In the master bedroom, Li Xiao used his spare temporary terminal to contact Jiang Chi. It wouldn’t connect no matter how many times he tried, so he simply went to take a shower first. When he came out, he saw the terminal on the table blinking. He casually picked it up, walked over to the window, and sat down.

“How’s the situation?” Li Xiao asked while drying his hair.
“Almost finished cleaning up, no major problems.” Speaking of this, Jiang Chi cursed, “You really guessed right. After Raven finished bombing, they emptied that mountain of gold. They didn’t leave a single gold bar for me!”
Li Xiao: “The fact that they didn’t rifle through your own money bag means they gave you a lot of face.”
Jiang Chi scoffed: “They’ve used up almost all their ammunition, yet they still dared to turn around and target the Snow Leopards?”

Thinking of the golden lion who snatched the blood that night, Li Xiao asked, “Do you have anyone around you who understands Raven?”
Jiang Chi looked at him in disbelief: “We just took out Ghost Dragon, and now you want to go after Raven? Let me catch my breath first, brother.”
Li Xiao didn’t explain further: “Help me gather intelligence on Raven, the more detailed the better.”
Jiang Chi was puzzled: “Any aspect?”
Li Xiao: “Any aspect.”

Having finished talking about business, Jiang Chi scratched his hair and spoke somewhat sheepishly: “Thank you for the matter regarding Hao Hao’s household registration. I’ll have to trouble you to take care of him from now on.”
Li Xiao: “No need to be so polite. After all, there are things I need your help with too.”
Just as Li Xiao was about to hang up, Jiang Chi suddenly thought of something and hurriedly added: “Help me keep an eye on him, make absolutely sure he doesn’t commit any crimes!”
Li Xiao thought about it seriously for a moment: “I can’t guarantee that.”
Jiang Chi: “…”
Just what kind of ‘good deeds’ are you doing normally, kid?

The next day, Li Xiao got up early and went out for a morning jog with Jiang Hao.
As they passed the large garden near the main palace, they saw a few high-ranking military officers hurrying through the adjacent corridor.
“The approval process has already reached the final step; how could it be urgently halted? What exactly happened?”
“You guys didn’t know either? I thought I was the only one who didn’t get the news. Didn’t His Majesty sign it yesterday?”
“There might be an explanation at the morning meeting. Let’s wait and see.”

From their fragmentary words, Li Xiao guessed the situation with eight or nine-tenths accuracy.
Having gotten the answer he wanted, he signaled Jiang Hao to run back.

It was a rare warm sunny day. Two attendants were supervising cleaning robots sweeping the sky corridor. When Li Xiao and Jiang Hao passed by the garden, they happened to hear them gossiping.
“You joined late so you don’t know. I heard the Second Prince was born to an attendant who climbed into the King’s bed. As soon as the previous King and Queen passed away, His Majesty had that attendant killed, not even giving him a status until his death.”
“Ah? Doesn’t that mean he’s not even considered the child of a second wife?”
“It’s just because it would sound bad if word got out, so they just say he was born to a second wife.”
“No wonder His Majesty is so cold towards the Second Prince.”

Jiang Hao pricked up his ears and listened to the whole thing, saying “So that’s how it is” in his heart.
No wonder those people in the side hall didn’t show Li Xiao any respect.
Seeing that Li Xiao remained unmoved, Jiang Hao asked curiously: “Big brother, is what they said true?”

Li Xiao had grown up listening to gossip about himself and was already numb to it: “Probably.”
Regardless of who gave birth to him, it definitely wasn’t the same omega father as his brother’s. After all, his brother didn’t have Bique tribe blood, but he did.
Since childhood, his five senses had been different from ordinary people; he could see things that others couldn’t. This was probably also one of the reasons his brother hated him.

–

The regular meeting was originally concluded yesterday, but an emergency meeting was held again because of the suspension of the transition procedures.
When he walked out of the Political Affairs Hall, Meng Jian’s face was blacker than the bottom of a pot, a world of difference from his spring-breeze-like demeanor yesterday.
Some lower-ranking officials didn’t dare to touch his bad luck, taking a wide detour, fearing they couldn’t avoid him fast enough.

“Old Meng.”
Zheng Kang’an called out to Meng Jian. Waiting until most people had left, he slowly walked under the resplendent corridor.
“Say, what exactly does His Majesty mean? Saying that the situation on the border of the Nanming Constellation is unstable and temporarily unsuitable for personnel transfers—it’s not like the border situation just recently became unstable.”
Meng Jian kept a dark face and didn’t speak.
Zheng Kang’an walked with his hands behind his back, shaking his head and sighing lightly: “This Raven is truly annoying. Not coming early or late, but specifically causing trouble right at this kind of time.”

Walking to the garden of the outer palace, the two men’s butlers came forward to greet them and followed behind them as they walked out.

“Admiral Meng, what a coincidence.”
Li Xiao walked down the steps of the small garden pavilion and went over to greet him. “Meetings today too?”
Meng Jian gave a perfunctory salute, his tone none too pleasant: “The Second Prince seems very leisurely?”
Li Xiao pretended not to hear the sarcasm in his words: “It’s a rare beautiful day, came out to relax.”

