Chapter 56 We are having an affair, a drop of blood seeping through our fingers...
The fox nervously clutched the hem of its clothes, then looked up anxiously and asked, "Is there anything else?"
Tinglan's heart skipped a beat, and a sharp pain shot through his lower back. He struggled to suppress his emotions and asked with barely a calm voice, "Does Your Highness think there shouldn't be anything between us?"
The fox shifted its rear end back again, pressing its entire body tightly against the sedan chair, and whispered, "Then... what kind of relationship is that?"
If they're not good friends, are they good brothers?
The fox raised its head and tentatively called out, "Brother?"
If the young prince had called him that in bed, Tinglan would have blushed with embarrassment, but hearing it today only made him furious. "Does Your Highness really intend to start something and then abandon it?"
The fox froze, completely panicked, and hurriedly waved its hands in denial, "No, no, I didn't, I just really like you."
Tinglan leaned closer and asked, enunciating each word clearly, "The kind of liking you have...as a friend?"
The fox nodded blankly. "Is something wrong?"
Upon hearing this, Tinglan suddenly couldn't help but burst out laughing. He leaned back, covered his forehead, and laughed for a long time before raising his head again.
The fox sat there dumbfounded, not daring to speak, thinking that Tinglan had been driven mad by its own anger.
After Tinglan finished laughing, she took the fox's hand and said gently, "This servant will teach Your Highness."
“The things we did yesterday are things that only husband and wife should do.”
The fox nodded in sudden understanding, having learned something new; how wonderful!
"But Your Highness and I are not husband and wife now."
Tinglan thought that although he and Ji Qing had already consummated their marriage, the words "husband and wife" could probably only be used in private.
The fox raised its hand to answer, excitedly saying, "I know, we're having an affair."
Tinglan coughed suddenly, looked up, and asked incredulously, "Where did Your Highness learn this word?"
The fox immediately pulled out his newly bought storybook and pointed to it for Tinglan to see, "These are the two words written on the cover of this book, right?"
He said this with surprising pride, as if to say, "I, Little Fox, can read."
Tinglan reached out and took the storybook, placing it under the snack box, and said helplessly, "Your Highness, please don't look at these."
"Why? Didn't you see what I bought yesterday?" The fox smirked, clearly unconvinced.
"That's different... Your Highness will be corrupted if you look at this."
"Oh." The fox deflated, lowered its head and muttered, "This one is the most expensive... I should have known better than to buy it."
Now the fox knows that he and Tinglan are having an affair. Just from the name, you can tell that this is something very shameful and exciting.
The fox decided that from now on, it would have to sneak in and use the back door to see Tinglan.
Tinglan knew that Ji Qing was clueless about human affairs, but she didn't expect him to be completely clueless. Seeing his dazed look, she found him extremely cute and couldn't help but want to tease him.
With a smile on his lips, Tinglan reached out, took a strand of Ji Qing's long hair from beside her ear, twirled it in his hand, and spoke.
"Your Highness, please call me 'husband'."
"Husband," the fox called out obediently, raising its head.
Tinglan blushed, loosened her grip on the strand of hair, turned her head away, and breathed rapidly.
The fox reached out and tugged at Tinglan's sleeve, "Husband, you're not angry with me anymore?"
"I'm not angry anymore." He turned back to look at Ji Qing helplessly. "What I said about you at the beginning was really true, Your Highness... you're like a vixen, so good at flirting."
Ji Qing snorted and proudly raised her head, "A vixen is indeed very powerful."
Tinglan smiled helplessly, assuming that he had read some strange storybook again.
The cunning fox spirit returned to the palace. Unbeknownst to him, the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot had already quietly withdrawn. In his mind, today was just a coincidence that he had encountered Tinglan.
The sedan chair stopped at the entrance of the Directorate of Ceremonial. As soon as the fox got out of the carriage, he saw Chen Yu walking over, his expression seemingly complicated.
He asked, "Where did Your Highness go?"
The fox, holding the snacks, said happily, "I've gone out of the palace to buy some snacks. Would you like some? They taste very good."
Chen Yu raised his head, glanced at the expression on the Ninth Prince's face behind him, and silently stepped aside. "Thank you, Your Highness, but I'm not hungry yet."
The Ninth Prince, dressed in black robes with wide sleeves and a deep expression, stood beside a handsome young prince with bright eyes and a cheerful smile. The atmosphere between the two seemed somewhat discordant, yet they were also inexplicably well-matched.
*
The emperor's health seemed to be deteriorating. He fell ill after the New Year and had not recovered. Logically, the crown prince should be in charge of the country and handling state affairs at this time, but with the emperor in power, it seemed that the crown prince would never be able to take control of the court.
"What is Tinglan doing? I am the future new emperor. He is acting so recklessly now. Doesn't he think about what will happen in the future?" The crown prince was furious and threw the inkstone on the table, which slammed heavily onto the floor tiles.
"Your Highness, please calm down. He is being unreasonable and will regret it sooner or later. We just need to remain still." The advisor carefully picked up the inkstone and placed it back on the table.
"Stay put?" The Crown Prince sneered. "There's still the Seventh Prince around. I'm afraid Father's mind might change again."
The aide was drenched in sweat. "How could this be? The Seventh Prince's maternal family is weak; how could they compare to the Imperial Concubine?"
