Ouchi Taming the Cat, starting with the Ten Tiger Forms!

Chapter 625 New Year is coming
"It's so cold, rolling around on the ground, what if you catch a cold?"

"Your Highness, let me untie you."

As Manager Shang spoke, he quickly untied the tangled ribbons for them.

After being untied, the three little ones did not separate immediately. Li Xuan jumped directly onto Princess Ankang's shoulder, then pointed his head to get into her collar.

Li Xuan's soft fur made Princess Ankang so itchy that she begged for mercy and forgot about her previous temper.

Yu'er quickly helped Princess Ankang up and patted Li Xuan's butt.

"Ah Xuan, Manager Shang is here, stop making trouble!"

Unexpectedly, Li Xuan was slammed into the bed with his butt. Princess Ankang's neck was no longer itchy, but her clothes felt bulging.

Li Xuan fumbled around inside for a while and finally found the direction. He popped his little head out from Princess Ankang's collar.

Princess Ankang also immediately held Li Xuan with her hands to prevent him from sliding down.

Yu'er, who was standing by, looked at the funny appearance of the man and the cat and just held her forehead with her hand in pain.

Manager Shang was not surprised at all and just laughed.

"Your Highness is becoming more and more energetic now."

Seeing Princess Ankang becoming more and more lively, Manager Shang felt very pleased.

"Didn't we just see meow in the Ministry of Internal Affairs?"

"Why are you looking for me again, meow?"

Li Xuan poked his little head out from Princess Ankang's collar and asked Butler Shang.

Moreover, in a short while, Manager Shang even changed his clothes.

Today's outfit is brighter than the flowery dress she usually wears.

"Of course I have something to see Her Royal Highness the Princess about."

"I knocked on the door for a long time but no one came to open it. I thought something happened."

After saying that, Manager Shang disappeared in front of them in a flash.

And the next moment, there was another knock on the door.

Manager Shang is still very rule-abiding and will definitely follow the necessary procedures.

If he had not been in a hurry to come in and check the situation, he would not have casually climbed into Jingyang Palace.

This time, Yu'er hurried to open the door for Manager Shang.

After opening the door, they found that Manager Shang did not come alone, but was followed by many eunuchs in flowery clothes.

The eunuchs in flowery clothes each held a wooden box in their hands, and no one knew what was inside.

After being received by Princess Ankang, Chief Steward Shang led them into Jingyang Palace and introduced them:
"Your Highness, the formal attire for the New Year's Eve dinner in two days is ready."

"Today I am here to deliver the princess a dress."

As Chief Steward Shang spoke, he took a wooden box from the hand of the eunuch in flowery clothes beside him and opened it, revealing a bright red palace skirt inside.

The palace skirt is extremely exquisite, decorated with snowflake patterns and white and blue embellishments, but the main color is festive red.

The palace skirt was quietly placed in the wooden box. Although it had not been unfolded to be seen, these details alone were enough to show the fine workmanship of this dress.

And what Chief Steward Shang brought was not only Princess Ankang's dress, but also those of Li Xuan and Yu'er.

The two girls looked at the tiny clothes and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Li Xuan's face was filled with black lines.

Since when, Daxing has also started a trend of dressing small animals, which Li Xuan sternly rejected.

He already has a coat of jet-black, smooth fur, so why does he need to wear clothes?

Besides, how can wearing clothes be as comfortable as running naked?
Li Xuan and Yu'er's dresses were also mainly red, but they were simpler than Princess Ankang's palace dress.

When Princess Ankang and Yu'er wanted to help Li Xuan try on clothes, his head suddenly shook like a rattle. He simply shrank his head and hid in Princess Ankang's clothes and didn't come out.

"Oh, Xuan is still shy!"

The two girls joked even more excitedly.

Regardless of what they said, Li Xuan simply curled up into a ball and lay down in a comfortable position.

You know what, now that Princess Ankang is getting healthier and healthier, her body temperature is no longer as cold as before, but rather very warm.

Anyway, Li Xuan started to feel sleepy not long after he came in.

"Aha~"

Li Xuan yawned loudly and stopped paying attention to the conversation between the two maids and the chief monk.

"It's just that the New Year is only two days away?"

"That's fast."

……

Prince Zheng's Mansion.

"Your Highness, the palace has sent an invitation to this year's New Year's Eve dinner."

Hongyu handed the gold-plated dragon-patterned invitation to King Zheng. King Zheng just glanced at it and put it aside.

Hongyu didn't say anything more and quietly stepped aside.

At this time, King Zheng still had important matters to deal with.

