“Princess, it was the gate guards who found you collapsed in front of the residence and brought you in . ” As she thought back to yesterday’s terrifying memory, Yue Yao’s face once again became filled with worry .

Mo Qingli only had a faint memory of the events that had happened after she had parted with Liu Niansui . She remembered barely making it back to the residence, when she had then lost all her strength and fainted .

But… just before she had completely lost consciousness, she remembered a man in fiery-red changpao robes walking toward her .

Changpao robes are stereotypically a.s.sociated with martial arts and gained fame in the west with 20th century HK films

“You… do you remember seeing a man in a red changpao?” Given the context of the situation, she could only a.s.sume that he had been walking towards her .

Yue Yao shook her head . “No! The guards reported that at the time the only person that they saw was the Princess . ”

“Alright, I understand . ” Mo Qingli sat down on a chair in the hall, and closed her eyes . She slowly inhaled, enjoying the fragrant floral scent .

“However, now that the Princess asks this question, I seem to remember something . ” Yue Yao pondered for a moment, before continuing: “The head guard said that when they discovered the Princess, there had been a red fox biting the Princess’s robes . No matter how many times they tried to shoo it away, it refused to leave . In the end, she grabbed the fox in frustration, saying that she was going to roast it for dinner!”

What?!

Suddenly, Mo Qingli’s eyes snapped open . A red fox? Could it be… Leng Hanling?!

Mo Qingli scrambled back up, no longer in the mood to admire the scent of flowers . She looked at Yue Yao . “Hurry up and bring me to her!”

In the kitchen, the first guard began to stack layers of firewood . Meanwhile, the second guard reached out and picked up the small fox from the kitchen floor . It swung ferociously in her grasp, trying to escape .

The second guard slapped its face . “Hurry up and stop moving . If you keep struggling, I’ll roast you for dinner!”

The small fox ferociously glared at the second guard with its scarlet red eyes—even if it didn’t try to escape, these humans would still try to cook it!

Seeing that the small fox was still incessantly worming about, the second guard delivered a quick sequence of slaps against the small fox’s face . As a result, the small fox became so dizzy it almost fainted!

While the small fox was still in its dazed state, the second guard quickly tied it against a wooden skewer . By the time the small fox finally realized what was going on, its four limbs had been bound tightly together, making it impossible to escape .

The second guard sneered mockingly . “Why don’t you move about again, why don’t you try to run, ah?! Come on, run away, why aren’t you running away? Hurry up and run!”

The first guard was unable to endure this scene anymore . Of course, it wasn’t out of any pity towards the small fox . Rather, she was disgusted with the second guard’s sudden display of childishness . “Why are you arguing with a fox? Hurry up and light the fire for me . For some reason, it’s really strange today . How come this fire refuses to light?”

“I’m telling you, that hubby of mine closed his door yesterday, refusing to let me in!” The second guard ignored the small fox, and began telling the first guard about her family drama .

The first guard had already grown accustomed to the second guard venting about her family issues, and clearly did not think that this was anything unusual . As she struggled with lighting the flintstone, she conversationally replied, “Who told you marry such an ill-tempered man? I’ve always preferred the gentle type of man, someone who is kind and warm, especially obedient . If you need an example, just look at the Princess . Which one of her consorts listens to her? If you look at her face, you might be fooled into thinking that she’s happy . However, she’s definitely just like you! A bitter, miserable existence!”

The first guard lowered her head, too focused with trying to light the flint to notice that the second guard’s expression had suddenly changed drastically . She continued: “Women like you are so strange . You could find an obedient man, but instead you look for someone who will make your life miserable!”

Hearing this, the second guard wanted to slap the first guard’s face to death .  Your mother! This woman was going to get the both of them killed!

If she let the first guard continue saying such disrespectful things, who knew what would happen? The second guard quickly kneeled on the floor, loudly declaring, “This servant greets the Princess . May the Princess have good fortune!”

“Good fortune?” Mo Qingli’s mouth faintly quirked upwards . “With the ‘blessing’ that you just gifted me, I surely will be blessed with good fortune . ”

The first guard’s back suddenly stiffened . Slowly, she lifted her head .

Mo Qingli was looking at her . The expression on her face was neither happy nor unhappy, neither angry nor not angry .

The first guard dropped the flintstone . It fell with a loud “thump” against the floor .

“Princess, please forgive me! This servant… these servants deserve to die ten thousand deaths! Princess, please forgive us!”

