Chapter 29 The Fox's Siphon Principle: Whoever bullies you, I'll retaliate fiercely...

Tinglan finally realized that this seemingly cute and harmless fox was actually quite troublesome and even had a deep understanding of human nature.

If you try to leave him, the fox will squeak mournfully, as if you have done something terrible to offend him.

Then it buried its head in its big white tail, staring at you pitifully with its eyes wide open, its pointed ears drooping down.

If you still don't listen to him at this point, then you're committing a truly heinous crime.

"I won't leave you behind. I said I'd take you with me." Tinglan said helplessly.

The fox turned its head away, refusing to listen.

If you're unhappy, you should pet the fox more. I can let you pet my belly, and you'll be happy after you do.

The fox stretched out its head, howled, and bit Tinglan's sleeve, pulling his hand towards itself.

Now, immediately, come and touch the fox's belly.

What kind of person is this, needing to be urged to touch a fox's belly?

Tinglan had no choice but to pet the fox while tucking it into his arms, but the little fox was no longer so well-behaved, and kept burying its head into his clothes.

Only the round, plump fox bottom and the fluffy fox tail were left for Tinglan to hold.

The wicked fox stretched its cold, hard front paws, which had been walking on the ground, into Tinglan's arms.

Even though I'm trying to make you happy, it won't hurt if the fox pets you.

Hehehe, it feels so comfortable to be in my good friend's arms, all warm and soft.

Since I'm in fox form now, no matter how you look at it, you can't pin the blame on Ji Qing, so I can be a bad fox with a clear conscience.

The fox's two little paws were fiddling around in Tinglan's arms, stepping on this and touching that, but as it touched, it felt that something was wrong with the texture.

He hadn't noticed it before because he touched it through several layers of clothing, but now that he could reach inside with his paw, he discovered that his friend seemed to have a scar on his chest, long and thin, and it didn't feel smooth to the touch.

The fox instantly lost its mischievous intent, and blankly stretched out its head, as if afraid of hurting him, and gently placed its little paws on Tinglan's chest to confirm again.

What happened?

Who bullied you? Does it still hurt?

The fox sat motionless in Tinglan's arms. After a moment, it rested its head on Tinglan's shoulder and wrapped its two little white paws around his neck.

Her nose felt sore, and she lowered her head to rub it against Tinglan's collar.

Tinglan raised her hand and hugged the fox tighter, chuckling softly, "What are you doing now?"

Fox had always loved her best friend's voice, which was soft yet slightly husky, but today it made her feel terrible.

His good friend must have been bullied somewhere he couldn't see.

Who is this scoundrel?! I'm going to bite him to death!

The fox had intended to cheer Tinglan up, but instead, it became sad.

He raised his head, sniffed, broke free from Tinglan's embrace, and disappeared along the corner of the wall.

Standing in the courtyard, Tinglan suddenly felt the cool night breeze, realizing that the warm fox in her arms was gone.

He pressed down his long hair, which was being blown about by the wind, and prepared to turn back to put on a cloak before going to look for the person again.

"Tinglan".

The little prince's voice came from behind. Before Tinglan could turn around, he was suddenly hugged.

"Where did Your Highness go?" Tinglan asked helplessly, wanting to turn around and look at him, but was pushed directly into the house.

"Tinglan, would you like some snacks?"

The fox led his good friend to sit on the soft couch, brought over the plate, and then scurried over carrying the plate of snacks himself.

Tinglan picked up a pastry with some surprise and just put it in her mouth.

Then the little prince, holding a storybook, asked, "What story do you want to hear? I'll read it to you."

"Your Highness, what's wrong with you today? Did I do something good to please you so much?"

"I just want to make you happy." The fox hugged the book and looked down at his toes.

"With Your Highness here, this servant is already very happy."

"Really? You can't lie to me."

"Of course it's true."

The fox then curled its lip and opened the storybook in its hand, saying, "Then today we'll listen to the story of the fox demon repaying a debt of gratitude."

Don't worry, with me here, no one will be able to bully you from now on.

If anyone bullies you, I'll kick their ass hard.

*

"Any developments from the Directorate of Ceremonial?"

"Your Highness, nothing was found."

Prince Ning, unable to sit still any longer, stepped forward and whispered to his elder brother, "Brother, we have no past grudges or recent feuds with Tinglan, so why are you specifically targeting him for investigation?"

The Ninth Prince is so powerful that if we don't take action now to cut off his influence, it will be even more difficult to do so once he ascends the throne.

The Crown Prince ignored him and continued to ask his subordinate, "And what about Pei Jiqing?"

Prince Ning felt even more suffocated. That silly child, easily fooled by the Ninth Prince, what threat could he pose to them? He couldn't help but continue, "Why does Your Majesty even suspect Ji Qing?"

The Crown Prince was utterly exasperated and could only console himself that this was his own brother, born of the same mother, and that if he were to be carelessly abandoned, his mother would kill him.

Pei Jiqing is indeed quite capable, managing to fool Xinze, but such clever people are often the most prone to having their own ulterior motives...

The crown prince rubbed his temples, got up and walked out. "None of you need to follow me. I'm going out for a walk to clear my head."

