Chapter 47 Jealousy Erupts! "Does Your Highness wish for me to serve you in bed?"...

It's another happy day. The New Year is almost here, and the fox will soon be a year older, making him eighteen on the surface.

An eighteen-year-old fox is still radiant, and a fox over two hundred years old is still radiant.

It's Chinese New Year, and inside Changqiu Palace, the lively foxes are busily making dumplings.

He, a fox, could easily roll dumpling wrappers, chop filling, season the filling, and wrap dumplings, but his good friend insisted on helping him, and alas, he simply couldn't refuse.

The fox sighed and continued making dumplings with great effort. He had straps tied to his sleeves, and his hands and even his face were covered in flour. He worked with great enthusiasm and dedication.

But my best friend's gaze seems to be getting more and more complicated.

"Your Highness, no one puts roasted chicken inside dumplings," Tinglan finally couldn't help but remind him.

"It's alright, I'm not human." The fox chuckled and continued to put the shredded roasted chicken into the dumpling filling.

I'm a fox, not a human, and I want to eat dumplings filled with roasted chicken!

Tinglan smiled helplessly. What could he say after hearing this? He could only instruct the small kitchen to prepare some other fillings and make some more himself, in case the little prince's strange flavors were not tasty and their lunch would be completely ruined.

The fox carried the dumplings, heaving as it lifted them to the pot, and added two more bundles of firewood to the stove, preparing to wait for the water to boil.

"Aren't we cooking it now?" Tinglan asked.

"You have to put dumplings in boiling water," the fox said proudly, raising its head.

Hehe, so there are things you don't understand too.

"If you boil it in cold water, it will turn into noodle soup." The fox looked down at the fire in the stove, skillfully put the lid on, and waited for the water to boil.

Tinglan looked at the busy little prince with a smile in his eyes. Over the years, only with the little prince did he feel at home.

When he was little, he also made dumplings, but his father didn't allow children to go into the kitchen for fear of being burned by the stove fire. On New Year's Eve, he would stay with his mother and several maids and help make dumplings.

More than ten years have passed, and he still hasn't forgotten how to wrap it...

"The water's boiling." The fox lifted the lid. "Stand aside for a moment, don't burn yourself." With that, he deftly poured the dumplings into the pot.

The heat blurred his vision, making it impossible for Tinglan to see the little prince's face. He could only smell the rising smoke, a scent he hadn't smelled in many years. It was a pleasant smell that made him feel alive.

The fox turned around, hands on its hips, looking smug. "Alright, once it boils, add some more water, and it'll be ready to eat in a little while."

"How about that? Am I amazing?" The fox tugged at Tinglan's sleeve.

"Your Highness is amazing," Tinglan replied with a smile, reaching out to wipe the flour off the little prince's face.

Once the dumplings were cooked and served, Fox poured a large bowl of vinegar, mixed with minced garlic, without adding a drop of soy sauce, because Zhou Yiqing had said that Tinglan liked vinegar.

The fox placed the bowl of vinegar in the middle, praising itself inwardly as it placed it, thinking, "I'm the most thoughtful fox! I'm so great!"

Tinglan couldn't help but laugh when she saw such a big bowl of vinegar. Her Highness was really different from others; even when eating dumplings, he used such a big bowl of vinegar.

The fox couldn't wait to pick up a roasted chicken dumpling, dip it in some vinegar, and take a bite.

Surprisingly, it wasn't too bad; it was somewhere between exceptionally delicious and terrible, so overall it was alright.

He didn't say whether it was good or not, he just picked one up for Tinglan and put it in her bowl, saying, "Try it."

"Is it delicious?" Tinglan asked.

The fox just grinned, showing its teeth, and didn't answer.

Tinglan had a bad feeling; the little prince must be up to no good again. But he still picked up a dumpling, dipped it in the condiment dish full of vinegar, and put it in his mouth.

After chewing a couple of times, his brow relaxed, and he said in surprise, "Not bad."

The fox cackled and stuffed another dumpling into its mouth.

After lunch, the palm print, influenced by the fox, lay in bed all afternoon until dark before finally getting up to go to the banquet.

The New Year's Eve banquet in the palace is usually a family banquet, but this year, an exception was made for the emperor's close ministers to attend, as a sign of imperial favor.

It's strange that this can be called a favor. Who wouldn't want to have a meal with their family during the New Year? Why would they have to rush to serve the emperor?

At the family banquet, apart from the imprisoned Prince Wei and the former crown prince, all the other princes were present. Many of them were people the fox had never seen before, and the sight of them made him dizzy.

"I heard that the thirteenth brother only came back before the New Year. He must have suffered a lot these past years."

The fox shook its head. "It's alright, I don't like hardship."

Then someone asked, "Does the thirteenth brother know where your mother went?" It was a New Year's holiday, and everyone's mother was present at the table. Asking this question was clearly ill-intentioned, like rubbing salt into someone's wounds.

The fox crunched the cartilage in its mouth and continued to shake its head. "I don't know." It looked up and asked very sincerely, "Did you grow up with your mother? That's wonderful."

Upon hearing this, the man's face suddenly turned ashen. His birth mother had died early, and he had been raised by other concubines.