"Haven't they reported their itinerary yet?" King Zheng asked coldly.

Wu Cheng, who was kneeling below, felt his forehead was soaked with cold sweat.

"Your Majesty, I have sent secret guards to search along the way. Apart from that one trace of battle, no other traces were found."

"The secret servant who accompanied Master Huo died in an unknown place..."

Wu Cheng wanted to say something, but he held back.

He had some subjective speculations, but now was not the time to speak them. His previous speculation that Zhu Wufeng had already rebelled had already made King Zheng furious.

But this time, when the Western Region Fire Demon went to confirm the bamboo-attributed true qi left at the scene, it turned out that even the secret guards had disappeared.

"Preliminary judgment shows that several upper third-rank warriors fought at the scene, but they did not leave any signs of the Five Elements Reincarnation."

"Old Huo should have escaped, but the secret guards are unlikely to survive, so it is understandable that Old Huo did not know about the regular communication."

"But Elder Huo did not return to the capital, nor did he go to any stronghold to seek help. This is really strange..."

Wu Cheng reported tremblingly, not knowing whether he had offended the lucky star recently or not, as he had gotten into some huge troubles.

The two priests of Prince Zheng's Mansion have been missing one after another, and their secret guards have not found anything. Even Wu Cheng himself is too embarrassed to come and report.

"Wu Cheng!"

King Zheng suddenly shouted angrily and smashed the table beside him.

"The secret guard is not here to tell me that this matter is strange, but to find out the strange matter for me!"

"After so many years of comfort, have you forgotten what you do?"

Hongyu on the side couldn't help but tremble. He had never seen King Zheng lose his temper so much.

"The villain doesn't dare, the villain doesn't dare!"

Wu Cheng kowtowed repeatedly and kept apologizing.

"Get off!"

"If you can't find the trace of Huo Lao within three days, you will be beheaded!!!"

Wu Cheng knelt down and left the room in fear.

After reaching the door, he immediately stood up and ran.

Wu Cheng knew that the prince was serious. If he couldn't find any clues after three days, his head would really be in trouble.

"Trash, a bunch of trash!"

King Zheng threw everything he could get out of the house, venting his anger. It was fine that Zhu Wufeng was missing, but now there was another Ignis.

The worshippers in Prince Zheng's palace disappeared one after another, but Prince Zheng knew nothing about it. This feeling of unease made Prince Zheng unable to sleep or eat.

Ignis is a second-grade warrior, one of the strongest men in the world.

If such a person can disappear silently, then who is targeting him?
He could guess that Emperor Yongyuan must be behind this. After all, he was in trouble, and there was no one in the world happier than Emperor Yongyuan.

But those old guys in the palace absolutely dared not move, and King Zheng knew their movements very well.

As long as they dare to reveal their flaws, King Zheng will change the situation in Daxing.

"Who is it? Who is it?"

King Zheng became more and more confused.

Since this year, things have become increasingly unsuccessful. The things that were originally firmly under his control began to get out of control, and fog gradually formed in front of his eyes, making it difficult for him to see clearly.

"Since Liang Zhao was expelled from the capital at the beginning of the year, the court and the palace have become increasingly out of control..."

"Can't wait any longer!"

Thinking back on what happened this year, King Zheng felt a strong sense of crisis.

He didn't know why the good situation suddenly began to show signs of collapse, but he knew that he couldn't wait passively any longer.

The general situation has changed, and this change is what King Zheng does not want to see.

……

Wuning Palace.

Empress Wu leaned lazily on the couch, reading a letter attentively.

The handwriting on the letter was beautiful and neat, as if it was printed.

Empress Wu slowly read the last signature, then sighed:
"Alas, Yan Zhao is coming back."

Beside Empress Wu, there was an old nanny standing by. She silently took the letter that Empress Wu had just read and then put it away carefully.

"Just looking at the distance, I think I won't be able to make it in time for the New Year's Eve dinner, but I can still make it on the first day of the New Year."

"Now that she's back, I wonder how many people will get into a tizzy again."

The old nanny smiled kindly and said, "Your Highness, the princess has been away studying for many years and has not returned. How can you say that to her?"

"If I didn't know, I would have thought that you, Your Majesty, didn't miss Her Royal Highness the Princess."

Empress Wu snorted and said casually, "Hmph, my precious princess has so many people who miss her, I'm afraid she wouldn't miss one more."

Then, Empress Wu sighed and said, "Well, it's good to come back."

……

Two days flew by in the blink of an eye.

Li Xuan did not go out for the past two days, but stayed in Jingyang Palace obediently to accompany Princess Ankang.

