Chapter 299: Contacting Yusen

’Aren’t we here to pick a personal servant for Ms. Zhi Zhi? What is this old long-haired cat doing, calling out his sons?’

And then he saw—

The four young masters of the Hughes family arrived in the reception hall, all dressed in custom-tailored formalwear. It was obvious they had been carefully groomed for the occasion.

The Peacock’s hand, holding his teacup, trembled slightly. ’This is wrong. I’m here to help Ms. Zhi Zhi find a personal servant. How did the tone of this meeting change so drastically?’

These Cat Clan males were dressed to the nines. No matter how he looked at it, they didn’t seem like they were here to be servants. They looked more like—

Geoffrey suddenly grew anxious. He couldn’t stand, but he couldn’t sit still either. His mind raced, wondering how he was going to explain this when the Duke returned.

’That while the Duke was away, he had taken Ms. Zhi Zhi all over the city looking for one—or even several—male paramours?’

’The Duke would probably order someone to pluck all his peacock feathers out...’

AHHHH!

Geoffrey shot to his feet with a strained laugh. "I suppose Ms. Zhi Zhi hasn’t found anyone suitable. No matter! I know some people in the market. I can certainly help Ms. Zhi Zhi find the most satisfactory personal servant."

Yu Zhizhi, however, began to seriously size up the four young Cat Clan masters.

As they saw the Rabbit Clan Lady approach, they instinctively held their breath.

’So this is...’

’The legendary young Rabbit Clan female? We’ve only ever seen her in videos before. Seeing her up close like this... she’s so adorable!’

’Oh, I just want her to hold me and dote on me!’

The patriarch of the Hughes family was extremely nervous. He desperately hoped Ms. Zhi Zhi would choose one of his boys, giving the Cat Clan a chance to continue its bloodline.

Tragically, this generation of the Cat Clan consisted entirely of male offspring. Even those who were married remained without children. The Hughes family was considered upper-middle rank in the Imperial City, yet they now faced the risk of their line dying out. As a result, they had no choice but to seek help from a more powerful Cat Clan—

In two months, two other branches of the Cat Clan would be arriving in the Valoran Imperial City for a cultural exchange.

Even so, who knew how many years it would be before they saw a change in fortune.

But right now, if this esteemed Rabbit Clan Lady just took a fancy to one of his cat boys and brought him home, there might be good news in the future!

’The Rabbit Clan Lady will be getting her First Beast Husband soon, won’t she?’

’Regardless of when the wedding is, she’s free to indulge her whims and keep male paramours.’

’I really hope she picks a Cat Clan male...’

Geoffrey shot the old, long-haired cat a fierce glare. The cat’s scheming was so blatant it was practically slapping him in the face!

Yu Zhizhi discovered that these four handsome Cat Clan males didn’t trigger any system notification—

Which meant none of them were the conquest target she was looking for.

"Are there any more?" she asked, turning around.

Geoffrey’s eyes lit up. He immediately stood up. "There probably aren’t any more, Ms. Zhi Zhi. We’ve seen so many today, why don’t we continue some other time?"

’Next time... right, next time. We’ll wait until the Duke is back before we talk about "next time"...’

He didn’t dare take Ms. Zhi Zhi to look for "male paramours" anymore.

The patriarch of the Hughes family looked like he was on the verge of tears. He set down his teacup, stood up, and saw them off with deep regret.

’They were so close... Their family was on the verge of winning the Rabbit Clan Lady’s favor and enjoying a meteoric rise...’

On this visit to the Hughes family, she had seen over two hundred Cat Clan males in total, but she still hadn’t found the one who was born with the "Special Mark."

According to the records in the book, a Beastman with a Special Mark usually wouldn’t go around advertising it. The mark isn’t linked to talent or spiritual power; in fact, during certain historical periods, it was even seen as a "calamity."

This had led to the current situation where Beastmen instinctively concealed them...

The Hughes family was the largest Cat Clan in the Valoran Imperial City. Although she had come up empty-handed, Yu Zhizhi did get the latest news from the patriarch—

two other powerful Cat Clans would be arriving in Varolan in two months.

Yu Zhizhi did a quick calculation; this was still within her mission’s time limit.

’But what if their travel is delayed? Then I’ll run out of time...’

’Exceeding the time limit means failure!’

’No, I have to keep looking for this conquest target.’

’Even if it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack, I can’t give up on any possibility.’

「Back at the book house.」

Yu Zhizhi went to where the Little White Snake was staying. He looked much more energetic, his soft tail draped over the edge of a wooden bucket, a piece of candy in his mouth.

The Little White Snake was overjoyed to see his mother’s figure.

He struggled to climb out of the wooden bucket, wanting to get close and snuggle with his mama.

Yu Zhizhi cupped him in her palm, gently stroking his soft, smooth little head. The Little White Snake’s eyes were round as he nuzzled against his mother’s fingers again and again.

’He loved his mama the most~’

Over the next few days, the first thing Yu Zhizhi did every morning was use her spiritual power to heal Little Amon’s Golden Beast Bone.

Each session consumed a little over nine hundred points of her power.

This amount was just right; it could heal one crack on the Beast Bone, yet it wouldn’t leave her exhausted from depleting all her spiritual power.

Another five days passed, and news finally arrived that the Duke had returned to his estate.

Mr. Billy went to welcome him.

Teacher Dai Li led the book house servants to the entrance. This was the Duke’s first time back since moving to the Royal Palace, and they dared not be remiss.

Yu Zhizhi was inside, playing with the Little White Snake.

But by noon, the Duke’s figure had yet to appear at the book house.

Soaking in his medicinal bath, the Little White Snake nibbled on his snow-white tail. His damp eyelashes lifted slightly as he peeked cautiously at his mother, who was sitting at the table.

’Father didn’t come to the book house right away...’

This made him a little anxious.

The Little White Snake was afraid his mama would get angry, leave this place, and not want him anymore.

But he was also furious.

Every time he heard about other Snake Clan females wanting to become the Duchess, the Little White Snake wanted to secrete venom and bite them to death.

Hmph!

When mealtime arrived, the small kitchen had prepared a large spread of food.

Teacher Dai Li returned from the book house entrance.

She said gently, "Ms. Zhi Zhi, it’s time to dine."

Yu Zhizhi glanced toward the door. "The Duke hasn’t come back?"

The smile on Teacher Dai Li’s face faltered for a second. She did her best to keep her voice sounding normal. "The Duke... he was probably held up by something important."

Yu Zhizhi slowly nodded.

Teacher Dai Li’s heart went out to her. Just as she was about to offer a few more words of comfort, she heard Ms. Zhi Zhi speak—

"Teacher Dai Li, I’d like to use the communicator."

’I’ve been so busy these past few days, I completely forgot to let Yusen know I’m okay!’

Dai Li was stunned for a moment before quickly fetching the communicator. She hadn’t expected this. Ms. Zhi Zhi didn’t seem the least bit upset that the Duke hadn’t come to the book house immediately.

In fact, as she held the communicator, the smile on her face was quite obvious.

’Who is Ms. Zhi Zhi calling?’

Yu Zhizhi still remembered Yusen’s number. After dialing, she waited patiently.

「Elsewhere.」

Yusen and Shen He sat at opposite ends of a dining table aboard a warship. Lining the walls to their left and right stood two rows of Hanhai Army soldiers, none of whom dared to raise their heads.

Ever since Miss Rabbit had left, the tension between Lord Shen He and Prince You Sen had been palpable, as if a fight could break out at any moment.

The Black-clothed Steward entered, holding a communicator.

"Your Highness, a communication for you."

"—It’s Ms. Zhi Zhi."