Seeing that they started chatting and had completely ignored him, Zheng Kang’an cleared his throat: “You are the Second Prince?”
Li Xiao, as if just noticing him, nodded faintly: “You are Admiral Zheng, right? I saw you when I was a child.”
Zheng Kang’an pulled up the corners of his mouth and was about to speak, but saw Li Xiao’s gaze shift back to Meng Jian, directly cutting him off.

Li Xiao: “I brewed some tea, would Admiral Meng care to come over for a cup?”
Meng Jian secretly sized up Li Xiao and agreed indifferently.
Li Xiao tilted his head and nodded to Zheng Kang’an, then turned and went to the small pavilion with Meng Jian, leaving Zheng Kang’an standing right in the middle of the road.

Zheng Kang’an froze there, his expression immediately turning ugly.
Having sat in the position of Admiral in charge, even His Majesty showed him some respect. Who dared to blatantly make things difficult for him like this?

Seeing Zheng Kang’an leave angrily out of the corner of his eye, Li Xiao poured tea for Meng Jian as if nothing had happened.
“I heard the transition procedures have been suspended?”
Meng Jian’s gaze swept over the gift box placed at the corner of the small table, identical to the one Li Xiao had brought yesterday.
“The Second Prince said he didn’t know many people, yet you are quite well-informed.”

Li Xiao picked up his teacup and took a sip: “On my way here, I heard others saying that my brother took back the signed documents. Ultimately, this should be a good thing for you, right?”
Meng Jian: “A good thing?”
“Didn’t you not want to take over the Tianjiang Constellation? This way, you don’t have to worry about whether you can manage it well or not.” Li Xiao smiled. “After returning yesterday, I thought about it carefully. It really is better to manage the Nanming Constellation; it’s relaxing.”

These words seemed fine on the surface, but carried hidden meanings.
Meng Jian observed Li Xiao’s expression, trying to determine if the kid was doing this intentionally or unintentionally.

Meng Jian: “The transition is only delayed, not canceled.”
Li Xiao: “You want it canceled?”
Meng Jian: “Whether I want it or not, rules are rules.”
Li Xiao: “If you wanted to cancel it, wouldn’t it just take a single word from my brother?”

Meng Jian looked at him deeply: “The Second Prince is very interested in the transition?”
“Just chatting casually, let’s drop this topic.” Li Xiao brought the gift box over, opened it, and pinched out a piece to show him. “Yesterday, I personally baked cookies to give to my brother, and today they were returned.”
Meng Jian glanced at the charred, black lumps in the box. Fortunately, Li Xiao had explained, otherwise he really wouldn’t have been able to tell they were cookies.
“They’re all burnt, how could His Majesty eat them?”

“Baking cookies is simply too difficult; the temperature and time must be just right. If it’s too low, they won’t cook; if it’s too high, they burn and become hard.”
Li Xiao casually tossed the cookie back into the box. “Burnt like this, they don’t even look like cookies anymore. No matter how much my brother likes to eat, he wouldn’t be able to bite into them. They can only be thrown in the trash.”

Meng Jian tasted the warning directed at him in those words. He slightly narrowed his eyes and set down his teacup, neither heavily nor lightly.
If the sentence just now was unintentional, then this one was definitely deliberate.

“I still have many things to attend to, I’ll take my leave first.”
“Wait.”
Li Xiao took a cardboard box from Jiang Hao and handed it over, spouting nonsense with a serious face: “My bread-baking skills are better than my cookie-baking. This bread is sugar-free, lowers high blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar, and is suitable for the elderly.”

“I appreciate Your Highness’s thought.” Meng Jian took it, tossed it to his butler, and left without looking back.
Upon reaching the garage, the butler opened the cardboard box. Inside were indeed two loaves of bread, harder than rocks. His expression became subtle: “Master, what does the Second Prince mean by this?”
“Throw it away!” Meng Jian, with a stinky face, opened the car door and got in.

N2781 hadn’t had a single mishap for so many years, yet this time it was completely wiped out by Raven and the Snow Leopards within a few days.
The transition procedures had always been going smoothly, but were delayed as soon as Li Xiao returned.
Was it just a coincidence? Or had he underestimated this inconspicuous little prince too much?
“In the past, he was clearly just a pitiful little thing…”

–

After seeing off Meng Jian, Li Xiao packed up the tea set and prepared to go back for a nap.
The transition was only delayed by a month, but that was enough time for him to make preparations.
Jiang Hao helped him pack: “Big brother, you gave that bread to the old man, but can he even bite into it?”
Li Xiao: “It’s exactly because he can’t bite into it that I gave it to him.”
Jiang Hao: “…”
Is this just pure insult?
No wonder the old man was so angry.

The terminal vibrated. Li Xiao swiped it open and saw it was actually his brother’s special assistant.
“Uncle Liu, what’s the matter?”
The special assistant said respectfully: “Your Highness, His Majesty asked you to come to the main palace for lunch at noon.”
Li Xiao: “I understand.”

