Chapter 33: The fox's interpersonal relationships are ridiculously good... Come on...

Seeing that the tiger seemed a little afraid of him, the fox immediately turned his head away.

Strange, there's nothing behind me.

It can't be that the tiger is afraid of me, right? That doesn't make sense.

The fox scratched its head, not paying much attention, and continued to gnaw on its chicken wing.

The chef is amazing! This roast chicken is so well marinated, it's delicious!

The banquet had already gone through several rounds of drinks. Except for a few people who hadn't touched a drop, most people had flushed cheeks. Seeing such a wild beast brought up, even through the iron cage and the row of guards, they were slightly frightened.

The white tiger was pushed off, and a white deer took its place.

The chicken legs and wings of the roast chicken had already been eaten by the fox.

The envoy was still there, spouting off about how the appearance of white tigers and white deer was an auspicious sign, proving that the world was at peace under the emperor's rule—just a bunch of repetitive compliments.

Although the emperor was quite pleased—he was getting old and liked to hear celebratory words, and had generously rewarded the envoys—he was just about to habitually turn his head to say a few words to Tinglan.

Remembering that he wasn't there, her expression immediately turned somewhat displeased, and she lowered her head to drink a glass.

The fox below was completely bewildered, and could only understand the gist of what was being said.

Why are a white tiger and a white deer considered auspicious omens? Why did that person praise them to the skies?

Is it auspicious because it's white?

I am white too, and I can talk. I'm even more powerful than tigers and deer.

Who can be more auspicious than me, the little fox!

The fox held its head high and puffed out its chest with great pride, taking a big bite of the chicken.

I'm amazing! I'm auspicious!

Pei Yue tilted his head and glanced at the chicken bones on Pei Jiqing's table. He then very consciously took his plate over to offer as a tribute to our formidable fox lord.

Perhaps unfamiliar with the fox's appetite, he even went so far as to ask, "I haven't touched this plate, can you still eat?"

The phrase "can't eat" has never appeared in a fox's dictionary.

"Thank you, Seventh Brother!" The fox happily took the plate and skillfully broke off a chicken leg to chew on.

The mighty fox needs to eat more delicious roasted chicken.

Seeing this, the Crown Prince frowned and whispered to Prince Ning, "How did Pei Jiqing and Pei Yue meet? Pei Yue was imprisoned before and has only just returned to the palace. They shouldn't have met before, right?"

Prince Ning waved his hand, thinking to himself that his elder brother was overthinking things. Thinking so much all the time would make him lose his hair. He casually replied, "Who knows, they might meet on the road one day and chat for a bit. That's perfectly normal."

The Crown Prince frowned as he looked down at Pei Jiqing, who was enjoying his meal.

There's a strange feeling that this thirteenth brother seems to have a good relationship with everyone? He can chat with almost anyone?

It's one thing for his own foolish younger brother to side with him, but there's also Pei Yue, who just returned to the palace, and even someone as rare as Ting Lan, who has a close relationship with him...

Why is that? Is Pei Jiqing really that shrewd and worldly-wise?

It's really puzzling.

In short, given the prince's youth and lack of experience with fools, he probably couldn't understand it even if he racked his brains... The fox wasn't particularly powerful or clever; he simply had no ill intentions and was clumsy yet genuinely kind to others.

Human relationships are cold and distant in the palace. People like the fox are extremely rare, and he is also indifferent to worldly affairs. Naturally, many people are willing to associate with him, because no one wants to be on guard against the people around them all the time.

During this time, the fox happily received a second roasted chicken from Prince Ning. While he was gnawing on his fourth chicken leg, a little eunuch came up to him and poured him some grape syrup.

The grape syrup was specially ordered by the Grand Eunuch to be poured for the Thirteenth Prince. It was the first time the little eunuch had received such an order from such an important figure, so he was a little nervous and scared, and he was very careful not to spill a single drop.

The fox, with its keen ears and sharp eyes, clearly caught the little eunuch's stomach rumble.

"Didn't you eat?" He immediately understood and asked in a low voice.

The young eunuch was so startled that his hand trembled, and he almost knocked over the cup. "This servant...this servant has failed to serve His Highness properly..."

Before he could finish speaking, his words were trembling, a packet of dried fruit had already been secretly slipped into his hand.

The young eunuch suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with disbelief.

What does this mean...?

"Are you hungry? Wait a minute, I'll secretly pack you some snacks," the fox whispered.

He then expertly pulled out a handkerchief, hid it under the table, picked out a few pastries, wrapped them in it, and stuffed the handkerchief into the eunuch's hand.

Ji Qing is such a cunning fox, simple-minded and only knows how to offer others delicious food; no one can go hungry in front of him.

The little eunuch, clutching pastries in his hand and dried fruit in his pocket, walked away as if in a dream, his eyes reflecting the handsome face of the Thirteenth Prince.

Thirteenth Prince... is this really how it is?

The banquet ended, and the fox, having eaten its fill, hopped and skipped away. It saw the prince standing alone in front of it.

The fox listened to Tinglan very well and strictly adhered to the rules of not speaking to the crown prince and keeping his distance.

He stood far away, happily waving to the prince.

The Crown Prince had already spotted Pei Jiqing, simply because he stood out so much in the crowd.

After drinking a few too many cups of wine, the Crown Prince felt dizzy and nauseous. He was originally followed by a large group of servants and guards, but they were annoyed by the sight, so he stood alone here, enjoying the night breeze and dispelling the smell of alcohol.

