How could the food prepared by the imperial chefs taste bad? His Majesty's words were merely a perfunctory response. Lynn was thankful that he had guessed His Majesty's thoughts correctly and hadn't said anything wrong; otherwise, his head might have been on the line.

But... why did he feel that His Majesty's feelings for this pet were unusual?

"Aren't you going yet?" While Lynn was in a daze, An Honghan's gaze turned to her without warning.

Lynn was terrified and broke out in a cold sweat. How could he forget that sometimes he could guess His Majesty's thoughts, but only if His Majesty allowed him to?

Being this chief steward meant living in constant fear, lest he say or do the wrong thing. Angering His Majesty meant that even ten heads wouldn't be enough to pay for it.

Others see his glamorous life, but who can see the hardships he endured? Lynn earned his position as manager by risking his life.

"This servant will go right away." Lin En strode down the nine-step platform to the center of the main hall and exchanged a few words with the imperial chef.

With the crisis averted, Xi Xizhi let out a sigh of relief; the downy fur on her head was already soaked with sweat. She raised her paw to wipe her face, but the damp fur stuck to her body was really uncomfortable.

After resting on An Honghan's lap for a while, Xi Xizhi regained her strength.

The banquet had already begun, and many ministers watched the imperial chefs prepare the dishes while drinking and chatting.

"The cuisine of Fengze Kingdom is truly exceptional. I, Shenji, am fortunate to have such a feast today. Your Majesty, on behalf of Jiu Kingdom, I offer you a toast." The speaker was the envoy from Jiu Kingdom.

He was dressed in the attire of the Kingdom of Jiu, making him particularly conspicuous in the main hall. Xi Xizhi raised her eyelids and easily found his position below.

This man was neither arrogant nor humble, spoke eloquently, and handled matters with tact. No wonder the king of Jiu Kingdom appointed him as an envoy.

Lin En carefully filled An Honghan's wine cup with the white jade wine pot and pushed it in front of An Honghan.

As an emperor, An Honghan couldn't refuse certain necessary social obligations. He raised his wine cup, gestured towards the envoy, and drank it all in one gulp without saying a word.

Not only the envoys, but many ministers also took the opportunity to offer toasts. An Honghan did not utter a single word from beginning to end, drinking one cup of wine after another as if he were drinking water, and that he would not get drunk at all.

Xi Xizhi secretly gave him a thumbs up; impressive drinking capacity. He'd drunk so much, yet his face wasn't flushed and he wasn't out of breath.

The wine in the glass rippled and spread. Xi Xizhi was feeling a bit thirsty, and seeing that An Honghan had drunk so many glasses without showing any signs of drunkenness, she figured the alcohol content probably wasn't too high…

It tiptoed onto the table, its fluffy head staring blankly at the white jade wine cup.

To drink or not to drink?

Unable to resist the temptation, it stretched out its two chubby paws, grabbed the wine glass, and stuck out its pink little tongue to lick the wine.

The wine exuded a rich aroma. Xi Xizhi felt a spiciness as soon as her tongue touched it, but when she tasted it, she found it to be incredibly mellow and delicious, much better than the several jars of fine wine that her master had secretly hidden away.

It stuck out its tongue and licked the glass again until it was empty, its paws reluctant to let go of the glass.

Lynn looked on in surprise and said worriedly, "Your Majesty, that's your wine cup..."

An Honghan wasn't angry; he found it inexplicably amusing to watch the little sable drinking so much.

"Let's pour it another cup." An Honghan pointed to the wine cup that the little ferret was holding, his interest piqued.

Seeing the little mink drink for the first time, Lynn was also very curious. Following An Honghan's instructions, she filled the wine glass to the brim.

Xi Xizhi was still savoring the aroma of the wine in her mouth when she saw that the wine glass had suddenly been filled again, and she laughed and shouted.

An Honghan couldn't understand what Xi Xizhi was saying, but looking at her smiling eyes, he could guess a bit of what she was saying.

"This little glutton." A smile gradually appeared on his lips, and even An Honghan didn't realize how gentle his smile was.

Xi Xizhi couldn't wait to refill his drink, smacking his lips twice with each sip, seemingly enjoying it immensely.

Every time Little Mink finished refilling a cup, Lynn would immediately refill it again.

In her previous life, Xi Xi could drink dozens of cups of wine without getting drunk. But she forgot one fact: in her previous life, she was human, while in this life, she was a ferret. Most importantly, she was still an underage ferret; how much alcohol could she possibly drink?

The weight of the alcohol I've just drunk is almost greater than my own body weight!

After finishing the third cup, the scenery before Xi Xizhi's eyes transformed into a double image. The world seemed to be upside down, swaying and making Xi Xizhi dizzy.

Staggering to her feet, Xi Xizhi swayed with every step she took. She was so drunk she couldn't even tell which way was which. Just as she was about to fall off the edge of the table, An Honghan finally reached out and grabbed the little sable, pulling it into his arms.

"I thought you could drink a lot, getting drunk after just three cups of wine." An Honghan chuckled, raising his hand to stroke the little sable's fur.

Little did Xi Xizhi know that he was drunk and thought it was wine, so he stuck out his tongue and licked it.

A soft tongue pressed against An Honghan's palm, startling him. He found it incredibly comfortable to be licked like that by the little ferret. He deliberately moved his hand towards the ferret again, wanting it to lick him once more.

Having been fooled once before, how could the little sable be fooled again? It knew that stuff didn't smell like wine, and wouldn't taste good either. Disgusted, it turned its head away, slumped onto An Honghan's lap, and fell fast asleep.

Lynn held back his laughter, never expecting that His Majesty would also suffer a setback, and the one who suffered the setback was a little ferret.

If other people saw this, they'd probably laugh their heads off.

"Lin En, have I been too lenient with you lately?" Nothing can escape An Honghan's gaze. His narrow eyes narrowed slightly, a cold glint flashing within them.

Lynn knelt down, his smile completely gone. "Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

An Honghan remained silent in the face of Lin En's pleas for mercy, offering neither punishment nor forgiveness. As if he hadn't seen Lin En kneeling on the ground, An Honghan composed himself, glanced at the little sable in his arms, and finally looked down at the ministers below, saying, "It's getting late, all of you ministers should go back early. I'm also tired, so I'll head back to my palace first."

An Honghan was young and vigorous; his claims of fatigue were merely excuses. All the officials understood that His Majesty probably found the banquet too boring, so he made up an excuse to leave.

No one dared to expose his lies, just as no one dared to challenge his authority.

"Respectfully seeing off Your Majesty." The ministers were all very polite; they all stepped out from behind their desks, patted their knees, and knelt down to watch An Honghan depart.

Lynn remained kneeling on the ground, watching His Majesty carry the little sable out of Liuyun Palace, unsure whether he should stand up.

His Majesty did not pardon his crime, nor did he tell him to rise. What if His Majesty's intention was to make him kneel as punishment? If he stood up, wouldn't that be disobeying His Majesty's decree?

In any case, kneeling for a night is much simpler than trying to guess His Majesty's thoughts.