Lu Qi caught the bamboo block tossed by His Majesty and sat down in a nearby chair.
"Your Majesty, you really should play less of that tile-matching game," he said.
"You should read more books, or at least work on your bamboo carvings."
Xia Jiang rolled his eyes at the familiar tone. "Don't imitate how I talk."
"And don't tell Xing Yuan about this."
Xing Yuan had been keeping a close eye on him lately, saying his vision was already declining based on his last physical exam. He wouldn't allow him to use so many electronic devices.
"Uncle Yuan is just looking out for you," said Lu Qi. "Playing tile-matching games at your age."
The giant panda looked Lu Qi over from his lounge chair. "It seems your mental state has truly stabilized. You even have the energy to sass me now."
In the past, this little snake could barely string three words together. Xia Jiang knew it was because he was in great discomfort.
Now that he had regained his health, it put Xia Jiang's mind at ease.
Though the little snake was mischievous, his playfulness was reassuring.
Besides the Kashida situation, Xia Jiang worried most about these youngsters.
He didn't expect them to be exceptionally talented - he just hoped they could grow up healthy.
If he were to pass on someday, he could always find another capable beastman to inherit the throne. It didn't necessarily have to be one of these children.
Lu Qi said, "I encountered vampires in Siduo City."
He hadn't reported this incident to His Majesty yet, so Lu Qi took the opportunity to recount everything that had happened previously.
The giant panda furrowed his brow. "I had no idea these people act one way in front of me, but behind my back they collude with vampires to harm Kashida's citizens."
"It's fortunate nothing happened to you."
"We should take this chance to root out all those beasts in the city whose eyes have been blinded by money."
He glanced at Lu Qi. "Do you want to handle this?"
Lu Qi quickly shook his head. "No. If you find any evidence about the vampires, just give it all to me. I'll take care of the vampire side of things."
Xia Jiang knew about his inner conflict and sighed. "Alright, I'll give it to the second prince to handle. Don't kill too ruthlessly - even a cornered dog will leap over a wall."
Lu Qi quietly agreed.
The giant panda glanced towards the doorway, then pulled out his tablet to open the tile-matching game. His thick paws moved quickly and nimbly across the screen.
After playing for a while, he noticed Lu Qi was still there. "Why haven't you left yet?"
Lu Qi watched him play with boredom, even helping clear a few ice blocks. "I want to cancel the engagement."
The giant panda didn't hear clearly. "What?"
"I want to cancel the engagement."
Xia Jiang looked up at him and agreed readily, "Alright."
Now it was Lu Qi's turn to be shocked. "That easily?!"
He thought he would have to argue with His Majesty for a while before getting approval.
The giant panda continued playing his game without looking up. "What else? You've been complaining about this for a long time, haven't you? It doesn't matter anymore, do whatever you want."
"I'll talk to Yun Zheng about it."
After the incident of Lu Qi going missing, Xia Jiang had become very indulgent towards him.
Since this was the child's wish, he might as well fulfill it.
The little snake hadn't had an easy life either.
Xia Jiang seemed to think of something and added, "If you meet someone you like, let me know early. We need to continue the bloodline - you're the only Singing Snake left."
An image of pure, flawless green cat eyes suddenly flashed through Lu Qi's mind. He paused, then said, "I'll let you know if it happens."
The giant panda's movements came to a complete stop. He stared at the Singing Snake with wide black eyes. "You've got someone in mind!"
In the past when he said such things to Lu Qi, the snake would only impatiently reply "I won't take a mate," "I'll die alone," or "The Singing Snakes will end with me."
But now he was so calm about it!
Lu Qi abruptly stood up, ignoring Xia Jiang's attempts to make him stay, and quickly left His Majesty's chambers.
As he walked out the door, he didn't forget to tell Xing Yuan, "His Majesty is playing the tile-matching game."
Xing Yuan nodded with a smile. "Understood. Have a good day, General."
Satisfied, Lu Qi left the palace and flew towards the Singing Snake Mansion.
The Emperor of a nation shouldn't have so much free time to play tile-matching games.
At the Singing Snake Mansion.
Yesterday after arriving at the mansion, Yun Manman had eaten dinner and fallen straight asleep, unaware that Lu Qi had gone out.
Today the little cat woke up on the five-meter wide bed, still a bit dazed by the simple and cool decor of the room.
She sat on the bed for a good while before remembering that she had arrived in the capital and was currently staying at General Lu Qi's home.
"Gurgle..."
Her stomach made a noise.
She was hungry.
Yun Manman felt a bit troubled. How was she supposed to go out?
