181: Being a human is hard, being a cat is even harder.

Tu Nan did not look intimidated by The Emperor's rage at all.

The finger pressed against her lips was like a scallion—slender and fair—and one could tell at a glance that she had been well cared for.

Tables had turned; The Emperor had tormented her for several days, so now it was surely time for him to listen to her side of the story.

Her being a Foster Mother was a minor issue; there were plenty of nobles who utilized Foster Mothers.

She carried S-rank Children, and if The Emperor were determined, he could make her disappear without a sound.

She had deceived the affections of two noble Male Beasts. In The Emperor's eyes, this might even serve as a lesson for his two favorite subjects, warning them not to fall into romantic traps again.

Then, she became pregnant.

In that case... it was merely a matter of delaying the plan. The Emperor could still wait for the Children to be born before quietly disposing of her.

But now, things were completely different; she carried the Children of two S-rank Male Beasts in her womb. Would the people he had painstakingly raised from childhood develop resentment because of this?

Whether the Children were born or not, in The Emperor's eyes, they were now a major threat.

The Emperor's anger ultimately stemmed from the realization that things were not entirely under his control.

He loathed that a weak or lowly existence like Tu Nan had become entangled with the people he meticulously looked after in ways that should never have happened.

And that she was dragging their future relationships into an uncontrollable abyss.

Tu Nan rested her other hand on her lower abdomen, her expression calm and unhurried.

"I—have—a—way."

With a trace of imperceptible malice, Tu Nan spoke again silently.

The Emperor had not expected that in such a situation, instead of immediately kneeling in fear to beg for forgiveness, this Foster Mother would actually stand even straighter.

The Emperor's outward display of emotion vanished instantly, as if everything that had just happened had never occurred.

For the first time, he carefully observed the Female Beast before him, pondering what she relied upon.

What was this? Did she have a beautiful face but no brain? Was she incapable of fear?

No... that did not seem like it.

The Emperor quickly dismissed this guess.

Based on the information he had gathered, this little creature could actually be described as having both courage and strategy, and she was even ruthless toward herself.

Besides, Hain and Kong Jiamu... were not brainless Male Beasts.

Then... she truly knew everything she would face from the very beginning. She not only calculated Hain's respectful attitude toward him and timed Kong Jiamu's actions, but most importantly...

She had even evaluated him, The Emperor, and the potential reactions of The Emperor himself?

Could that really be true?

The Emperor shook his head slightly and chuckled.

"Interesting..." He threw this assessment right in her face in front of Tu Nan.

Tu Nan was slightly stunned.

Was The Emperor intending to listen to her? Or something else?

"What do you want to say? Hmm?"

The Emperor rose from the armchair. He was very tall, and as he paced toward Tu Nan, he brought with him an incomparable sense of oppression.

Tu Nan forced herself to look up and stare directly at him, not daring to miss a single change in his expression.

"One should not look directly at The Emperor."

The Emperor seemed to be casually instructing a peasant, his face devoid of any obvious emotion again, as he reached out a hand toward Tu Nan.

Tu Nan did not understand what he was doing. After waiting for a long while, she tentatively placed her hand on his.

The Emperor nodded.

Then, Tu Nan felt a sense of weightlessness wash over her entire body once again, and this time, she understood immediately.

She! Had been turned by this damn Your Majesty!

She had turned into a cat.

"Meow!" She was able to speak, though her scream had turned into a cat's wail.

The Emperor, however, was unhurried. Using their joined hands, he pulled the struggling cat directly into his arms.

"Be careful," he said calmly.

The Emperor stroked her fur with practiced ease, running his hand from the back of her head, down her spine, all the way to her tail. He even turned around to scold her: "You are a mother now, do not be so reckless."

Then let me go, you are holding me so firmly. Do you even remember that I am the woman of your subordinates?

Tu Nan's green cat eyes were filled with fury.

The Emperor walked to the door and said abominably to her: "Hmm, being human is exhausting. It is better this way; it will be easier for you to calm your mind."

The door opened, and Grand Steward Yuan Zhe immediately followed The Emperor.

Doctor James glanced imperceptibly toward the examination room, but was met with a warning look from Steward Yuan Zhe, causing him to immediately stand straight and behave.

Once The Emperor had walked far away, James suddenly remembered!

"Oh no! The Children's development isn't quite right... This... should I say something?"

The passion of scientific research, combined with a doctor's sense of responsibility and the sensitivity of a court official, wrestled within him, causing the old doctor to pace in circles in his anxiety.

Tu Nan truly did not expect The Emperor to be so despicable.

If The Emperor intended to ignore everything, would she really still have a chance to get to the table?

Could the Children in her womb still be born safely?

How was she to have further interactions with the two expectant fathers while in cat form?

If he had enough patience, could he find out everything on his own? Then would the arrangements she had made still be of any use?

Fortunately, they had not gone far before Yuan Zhe came up to report.

"Your Majesty, Lord Hain requests an audience at the palace."

"Refuse him." The Emperor did not stop his pace, but immediately changed his mind. "Let him wait at the Winter Palace."

"Let's go, let's see what he knows."

No matter how Tu Nan listened to it, she felt this sentence was meant for her.

Hain... was The Emperor planning to lay everything out directly? She let out an angry growl, but it only earned her a scratch behind the ears from The Emperor.

"Shh, if a cat meows too loudly, it is also noisy." With a single sentence, The Emperor forced Tu Nan into silence.

"Your Majesty."

When they walked into the room, Hain was already waiting inside.

The Emperor, holding the cat, had just walked past when he suddenly stopped, standing in front of Hain without saying a word.

He only slowly stroked the cat.

"Your Majesty..."

Hain did not immediately understand The Emperor's intent, so he offered a polite compliment to The Emperor's beloved pet.

"A very spirited cat."

After all, the cat did not look very tame and kept struggling. The Emperor had never liked pets, so was it that he actually preferred this interactive type?

It seemed that because his beast-form aura was too overwhelming, he hadn't found one this bold before?

Hain planned to look for other suitable types for The Emperor to try in the future.

"Hmm, do you like it too?" The Emperor was noncommittal.

"No, I do not like land animals," Hain answered seriously.

The Emperor let out a cold laugh, his gaze swept over Hain, and he walked to the head seat and sat down. "What is it?" he asked.

"It is like this, Your Majesty." Hain had thought carefully about it over the past two days. Although he did not know why The Emperor had detained Tu Nan in the palace, since The Emperor's attitude toward Tu Nan was as such, The Emperor would know sooner or later.

It would be better to report it early, so as to let The Emperor treat her a little more favorably.

"I... wish to report to you that I have already spoken with Miss Gu, and after this, I will formally have my mother go to call off the engagement."

The Emperor said nothing.

Tu Nan desperately wanted to pounce and cover Hain's mouth. Just how close were you with The Emperor? Did you have to report everything to The Emperor? She already had a premonition that the next sentence Hain was about to say would make everything worse.

"After that... I want to propose to Tu Nan."

Hain was very serious.

Tu Nan's heart turned to ash.

"Oh... is that so?" The Emperor's words were ambiguous. "Does she know?"

"I have not formally proposed yet."

The Emperor kneaded along Tu Nan's spine, vertebra by vertebra; if he pressed a little too hard at any point, he could leave her paralyzed for the rest of her life.

"Then, what about Kong Jiamu?"

Hain looked up in shock, seeing that The Emperor was actually smiling.

"He said the exact same thing."