Ah Wu had never eaten a person in front of the little one. To be precise, ever since he arrived in this world, he hadn’t eaten any people at all.
But in the past, Ah Wu had found ways to deal with beasts that posed a threat to them, sometimes by eating them.
Having witnessed such scenes many times, the little one instinctively tried to stop him.
“Zai Zai, just wait for me. I’ll come get you.”
“Okay.”
The little one obediently agreed, then cut off his connection with Ah Wu.
Once the connection was cut, the little one felt calmer.
The Empress, whom he had knocked unconscious, was still lying on the ground. The little one gave her a nudge with his paw before turning and running off.
The Empress was very bad, but she was the mother of both his eldest and third brothers.
If the Empress were killed without any proof, his brothers would never understand.
Even though he hated the Empress, he still cared about his brothers.
Soon, palace attendants entered the Empress’s chambers. Seeing that she hadn’t come out, they went in to check.
Upon finding her, they were horrified. “Your Majesty! Someone, help! There’s an assassin!”
The palace maids supported the Empress, panicked, and began calling for help.
As they shouted for someone to catch the assassin, the little one, the “assassin,” quietly slipped out right in front of them.
The little one snuck all the way to the entrance. But when he reached the door, he stopped.
Danger!
A crowd had already gathered outside the Empress’s chambers, including the maid who had tried to catch him earlier.
This maid recognized him in his cub form, so he couldn’t pretend to be a kitten and run off again.
The little one was forced back inside.
As time passed, the little one, still trapped inside, even managed to sneak into the kitchen and gnaw on two large chicken legs.
After finishing the chicken legs, the little one carefully hid himself.
He couldn’t run away, nor could he transform back, so all he could do was hide, fill his belly, and wait for the right moment to react.
Half an hour later, the familiar figure he had been waiting for appeared.
His father had arrived!
Emperor Ling had been anxiously searching for his little one. When he heard that the Empress had encountered an assassin, he frowned and hurried over.
If there was truly an assassin in the palace, his little one might have been captured too.
“Have you found the assassin?” Emperor Ling immediately asked the guards upon his arrival.
The guards were combing through the area, but they shook their heads and reported, “No.”
Aside from the Empress being knocked unconscious, no one else in the palace had been harmed. In fact, they hadn’t even caught a glimpse of the assassin.
Even after Emperor Ling personally checked, he found nothing.
By this time, the Empress had woken up. She still looked pale, and when she looked at Emperor Ling, her normally calm expression showed a rare hint of emotion.
“Your Majesty, it wasn’t an assassin who attacked me—it was a demon.”
The Empress spoke softly, “Its form was white, and it was vicious and harmful.”
Emperor Ling: “…”
He had always been skeptical of talk about demons.
Without hiding his distaste, he frowned and said in a cold voice, “Did you see the demon with your own eyes, Empress?”
“I saw it with my own eyes,” the Empress replied with her head lowered, clutching the prayer beads in her hand. Every word she spoke was resolute. “What I say is the absolute truth.”
Emperor Ling remained unconvinced.
“Empress,” he said, gently patting her back without much sincerity. He consoled, “You must be exhausted, which led to hallucinations. Let the imperial physician take a good look at you. If it’s really necessary, I can call Shui Shui over.”
“I don’t need an imperial physician. What I need is Your Majesty,” the Empress said maliciously. “Please order a search for that white demon in the palace. If it’s found, it should be executed on the spot so that peace can return to the palace, alright?”
Emperor Ling: “…”
He glanced at the Empress and paused for a few seconds before replying, “Alright.”
If there really was a harmful demon, he had no issue with having it executed.
But Emperor Ling had no desire to stay here much longer.
There were no clues to be found, and lingering here any longer would be a waste of time.
“Empress, rest well and don’t worry about anything else,” he said, signaling his intent to leave.
The Empress didn’t ask him to stay.
In fact, it had been a long time since she had either welcomed or urged him to stay.
Before leaving, Emperor Ling instructed someone to bring more tonics for the Empress.
He then left through the main entrance with his attendants.
He had only taken a few steps when, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a hole at the base of a wall to his right. Stuck in the hole was a round, furry little bottom.