He would occasionally take some time to instruct Yu'er in her training, and then go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to check on Sharon's situation.

Sharon's recovery was much smoother than Li Xuan expected.

Her vitality would be significantly restored as long as she absorbed the fire energy stored by Li Xuan.

Now, Sharon can even practice on her own to increase the internal energy.

However, in terms of vitality, Li Xuan's Yin-Yang Qi is still needed to recover.

After all, Sharon was almost at the end of her rope before, and it's a miracle that she can come back to life now.

Tonight is the New Year's Eve dinner, and every part of the palace has been decorated with lights and colors, in preparation for the New Year.

The palace’s New Year’s Eve dinner lasts the entire night from the night of December 30th to the early morning of New Year’s Day.

In addition to banquets, there are also various singing and dancing performances and activities to stay up all night, making it the most grand festival in Daxing.

Compared with the previous Double Ninth Festival banquets, the celebration is only slightly larger. In the early morning of the first day of the new year, there will be a New Year's greeting from Emperor Yongyuan, as well as a New Year's worship by the royal descendants and civil and military officials.

From tonight to tomorrow morning, there are a lot of procedures to go through, and I will be busy for a while.

These matters are also the responsibility of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and it is fortunate that Zhao Feng has been able to handle them during this period of time.

The three little ones started getting ready early in the day and changed into the dresses that Manager Shang had sent them earlier.

At the request of the two maids, Li Xuan reluctantly put on her little dress.

"Ah Xuan is so cute~"

When the two girls saw Li Xuan wearing a festive red dress, they rubbed against him and touched him endlessly.

Li Xuan enjoyed the touch of the two girls, and his impatience with putting on clothes was slightly reduced.

While they were playing, there was a knock on the door outside Jingyang Palace.

Yu'er went to answer the door and found that the Eighth Prince and his companions had also arrived.

"Ankang, are you ready?"

The Eighth Prince came in familiarly, followed by the Fifth Prince and the Seventh Princess.

Li Xuan was a little surprised that he didn't see Princess Yuan An following them today.

Princess Ankang also noticed this and asked them:
"Where's Yuan An? Hasn't he woken up yet?"

The fifth prince waved his hand and said, "She can't come with us today. At least she has to come to us after entering the venue."

"The Queen will not allow her to get too close to us in this situation."

Princess Ankang suddenly realized and stopped asking questions.

Princess Yuan'an always mingles with them on weekdays, and people almost forget that she is also the legitimate daughter of Empress Wu and bears the imprint of the Wu family.

The fifth prince and the seventh princess seldom mentioned their mothers, and Li Xuan had never asked about them, but he guessed that they were not as prominent as the eighth prince.

The mother of the eighth prince is from the Qin family, a powerful family among the nobles.

It’s the Eighth Prince’s business if he wants to play with Princess Ankang.

But if Princess Yuanan also gets together, it will easily cause misunderstandings from the outside world.

Although Princess Yuan'an is not as eye-catching as her elder sister, she is still the legitimate daughter of Empress Wu and represents the attitude of the Wu family to a certain extent.

On an occasion like the New Year's Eve dinner, Princess Yuanan has no right to do whatever she wants.

This kind of thing is commonplace for royal descendants like them.

Their personal wishes have always been subject to the greater interests behind them.

Every move you make requires caution and careful consideration in your mind.

Otherwise, if you act recklessly and cause too much trouble, you will be at risk of being abandoned.

It would be fine if the princes and princesses who have lost their support can still be loved by their mother, but at most they will be unwelcome outside.

But if I lose even my mother's protection, it would be disastrous.

"Ankang, your palace dress is so exquisite!"

The Eighth Prince changed the subject and praised Princess Ankang.

The dresses they wore were mainly red, but the colors and styles were slightly different, as if they were divided into different levels.

The color of the Eighth Prince's dress is most similar to Princess Ankang's, but it has more black and dark green embellishments.

The dresses of the fifth prince and the seventh princess were lighter in color, closer to pink, and the areas embellished with other colors were even larger.

Princess Ankang's dress was an orthodox bright red with very limited embellishment, but the fine tailoring did not make the palace skirt look too vulgar. Instead, it made her look like a red rose in bud.

In the past, Princess Ankang would definitely not be able to support such a color, but she is strong and healthy, with a very good complexion and a rosy face, which makes her look more charming.

Princess Ankang felt a little embarrassed by the praise from her friends. She blushed and lowered her head and said:

"My brothers and sisters always tease Ankang."

"Let's not talk about that anymore, let's go to the party!"

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(End of this chapter)