After hanging up, the special assistant cautiously glanced at the furious King, his voice tight: “He said he’ll come right over.”

His Majesty had been tired from the meeting earlier and went out for a walk. As luck would have it, he ran into the Second Prince “secretly meeting” with Meng Jian again. He exploded with anger as soon as he got back.
Li Ji slammed the documents onto the desk: “Send him away! Send him away immediately! Tell him to roll as far away as possible!”
The special assistant: “Yes, please calm down.”
Li Ji: “He actually dared to drink tea with Meng Jian, and even made him cookies! I haven’t even eaten them!”
The special assistant: “…”
Are you actually angry that the Second Prince met with Meng Jian, or are you angry that the Second Prince made little cookies for Meng Jian?

At the lunch table, the atmosphere was as heavy as usual.
“You want me to go to the Holy Ya Empire as an exchange student?” The news was too sudden, and Li Xiao couldn’t hide his astonishment.
After dropping the bombshell, Li Ji focused on his food, not wanting to say another word to him. It was the special assistant standing to the side who explained: “Over these past few years, we have gradually had some dealings with the Holy Ya Empire. His Majesty feels this is a rare learning opportunity.”

Li Xiao: “But we haven’t officially established diplomatic relations with Holy Ya yet. Rashly sending a royal family member over—what if they detain me there?”
The special assistant hesitated: “They won’t.”
“How do you know they won’t?” Li Xiao looked at Li Ji in the main seat. “Are you really not worried about my safety at all?”

With a smack, Li Ji threw down his chopsticks and shouted angrily: “Is this the attitude you use to speak to your brother?!”
Li Xiao’s tone wasn’t good either: “You still know you’re my brother?”
This sentence completely ignited Li Ji, making him sneer in anger: “Right, I’m not a proper brother, and what kind of proper brother are you?”

Li Xiao was silent for a moment. He put down his bowl and chopsticks and left without saying a word.
Li Ji was furious. His gaze swept over Li Xiao’s bowl, which was still more than half full of rice. He gave a cold snort and left as well.
The special assistant chased after him: “Your Majesty, you haven’t even taken a few bites yet.”
Li Ji: “I’m full from anger!”

At night, after taking a shower, Li Xiao took out the stolen blood from his backpack and examined it carefully.
Seeing the golden lion’s amber eyes that night made him couldn’t help but think of an old friend—the Second Prince of the Holy Ya Empire, the current King Song Yu.

In his previous life, a civil war also broke out in the Holy Ya Empire, and Song Yu fell into desperate straits just like him.
Considering the massive power of the enemy forces, if he wanted to launch a desperate counterattack, he had to make some risky choices, such as cooperating with the prince of an enemy nation.
In the end, the results proved that his choice was correct.

But in this life, the troubles in the Holy Ya Empire had already been resolved; Song Yu didn’t need to establish a cooperative relationship with him anymore.
If he wanted to rectify the domestic situation in Danse, he first had to confirm the stance of Song Yu, the leader of the neighboring country.
Currently, Danse lagged behind Holy Ya in economy, technology, military, and various other aspects. If Holy Ya were to launch an invasion war against Danse while they were fighting to the death internally, the consequences would be unimaginable.

When he went to N2781 to see Jiang Chi, Li Xiao had thought about finding an opportunity to visit the Holy Ya Empire soon and have a talk with Song Yu. He just hadn’t expected to go in this manner.

–

On a spaceship within the borders of the Holy Ya Empire, Song Jin was video calling someone.
From the video feed came a deep, lazy voice: “You don’t need to return to the Imperial Capital. Go directly to the military academy to report. I have already had someone transfer your student status there.”

“Why?” Song Jin frowned, thinking he had misheard. “What would I go to the military academy for?”
The person on the screen: “To study.”
Song Jin: “I’m not going.”
The person on the screen: “I’m not discussing this with you.”
Song Jin: “Reason?”

Two people in suits walked into the frame holding documents. The person on the screen took the documents and flipped through them, saying without lifting his head: “You go there first, I’ll explain later. Be good.”
After saying that, the video call was cut off.

Qian Can, lying on the opposite sofa playing games, noticed Song Jin’s expression and shrank his neck.
We’re doomed, the boss’s anger meter is soaring again.

Song Jin had already completed the military academy curriculum before the age of sixteen. Now asking him to go to the military academy meant the missions in his hands had to be put on hold, which was equivalent to being forced to take a vacation.
Moreover, he heard the Central Military Academy’s training was extremely perverse, heavily testing a person’s willpower. Ordinary people who went in would be driven crazy in minutes.
The boss is too pitiful.

His terminal suddenly vibrated. Qian Can casually swiped it open, his eyes widening as he abruptly sat up.
There was a long string of text in the message, but it only meant one thing: his student status had been transferred from the Royal Academy to the Central Military Academy.
Qian Can clutched his head and knelt on the ground: “Help!”