The snow that fell a few days ago has melted completely, and the bluestone slabs are clean and shiny after being washed by the snowmelt.

Feeling troubled, the prince walked further and further away without realizing it.

But then, on the path behind the bushes, I vaguely saw a familiar figure.

"Thirteenth Brother, what a coincidence! Where are you headed?"

The fox had just finished supervising Tinglan's lunch when it went out for a stroll. Seeing the Crown Prince approaching, it smiled and waved to him.

He had learned a lot from following Tinglan these past few days, and immediately greeted him, "Your Highness the Crown Prince."

"I was just on my way back to the palace and happened to be passing by."

"Does my thirteenth brother have the time to travel with me?"

The fox was eager for someone to play with him, so of course he nodded.

Today is a rare good day in winter, and the sunshine feels warm and cozy on people.

"If I remember correctly, the thirteenth brother and the Ninth Prince were very close."

The fox nodded. "We're so close we sleep together all day."

"What does the Thirteenth Brother think of the Ninth Prince?"

Ji Qing pondered for a moment and felt that simply using the word "good" was too simplistic and could not express Tinglan's goodness, so he said with great certainty, "Like a fox."

Hmph, we foxes are the best, both smart and beautiful, and so is Tinglan.

The crown prince understood, raised an eyebrow, and gave a very amused look.

"It really is a fox."

Ji Qing happily echoed, nodding vigorously.

"He doesn't have many relatives or friends. He has gotten to where he is today entirely on his own. I admire him very much."

The fox puffed out its chest in pride for its good friend, silently retorting in its heart, "How can he not have relatives and friends? I am his relative and friend."

"He has almost no hobbies." Not only does he have no hobbies, but he also has no weaknesses.

The fox shook its head upon hearing this. Mingming had many hobbies. He liked to play with me, tell stories, pet foxes, eat chestnut cakes, take walks, take baths, drink tea, and play chess by himself.

The Crown Prince chuckled, “Thirteenth Brother and the Ninth Prince haven’t known each other for long. You can only know a person’s face but not their heart. After all these years, I’ve come to understand him a little.”

The fox blinked, tilted its head, and pondered the meaning of the saying, "You can know a person's face but not their heart."

My good friend has some heart problems, he knows that, and he takes good care of him every day, never making him angry.

Based on the principle of "like cures like," I always leave the chicken heart for my good friend when we eat chicken soup.

"He is a man of deep thoughts and can endure what ordinary people cannot. It's just a pity he's a eunuch, otherwise, this court..."

The crown prince suddenly lowered his head and smiled bitterly. Well, if he weren't a eunuch, he probably wouldn't have been able to keep his life, let alone enter the court.

The fox tilted its head in confusion and looked at the crown prince. It had heard the word "eunuch" many times, but it still didn't know what it meant.

Such a good friend, how could it be such a pity?

"Thirteenth brother, could you do me a favor?" The crown prince stopped in his tracks.

"Tell me," the fox said, looking at him with some confusion.

"It's nothing serious. Can you help your brother recall if Tinglan has met anyone in private?"

"who?"

"He is a Taoist priest, the one who debated with the Indian monk that day, named Zhou Yiqing."

The fox blinked again and shook its head firmly.

He knew what "meeting in private" meant; it meant a secret rendezvous, like a vixen meeting a scholar in secret.

Zhou Yiqing was always present whenever his good friend met him; this couldn't be called a secret rendezvous.

However, the fox often secretly met with Zhou Yiqing and brought her delicious food when she was bored.

However, the Crown Prince didn't ask about this, and the Taoist priest wouldn't let him say it out loud, insisting that Tinglan would be jealous if she knew. But she clearly didn't eat dumplings, so why would she be jealous?

"Alright, thank you very much, Thirteenth Brother." The Crown Prince smiled slightly at him.

The fox tiptoed and looked ahead. Seeing a familiar sedan chair parked at the end of the path, it tilted its head and said happily,

"Brother, I'm leaving now. The sedan chair is here to take me back to the palace. It's windy outside, so you should go back soon too."

The crown prince nodded.

He watched as Pei Jiqing ran happily towards the sedan chair, lifted the curtain, climbed inside, shook his head, smiled, and turned to leave.

His thirteenth brother was truly flawless; he was such a good actor.

The reason why the prince misunderstood the fox is simple: if a spoon is full of holes, it is no longer a leaky spoon, but a fine sieve.

A certain fox with a sieve happily climbed into the sedan chair, just in time to meet Tinglan's meaningful gaze.

Tinglan spoke softly, "Why is Your Highness traveling with the Crown Prince?"

The fox fidgeted with the hem of its clothes. "I met him on the way back. What's wrong? Shouldn't I have talked to him?"

"It's alright, Your Highness can talk to whomever you want. How could I possibly interfere?"

The fox nudged closer to him, leaned in, and hurriedly babbled a string of words.

“The Crown Prince asked me how I was, and I told him I was fine. Then he asked me if I had seen Zhou Yiqing, and I said no. I just happened to see the sedan chair when I got here, so I got on.”

Hearing this long string of words, Tinglan felt strangely at ease.

The Crown Prince is after me, at least not the young prince.