Even if I sent the little guy to investigate, many things couldn’t be figured out overnight.

"Secrets..." Dean Chen thought for a moment. "The Gao family has held power in the imperial court for two generations. They have some influence behind the scenes, and their words carry significant weight at court. I only know of a few officials who are secretly close to him. Does that count?"

Ye Qianning shook her head. "I’m looking into Prime Minister Gao’s personal family matters."

"That’s something I don’t know about. If you want to investigate something, I can help you find Qian Fanji. There’s nothing in the Capital City he can’t find out. He has some dirt on just about every noble family."

"Better not." Ye Qianning had no desire to get him involved. She still owed him a favor from last time, regarding the evidence of Prime Minister Gao’s crimes.

"Why? Is this about Prime Minister Gao deliberately retaliating?" Dean Chen recalled the events of the past few days.

"Hard to say. What do you think of Gao Qi?"

"That boy, Gao Qi... although he’s a bit spoiled, he’s not like his father. His academic performance is quite good, too. With a little more guidance, he could become a very sensible person," Dean Chen said.

Ye Qianning felt a little more certain. There weren’t many people her master would praise, so Gao Qi must be decent enough. Now, she first had to figure out what Prime Minister Gao had told his idiot son.

Prime Minister Gao’s attitude was bizarre. Something was definitely fishy.

The sound of the night watchman’s clapper echoed from outside. Ye Qianning stood up. "Master, it’s getting late. I should be heading back."

"Go on, then. See if you can find something to feed that bird in your room. I tried to give it some food this afternoon, but it wouldn’t take a single bite." Dean Chen figured it wouldn’t last another two days.

"I know. You should get some rest too, Master." Ye Qianning left the room.

The little Honey-sucking Parrot in her room had probably tired itself out from all the cursing. It was silent now. But as soon as she entered, the half-dead parrot fluttered and stood up.

’Where the hell have you been? Where have you been?! Go to hell!!!’ the little parrot squawked, its beady eyes a mixture of anger and grievance, looking for all the world like a jilted wife.

"..."

Go to hell!

"Damn it, did you forget about me?" The little parrot bumped its head against the bars of the cage.

"...You still have the energy to curse, so you’re clearly not starving enough." Ye Qianning reached out and opened the cage.

The little parrot froze for a second, then hurried out, fluttering its wings as it flew right in front of her. "Damn it, you’re starving me to death!"

"...Could you try to clean up your language?"

"The hell did you say?"

"..."

Ye Qianning felt like she’d brought home a tiny, demanding overlord. She remembered Honey-sucking Parrots being well-behaved; they weren’t supposed to be this foul-mouthed.

’Or did I just happen to catch the one with the potty mouth?’

"Damn it, I’m hungry!" The little parrot’s wings could barely stay airborne.

Ye Qianning rubbed her ears, employing some selective hearing. "You still haven’t agreed to my request."

The little parrot landed on the arm of a chair, tilting its head in thought.

"I’m going to sleep. Let me know when you’ve made up your mind." Ye Qianning yawned and walked over to her small bed.

"Damn it, don’t go to sleep!" The parrot, displeased, flew over and landed on her headboard.

"Do you think humans have as much free time as you do? I have class tomorrow." Ye Qianning lay down, planning to pop into her dimension for a relaxing bath first.

"What about the food?"

"You want to eat before you’ve even done the job? Life doesn’t work that way."

"Well... I can’t make that decision on my own. I have to go ask my flock. But you have to give me a few of those fruits to take back and show them." The little parrot wasn’t stupid.

"Fine." Ye Qianning sat up and, without being stingy, produced more than a dozen small red fruits from her dimension.

The little parrot’s beady eyes lit up, and it practically drooled with desire.