The crown prince remained silent, tapping the letters on the table with his hand, his brows furrowed.
"What has Prince An been up to lately? Is there any news about him?"
"Your Highness, Prince An remains as close to the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs as ever," the advisor replied cautiously, glancing at the Crown Prince's expression. "The Seventh Prince has also been in contact with him recently."
"Is that so?" The Crown Prince raised an eyebrow. "Ji Qing is indeed quite likable."
He waved away his advisors, then sank into his chair, staring blankly at the roof beams. Pei Yue had recently been highly valued by his father, and he wondered if he could continue to sit securely in his position as crown prince.
Ever since the fox learned that he was having an affair, he has become much more cautious. For example, when he was eating chicken legs in the Directorate of Ceremonial, he would only eat two, so as not to eat too many and be seen and gossiped about.
In the fox's imagination, someone would say, "Look how many chicken legs he can eat, he must have some shady relationship with the palm print."
And so, the secret between the fox and Tinglan was discovered in a very funny way.
This is absolutely terrifying! I must be careful with my words and actions from now on, control my appetite, and never eat too much at the Directorate of Ceremonial.
"What's wrong with Your Highness lately? Are you feeling unwell? There's a roast chicken on the stove for you, are you really not going to eat it?" Chen Yu asked with great concern, holding the plate.
The fox swallowed hard and replied firmly, "No, I'll just have one chicken leg."
The roast chicken is all cooked, it would be such a waste to leave it. Why don't I ask Tinglan to help pack it up and take it back to Changqiu Palace? I'll have it for a late-night snack tonight, hehe.
But recently, the fox has indeed felt a little unwell.
But unlike last time, when he couldn't control his tail and ears, he seemed a bit listless now.
I'm very tired, my legs feel heavy, and I like to sleep. I don't know why.
The fox curled up in the chair, closed his eyes sleepily, until Tinglan shook him awake.
"Wake up, it's time to go back," he said gently.
"Why has Your Highness been sleeping so much lately? Have you been secretly reading storybooks behind my back at night?" Tinglan teased him with a smile.
The fox struggled to open its eyes and buried its head in Tinglan's arms. "I also slept at night, but I just couldn't wake up."
"Did you get tired from running around all day?" Tinglan touched the fox's cheek.
The fox lowered its head and said sullenly, "Maybe."
He jumped off the soft couch, pulled his outer robe tighter, took Tinglan's hand, and went out the door.
I don't think there's anything wrong. Getting more sleep is actually good; they say it helps you grow taller.
The days passed happily like this.
Apart from the fox being very sleepy every day, there was nothing else unusual.
He was sunbathing in the courtyard behind the Directorate of Ceremonial today; it was warm and comfortable.
The fox stretched comfortably and strolled in, intending to go inside to get some food before coming out again.
He had just found some snacks and was about to turn back to continue sunbathing when he heard what sounded like an argument coming from the corridor ahead.
The sound was intermittent and very indistinct; if it weren't for the fox's exceptional hearing, an ordinary person would not have been able to hear it at all.
It wouldn't matter if it were just other people arguing; people in the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs argue with each other every day. But this time, the fox heard Tinglan's voice.
This immediately alerted the fox, which pricked up its ears to listen carefully.
Has someone bullied Tinglan?
The fox put down the snack in its hand, looked down at the plate again, as if it was very reluctant, but still took one and stuffed it into its mouth.
He sneaked over, wanting to find out what was going on.
Who is this jerk bullying Tinglan?
Inside the room, Pei Yue and Ting Lan sat facing each other.
"What if it doesn't work? Have you thought about what will happen to you if we fail? Do you think the Crown Prince will let you off the hook?"
Pei Yue lowered his voice, but his anger was still palpable. "Leaving aside our lives, what about Ji Qing? What will happen to him? Does the Crown Prince think he can't see that your relationship is abnormally close? If something happens, do you expect the Crown Prince to consider brotherly affection and not take action against Ji Qing?"
He sat back down as if all his strength had been drained, and sighed, "Let's take it slow."
"What if I said that the emperor did not continue to poison them?"
"No? Then what happened to him? Why did he suddenly fall ill and never recover?" Pei Yue's eyes widened, utterly puzzled.
“I don’t know. Perhaps the emperor is really getting old.” Tinglan twirled the ring on his thumb. “I understand what you’re saying. The crown prince’s family is very powerful, and even the emperor is wary of them. If one day he decides to take a hard line, it will be very difficult to deal with.”
"Alright, that's enough. If you don't have anything important to do, it's best not to come here."
Pei Yue frowned. "Who came looking for you? I came to see Ji Qing."
Tinglan sighed, "I'll take you to him."
The two walked through the deep corridor and pushed open a door.
Ji Qing stood at the door, her pale fingers covering her mouth and lips, her expression somewhat blank.
"Your Highness? What brings you here?" Tinglan asked in surprise.
The fox stared blankly at the two of them, without removing its hand from its mouth.
But a drop of blood still trickled down through his fingers.
Against her snow-white skin, she stood out very much.
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Author's note: The death escape that everyone's been waiting for is still a little short [cat emoji]. Wait until I've finished indulging in the sickly plot.
The fox suffered health problems because it slept with Tinglan, which caused it to undergo its tribulation prematurely.
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