Chapter 72 Rumor: "The fox has an excellent feel."

The next morning, the fox stretched lazily and poked Tinglan's lips with its paw.

It's so soft, it feels so good to kiss. The fox was satisfied and jumped off the bed to find something delicious to eat.

Tinglan, who was pretending to be asleep, opened her eyes a crack, raised her hand to touch her lips, shook her head and chuckled. "Your Highness is still the same, not changed at all."

His left hand was wrapped in a thick layer of gauze, with a pretty bow tied on it; it was obvious who had done it.

Since Ji Qing returned, Ting Lan has no more auditory or visual hallucinations. He sleeps soundly every night and is urged by Ji Qing to finish every meal.

Not to mention hurting himself... Ji Qing confiscated all the knives in the room.

Tinglan propped herself up on the bed and watched Ji Qing sneakily eat some snacks. She said helplessly, "Let the kitchen send some fresh ones over."

The fox, its mouth full of snacks, shook its head vaguely, swallowed the snacks, and said, "No need, these are still very delicious."

He suddenly ran over, mysteriously poked Tinglan's waist, and whispered, "Tinglan, my sister wants me to take you back. Are you willing?"

Actually, he wanted to take Tinglan back with him, but he was too embarrassed to say it directly, so he used his sister as an excuse.

"How about it?" The fox tugged at Tinglan's sleeve playfully. "Let's go see the snow-capped mountains together, and then eat roast chicken."

Tinglan tapped the fox's nose with her finger. "Alright, you've given all the orders, there's no reason not to listen."

"Great!" the fox cheered, happily resting his chin on his hand as he continued, "Then I'll take you everywhere to play, to see the scenery during the day and to look at the stars at night. Our mountain is so beautiful."

Tinglan smiled and nodded, then hesitated for a moment before speaking, "There's something else I've always wondered about. Ji Qing, if you're a vixen, how old are you exactly?"

The fox immediately turned to run away, but Tinglan grabbed its belt and pulled it back.

"Speak quickly, don't run away."

The fox pouted, looking aggrieved, and the two of them slumped onto the bed together. "I... am probably around two hundred years old..."

He quickly got up again, glaring at Tinglan as if he were fierce, "Don't look at me like that. Two hundred years old is still considered very young among us fairies. I'm very young."

The fox smiled slyly and whispered in Tinglan's ear, "I'll tell you a secret: you have my demonic power within you."

"Why?" Tinglan asked, somewhat surprised.

"Hmph, that's because we've already done dual cultivation. From now on, you're under my protection. I'll teach you cultivation, and then you have to call me boss." The fox proudly raised its tail.

"Okay." Tinglan ruffled the fox's hair.

"You can't just rub the boss's head like that," the fox yelled, covering his head with his hand. "You're my little brother now, you have to listen to me."

When have I ever disobeyed you?

"You just didn't listen. I told you to eat more, but you still ate so little."

"Your Highness... most people don't have such a good appetite as you."

The two of them, bickering and laughing, walked to the table to eat.

But then they heard a young eunuch knocking on the door. "Reporting to the Grand Eunuch, the Seventh Prince has arrived."

Tinglan frowned, turned around and whispered to the fox, "Take the food and wait for me in the back. Pei Yue's sudden visit means something big has happened."

The fox nodded obediently, then ran behind the screen with the plate in its arms and hid.

Pei Yue entered, stood with his arms crossed, and without saying a word, scanned the room. When he found two pairs of chopsticks on the table, he could no longer contain his anger.

"Oh, the Grand Master is receiving guests? I guess I've come at an inopportune time?"

Tinglan was somewhat puzzled and did not answer directly. Instead, she changed the subject, "Is there something important?"

Pei Yue sat down, toying with a cup in his hand, his eyes coldly fixed on Ting Lan. "Ji Qing's body is barely cold, and you've already found a new love. I never knew you could be such a heartless and fickle person."

Tinglan lowered her eyes. "This matter... is truly a misunderstanding."

"What misunderstanding is there? I saw it clearly yesterday. You were flirting with a young man and behaving frivolously."

The fox crouched behind the screen, munching on a snack, deep in thought.

yesterday?

It must have been him yesterday. Tinglan hasn't seen any outsiders for the past two days.

"It really is a misunderstanding. Let me explain." Tinglan stood up helplessly and poured him a cup of tea.

Pei Yue snorted coldly and stood up. "Fine, explain yourself. I came here today to get a clear answer: do you even have feelings for Ji Qing?"

The fox couldn't resist any longer and came out from behind the screen, poked Pei Yue's shoulder, and whispered, "It really is a misunderstanding."

“There’s no misunderstanding. I saw it clearly. He was just putting his arm around someone else…” Pei Yue said, tilting his head to look behind him.

When he saw who was standing behind him, he suddenly gasped and plopped back down on his seat.

Pei Yue looked up at the fox, then at the composed Ting Lan beside him, and murmured, "Did you finally succeed in summoning the soul?"