Should she hop out on three legs?
Just then, the basket lying by the bed suddenly moved and emitted an electronic voice that sounded oddly playful: "Hello, Miss Counselor. I'm baby, your personal robot assistant. You can sit in the basket and choose auto-pilot, or you can choose to drive manually."
Yun Manman was startled by the sudden voice. Looking closer, she realized there was a short, flat robot under the basket. Its display screen showed an expression grinning stupidly at her.
It seemed this was prepared to help her move around conveniently.
After hesitating for a moment, the orange cat carefully stepped into the basket and sat down.
The basket was fixed on top of the robot and lined with soft cushions, making it both safe and comfortable.
Yun Manman tentatively asked, "baby, is there anything to eat?"
baby cheerfully glided out of the room with Yun Manman on board. "Yes, there is. I'll take you to the dining room now."
On the way, Yun Manman checked the messages on her communicator and discovered that Lu Qi had left her a message last night.
"baby is a robot prepared for you. You can order it to do anything. You can go anywhere in the mansion."
He added at the end: "Except my room. You absolutely must not enter my room."
Yun Manman: ...
Saying "absolutely must not enter" is the same as saying "you absolutely must enter"! Didn't he know those words were most likely to arouse a cat's curiosity?
Yun Manman suppressed her curiosity and allowed baby to take her to the dining room for breakfast.
Along the way, she observed the villa where Lu Qi lived.
The space was spacious, but the decor was extremely minimalist, quite similar to the "sexually apathetic style" of interior design on Earth.
Besides some necessary furniture, there were very few decorations in the villa. It looked extremely lacking in any sense of life.
She also didn't see any other beastmen on the way. The entire building was extremely quiet, as if only she and baby were here.
Yun Manman couldn't help but ask baby, "Does General Lu Qi live here alone? Aren't there other beastmen in the Singing Snake Mansion?"
baby replied, "This villa is only for General Lu Qi. The medical team and butler live in another villa."
"One of the tasks the General assigned to baby is to take Miss Counselor to see the doctor."
Yun Manman held back, then said, "baby, please call me Manman."
Why did it have to call her Miss Counselor!
Just mentioning it reminded her of the mortifying experience on the maglev train.
"This command conflicts with the highest priority command. Name change invalid."
"I'm sorry Miss Counselor, but your form of address was set by the General and cannot be changed."
baby's display screen showed a dejected expression.
Yun Manman: ...
General Lu's maddening sense of humor.
After baby brought her to the dining room and seated her, a middle-aged male beastman dressed as a butler greeted her with a smile. "Hello, Miss Yun. My name is Shou Ren, and I'm the butler of the Singing Snake Mansion. Please let me know if you need anything."
Yun Manman felt a bit flustered by his respectful tone. "Hello."
Then Shou Ren began bringing dish after dish to the dining table.
Grilled steak, raw Lulu Beast meat, braised chicken, cream of mushroom soup, stir-fried three delicacies, sautéed potato strips...
Looking at the dizzying array of food on the table, Yun Manman swallowed and said to the butler, "Isn't this a bit too much?"
Shou Ren enthusiastically replied, "Not at all! Please let me know if there's anything else you'd like to eat. Our chefs can make anything."
Lu Qi was often away from home, leaving the mansion's chefs bored out of their minds.
Now that someone said to be the General's future mate had arrived, they were thrilled. They immediately set out to showcase their culinary skills, determined to leave a good impression on the General's future partner.
Hearing that Yun Manman liked vegetables, the chefs who were used to cooking meat dishes stayed up all night poring over cookbooks to come up with several vegetarian dishes.
Seeing the fat, shuttle-shaped black and white striped tail wagging happily behind Shou Ren, Yun Manman quickly shook her head. "This is plenty, plenty! This is more than enough to eat."
The meaty tail with black and white stripes like a gecko's - his beast form must be some kind of gecko.
So Shou Ren stood behind Yun Manman, watching the little cat eat with loving eyes. Whenever the cat showed any sign of wanting something, he would immediately step forward to hand it to her.
Oh my, Miss Yun was just too adorable.
Her smooth, flowing fur, her petite and well-proportioned figure, her cute and sweet face.
How could there be a beast-man who doesn't like little kittens?
Just as Yun Manman had finished eating, the doorbell of the villa rang, and then the front door was pushed open. Noisy voices mixed with the sound of rain poured into the quiet villa.
"You old man, you stepped on my tail!"
"Oh my, put away your umbrella, water's flying everywhere..."
"Shh, keep it down, don't scare Miss Yun!"