Emperor Ling: “?”
His gaze focused on the fluffy little butt, and he felt his throat tighten.
Just now, the Empress had said there was a white demon in the palace.
Could she have been referring to this strange, round object?
As he watched, the round little bottom wiggled side to side, and with some effort, it finally wriggled free.
A dazed little one, who had gotten stuck, sat on the ground with a heaving belly, looking utterly exhausted.
Emperor Ling stared at him without blinking, and the little one, sensing the gaze, slowly raised his head.
Their eyes met, and the little one let out a small chirp.
Seeing his father, the little one instinctively wanted to take a step forward with his paws, but then hesitated and timidly stepped back.
He didn’t look anything like a kitten—his father might be scared of him.
This thought flashed through the little one’s mind, and his paws retreated further. But his wet, pleading eyes remained fixed on his father.
Faced with those pitiful little eyes, Emperor Ling found himself swallowing the words “demon.”
Impossible.
The vicious demon the Empress spoke of couldn’t be this tiny creature.
The little one was about to run, and Emperor Ling knew he should call for someone.
But a few seconds passed, and the little one didn’t run, and Emperor Ling didn’t call for anyone to capture him.
“Chirp?”
The little dumpling cautiously made a small sound, stood up, and raised both of his paws—a gesture that could either mean “hug me” or “I surrender.”
Looking at his outstretched paws, Emperor Ling felt an inexplicable warmth flood his heart.
He walked over, bent down, and when he stood up again, his wide sleeves completely concealed the little one’s form. With no change in expression, he walked away.
Hidden in his large sleeve, the little one nuzzled him with his fluffy head.
As expected.
Emperor Ling thought to himself, this wasn’t a vicious creature—most likely, it was just some rare exotic beast the Imperial Beast Division had recently acquired.
Once he had walked far enough from the Empress’s palace, he finally glanced down at the little dumpling.
The little one was clinging to his hand with both paws, looking at him with a completely trusting expression.
“You’re quite a cute little thing. If Little Seven saw you, he’d definitely like you.”
When Emperor Ling first saw the little dumpling, he had inexplicably thought of his Little Seven.
He didn’t know why seeing this little dumpling made him think of him, but since he had, he figured it was fate, and he decided to gift the little dumpling to him for company.
Emperor Ling brought the little dumpling back to the Chengming Palace.
Along the way, he confirmed that the little dumpling wasn’t dangerous at all.
Perhaps because he was tired from all the running earlier, the little one buried his face in Emperor Ling’s chest and soon fell asleep, snoring softly.
This carefree little creature had nothing in common with the demon the Empress had described.
“You can sleep here. When Little Seven returns, he’ll definitely be happy to see you.”
Emperor Ling took the time to place the little one in his Chengming Palace before heading off to accompany Noble Consort Yi in their search for the little one across the entire palace.
The grand search lasted a full day and night.
Every corner of the palace, including during the banquet, was thoroughly searched, but not even a trace of the young one was found.
Emperor Ling couldn’t find his child.
The Empress also failed to locate the little one, and her expression darkened as she couldn’t figure out where she had gone wrong in her calculations.
This time, Emperor Ling personally allowed her to search, a rare opportunity. Yet, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t find any sign of the little one.
Because of the young prince’s disappearance, Emperor Ling also refrained from issuing an important imperial decree.
At this critical moment, he had no interest in appointing a Crown Prince, and the Eldest Prince didn’t seem interested in the position either.
While searching for the child, both father and son secretly kept an eye on the Empress, but her actions left them puzzled.
As night deepened, the little one, who couldn’t transform back, stayed in Chengming Palace under the watch of a designated servant.
He anxiously rubbed his face with his paws, not knowing how to escape.
Just as he was about to rub all his fur off from stress, Shui Shui arrived.
Shui Shui said he was there to check Emperor Ling’s pulse, but after the attendants told him the emperor wasn’t around, he didn’t hurry to leave.
That’s when he noticed the little one, who had already rushed over to him.
“Chirp!”
The little one excitedly chirped at Shui Shui. Seeing that Shui Shui was stopped by the attendants, the little dumpling’s eyes darted around, and in the next second, he flopped onto the ground, paws twitching as if he were dying.