Good heavens, is this really real? I always thought it was some kind of scam by a sorcerer...

"No, no," the fox hurriedly waved its hands, "I'm not a soul, I'm alive, I'm not dead."

Pei Yue turned to look at him again, almost choking on his breath. He was very quick to react and immediately pinched his philtrum. "Good brother, don't speak yet, let your brother catch his breath."

Hearing this, Tinglan couldn't help but laugh out loud, "You're wrong, Ji Qing isn't your brother."

"Why not?" Pei Yue asked weakly, pinching his philtrum.

"Really, no, I'm actually a fox spirit." The fox lowered her head apologetically, clutching the hem of her clothes with both hands.

"I'm sorry, but I really didn't mean to lie to you."

Pei Yue was completely out of breath. He covered his forehead and, after a long while, shakily took out a ginseng pill from his pocket and put it under his tongue.

He doesn't really care whether Ji Qing is his biological brother or not... After all, it's quite obvious that it's more shocking for the dead to come back to life.

Pei Yue took a long time to speak, rubbing his chest as he spoke, "So, Ji Qing, you... you're not dead?"

The fox nodded.

"Are you a vixen?" he uttered with difficulty.

If someone had told him a few days ago that he was a fox spirit, Pei Yue would have laughed three times and told him to read less romance novels. How could that be? A fox spirit?

The fox nodded again.

Pei Yue couldn't catch his breath again.

In short, he came in a huff, but walked back leaning against the wall. As he left, he turned back and waved, saying, "Alright, no need to see me off. I can walk on my own without falling. I won't say anything else. Just make sure you two live your lives well."

No wonder the people from the Directorate of Ceremonial said that Tinglan looked much better these past two days; with such a joyous occasion, all his ailments must have been cured...

He initially thought Tinglan was a bit older than Ji Qing, but it turns out it's not so certain who's actually older...

Pei Yue looked up at the sun, sighed slowly, and realized he needed to go to the imperial physician to get some medicine to calm his nerves.

When Ji Qing and Ting Lan returned to the house, they looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh.

As the fox laughed, a hint of worry crept in. "I hope Pei Yue won't be scared out of his wits?"

"It's alright, he's a military officer, he's brave." Tinglan's eyes were glistening with tears, it was hard to tell whether she was laughing or really crying.

Because the fox often appeared around Tinglan, some rumors began to circulate in the capital.

"Have you heard? His Highness Prince An was just buried a few days ago. He was such a good person, it's such a pity he passed away at such a young age. And then this crucial thing happened..."

The man looked around and lowered his voice, saying, "That Ninth Prince has found someone who looks almost exactly like His Highness Prince An to keep him."

The listeners were all shocked, finding the royal secrets incredibly fascinating, and they all begged for more.

"There's a rumor circulating in the palace that on the day Prince An passed away, he saw a fox spirit in the palace. It's said that Prince An once rescued a fox while hunting, and this fox came back to repay his kindness..."

In short, there are all sorts of rumors, but not many are reliable.

These rumors were brought to Tinglan's desk, and then Tinglan told them to the fox.

The fox, being clueless, didn't understand and didn't think anything of it, but Tinglan felt rather helpless.

"In the rumors, I've become an ungrateful person. Doesn't Your Highness want to find a way to make it up to me?"

The fox sat obediently, its tail tucked around its paws. Although it didn't understand why Tinglan was so ungrateful, it nodded and asked somewhat anxiously, "Then... how will you make it up to me?"

These silly foxes are the easiest to pet.

Tinglan smiled and hugged the little white fox, which looked like a ball of white fur, gently poking its black nose with his index finger. "This is how I'll make up for it."

The fox said it was no big deal and was very generous, turning over in Tinglan's arms to expose its belly, "Okay, you can touch my belly too."

Good heavens, this is a fox's belly, the softest part of a fox's body. Underneath the white fur, you can vaguely see the pink belly.

If you don't get along with the fox, it won't let you touch it.

"How was it? Pretty comfortable, huh?" The fox, pleased with the petting, half-closed its eyes and patted Tinglan's hand with its paw pad.

Then Tinglan grabbed his paw again.

Foxes' paws are also very pleasant to touch, especially when you squeeze them; they are very firm and have a superb feel.

Finally, the fox jumped out of Tinglan's arms, shaking its fur somewhat angrily.

The fur has been ruffled by all the touching and isn't as smooth as it used to be.

"You can't touch a fox like that. You have to touch it gently, and it's best to rub the base of the ears a bit. You can't rub and pinch it. If you do that again, I won't let you touch it anymore."

The fox flew into a rage, crossed its paws, sat down on the bed, and snorted, "I don't care, I need compensation too."

Upon hearing this, Tinglan had no choice but to lower her head and loosen her belt. "Alright, it was my fault."

The fox chuckled and immediately turned around.

-----------------------

Author's Note: The main story is almost finished. Are there any side stories you'd like to see? [Panda head emoji] There should be an "if" scenario.