No wonder the kitchen was in such a bustle today.
Bai Xiaonian’s puzzlement lasted only a moment before he lost interest, after all, the Demon Palace wasn’t his to manage anymore these days.
Once the chicken thigh had cooled a bit, the kitten snatched it up and ran off, knocking over an entire pile of seasoning containers onto the floor on his way out.
Bai Xiaonian certainly hadn’t come here just for a chicken thigh. Those cooks had all harbored ill intentions toward him, and he’d come to teach them a lesson.
Having once been the mighty Demon Lord himself, accustomed to a life of luxury and deference, the little tyrant wasn’t about to let anyone push him around, not even a slight to his dignity would go unanswered.
Dragging a chicken thigh nearly half his own size, the kitten trudged, huffing and puffing, back to the main hall, thoroughly exhausted by the effort.
The moment he returned, he found Chong Yin reclining on the couch draped with a fox-fur blanket, a book held in his elegant, well-defined hands, exuding an air of graceful, unhurried leisure.
The kitten trotted forward with the chicken thigh still clamped in his mouth, letting out muffled, whining sounds, his large eyes fixed anxiously on the man reclining above.
The kitten was so tired he could barely hold on any longer, he certainly wasn’t about to let his chicken thigh drop to the floor, so he hurried to signal Chong Yin to catch it for him.
Hearing the sound, Chong Yin lifted his gaze from the book, letting it fall on the kitten below the couch with the chicken thigh clamped in its mouth, his brow twitching.
That greasy chicken thigh, did the cat actually expect him to take it?
“You went and stole food from the kitchen?” Chong Yin asked casually, without the slightest intention of reaching down to take the chicken thigh from him.
Bai Xiaonian spun anxiously in circles, unable to spare a moment to argue back at Chong Yin. Instead, he reached out a paw and tugged at the hem of Chong Yin’s robe, but the man simply looked down and feigned ignorance of what he meant.
Without a signal from Chong Yin, the nearby attendants didn’t dare step forward to help the kitten either, especially since it was obvious to everyone that the Demon Lord was simply toying with him. Several of them pressed their lips together, stifling laughter, it was a rare sight indeed to see His Excellency in such a playful mood. Together, the man and cat made for a rather charming picture.
Little did they know, in his heart, the kitten was cursing Chong Yin’s entire ancestral line, eighteen generations back.
Eventually, the little tyrant grew so furious that he swiped a paw at Chong Yin’s leg and, grabbing hold of the expensive fabric, gave it a vicious yank.
There came a ripping sound, and Chong Yin’s robe was torn clean open by the kitten.
Chong Yin’s face darkened instantly, his cold gaze fixed on the cat below.
Yet the little tyrant showed not the slightest sign of remorse, nor any fear of the murderous Demon Lord looming above. Instead, he swished his tail with an air of arrogant indifference, as if to say, “This is your own fault for not helping me.”
Still, the Demon Lord proved remarkably tolerant of the kitten. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then waved Liu Huan over. “Take this chicken thigh and set it on the table.”
Liu Huan nodded and stepped forward to take the chicken thigh from the kitten’s mouth.
Bai Xiaonian’s jaw was already sore and aching from the strain. Once the chicken thigh was taken from him, he collapsed straight onto the floor, tongue lolling out, panting heavily.
Chong Yin looked down at the kitten, gave it a light nudge with the tip of his foot, and said, arching an eyebrow, “You filthy cat, get up.”
The kitten’s ears twitched, but he ignored the command entirely, rolling over instead to expose his round, plump belly, sprawling there once more.
But the next instant, a large hand closed around the scruff of his neck and lifted him straight up.
Startled, the kitten flailed his short legs, then looked up to find himself already dangling right in front of Chong Yin’s face, the man’s handsome features looming large before him.
“Filthy cat,” Chong Yin said slowly, his thin lips parting to utter just those two words.
Furious, the little tyrant raised a paw and swiped it toward the handsome face in front of him, but this time the strike never landed, Chong Yin caught the soft little paw with his other hand, his cool fingertips gently pressing the pads of the kitten’s paw. He raised an eyebrow.
“Why is your temper so unreasonable and spoiled?”
