Chapter 8 Isn't this so-and-so's little boy? "Your Highness is truly blessed..."

Inside the Directorate of Ceremonial, those standing to the side held their breath, heads bowed low, like quails, for fear of offending the Grand Eunuch.

"If the Ministry of Revenue can't balance its accounts, let them worry about it themselves. The Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs won't interfere." Chen Yu reprimanded his subordinates, then bent down and whispered while holding a cup of tea, "Master, this is newly arrived Huangshan Maofeng tea. Please try it."

Even when the Chief Seal was angry, he didn't show it. As Tinglan's confidant, Chen Yu was usually the one to play the bad cop, but today he vaguely felt that his Chief Seal seemed a little... irritable.

That's strange. With the mess that the Ministry of Revenue is in, it shouldn't be that bad.

Tinglan toyed with a string of amber beads in her hand, her eyes lowered. "Withdraw his memorial. We'll discuss the rest later. You may all leave."

Those inside felt as if they had been granted a pardon, and they all breathed a sigh of relief, bowed, and left through the door.

Chen Yu stepped forward, wanting to say something, but Tinglan reached out and picked up the tea on the table, saying, "You've been busy all morning, go back and rest."

Chen Yu immediately took two steps back. "Yes."

After everyone left, the room returned to silence. Tinglan frowned, put the amber bracelet on the table, and got up to go to the inner room.

Pushing open the carved wooden door, a mercury mirror, a tribute from the West, clearly reflected a person's waist and upturned, vibrant eyebrows. Tinglan bent down, opened a small drawer on the sandalwood table, took out a white jade hairpin, and carefully placed it in her sleeve.

The young prince seems to be ill. He usually eats two large bowls of rice at every meal, but he has no appetite. The imperial physicians can't figure out what's wrong with him, which is very worrying.

I should go and visit them.

Tinglan looked up and happened to see her androgynous features in the mirror. She turned her head away with some disgust.

The Taoist priest invited by the emperor has already entered the palace.

The Ninth Prince sat in a sedan chair, and as he traveled along the road, he saw smoke swirling around him, creating a scene resembling a fairyland, where Taoist priests were performing prayer rituals.

The road was deserted and extremely quiet. A few Taoist priests could be heard chatting idly. Tinglan lifted the corner of the carriage curtain and looked outside.

"Do you think there really are monsters in this world?" a young, innocent-looking Taoist priest asked.

A Taoist priest in a blue robe tilted his head, coughed, and nodded without saying a word.

"Then, do monsters really eat people?" The young Taoist priest became interested and quickly asked.

The Taoist priest couldn't help but almost burst out laughing, "We don't eat people."

The powerful demons have long since abstained from grains, while the less powerful little demons eat ordinary food, though they might eat a little too much. All the vegetables they grow in their backyard end up in the stomach of some little demon. They won't eat steamed vegetables; they have to stir-fry them. They also have to have some fruit after their meals. Their food standards are quite high.

"...Fellow Daoist, have you ever seen a fox spirit? Is she really that beautiful?"

The Taoist priest seemed to recall something amusing, covered his face, and nodded with considerable difficulty, "Beautiful, but perhaps not in the way you imagine..."

The young Taoist priest pondered his imagined fox spirit for a moment, then tentatively asked, "To bewitch people and bring disaster to the country and its people?"

The Taoist priest couldn't hold it in any longer and didn't answer; he just tilted his head and covered his mouth.

Good heavens! You're a scourge to the country and its people! Hahahaha!

Those local foxes in the mountains can't even steal a chicken, yet they're supposed to bring disaster to the country.

That foolish fox probably doesn't even understand the meaning of the phrase "bringing disaster to the country and the people".

To maintain his image as a reclusive sage, the man finally turned his head back with difficulty, smiled nonchalantly, flicked his whisk, and said solemnly, "He may bewitch people, but he could never bring disaster to the country and its people."

