A few steps behind Li Meirong, Xiao An Fei leaned forward to perceive Her Ladyship's reaction to Bao Li's account.

Her anxiety lessened slightly when she saw the flicker of doubt in Li Meirong's eyes.

At the same time, Li Meirong stood in front of Xiao An Fei, her wary gaze directed at Bao Li, and so didn't notice anything out of the ordinary with her distressed maid.

"You say you saw fox spirits in my garden, but you also said you haven't seen Snowball in a while… that makes this a little difficult to believe," Li Meirong said, lips pursing as she finished speaking.

Bao Li bristled. "Well, I do not think it was Snowball. These fox spirits looked older than him, and I think I know Snowball well enough to recognize him when I see him."

Li Meirong opened and closed her mouth a few times, but no words came out.

Xiao An Fei crept closer while Li Meirong was deep in thought.

"My Lady, may I have permission to speak?"

"Go ahead." Li Meirong said as she sat down in the nearest chair with a loud thump, rubbing her temples tiredly.

Xiao An Fei immediately turned to scowl at Bao Li.

"You, girl, from where was it that you saw the fox spirits? Did you step inside the grounds of My Lady's residence?"

Bao Li was caught off-guard by Xiao An Fei's sudden show of animosity, but answered all the same.

"Not exactly," she admitted. "I was mounted upon a crane at that time, flying above the garden."

Xiao An Fei breathed out harshly through her nostrils and crossed her arms over her chest. She looked down her nose at Bao Li.

"So, it is to this humble servant's understanding that from so high up, anybody could be mistaken as to what they saw, not to mention a muddle-headed girl like you. For all we know, you might have seen a few rabbits munching on herbs in the field…"

Bao Li's youthful looking face twisted; she was completely affronted by Xiao An Fei's slyly-insulting remarks. She puffed out her cheeks and shifted her gaze between Li Meirong and Xiao An Fei.

"What is this, are you guys putting on a show for me? I may drink a lot, but I'm not blind!" Bao Li said, banging her fist on the table. "I know what I saw! Those were fox spirits!"

Thinking that Li Meirong was simply unwilling to give away one of her hidden fox cubs, the Head Chef resumed with her complaints. "Junior Sister Meirong, I just want one fox! Surely you can share just one with your friend when you already have so many?"

Li Meirong didn't have time to respond before Xiao An Fei butted in on the conversation once again.

Xiao An Fei bowed deeply and averted her gaze as she spoke.

"My Lady, I assure you that whatever your friend might think she saw, it was not fox spirits. As you recall, I was waiting for your orders right outside your residence. If there were any fox spirits around, I would know."

Li Meirong's expression kept changing continuously. It began with confusion, then transformed to suspicion, worry, and then, finally reverted back to confusion.

How many fox spirits did she own? Obviously, there was only one, Snowball!

Fox spirits were very rare spirit beasts, and were equally difficult to acquire. The odds of having a pair of random fox spirits visiting the garden were minuscule.

But what if they weren't just any random fox spirits? If Bao Li really had seen fox spirits, what if they were Snowball's family members, coming to whisk him away?

That was the first thing that came to Li Meirong's mind, and it troubled her most of all options. Her heart clenched in her chest at the thought of Snowball being kidnapped, especially by his no-good family.

If such a thing did happen, how would she ever find him again?

Then again, as Xiao An Fei had wisely mentioned, Bao Li could have just misunderstood what she saw. It wouldn't be the first time it happened, either, especially with Bao Li's recent hobby of getting drunk whenever possible.

"You believe me, don't you, Sister Meirong?" Bao Li's heartfelt plea made Li Meirong regain focus once more.

She quickly recovered, gripped Bao Li's shoulders with sudden urgency. "Are you certain not even one of the foxes was Snowball?"

"I do not think so. It did not seem so, from what I saw. There were two fox spirits, and each of them had multiple tails. It looked like they were carrying a sack, too," Bao Li added as an afterthought. "It was a rather interesting sight to behold."

"Did you notice which way they were heading?"

Bao Li rubbed her chin in thought. "The crane kept flying ahead, so I did not have enough time to properly inspect."

Li Meirong's eyes lost all signs of tenderness. She cupped her hands before Bao Li and bowed politely.

"Senior Sister Li, I apologize for being rude, but I must go. You know your way out. I'll see you another time, and we'll talk more about this."

Bao Li's brow furrowed. "But what about giving me a fox cub?"

She was met with a chilling glare as a response.

"Next time," Bao Li said hastily, laughing nervously. She backed away, swaying slightly from side to side. "We will talk about it next time."

Bao Li may have been considered persistent by some, but she also knew to relent before getting into trouble.