The little tyrant let out a meow and turned his head away, his body small, but his temper anything but.
Chong Yin let out a slow sigh. “You should be grateful you ran into me. With that temper of yours, you’d have been dead a thousand times over by now.”
The surrounding servants kept their eyes lowered, minding their own business.
Everyone knew perfectly well that running into the Demon Lord was the worst possible luck, this outcome was simply an unusual exception. Had it been any other cat, it would surely have been reduced to nothing but bones by now.
The kitten shot Chong Yin a look of pure disdain, gesturing wildly with his paws in protest. “Meow, meow, meow…”
Don’t go giving yourself so much credit.
Chong Yin paid no mind to what anyone else thought. Once finished speaking, he ordered water be brought again, it seemed another bath was coming.
Chong Yin was obsessively clean, unable to tolerate even the slightest speck of dirt. The kitten’s chicken-greased mouth and its earlier tumble on the ground had already stretched Chong Yin’s patience to its limit.
But the little tyrant hated baths and thrashed with all his strength, only to be mercilessly plunged into the water the very next instant…
Meanwhile, in a smaller side hall of the Demon Palace, a strikingly beautiful woman in scandalously revealing attire swept an entire table of food onto the floor with one furious sweep of her arm.
“What is the meaning of today’s food? Being late is one thing, but this is inedible!”
The cook on the floor trembled, kneeling in fear, his voice quivering. “Please spare me, Consort Yi! It was that cat of His Excellency’s, it knocked over all the ingredients and deliberately caused chaos in the kitchen, that’s why…”
“That cat?” Consort Yi’s eyes narrowed, her teeth clenched in fury.
The news that the Demon Lord doted on a cat had already spread throughout the entire Demon Palace, and Consort Yi had naturally heard of it too. She simply didn’t expect the creature would have the audacity to cause trouble in her own domain, but no matter how favored it was, it was still just an animal.
Consort Yi seethed for a moment, then waved the cook off. “You may go for now. I’ll report this to His Excellency myself.”
…
Two days later.
“Your Excellency, Consort Yi requests an audience.”
That evening, Chong Yin was in his study attending to official matters when Taoxi came to announce the visitor.
Ever since her punishment that day, Taoxi had spent several days confined to bed, only able to rise again after consuming a great many medicinal pills. Chong Yin had no real need for her attendance, but Taoxi, wishing to make amends for her mistake, insisted on serving him despite her lingering injuries.
Without even lifting his head, Chong Yin refused outright. “I won’t see her.”
When the Demon Lord was reviewing memorials, he never allowed anyone to disturb him.
Yet Taoxi didn’t withdraw. Instead, she said, her expression troubled, “Your Excellency, Consort Yi has come to speak about a matter concerning Xiao Niangao…”
Only upon hearing that it concerned the kitten did Chong Yin pause. He set down his brush and glanced up at Taoxi. “Let her in.”
Moments later, Consort Yi entered the study with dainty, mincing steps, her expression the very picture of tearful, pear-blossom delicacy.
“Your Excellency, you must right this wrong for me—”
A vein throbbed sharply at Chong Yin’s temple, his expression darkening instantly with displeasure. “If you’re going to weep and make a scene, then get out.”
Consort Yi froze for a moment, then quickly dabbed at her tears with a handkerchief, her voice choked with sobs. “I’ve been discourteous. But Your Excellency, I truly have been wronged!”
Chong Yin’s brow furrowed, his eyes filled with impatience, the sheer force of his presence radiating an intimidating chill as he regarded her coldly.
Consort Yi flinched, not daring to delay any further. “Your Excellency, that cat in the palace has been causing chaos in the kitchen every single day. As you know, my cultivation is shallow, I cannot go without food like others can, and I need to eat on schedule. But that cat keeps knocking over the food every day, and it’s even taken to putting filthy things into it… Your Excellency, you must do something about this!”
Consort Yi’s words came out thick with tears, utterly pitiable and delicate, yet Chong Yin’s gaze remained fixed on the rice paper spread across his desk.
There, a small ink stain in the shape of a plum blossom sat plainly visible, the unmistakable handiwork of a certain mischievous little cat.