As he spoke, he thought to himself, "The little fox next door is a soft, fluffy white ball. It's funny how it talks. If I wanted to bewitch it, I could. After all, even cultivators can't resist it, let alone ordinary people. I wonder which unlucky guy will run into it and end up eating him out of house and home."

After listening to a couple of sentences, the Ninth Prince opened the curtain and looked ahead.

The young Taoist priest seemed to still be asking what the fox spirit looked like.

The sedan chair slowly made its way to the Thirteenth Prince's Changqiu Palace.

*

Ever since the Taoist priest entered the palace, the fox has been hiding indoors and refusing to go out. He's even afraid to hide under the covers, terrified that a white-bearded Taoist priest with a sword will suddenly jump out from under the bed and capture him.

He keeps dreaming of a Taoist priest yelling at him, "Where are you going, you demon?" He can't sleep well at all.

But Ji Qing used to be someone who would go out and play every day, which made Qiu Yuan very anxious. She called the imperial physician over, but after looking him over from all angles, he couldn't find anything wrong and just said some platitudes about being depressed.

Even now, the labor of the Ninth Thousand Years Old is still a great honor.

The fox, wrapped in a blanket, had just stuffed a piece of candy into its mouth when Qiu Yuan outside started knocking on the door.

"Your Highness."

He curled up into a ball under the covers, his voice muffled, "Qiuyuan, I won't eat, you don't need to worry about me."

As Qiu Yuan knocked on the door, she secretly glanced at the person beside her.

She used to worry that her prince had offended the Ninth Prince, but on the very day she saw boxes of things being delivered in. Now the Ninth Prince has even come to visit her in person. How could this be considered an offense?

So Qiu Yuan knocked on the door even more vigorously, "Your Highness, it's the Ninth Prince."

Upon hearing this, the fox immediately stuck its head out.

Tinglan is here!

My good friend came to visit me!

happy!

He jumped out of bed in a flash, stomped his shoes on, and ran to open the door. The fox was very cautious, and carefully opened the door a crack to observe his surroundings.

Phew, thank goodness, it's just Qiu Yuan and Ting Lan. The fox relaxed, opened the door completely, stood still, and smiled at the two of them.

The fox's hair was a little messy from rolling around in bed, and there were red marks on its face from being pressed in.

This is improper; one should not meet with outsiders.

Qiu Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly looked at Ting Lan's reaction, fearing that the Ninth Prince would blame her.

Tinglan's expression remained unchanged as she asked with a slight smile, "How is Your Highness today?"

Qiu Yuan breathed a sigh of relief and tactfully withdrew.

"I'm fine." The fox looked around nervously, then tugged at Tinglan's sleeve and pulled him into the house.

His room was the same as always, except that through the gauze curtains on the bed, one could see that the bedding on the couch was haphazardly spread out.

"Is there anything wrong?" Tinglan asked.

The fox sat obediently at the table, shaking its head incessantly.

"Then why don't you go out or eat?"

The fox lowered its head and denied it softly, "I just didn't go out, I still ate."

Tinglan smiled, then asked in a different direction, "Is something troubling you?"

The fox nodded vigorously and leaned closer. "Can I ask you a question?"

Tinglan nodded, and he smoothly walked around behind Ji Qing, picked up a comb from a small table, and combed the little prince's hair.

He had been the Ninth Prince for many years, wielding great power, and had not served anyone for years. Today, he took the initiative, so his technique was inevitably a bit rusty. However, the young prince's hair was extremely soft, easy to comb, and glistening with moisture, dark and deep like a spring. It was very easy to comb, and the white jade hairpin held it gently, which suited him perfectly.

Tinglan took a few steps back, admiring her own craftsmanship.

Ji Qing stammered, and before he could even voice his question, there was another knock at the door. This time, Qiu Yuan's voice sounded somewhat urgent.