The fox, in this way, was very sincere and had no offensive power, yet it repelled wave after wave of ill intentions.

Yu Wenhuai was also at the banquet and was quite surprised to see this scene. He had originally thought that Prince An was handsome and his personality would be sharp and outspoken.

But surprisingly, he followed the path of "a heavy sword without an edge, great skill without artifice," able to refute others with just a few words, yet remaining unassuming and showing no emotional fluctuation.

That's truly remarkable...

Yu Wenhuai lowered his head and stopped looking at the young prince.

The Ninth Prince on the other side also put down his wine cup, turned his head and instructed, "Have you remembered those people who went to cause trouble for the young prince just now?"

The subordinate nodded in acceptance and silently withdrew.

Tinglan raised her head, propped her fingers on the table, and glanced at Yu Wenhuai.

Another one... What a nuisance.

After finishing the New Year's Eve feast, the fox, as usual, carried a lantern in his pocket and waited for Tinglan in the corner.

Tinglan didn't wait for him, but Chen Yu rushed over and said, "It's so late and the weather is cold. Your Highness should go back first. There are still some things to take care of with the head of the seal."

The fox nodded obediently and walked slowly along the corridor. Outside were dwarf holly bushes. It gathered the snow off the leaves with its fingers and made a snowball to play with.

The snow outside reflected the moonlight, making it extremely bright. The world seemed to be covered in white, misty and fluffy.

The fox turned a corner and saw a group of people gathered in front of him, chattering and looking quite flustered. Carrying his lantern, he walked over curiously through the snow.

The crowd immediately dispersed, bowing respectfully, "Your Highness, Prince An."

Yu Wenhuai was seen sitting on the ground, frowning, looking as if he was in great pain.

The silly fox was bewildered and asked in confusion, "What's wrong with Lord Yu?"

"Your Highness, the roads were slippery due to the snow, and I slipped and fell."

Upon hearing this, the kind-hearted fox immediately bent down and said with concern, "Since you've fallen, don't walk anymore. My carriage was just nearby. I'll have them come and pick you up and take you out of the palace."

Yu Wenhuai was taken aback for a moment, then lowered his head. "Then thank you for your concern, Your Highness."

"You're welcome," the kind fox said happily, folding his hands behind his back.

Yu Wen thought to himself, no wonder so many scholars wanted to join Prince An's fold. His Highness is indeed kind and gentle, and extremely intelligent. Becoming his advisor would be a good outcome.

...But it seems that no one has been heard of joining Prince An's faction? Even the former Prince Wei had countless retainers and advisors, but it seems that no one has been seen around Prince An?

Why is that?

With the help of his colleagues, Yu Wenhuai managed to stand up, bowed respectfully to Pei Jiqing, and boarded his carriage.

The fox also got into the car.

The two didn't say anything else in the carriage, but when they were almost at the palace gate, Yu Wenhuai spoke up to express his gratitude, saying, "Your Highness is kind and benevolent, and I am deeply grateful."

"No need to thank me, it's just a small matter." The fox lifted the curtain, saw him get into his own carriage, waved to him, and then told the driver to turn around and go back.

Hehe, I did another good deed today. I'm such a good fox.

The fox happily returned to Changqiu Palace, changed his clothes, and pushed open the bedroom door, where he saw Tinglan sitting at the table.

Where did Your Highness go?

The fox scratched its head and casually said, "I ran into Yu Wenhuai and escorted him to the palace gate."

Tinglan suddenly stood up and said with a gentle smile, "This servant will go and get some snacks."

He slowly pushed open the door and went out, but his pace quickened. He walked through the corridor, closed the door, put his hands on the table, and gasped for breath.

His movements were so large that he knocked over the fruit plate on the table, which rolled all over the floor, making a small but noticeable noise.

Who else is there?

It used to be Zhou Yiqing and Xie Yunchuan, and now there's one more. Just how many people are there?

Tinglan has never been a secure person. He needs to hold everything firmly in his hands to feel at ease. Gold, silver, and power will not run away, but now his most precious thing is a living person.

We can't lock people in boxes; we can only cherish them like treasures and watch over them at all times.

Tinglan wanted to keep her treasure to herself, not allowing anyone to touch it, not even a glance from her.

He was here first, why should someone else take it from him?

The fox heard the noise and followed. He carefully pushed open the door and peeked in worriedly, "Tinglan, what's wrong? Did you fall?"

Don't end up like Yu Wenhuai, falling down again by accident.

The Ninth Prince leaned on the table with both hands, slowly turned around, his eyes tired and bloodshot. He suddenly stepped forward, grabbed the fox's hand, and pulled him towards the bedroom.

The fruit scattered on the ground spun around and rolled under the table.

How do you retain someone?

What else besides power and money can do it?

Tinglan suddenly looked down at her collar, paused for a moment as if she had made up her mind, and then turned back to ask, "Does Your Highness wish for me to serve you in bed?"

The warm candlelight shone on his face. Tinglan had actually thought about this day long ago, but he never expected that he would be the one to bring it up.

He actually... wanted to wait for the young prince to speak.

The fox sat blankly on the couch, nodding in bewilderment.