The one who opened the door was Marshal Kevin's wife.

She was a stunning beauty, every gesture and smile exuding charm. With her lovely features, graceful figure, and elegant demeanor, she embodied the type of mature woman that Yue'an's first owner had most admired and envied. She was also a remarkably talented actress of this era.

During Yue'an's recent wanderings, he often encountered Marshal Kevin and his wife in this residential area. They were always walking hand in hand, whispering intimately to each other, every glance and smile between them full of tender affection.

Even as a cat, Yue'an could see that their relationship was exceptionally good.

Of course, Yue'an's decision to bring mahjong to them wasn't because he particularly liked this beautiful older sister, nor because he had any significant fondness for Marshal Kevin. Rather, it was because every time these two saw him in the neighborhood, they would carry some small treats with them (except for the first time when they hadn't been prepared). When they encountered this little ball of snow-white fur, they would pat his head and feed him some snacks.

This was completely different from those who only wanted to pet him without offering any food.

In Yue'an's view, anyone willing to feed a cute little cat couldn't be a bad person.

Yue'an tilted his head up, his tail curled around the small handle of the mahjong box, and meowed at the Marshal's wife who had come to the door.

The beautiful wife looked down at him, her lovely face showing a slightly surprised expression.

The little cat crouching outside the door now wore a small, black rectangular holo-computer around his neck, with a miniature camera floating nearby. His tail had just released the handle of the small box he had been dragging along, its bottom now showing signs of wear from the journey.

At this moment, the cat's head was surrounded by the holo-computer's interface, with the livestream open and various bubbles constantly popping up above the white furball's head.

Lady Ellie looked at Yue'an, who was tilting his head at her with a head full of bubbles, and gave him a sweet smile.

"What is it?" she asked, crouching down and expertly petting Yue'an's head.

"Meow," Yue'an nuzzled the soft hand and jumped behind the box, pushing it towards the lady.

"For me?" she asked.

"Meow," Yue'an responded.

"Can I open it now?"

Yue'an licked his paw. "Meow."

The lady opened the box and looked at the neatly arranged small cubes inside. She paused, puzzled. "Hmm?"

"Who's there?" Marshal Kevin, wearing a casual home outfit with baggy shorts, sauntered out from inside the house, looking unkempt. When he spotted the camera next to Yue'an, he halted his steps and hurriedly retreated back the way he came.

Lady Ellie scratched the little cat's chin with one hand while examining the small cubes with the other.

There were many patterns, four of each kind.

The rough craftsmanship didn't make them look like artworks—in fact, apart from the neat cutting of these white cubes, there was nothing praiseworthy about them.

Artworks need to look appealing to sell, you know!

The lady glanced at the useless livestream comment section, then turned the neatly arranged top layer of cubes over and over, still unable to figure out what these things were.

She gently scratched Yue'an's chin, not feeling embarrassed about not knowing what these were. She straightforwardly asked in front of the livestream camera, "Little Yue'an, what are these?"

"Meow!"

Yue'an raised a small paw, pulled down the holo-computer interface floating above his head, moved the livestream interface aside, and brought up the rules page that Xiu Jun had edited for him yesterday, holding it up in front of her.

"Mahjong... rules? Mahjong?" Lady Ellie finally realized this wasn't something that could be explained in just a few words. She looked at the rules while opening the door wider. "Come in first."

"Meow~" Yue'an's tail once again curled around the box's handle, dragging it inside. His little paws wiped back and forth on the small doormat, ensuring he wouldn't track dirt onto their floor.

Marshal Kevin had already changed into proper casual wear. When he came out, he saw his student's cat lying on his wife's lap, swishing its tail leisurely and contentedly enjoying her caresses.

Lady Ellie's palms were soft and smooth. She was now focused on reading the illustrated rules on the panel, her long, beautiful fingers, as delicate as white jade, gently stroking the creamy white cat on her knee.

Marshal Kevin looked at this scene and was about to explode with jealousy!

He hadn't enjoyed such a treat for many years, and now he was being outdone by a cat they'd known for less than a month!

Not only had that brat Xiu Jun caused him 500 energy crystal's worth of trouble, now he dared to send his cat to steal the mistress's affection!!

Bah!!

Utterly despicable!

Marshal Kevin desperately wanted to rush over and push the cat aside to take its place.

But that was just a thought.

He put on a serious, calm, and reliable face as he walked over to sit beside his wife.

"What's this?" he asked.

Yue'an's ears twitched, and he looked up at Marshal Kevin who had sat down. With a disdainful look, he shifted away slightly, turning his backside towards him.

Marshal Kevin: "..."

Let me tell you, when I get angry, I might just go crazy and start squishing soft little kitties.

