuvering, finally getting to his side as she wished.

Everything about her seemed to be climbing step by step... yet at this moment, she stayed away when she should have approached him, and kept her mouth shut when she should have begged for mercy.

It wasn't timidity; she was waiting for something.

Just like that choice that day...

This Female Beast had pushed two paper balls to him together. She just looked at him quietly, as if trusting that he would not give Kong Jiamu an inappropriate option.

Even if she couldn't speak, she could make him know...

Such a Foster Mother was far more dangerous than a sycophantic one.

But what was she doing this for?

The Emperor frowned.

Hain was suppressed by him and dared not say much, but he kept thinking of ways to send things to the Empress Dowager, unwilling to give up without a reply, and now he had even brought out the excuse of teaching the Children their lessons.

To be so dedicated to raising someone else's Children, this was truly... devoted.

As for Kong Jiamu, that silly bird was still flapping about happily outside.

It was truly so stupid that he couldn't bear to look. Should he tell him in advance that there wouldn't be any "fiancée" sitting in the first row during the Decoration Ceremony?

He tossed the report in his hand back onto the desk with a slap.

The Female Beast in the corner pricked up her ears and looked over vigilantly, but seeing no further movement, she lay back down.

...It looked like she was almost starting to really think of herself as a cat.

Annoying.

The Emperor pushed back his chair and stood up, walked over to Tu Nan, scooped her up casually, and twitched the corner of his mouth.

"Let's go take a look."

He didn't say where, but Yuan Zhe naturally knew this meant heading to the Empress Dowager's palace, and quickly arranged for people to follow.

Arriving at the Empress Dowager's palace again, Tu Nan finally recognized it as the place she had been to last time.

As the group walked along, they heard the milky voice of a child coming from ahead.

"Why doesn't Father Hain teach us himself? I can't understand your teaching!" Miao Miao was asking a guard standing in front of her.

This person was tutoring the Two Children according to the assignments Hain had passed in... but clearly, Miao Miao was very dissatisfied with his teaching ability.

The guard stood in front of the two little ones with a bitter face, feeling that it was all an undeserved disaster.

What was his Rank, and what was Lord Montoya's Rank? He hadn't even understood the lesson plan the other party had written himself, let alone teach it.

"Uncle, can you just read it to us directly? One sentence at a time, just go a bit slower."

Ao Ao was extremely considerate.

This person had rambled on a bunch, and no matter how he listened, it felt like nonsense; it would be better to just read it to him.

If it weren't for the fact that he knew too few characters, he really wouldn't feel that this kind of teaching required an extra person in the middle.

The palace was really annoying; they couldn't make a Video Call, couldn't see Mom, couldn't see Father Hain, and couldn't see Master... Sigh.

"Hain's lesson plan? Bring it here for me to see." The Emperor glanced at the two little cubs and spoke to the person beside him.

That must be the Two Children they mentioned who had S-Rank Talent.

He stroked the black cat's back; this Foster Mother was really lucky, rising in status because of her Children. He pondered how to handle her, and indeed, he was a bit wary of acting rashly.

But fortunately, the Children were still young... If he really wanted to separate them, it wouldn't be impossible if he spent a bit more time.

Otherwise, he could put in some effort later, raise them by his side, and explain the gravity of the situation to them when they were older.

Tu Nan's fur stood on end instantly. Her Children! She had an idea!

The Emperor thought she wanted to speak, and with a forceful stroke of his hand along her fur, he kept her controlled.

But Tu Nan had no intention of making a sound at all.

【Ao Ao! Don't look up, be a good boy~ Mom needs your help, listen to what Mom says~】 She didn't let Miao Miao hear, using a private line, directly calling out to Ao Ao in her mind.

Ao Ao shook his head, wanting to look around, but still obediently controlled his movements, obediently lowering his head to ask Mom.

【Mom! What's wrong, Mom! Where are you? We miss you so much.】 He was anxious inside.

Over the past two days, Miao Miao had thrown a few temper tantrums, crying about wanting to find Mom.

But he keenly knew that this was a place where they couldn't be allowed to act recklessly, so he had secretly persuaded his cat-sister over and over, finally getting her to agree to act well-behaved.

【Good boy, I'm fine.】 Tu Nan comforted him.

【Do you remember, before we came, what I told you about wanting to find the most powerful person in the world to be your teacher?】

【Yeah! But Miao Miao and I have discussed it; we can both do without this teacher, we just want Mom. Mom, can we go back together? I miss Lance and Amy and my classmates...】

No matter how calm Ao Ao was, he was still just a little baby. His tone was soft, and Tu Nan's nose felt sore.

【We will meet, trust me.】 Tu Nan promised.

【Come... first help me do two things. First, you go tell Miao Miao to find a way to follow the guard walking toward you. Then...】

【When he hands the lesson plan to that uncle with silver hair and gold eyes, tell her she must pounce on him, and then cling to him tightly and not let go.】

【Then... you follow up and apologize, just say Miao Miao just wants to find the most powerful person to take her to find Mom.】

【Say you miss Mom very much, and also say...】 Tu Nan told Ao Ao a little secret. 【You can only say this sentence to him alone, can you do it?】

Ao Ao looked up blankly, just in time to see a guard walking toward him. His mind was in a mess, but he still remembered Mom's words, and said to Miao Miao in a daze.

【Miao Miao, I want...】

Miao Miao turned her head in confusion. 【What?】