Chapter 403: Requesting an Office

"The Director has been missing for some time. Should we seek the Eighth Prince's help again?"

One of the Hidden Intelligence Bureau agents spoke up. After the rebuff they had received the first time, none of them had dared trouble Li Musheng with the matter of the Director again.

But the longer this went on, the worse the Director's situation was likely to be, and they were growing anxious.

The inn proprietor had also happened to overhear something in the main hall one day and knew that the reason the Great Xuan Seventh Princess had been able to ascend the Great Xuan throne was that Li Musheng, the Eighth Prince, had made it happen.

If the Director truly was trapped somewhere in the Great Xuan imperial palace, a single word from Li Musheng would likely be enough to free him.

But coming up with enough to make Li Musheng act was a problem they still had not solved. Some among them even suspected that since the Hidden Intelligence Bureau had previously backed the false Seventh Prince claimant, Li Musheng was well aware of it and would be even less inclined to help them.

If they went and bothered Li Musheng again, it might very well backfire and make the Eighth Prince actively hostile toward them. At that point their own lives might be in danger.

After all, Li Musheng had shown he would kill his own imperial brothers without hesitation. Killing a few intelligence agents would cost him even less thought.

"Wait a few more days. I have heard something to the effect that the Eighth Prince's reason for staying in Taixuan City is that he is waiting for someone."

The inn proprietor considered this with a thoughtful expression, "We should wait until he has accomplished what he came for and is in good spirits before raising the matter. The chances of success will be considerably higher then."

"And with the situation in Taixuan City not yet fully stable, once the Great Xuan Seventh Princess has secured her position, the whole thing will be easier to handle."

At those words, the other Hidden Intelligence Bureau agents exchanged looks and said, "Waiting a bit is fine enough, but the question is whether the Director can wait."

But the inn proprietor shook his head, "If any of you want to try your luck, feel free to approach the Eighth Prince yourselves. Just be prepared to deal with whatever comes of it."

At that, the assembled agents went immediately quiet, each letting out an awkward laugh and saying nothing more.

...

At the same time, inside the Great Xuan imperial palace.

The large black cat, with Zhao Muning's dispatch tucked under its belly, slipped into the Great Xuan imperial palace without making a sound.

Since Li Musheng would not give it an official post, it could only help itself.

The plan was to use its standing as Li Musheng's most beloved cat as a pretext and go and secure a proper official title from the new Great Xuan empress.

Given the relationship it had with Li Musheng, it was confident the empress would not be ungrateful enough to refuse such a trivial request.

But the Great Xuan imperial palace was simply enormous, and the moment it got inside it was completely lost. On top of that, there were mechanisms everywhere, and had it not been for its natural sharpness, it would have fallen into several traps already.

Unable to find Zhao Muning's quarters, the large black cat paced anxiously in circles on the roof of some part of the palace, not daring to meow for fear of alerting the palace's martial experts.

After all, Zhao Muning knew what it looked like, but the palace's people certainly did not.

And so the large black cat wandered aimlessly through the Great Xuan imperial palace for most of the night, and by pure chance eventually came upon an unremarkable hall.

It was only passing by, but a sudden invisible hand reached out from below and seized it entirely, dropping it inside the hall beneath.

The large black cat was thoroughly startled, and before it could even react, it found itself immobilized and unable to move.

"Where did this enormous black cat come from?"

The Old Ancestor of the Great Xuan imperial palace looked at the large black cat he had caught, and an unusual expression crossed his eyes.

The Great Xuan imperial palace was as secure as a fortress, and an ordinary stray cat had no way of getting in. The most likely explanation was that it belonged to someone inside the palace.

But a cat this large and well-fed was something even he had never seen before.

At that moment, Zhao Muning, standing before the Old Ancestor in her bright yellow dragon robes, went briefly still.

She had naturally recognized the large black cat immediately, and swept the hall in every direction looking for Li Musheng.

But of course she did not find him.

Zhao Muning withdrew her gaze and looked at the large black cat, then said to the Old Ancestor, "Old Ancestor, this is the Eighth Prince's cat. Please show it some mercy."

"This is actually his cat? That is quite something."

A flash of surprise crossed the Old Ancestor's eyes. He looked the large black cat over, then reached out and undid the seals on it, letting it drop to the floor and move freely.

The moment it could move again, the large black cat immediately hopped to one side and eyed the withered elder with considerable wariness.

But very quickly it switched to a delighted expression, shot forward, and came to Zhao Muning's side.

It had been searching the Great Xuan imperial palace for so long without catching so much as a glimpse of Zhao Muning, and yet here, without even trying, it had stumbled right onto the very target it had been looking for all evening.

Zhao Muning, finding that the large black cat was being this enthusiastic toward her, was somewhat surprised. She crouched down and reached out to touch its glossy fur.

But the large black cat stopped her with a paw, then immediately began gesturing with great urgency, coming straight to the point and asking Zhao Muning for an official post.

It took Zhao Muning quite some time to make sense of what the large black cat was conveying, and then her brow creased slightly, "You have remarkable intelligence, but you want an official post? That does not seem quite appropriate."

At those words, the large black cat had come prepared. It immediately extended a paw and produced from beneath its belly the dispatch it had brought, holding it out pointedly.

Zhao Muning took the dispatch she had sent to Li Musheng and looked at the large black cat with a puzzled expression, asking, "Does this mean the Eighth Prince wishes it?"

At those words, the large black cat hesitated for a moment. It did not dare lie about anything connected to Li Musheng.

But its round green eyes spun quickly, and though it did not answer Zhao Muning's question directly, it gestured to explain.

As Li Musheng's most beloved cat, it was doing nothing more than seeking a minor official post in her Great Xuan. If she refused even something this small, that was clearly being ungrateful after crossing the river, becoming empress and forgetting the cat that had helped get her there.

The large black cat very directly put that particular framing on Zhao Muning, and Zhao Muning did not become angry. Instead she looked at the large black cat with genuine interest and murmured to herself, "The Eighth Prince is truly a remarkable person. Not only is his martial cultivation beyond the world's measure, even the cat he keeps is this intelligent and entertaining."

As she said this, she turned to the Old Ancestor who had not said a word throughout, and asked with a meaningful tone, "Old Ancestor, do you believe I could give this cat an official appointment?"

At those words, the Old Ancestor gave Zhao Muning a long look.

He naturally understood that while the question appeared to be about the large black cat, what Zhao Muning was actually asking about was imperial authority in Great Xuan.

In the past few days, every decision Zhao Muning had made had required his approval before she could issue orders. The real power over the Great Xuan imperial palace and the court was still in the Old Ancestor's hands.

But as the court situation stabilized and the turmoil in Taixuan City settled, that power would ultimately have to be returned to the Great Xuan emperor.