Lady Ellie watched the interaction between man and cat with amusement. She gently waved her hand, drawing her husband's attention back.

"It's an old Earth game, quite interesting, but we're one person short," she said. She glanced at the livestream page that Yue'an had pushed back to the top of his head, thought for a moment, and said, "Let's pick a viewer."

At this moment, the viewers in the livestream seemed to have completely forgotten about their initial concern for Xiu Jun and Yue'an's situation. They frantically clicked the activity registration button in the livestream room.

Joke's on you, do you know who's behind this activity?

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

The last cat in the entire universe!

The Shield of the Empire, Marshal Kevin!

Interstellar superstar, Lady Ellie!

Each one of them could make a region tremble with just a stomp of their foot!

And it's a random selection from hundreds of billions of people!

Sign up!

Only a fool wouldn't!

The numerous media professionals who had been camping in the livestream room, trying to deduce some information from Yue'an's side, came with the intention of writing a big news story. As the afternoon passed and the sky began to darken, they hadn't gotten any big news, but instead had their heads filled with the intricacies of mahjong.

This wouldn't do!

With quotas to meet, they needed to produce at least one news article!

The media people racked their brains, then suddenly had an epiphany. They quickly wrote down three themes:

1. Imperial Marshal Xiu Jun's lawsuit against six members of the Research Department's No. 1 Tier Laboratory reaches the Empire's Supreme Court. The court's same-day acceptance: privilege or substantial evidence?

2. Yue'an's recent livestreams show no blocking of Research Department IP masks. Has the department finally given up, or have both parties reached a settlement regarding the No. 1 Tier Laboratory incident?

3. Feline Friendship - Yue'an brings ancient Earth game to Marshal Kevin's home. Does this symbolize a thawing in the tense relationship between the two Marshals?

What do you call making things up out of thin air?

What do you call creating something from nothing?

What do you call speaking nonsense with a straight face?

This is it!

Look at these themes!

Absolutely brilliant!

As media professionals began to brainstorm and let their imaginations run wild, they released their articles just as the attention of many star network users was being drawn to mahjong, steering them back to the "right" path.

Marshal Xiu Jun had been incredibly busy all day.

First, he had the two individuals detained in the military prison brought out and handed over to the investigators from the Empire's Supreme Court. Then, as a show of force, he accompanied them to visit each of the other four defendants. Finally, along with his legal team and representatives from the Military Publicity Department, he joined the investigators on their visit to the Research Department.

The research staff at the Research Department demonstrated excellent professional ethics. Although nearly everyone in the department knew about the events captured by the law enforcement devices two nights ago, not a single word had leaked to the outside world.

Even the soldiers that the Marshal had brought along kept their mouths tightly shut, not revealing a single detail despite repeated questioning from their colleagues.

During the evidence collection and verification process, the acting department head was extremely cooperative, supplementing many small details that non-professionals might have missed.

These small details, when presented in court, would each become a straw that would add to the weight of evidence against the accused.

Xiu Jun admitted that due to his own experiences, he had been biased against the Research Department staff from the beginning. However, after this incident, he found himself viewing these researchers in a different light.

By the time all the submitted evidence and case developments had been verified, and the Empire's Supreme Court announced the trial would begin in three days, night had already fallen.

As Marshal Xiu Jun left the Supreme Court's office building with two fleet commanders who had insisted on accompanying him out of concern for his well-being, a car pulled up in front of them.

The window rolled down, revealing the face of the Emperor's secretary.

Xiu Jun wasn't surprised.

The reason he had directly approached the Empire's Supreme Court was that it was the only court where even the Emperor couldn't interfere, and even the Emperor could be put on trial.

As long as there was sufficient evidence, even a case against the Emperor could be won.

Xiu Jun wasn't at all surprised that the Emperor would seek him out over this matter.

However, the fact that the young Emperor hadn't come to question him directly, but instead sent his secretary, showed that he had matured quite a bit in the few years since they'd last met.

Marshal Xiu Jun graciously opened the car door and got in with his two fleet commanders.

"Marshal Xiu, don't you think the military's recent actions have been a bit too aggressive?" the secretary asked, dispensing with pleasantries. The Emperor was practically frothing at the mouth with impatience in the palace, there was no time for beating around the bush!

"His Majesty has treated you well since his ascension to the throne. This show of force from you is really quite inappropriate."

Xiu Jun's face remained impassive, but inwardly he felt uncomfortable with these words.

How had the military's actions been too aggressive? How was he showing force?

The conflict between him and the Research Department was bound to come to a head sooner or later, the Emperor should have been prepared for this.

Okay, he admitted his methods might have been a bit intense, a bit excessive, but it could hardly be called a show of force.

Marshal Xiu was puzzled by this interpretation.