Since this little one was brought back by Emperor Ling, the servants in charge of him couldn’t just stand by and watch something happen.
At that moment, Shui Shui calmly said, “He’s having a seizure. I can help him.”
The little dumpling and Shui Shui worked together seamlessly. Using the excuse of treating the little dumpling, Shui Shui brought him to a private room.
“Chirp chirp.”
Once inside, the little one immediately recovered, fully energized. He frantically gestured with his paws, showing that he couldn’t transform back.
“I figured you’d be here. Noble Consort Yi guessed it too.”
The Empress was searching for a white demon beast, but no one in the palace could find it.
Both Shui Shui and Noble Consort Yi had figured out that the little beast was actually their Little Seven. In this vast palace, there was only one place Little Seven could hide.
“No worries,” Shui Shui said, seeing how anxious the little dumpling was about not being able to transform back. He went to the table, ground some ink, and spread out paper. Then, he gently squeezed the cub’s paw.
“Write with your paw.”
“Chirp!”
Alright!
The little one had always enjoyed playing with ink, and now he had the perfect excuse. Without hesitation, he dipped his paw into the ink.
He started writing with his ink-drenched paw, but the characters came out all crooked and wobbly.
Despite that, Shui Shui could still recognize them.
“Empress, murder, poison…”
“Find the old lady…”
The little dumpling’s paw was getting so tired it could barely lift anymore, but Shui Shui had read everything.
The Empress had committed murders in the palace and had poisoned the emperor.
The poison was something her people had found from an old woman in the commoners’ world.
This old woman had originally sold a family recipe for rat poison, but since selling only rat poison was too limiting, she eventually expanded her business to include other remedies.
One of these remedies was a slow-acting poison.
The Empress’s people found out about it, brought it back, and used it on the emperor.
The Empress had also sent someone to kill this old woman afterward, but the woman was clever and managed to save herself.
She was still alive and had evidence of transactions between her and one of the Empress’s most trusted palace maids.
“Only one survived.”
The little one emphasized this point—everyone else who had helped the Empress was already dead.
Now, the only one still alive was this old woman!
By the time the cub finished writing, his little paw was shaking from exhaustion.
“Chirp.”
He couldn’t write anymore.
The little one stared at his inky paw, unable to lift it.
Shui Shui washed his paw with clean water, but this kind of ink wouldn’t come off for days.
“The ink will fade after some time.”
After washing him up, Shui Shui couldn’t help but pinch and kiss his little paw. “Even now, your paw is so soft.”
Whether the paw pad was pink or inky black, it was soft, squishy, and just irresistible to pinch and kiss.
“You stay here in Chengming Palace with His Majesty.”
Shui Shui stroked the cub’s head and whispered, “Leave the rest to me.”
The little one nodded. With Shui Shui around, he felt completely at ease.
Shui Shui returned the cub to Chengming Palace and left quietly.
He immediately headed to Fenghua Palace.
That day, someone from the Murong family discreetly left the palace on an errand.
“Yi Er, where do you think Little Seven could be?” Emperor Ling was growing more and more anxious as he failed to find the cub.
He was genuinely worried, but Noble Consort Yi, watching him fret, had no intention of revealing the truth.
Emperor Ling adored Little Seven, not the fluffy little one.
Until Noble Consort Yi was absolutely sure that Emperor Ling posed no threat, she wasn’t going to tell him the cub’s true identity.
“Your Majesty, we will find Little Seven,” Noble Consort Yi said, although she wasn’t actually worried. But she still had to play the part.
She comforted Emperor Ling, all the while waiting for the right moment.
By the third day of the cub’s disappearance, Emperor Ling had already forgotten about the little white ball of fluff he’d brought home.
He had brought this little one back as a gift for Little Seven.
Now that Little Seven was missing, no matter how cute the cub was, he had no interest in raising it.
The little one was ignored by Emperor Ling, but he didn’t mind.
He still ate when he was hungry, slept when he was tired, and when he was well-rested, he’d roll over and sunbathe.
