Chapter 21 The Fox Sleeps with You There's a warm fox in your bed...

The snow finally arrived in the capital. The heavy snow fell in a vast expanse, shrouding the entire palace in a long-standing, cold atmosphere, as if even the red walls had lost their color.

The palace servants were all in a hurry and very cautious, and the ministers were also braving the cold wind and heavy snow to attend the morning court session... Pei Yue and Zhou Yiqing were secretly plotting to make sure that the King of Wei could not recover in one fell swoop.

Meanwhile, the fox was happily diving headfirst into the snow.

Jump!

The Ninth Prince only caught a glimpse of the little prince's robe before he was tumbling headfirst into the thick snow.

The fox pulled his head out of the snow, shook the snow off his face, and decided that this didn't count. He got into a starting position, ready to jump again.

The fox failed to jump, so the Ninth Prince stepped forward, grabbed him by the collar, and pulled him back.

"What is Your Highness doing?" Tinglan asked anxiously, but still lowered her head and gently brushed the snowflakes off the little prince's hair.

The fox crossed its arms and tilted its head, "You don't understand, I'm hunting."

"Did Your Highness catch anything?"

The fox immediately deflated, clutching the hem of its clothes and muttering stubbornly, "Let me jump one more time, and I'll catch it."

"I think it's a rabbit."

Tinglan smiled helplessly, "Your Highness's clothes are covered in snow, you should go inside and change quickly."

The fox looked back reluctantly at the snowy ground, but obediently nodded, "Alright."

He wanted to roll a snowball.

Inside, a large copper basin was burning with silver-threaded charcoal, its heat rising gently. Outside, the sky gradually darkened, and a fierce wind, mixed with snowflakes, began to fall heavier and heavier.

The Ninth Prince stared out the window for a long time, while the little prince by the stove was enthusiastically turning over his roasted sweet potatoes.

Today, heavy snow fell, and the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs was deserted; a rare moment of tranquility amidst the undercurrents of unrest.

Tinglan's lips parted slightly, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated, but he still said, "Your Highness, the snow is heavy and the roads are slippery. Why don't you stay tonight?"

He spoke slowly and calmly, but his heart was pounding.

He thought he would probably be rejected.

The fox was sizzling from the hot sweet potato, and without a trace of doubt, it readily agreed, "Okay."

He was focused entirely on preparing the sweet potatoes. "They should be cooked. Tinglan, would you like to try some?"

The Ninth Prince, however, gave an irrelevant answer, "Your Highness...do you wish to stay?"

"Stay." The fox nodded, holding the roasted sweet potato, then took a big bite with a loud gulp, only to wince in pain from the heat. He then picked up a cup from the table and gulped down a bellyful of water.

"I'll go get some milk for His Highness." Tinglan stood up absentmindedly, and bumped into the corner of the table after taking only a few steps.

The fox was completely oblivious to Tinglan's strange behavior, and happily took another bite of the sweet roasted sweet potato.

Hehe, it's really delicious.

Night fell, and the white snow outside the window reflected the moonlight, making the world a bright, white expanse.

Ji Qing lay on the couch like a fox-shaped pancake, and idly flipped himself over.

Where did my best friend go? Why didn't she come to keep me company?

The fox rolled off the bed, put on his robe and shoes. The corridor was winding and dark, with only the study at the end still lit.

Doesn't Tinglan rest tonight? She must be working so hard.

The fox knocked on the study door, gently pushed it open, and poked its head in. "Tinglan, are you tired?"

The Ninth Prince raised his head, put down his pen, and asked, "Your Highness, what brings you here?"

"It's so late, I came to find you. I think you need to go to sleep." Then, snuggling in bed with the fox, Ji Qing thought happily.

Tinglan paused for a moment, then lowered her head and said, "Something urgent came up, but it's been taken care of right away."

He sat there, reading the messages passed down from his subordinates over and over again. It wasn't that anything was unresolved, but rather that he was somewhat... flustered.

Tinglan had never expected that the young prince would agree to stay so readily. Even though he had spoken first, he was now somewhat at a loss. He thought to himself with a self-deprecating smile, "It's not like I agreed to sleep side by side with you... Why am I so flustered?"

The fox nodded, sat down at the other end of the desk, and waited patiently with its chin in its hand.

Tinglan closed the scroll and looked up. "Your Highness?"

The fox waved its hand, "I won't bother you, I'll just sit here and keep you company."

The young prince wore a red-trimmed long-sleeved robe, his eyebrows and eyes were bright, his long black hair was unbound and hung down his arms, and his shoes were casually hanging on his feet, dangling back and forth.

This attire is so casual that it's not something anyone other than a close friend would see, always evoking images of intimate scenes, like whispering sweet nothings or embracing and trimming candles together by the west window.

Tinglan picked up the pen somewhat stiffly.

After writing only a few strokes, he couldn't help but look up and see the young prince tiptoeing to the window, opening it to grab a handful of snow, and then squatting down to start making a snowman.

Her long hair and red hem trailed on the blue bricks. The fox turned around, lifted her clothes and hair, and continued to concentrate on making snowballs.

Tinglan lowered her head to turn the pages of the book, but couldn't help glancing up out of the corner of her eye. She saw the little prince starting to rub the snowman's head, and a smile involuntarily appeared on her lips.