"Your Highness, Your Majesty, the Prince of Wei has arrived. He said he heard that Your Highness was ill and invited a master to exorcise evil spirits and pray for your well-being. He has already arrived at the corridor."

The fox suddenly stood up, bewilderedly clutching the money pouch in his sleeve, his heart pounding like a drum.

What should we do?

Should we run?

I transformed into a fox, turned around, and ran. Foxes have four legs and run very fast; they won't catch me, will they?

but……

Ji Qing touched the white jade hairpin in her hair, then looked at Ting Lan beside her.

If he runs away, will I never see him again?

The tribulation will destroy it...

Ji Qing stood still, watching Ting Lan get up and open the door.

The fox took a deep breath and looked up at the doorway.

There were two Taoist priests. One of them, dressed in a blue robe, seemed to have been dragged there and looked somewhat helpless. He lowered his head and said to Prince Wei, "If Your Highness is ill, you should seek out the imperial physician. My medical skills are only rudimentary, and I'm afraid I might delay your treatment."

Just as King Wei was about to reply, he looked up and saw a red shadow, cold and sinister, looking at him with a smile on its face.

Why is Tinglan here? King Wei was greatly alarmed. With Tinglan here, things probably wouldn't go smoothly today.

Then he thought again, weren't the Ministry of Revenue and the Embroidered Uniform Guard enough to give him a headache? How could he have the time to meddle in Pei Jiqing's affairs?

That's interesting. It seems I guessed right when I casually mentioned it last time.

Pei Jiqing is truly a man of great forbearance. To use his beauty to serve a eunuch is quite an investment, and he is ruthless enough to be underestimated.

Upon entering the courtyard, before the Taoist priest in the blue robe could say anything, another person had already begun to chatter on and on.

The blue-robed Taoist listened for a moment and thought to himself, "Bullshit."

The fox stared at the figure in the yard, squinting its eyes. Why did the figure look so familiar?

"So, Your Excellency is here too? My thirteenth brother is ill, why do you have to come all this way?" King Wei said sarcastically, his hands tucked into his pockets.

"Your Majesty's decree is of utmost importance." Tinglan chuckled, fiddling with the ring on her finger. Prince Wei really could not be allowed to live any longer. She wondered if the Crown Prince felt the same way.

On the other side, the blue-robed Taoist priest felt a very obvious gaze as soon as he entered the room, and he looked up somewhat uncomfortably.

Why are you staring at people like that? Like you're some kid.

The next second, the copper coin sword in the Taoist's hand fell to the ground with a thud.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry." Zhou Yiqing quickly squatted down, picked up his sword, and rubbed his eyes as he did so.

Boundless Heavenly Venerable, I am not mistaken, am I?

Isn't that Ji Qing from next door?!

This silly fox managed to infiltrate the royal family?!

Xiao Dao retracts what he just said. If the situation is right, this foolish fox really does have the potential to bring disaster to the country and its people...

But the thought vanished almost instantly. Little Ji Qing, stop laughing! Pretend you don't know me!

Zhou Yiqing was silently screaming in her heart. She had just looked away when she heard the half-baked fellow in front of her still muttering anxiously. Without even glancing at Ji Qing, he said, "Your Highness, there are demonic spirits and vengeful ghosts in your palace, and the root of the problem lies with you..."

Before Zhou Yiqing had even stepped across the threshold, upon hearing this, he leaped forward, raised the copper coin sword in his hand, and smashed it onto the man's head.

With a thud, the copper coin sword struck someone's head.

With a thud, the person fell to the ground.

Very loud.

Zhou Yiqing remained calm and waved his whisk. "According to our small Taoist temple, this person works day and night and his spirit is unstable. It is feared that evil spirits have taken advantage of his weakness. Your Highness is blessed with good fortune and there is nothing wrong with him."

Xiaodao owed your sister twenty taels of silver from the last time he played mahjong; he should have paid it back by now.

A note from the author:

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