The Crown Prince walked over to Pei Jiqing, scrutinizing his younger brother whom he had only known for a short time, with a question in his mind.

You always feel strange when you're with Pei Jiqing. Your rationality tells you that you should be wary, because this person is not simple.

But when they actually start talking, they feel that the person is not threatening at all, and they can't help but let their guard down and start to trust him.

"Is Your Highness feeling unwell?"

After thinking for a moment, the fox decided to stand still instead of immediately turning around and running away.

The Crown Prince is not feeling well and needs someone to take care of him.

"It's just a few drinks, nothing serious."

The fox lowered its head, took out an orange from its pocket, handed it over, and said very seriously, "If you feel dizzy, you can eat this. It works even better when it's cold."

He kept Tinglan's instructions in mind and decided not to talk to the Crown Prince. After delivering the oranges, he immediately turned tail and ran away.

The Crown Prince was left standing alone in the cold wind, holding an orange for no apparent reason. He looked down at the round orange in his hand and chuckled to himself.

He dropped him off and ran, not wanting to say a few more words. His younger brother was indeed different from those who only cared about currying favor with the powerful; he was genuinely worried that his brother was feeling dizzy and unwell.

The Crown Prince couldn't see through his younger brother. Sometimes he felt that the younger brother was deep and thoughtful, while at other times he felt that the younger brother was so naive that he was almost foolish.

He peeled the orange, casually popped it into his mouth, and found it quite delicious—sweet and sour, and very sobering.

The Changqiu Palace was brightly lit.

The Ninth Prince sat under the candlelight, holding a scripture in his hand, but his mind was not on the book; he was wholeheartedly waiting for the young prince to return.

The fox gently pushed the door open a crack, crept closer, and rested its head on Tinglan's shoulder. "Tinglan, what are you looking at?"

He glanced down casually, and oh no! So many words! Just looking at them gave the fox a headache.

"How was your meal tonight?" Tinglan asked with a smile.

“Very good, very good, I ate three servings of roast chicken.”

But don't ask whose two extra portions they are; they were taken voluntarily, not stolen by the fox, hehe.

The fox rolled over, from one of the Ninth Prince's shoulders to the other, and muttered, "It's a pity you didn't go. There are tigers and deer to see tonight, but it doesn't matter, because you can see me."

He immediately sprang to his feet, hands on his hips with pride.

White tigers and white deer are both auspicious, but I am more so!

I'm a white fox, one fox is worth two! Looking at me is better than looking at anything else.

The little prince was saying things that were hard to understand again. Tinglan smiled helplessly, "It's very late, Your Highness, you should get ready to sleep."

The fox shook its head. "No, there's still one thing I haven't done."

"What is it?"

The fox smiled secretly, bent down, and gently placed a kiss on Tinglan's lips.

Then he immediately ran away with a silly smile on his face.

Hehe, of course I should do this kind of enjoyable thing often, just like I should eat delicious roast chicken often.

Tinglan was stunned. He gripped his clothes, then let go, and incredulously raised his hand to touch the corner of his mouth.

My ears only started to feel hot later.

The fox returned quickly. He changed out of his robe, wiped his face, and was about to kick off his shoes, then take a running start and leap onto the bed.

But he found his best friend still sitting by the bed, and if he jumped now, he would knock his best friend down.

I had no choice but to obediently walk over, sit on the bed, take off my shoes properly, and lie down properly.

“Your Highness…” Tinglan turned to look at him.

The fox blinked, skillfully flipped the blanket over itself, curled up into a fox curl, and slapped the bed loudly with its legs, like an excited caterpillar. "Lie down quickly, didn't we say we were going to sleep early?"

Tinglan laughed out loud, rolled over and lay down, hesitated for a long time before speaking, "Your Highness just now..."

The fox's eyes immediately lit up with excitement. "Would you like to do it again?"

Such directness and such intense emotion left Tinglan at a loss. After a moment of stiffness, he nodded.

The fox immediately crawled out of its rolled-up blanket, sat up straight, and then bent down to look at its good friend's pale lips.

Strange, did I eat something bad again? Why is my heart pounding again? It definitely wasn't roast chicken.

The fox touched its chest and continued to bend down.

It was obvious that the fox didn't understand the art of kissing; he didn't even know it was called kissing. He treated it like eating a delicious pastry or candy.

At first, they were cautious, but after tasting some sweetness, they became bolder, carefully grinding their teeth together in an attempt to extract more sweetness.

But the fox remained restrained and cautious; he was afraid that his sharp teeth might pierce the delicate skin of his friend, and he didn't want him to get hurt.

After all, people are very fragile and need to be taken care of.

The kiss lasted a little too long. No matter how worldly-wise and shrewd Tinglan was, he was a complete blank slate when it came to this matter.

The scene before her eyes was gradually blurred by physiological tears, and she could only see the profile of the little prince who was close at hand, and hear the sound of her own heart pounding like a drum.

He was a little out of breath, but he raised his hand to put his arm around the little prince's shoulder and deepened the kiss.

I don't know what lies ahead, I only seek a moment of pleasure.

After the kiss, the fox rolled over, lay flat on the bed, and touched his mouth. He seemed to like this feeling more and more.

Good friends are so good.

They always do as I please.

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Author's note: We foxes are actually quite powerful; we put all our intelligence into our physique, but he always thought he was just an ordinary fox (the kind with only one life).