When he looked up again, the fox's little snowman had melted into water, and he was sadly wiping the ground with a cloth.

"Your Highness."

The fox jumped up excitedly, "Are we done with our work? Can we go to sleep now?"

"I will accompany Your Highness back to your room." He put down his book and stood up.

The fox quickly followed, tugging at Tinglan's sleeve with a grin. The two walked to the bedroom door, where Tinglan opened it and said gently, "Your Highness, please rest well. If you need anything, you may call me."

The fox nodded somewhat disappointedly. He had wanted to take the opportunity to touch his best friend's chest, but it turned out they weren't going to sleep together after all...

He hung his head dejectedly, when suddenly a brilliant idea struck him, and some unexpected and nonexistent intelligence suddenly welled up in his mind.

I'm so smart!

Ji Qing tilted her head and whispered in Ting Lan's ear, "Do you want to pet the fox?"

Tinglan replied softly, "It's late today, that little fox is probably already asleep in your palace."

Ji Qing nodded, meaning he would agree.

Hehehe, tonight I, the fox, will sleep with you.

He turned around gracefully, winked at Tinglan, and closed the door.

Seeing that the young prince had returned to his room, Tinglan smiled and walked down the corridor toward his own bedroom.

He lit the lamp, took off his outer robe and hung it up. He never liked being served by others and always took care of his daily life himself.

Tinglan sat on the edge of the bed, wearing only her undergarments, staring blankly at the door. The young prince should be asleep by now, right? He'd been playing wildly all day; he must have fallen asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

Just then, I heard a muffled noise coming from the doorway.

It looked like some small creature that wasn't very tall had pounced on the door.

Tinglan's heart tightened. He grabbed the short knife on the table, walked to the door, and opened it a crack.

As far as the eye could see, there was nothing there, yet something gently stepped on his shoes.

Tinglan was puzzled and looked down.

It is a white, furry paw.

The fox, in a domineering and unyielding manner, stepped in with one paw and then forcefully squeezed its head through the door.

Now he is standing upright with all four paws on the ground, looking up at Tinglan.

The Ninth Prince couldn't help but laugh out loud; the young prince really did have some tricks up his sleeve.

He crouched down and stroked the fox's soft ears. "Did His Highness carry you here? Where is he now?"

He picked up the fox, stood up, and looked towards the door.

There was no one outside the door.

The fox lazily patted his hand with its tail.

Honestly, with such a lovely fox in your arms, you're still thinking about all sorts of nonsense.

Ji Qing turned around, jumped out of Ting Lan's arms, took two steps, and stood in front of Ting Lan's bed.

It patted the bed with its paw.

I want to go to bed, please carry me to bed quickly!

The white fox, with its fluffy and soft fur, looks like a large cloud of cotton, and is very tempting.

Tinglan sighed, sat on the edge of the bed, and held the fox on her lap. "You're not allowed to bite me this time."

Feeling a little guilty, the fox simply rested its head on Tinglan's arm, skillfully rolled over, and exposed its soft belly as compensation.

No one can resist such temptation. Tinglan tentatively reached out and carefully placed her hand on the fox's belly. Nothing happened, except that the fox's belly was soft and comfortable to touch.

At times like this, no one can resist touching it a few more times.

The fox was lying comfortably when Tinglan started touching it endlessly.

The fox stretched and used its furry paw to press down on Tinglan's hand, stopping him from moving.

He walked to Tinglan's pillow, curled himself up in a circle, and lay down comfortably, hugging his big tail.

Okay, the massage is over, the fox is going to sleep now.

Outside, a fierce snowstorm raged, snowflakes pattering against the windowpane. Inside, the fireplace was warm, and a beautiful, soft white fox lay on the couch.

Tinglan chuckled softly, letting the fox occupy his pillow, then turned and blew out the candle before lying down.

Tinglan woke up in the middle of the night, his eyes half-open, and felt something furry against his arm.

The unfamiliar touch of the fox's fur against my skin was so soft and warm, it was almost too good to be true.

He stared at the carved bed canopy, and after a moment of stunned silence, he remembered that a little fox had been sleeping in his bed that day.

This was a truly novel experience; the first person to sleep in his bed was a white fox.

The Ninth Prince reached out and rubbed the fox's head and ears.

Perhaps because the fox often stayed with the young prince, he actually smelled a familiar scent on the fox, a sweet floral fragrance that was exactly the same as the incense on the young prince.

"It seems His Highness often holds and plays with you. You are so beautiful and intelligent, no wonder His Highness likes you."

He gently stroked the fox's ears and tilted his head to whisper in its ear.

Ji Qing opened her eyes a crack, then closed them again, comfortably rolled over, and placed her belly under Ting Lan's hands.

Thank you for praising me. Here, feel my belly.

Tinglan bent down, and the fox took the opportunity to press its paws onto his chest, even stomping on them lightly a few times. The paws felt very good, very soft and elastic.

It was just too dark to see clearly...

The fox's furry ears felt hot, and it covered its face with its paws.

I quickly reassured myself, "What's the big deal? He touched me so many times, he's just returning the favor."

However, the fox, still half-asleep and confused, stood up and nuzzled Tinglan's face with its head.

My dear friend, I like you so much.

A note from the author:

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