Nevertheless, he first made his stance clear: "Those people deserve their punishment."

"Marshal Xiu," the secretary's voice rose slightly, "let's not beat around the bush. His Majesty wants to know exactly what you're thinking."

We're all intelligent people here, let's speak plainly.

"Those 500 energy crystals from the black market, they were bought by someone from the military, weren't they?" the secretary asked.

Xiu Jun was quite confused as to why this topic was suddenly brought up.

But he didn't say anything, after all, nearly half of those 500 energy crystals had already gone into Yue'an's little belly.

And his teacher had taken the fall for this massive issue on his behalf.

The secretary took his silence as confirmation.

"It was someone under Marshal Kevin who bought them. As for why Marshal Kevin bought the energy crystals, we admit, it was indeed our fault."

Wanting to send a hero who had upheld an era to his grave - politics is indeed full of dirty muck, but looking back, it seems we had water in our brains.

"Marshal Kevin's purchase of 500 energy crystals was in response to our actions, which is understandable. But His Majesty hopes you won't distance yourself from him because of this."

The secretary continued earnestly: "Marshal Xiu, I understand the concept of heroes respecting heroes, and I also understand the principles of 'when the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold' and 'when the cunning hare is dead, the hunting dog is cooked'."

Xiu Jun remained silent - in fact, he still hadn't figured out what the secretary was trying to tell him.

These were supposed to be straightforward words, yet they sounded like riddles.

"You're worried about following in Marshal Kevin's footsteps, so you want to repair your relationship and join forces with him again. His Majesty can understand that," the secretary said, unable to gauge Xiu Jun's thoughts from his impassive expression.

"...but the higher-ups no longer have any intention of moving against Marshal Kevin. We hope you can continue to stand in opposition to Marshal Kevin, to keep each other in check. You wouldn't want to see the military become so united that it makes those in power wary, ultimately leading to everyone's downfall, would you?"

Xiu Jun turned to look at his two fleet commanders.

The two commanders were currently looking down at their holo-computer interfaces, pretending they hadn't heard anything.

It seemed as if the secretary was the only one in the entire car seriously playing at politics.

Xiu Jun still didn't say a word.

He did understand what the secretary was trying to express now.

The secretary's meaning was that Kevin, angered by the Empire's upper echelons' desire to send him to his grave, had furiously purchased 500 energy crystals - enough to easily destroy a city - as a threat, forcing the higher-ups to swallow their plans.

And Xiu Jun had been making frequent moves against those people from the Research Department who were protected by the Empire's upper echelons, appearing quite restless.

The Empire's higher-ups suspected that the two great marshals of the military might be joining forces to stir up trouble.

Although they controlled the economic lifelines and had raised some private armies, they were still quite afraid of the military's martial might.

But there was one thing Xiu Jun still didn't understand.

-- When had he ever shown any intention of joining forces with his teacher?

The Fourth Fleet Commander sitting behind him gently poked Xiu Jun in the waist.

Xiu Jun turned his head and immediately saw a holographic projection of Yue'an playing mahjong with Marshal Kevin and his wife at a table.

The news headline read: Friendship Thaws! Two Marshals to Join Forces!

Xiu Jun: ...

Xiu Jun: ???

Come on, you can't assume the two marshals are joining forces just because Yue'an went to play mahjong with someone??

Don't you think this is a bit too childish?

Are people not allowed to have some entertainment activities anymore?

Marshal Xiu looked at the secretary, feeling utterly speechless about the situation.

He wanted to explain that Yue'an's actions had nothing to do with him, but felt it would be a weak argument, because no matter what, that was still his cat.

But if he didn't explain, Marshal Xiu felt incredibly wronged. After a busy day, he could finally go home, only to be hit with this ridiculous accusation. It was extremely frustrating.

The secretary pressed on: "It's a shame about those talented individuals from No. 1 Tier, but we will completely abandon them and no longer provide legal assistance. His Majesty hopes you can give a clear answer."

Xiu Jun: "..."

Talk about being dramatic.

Marshal Xiu felt like he wanted to crack open the skulls of those higher-ups to see if they were filled with cotton or just water.

Imagining a rebellion plot from a simple game of mahjong, could these idiots possibly be any more incompetent!

"Marshal Xiu, we will absolutely not interfere with this lawsuit anymore. You've achieved your goal by sending your cat to Marshal Kevin's place. Please give us a definitive answer."

Xiu Jun: "..."

It wasn't me, I didn't do it, stop making things up.

Xiu Jun finally couldn't hold back anymore.

With an expressionless face and a calm tone, he said: "Yue'an is still just a child."

He really just went to play a simple game of mahjong!

You bunch of drama queens, leave him alone and leave me alone, okay?

Marshal Xiu had a headache.