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He lifted his gaze toward Shen Chuwei and said, "To prove that you are indeed Xiao Jiu, you can only risk trying it out."

Shen Chuwei glanced at the three people before her, their eyes filled with both skepticism and anticipation, not giving her a choice in whether she was willing or not.

For the sake of her life, she had to negotiate in advance, "...If I must try, then try I shall, but if it doesn’t work, you must save me. I fear death."

Upon hearing her words, Ye Haoting laughed, "Rest assured, I won’t let anything happen to you."

Shen Chuwei secretly breathed a sigh of relief, "That’s good."

The Beast Garden was located in the northwest corner of the Imperial Palace; it was the most spacious area, but it took quite some time to walk from the Imperial Study Room to the Beast Garden.

Having walked for so long, Shen Chuwei felt as if she had digested all the food from her early meal because she was craving something to eat.

Guards stood watch at the entrance of the Beast Garden; with the Emperor’s arrival, they knelt in welcome.

The Chief Guard in charge of the Beast Garden, a middle-aged man around forty years of age, stepped forward to salute, "Long live the Emperor, may you live forever."

Ye Haoting inquired, "How is the tiger-lion beast doing now?"

The Chief Guard, somewhat nervous, hadn’t expected the Emperor to visit suddenly and specifically ask to see the tiger-lion beast.

"Your Majesty, the past couple of days have been hot, and the tiger-lion beast is not in good condition."

Ye Haoting frowned, "Is the tiger-lion beast sick?"

The Chief Guard wiped the sweat from his forehead, cautiously replying, "It hasn’t been eating these past two days."

Ye Haoting’s brows furrowed deeper, "Let’s go have a look."

"Yes," responded the guard, leading the way.

Shen Chuwei followed leisurely behind, taking in the Beast Garden, noting that it contained not only tigers and lions but also wolves and other beasts. What were wild beasts doing in the Imperial Palace?

If they were to escape carelessly, wouldn’t that spell disaster?

Just then, the lions and tigers that were originally inside started coming out, pressing against the cages to look out.

Seeing this, the Chief Guard said with a smile, "Due to the Emperor’s arrival, the beasts are exceptionally excited today."

Ye Haoting glanced at the caged beasts without much attention, his main purpose today was to verify the real Xiao Jiu.

Shen Chuwei watched their gleaming eyes, almost understanding their emotions at this moment, which were, undoubtedly, excitement!

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, they arrived at the deepest part of the Beast Garden, in front of the largest beast cage so far.

Inside the cage, a massive creature lay in the corner, its snow-white fur making it easy to mistake for a small snow mountain, if not for the fact that it was just too large.

Ye Haoting glimpsed the tiger-lion beast, realizing that it seemed less fierce and energetic than before, but this did not affect the proof of the real versus the fake Xiao Jiu.

He looked to Shen Chuwei, "Xiao Jiu, this is the tiger-lion beast."

Ye Anyu looked at Shen Chuwei with a sense of triumph, eager to see how the imposter would handle the situation next.

Shen Chuwei shifted her gaze back to Ye Haoting, "...Alright."

As Shen Chuwei approached the cage, the Chief Guard drew out keys from his waist and was about to unlock the cage when the massive creature inside suddenly moved, causing the Chief Guard’s hands to tremble.

The beast propped itself up on its front limbs, shook its fur, and turned to look their way.

Shen Chuwei observed the tiger-lion beast, noting the white fur around its neck, even whiter than Xuetuan, since Xuetuan had a few strands of silver fur mixed into its head.

Its eyes were as large as copper bells, staring unblinkingly at her.

The beast, which had been lying down, suddenly stood up, allowing everyone to clearly see its height–taller than tigers by a section, roughly the size of two tigers put together.

Considering its robust limbs, it felt as if it could slap her to death with just one paw~

The Chief Guard unlocked the cage with trembling hands, then said to Shen Chuwei, "You can go in now."

Shen Chuwei hesitated before stepping inside.

No sooner had she entered than the Chief Guard locked the door behind her, fearing that the tiger-lion beast might suddenly charge out.

Once inside, Shen Chuwei stood still, quietly observing the tiger-lion beast before finally fixing her gaze on its large, copper-bell-like eyes.

The beast stared at Shen Chuwei for a while, then suddenly tilted its head back and roared, revealing sharp, serrated teeth capable of tearing through prey.

The sound was deafening, as if it was afraid of not being heard.

Shen Chuwei covered her ears to avoid being deafened by the roar.

Ye Haoting watched the tiger-lion beast’s reaction, feeling it was more excited than when he first arrived.

Ye Anyu, witnessing the scene, looked at Shen Chuwei inside the cage, certain that with the ferocity of the tiger-lion beast, the only one in Nanzhao Country, the imposter would surely meet her end this time.

After roaring, the tiger-lion beast kicked the ground, crating a cloud of dust.

Shen Chuwei quickly covered her mouth and nose to avoid choking on the dust, coughing involuntarily twice.

As if it had enough of kicking, the beast started walking toward Shen Chuwei with its strong limbs, its powerful presence like a mountain bearing down on her~

Having never seen a tiger-lion beast before, Shen Chuwei was astounded to see that it was even taller than her, and when its massive head drew near, she instinctively turned her head, only to see Ye Anyu watching her with a smirk.

Ye Anyu stood by the cage like a spectator, eager to see how Shen Chuwei would be frightened out of her wits and sent flying by a single swipe of the tiger-lion beast.