On the third evening, when the palace servants took the cub out to sunbathe, he blinked his eyes open, only to see that the usually obedient servant was now looking at him with hostility.
The cub instinctively wanted to run, but the servant had already moved him while he slept.
He had been taken to the Empress’s quarters.
The little one could barely comprehend this cold, harsh reality. He never expected that even his father’s people had been bought off by the Empress.
“Chirp, chirp chirp!”
The cub frantically kicked his little paws, trying to scratch or escape. However, an iron cage had locked him in.
He had only been locked up for two hours when both Shui Shui and Noble Consort Yi sensed that something was wrong.
Noble Consort Yi quickly discovered what had happened to her little one, and her eyes turned cold. She even grew angry at Emperor Ling.
“Even the people around him can be bought off.”
She was so furious that her chest hurt. She wanted to curse Emperor Ling for his uselessness, but she was too angry to even speak.
“Ji Yan, bring the person into the palace! Today!”
Noble Consort Yi furiously commanded, “She’s tried to harm my child several times. Her time as Empress is over!”
The Murong family had worked tirelessly over the past few days and finally found the Empress’s only surviving witness.
This old woman initially refused to come to the palace, but the Murong family was not to be trifled with.
If she didn’t come to the palace to reveal the truth, her entire family would be doomed.
But if she did come and pinned the blame on the Empress, the Murong family promised to spare her family’s lives.
The Empress was now entirely focused on killing their Little Seven.
The Murong family knew this, which was why they were doing everything in their power to bring down the Empress.
If the Empress didn’t die, Little Seven would always be in danger.
Noble Consort Yi ordered the old woman to be brought into the palace and, at the same time, approached the Eldest Prince.
Waiting for the old woman to arrive and confront the Empress would take too long.
Noble Consort Yi couldn’t wait.
She was desperate to get her Little Seven out of the Empress’s quarters.
“Ling Chen, I know where Little Seven is.”
Noble Consort Yi didn’t beat around the bush: “He’s in the Empress’s quarters, and you’re the only one who can bring him out.”
“Little Seven is with my mother?” Ling Chen was incredulous. “How could he possibly be there?”
“He is.”
Noble Consort Yi stared directly into Ling Chen’s eyes. She understood the difference between Ling Chen and Emperor Ling.
She didn’t dare to gamble with Emperor Ling, but she would with Ling Chen.
“Ling Chen, Little Seven looks up to you as his most beloved elder brother. I think you know how much Little Seven trusts you.”
Noble Consort Yi spoke each word clearly, “Now, I’m choosing to believe in you, to trust in your love for Little Seven.”
Ling Chen’s face tightened, and he said, “Your Highness, you can trust me.”
Their conversation didn’t last long.
Noble Consort Yi soon left.
After she departed, Ling Chen took several deep breaths to steady his emotions before marching to the Empress’s quarters.
By the time he arrived, Noble Consort Yi had already brought the newly arrived old woman before Emperor Ling.
Emperor Ling’s face was grim as he summoned the Empress.
The Empress didn’t understand why Emperor Ling had called for her, but despite her confusion, she frowned and went to him.
The moment she left, Ling Chen stormed into her quarters.
“Your Highness, the Empress isn’t here. Please come back later.”
“Your Highness, you cannot enter the Empress’s private chambers.”
The servants tried to stop him, but Ling Chen grew tired of the interference. He unsheathed his sword and coldly said, “If you dare stop me, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”
With his sword drawn, Ling Chen forcefully pushed his way into the Empress’s quarters.
He searched the chambers but couldn’t find the little one.
“Speak!”
Ling Chen pressed his sword against a maid’s neck. “Where is the cub you captured?”
“Your Highness, I-I don’t know.”
“I don’t have much patience.”
The long sword grazed her skin, and blood droplets formed.
Under the threat of death, one servant finally fell to her knees and confessed, “Your Highness, the cage is in the storage room next to the small kitchen, not here.”
“The Empress ordered that no one is allowed to take the cage away.”
“Your Highness, the Empress is your mother. You—You can’t—”
Before the servant could finish speaking, Ling Chen had already turned and headed to the back courtyard.
He kicked open the narrow storage room, and there, inside the cage, the little one was whimpering.
