It seems I'll have to keep a close eye on the little ferret from now on, otherwise what if it suddenly falls asleep again? It's relatively safe on land. But what if it falls asleep during a bath and no one's around? Wouldn't that be fatal?

Alarm bells rang in his mind, and An Honghan stared intently at the little sable, his thoughts swirling in the air.

Old Xu packed up his medicine box, bowed, and took his leave before leaving Panlong Hall.

Looking up at the night sky, countless brilliant stars twinkled. Old Xu gazed at the arrangement of the stars, then suddenly sighed and said, "They've finally come looking for us."

I had intended to stay in the Fengze Kingdom's palace a few more days, but unexpectedly, only a few months later, that person has found his way back here. Is it really so difficult to seek a moment of peace?

That night, An Honghan carefully held the little ferret as he fell asleep.

My heart is in turmoil, I can't calm down...

When the little ferret lost consciousness, An Honghan asked himself, what if the little ferret really died? Admittedly, the little ferret loved to cause trouble and was extremely lazy, but... if it left him like this, he probably wouldn't feel good about it.

The little sable loved to eat fish, especially the Phoenix Golden Scale Fish raised in Qingyuan Pond. Every few days, Xi Xizhi would go to Qingyuan Pond to catch a fish to satisfy his craving. Now, counting the fish, only seven or eight remained.

Although this fish is fresh and delicious, it cannot withstand Xi Xizhi's way of eating it.

After finishing a golden-scaled phoenix fish, Xi Xizhi smacked her lips in savoring the taste. Ever since she had eaten this kind of fish, Xi Xizhi's appetite had become increasingly picky; she wouldn't even try ordinary fish.

Wiping her mouth with a satisfied smile, Xi Xizhi let out a contented burp.

Xi Xi glanced at An Honghan, who was still eating, and then stealthily flipped off the chair. Before she could even step out the door, An Honghan's icy voice suddenly rang out, "Where do you think you're going?"

Ever since Xi Xizhi suddenly fell into a coma for no apparent reason, An Honghan has been keeping a closer eye on it. He hasn't let it out for several days now, so it's no wonder it's getting bored and wants to run away.

"Chirp chirp..." Xi Xizhi looked at An Honghan pitifully, her big, bright eyes filled with innocence. You need to walk a dog, you can't just let it sit there like a vase all day.

The weather outside is quite nice, and the little sable really should go out for a stroll. Given its temperament, five days is already the maximum it can be allowed to leave Panlong Palace.

An Honghan put down his silver chopsticks, wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, stood up and said, "Let's go for a walk in the Imperial Garden."

Xi Xizhi's eagerness to escape wasn't without reason. Because of the unexpected incident in the bathhouse last time, she desperately wanted to find a secluded place to try and use her spiritual power to transform into human form.

However, recently An Honghan has placed it under house arrest, forcing it to be watched by palace maids and eunuchs every day, leaving it with no private space.

They finally had a chance to go out for a stroll, but An Honghan still wasn't reassured enough and insisted on accompanying them personally.

With her little head twitching, Xi Xizhi followed closely behind An Honghan, jogging to keep up.

It wasn't that it didn't want to find a chance to escape, but rather that it had more than a dozen eunuchs following behind it.

An Honghan seemed to have arranged it this way on purpose, sandwiching it in the middle and eliminating any chance for it to escape.

The Imperial Garden covers a vast area, and as you look around, you can see all sorts of different plants growing there.

The willow leaves on the lake shore sway in the wind, and wisps of breeze carry the fragrance of various flowers.

Walking along the cobblestone path, An Honghan and Xiao Diao strolled towards the waterside pavilion not far away. Before even entering the pavilion, they heard a beautiful and melodious zither tune. Xi Xizhi's ears twitched, and her gaze gradually shifted in that direction.

There, on the waterside pavilion, was a zither table. More than ten elegantly dressed women sat there chatting, and the music was being played by the woman in the center of them.

The women in the imperial harem are as fierce as tigers, and Xi Xizhi has yet to emerge from their shadow. The moment she sees them, her first thought is to leave as quickly as possible to avoid getting into trouble.

But... she forgot that there was a luminous figure standing next to her. No matter how hard she tried to hide it, the person next to her had already attracted attention.

The music abruptly stopped, and the group of women all bowed and greeted An Honghan.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!" the beautiful women exclaimed in unison.

Seeing that she couldn't escape, Xi Xizhi quickly moved closer to An Honghan's feet and squatted down. Anyway, with An Honghan as her powerful backer, she wasn't afraid that these women would dare to bully her.

An Honghan didn't want to enter the waterside pavilion and deal with these women, but since they had already bowed, he could only nod slightly and say, "Rise."

Although these princesses stayed in the palace every day, they actually spent very little time with An Honghan. Apart from occasional encounters within the palace, they could only see him once or twice at banquets.

The Sixth Princess, An Ruoyan, giggled as she picked up the teapot and poured a cup of tea for An Honghan. "Since Your Majesty is here, why don't you listen to me play a tune?"

The other princesses chimed in, "Sixth Sister's musical skills are the best among us; even the musicians say they can't compare to her."

"Sixth Sister is not only beautiful, but also proficient in all the arts, such as music, chess, calligraphy and painting. She is better than us in every one of them."

...

The endless praises all revolved around An Ruoyan.

No matter how outstanding An Ruoyan was, Xi Xizhi still didn't like her. He sat quietly on the ground, looking at her fake face.

An Honghan, who had been silent, suddenly asked, "Have you two competed?"

The once noisy waterside pavilion suddenly fell silent.

Many princesses shook their heads.

“Since there has been no competition, how do you know that her musical skills are the best?” An Honghan’s words were always incisive, and his gaze immediately spotted the inconspicuous Fourteenth Princess hidden in the crowd.

The princesses were speechless, unsure how to respond.

Xi Xizhi wholeheartedly agreed with this statement, nodding her head repeatedly. No matter what you do, you must try your best to know whether you can do it or not. The worst thing a person can do is to underestimate themselves and think they are inferior to others in every way.

Feeling that her brother was deliberately targeting her, An Ruoyan's face turned a little ashen, but in just a moment, she immediately put on a beautiful and charming expression.

“Your Majesty is absolutely right. I’m afraid the sisters are just being lenient with Yan’er. They rarely show off their musical skills, and they might be much better than Yan’er.”

Hearing this, Xi Xizhi got goosebumps all over.

"Why not have a match today?" An Honghan picked up the little ferret squatting at his feet and gently patted the dust off its fur.