When the small fox realized that Mo Qingli had appeared, its scarlet eyes filled with joy, attentively watching her . However, Mo Qingli did not even spare a glance towards it . Instead, she found a stone bench to sit on, watching the two kneeling guards in front of her .

Seeing this, the small fox’s eyes filled with a human-like indignance . It became so angry that the fur on its body stood up straight in hackles .

“Oh?” Mo Qingli imitated the movement that she had seen many humans do, crossing one leg over the other arrogantly . “And what crime did you commit that merits ‘deserving to die ten thousand deaths’?”

In the corner of her eye, she spotted the furious fox . Her face revealed a trace of amus.e.m.e.nt . This kind of angry fox, with its fur spiked over its body, really was too cute!

“Prin… princess, these servants… servants… shouldn’t have spoken about the Princess behind her back . We beg the Princess to be magnanimous, these servants don’t dare to ever do such a thing again!” The second guard fiercely kowtowed in front of Mo Qingli . The sound of the impacts echoed in the room .

After a long moment, the second guard realized that the Princess had not replied . Cautiously, she raised her head . Mo Qingli’s expression now carried with it a trace of fondness . Following the Princess’s line of sight, she discovered that Mo Qingli was looking at… that small fox?

The small fox was currently trying to undo the ropes tied around its body, to no avail . Its furious expression was extremely similar to a human’s .

Could it be… that the Princess favored this fox?

The first guard, realizing this, was quick to crawl over to the still-bound fox . Quickly, she undid the bindings .

As soon as the small fox was free from its restraints, it leaped upwards and ferociously kicked the first guard .

The guard’s shoulder only shook slightly . The fox was small enough that she barely felt anything with the kick . Instead, she quickly captured the small fox’s feet within her hands, and then kowtowed towards Mo Qingli . “Princess, this fox’s disposition is mischievous and stubborn . This servant believes that it would be better to restrain it!”

Hearing this, the small fox struggled desperately against the first guard’s hold again . Alas, its feet were too short to gain any leverage to escape .

The small fox turned its head, looking at Mo Qingli with a resentful expression . Those eyes, filled with such bitterness, were enough to shock Mo Qingli into intaking a cold breath — even when he had become a small fox, those eyes were still as demonic as before . One glance, and she had been afflicted with magic that caused her to feel a sudden wash of pity for it .

Mo Qingli was unable to continue looking at the fox any longer . Instead, she ordered, “There’s no need . Hurry up and release it!”

“Yes!” The first guard did not raise any objections, quickly releasing her grip on the fox . Immediately, the small fox, knowing that it was unable to defeat her, turned its attentions instead on Mo Qingli .

Yue Yao stepped forward, afraid that this small fox would try to pounce on the Princess .

Contrary to her expectations, the small fox only sat in front of Mo Qingli, watching her . Its scarlet red eyes revealed a complex mix of joy and sadness, anger and annoyance .

Seeing this sight, Mo Qingli’s heart twitched . “Yue Yao, it’s fine . Allow it to come over!”

Yue Yao had no choice but to retreat three steps . The small fox slowly walked towards Mo Qingli with its head raised high, although it didn’t forget to momentarily stop and look at Yue Yao with an arrogant face of ridicule .

Right, this was definitely ridicule . Yue Yao gnashed her teeth . She had been ridiculed by a mere fox!

The small fox finally leaped into Mo Qingli’s embrace, landing against the softness of her chest . When the small fox realized this, its face turned red . However, the rest of its body was also red . As a result, no one noticed .

Mo Qingli looked at the now-docile small fox in her arms, and felt her lips raised upwards into a smile .

Everyone else, witnessing this scene, felt shocked . They couldn’t help but remember just how mischievous and ill-behaved it had been yesterday .

Yesterday evening, they had stumbled upon the Princess’s unconscious form in front of the residence . Immediately, they dispatched to her side, only to notice a fiery-red small fox biting at her robes, pulling at the fabric .

They had tried to transport the unconscious Mo Qingli to medical care . However, when the small fox noticed that they were taking her away, it became crazed to the point of growling and gnashing teeth . No matter how much they tried to chase it away, it refused to leave . Eventually, these two guards could no longer take it anymore and simply tied the fox up .

Now, watching this obedient and sweet small fox, the three other people in the room were filled with amazement . Did the fox somehow know that the person carrying it was the Princess, who held the highest ident.i.ty among them all?

Even a small fox knew how to flatter others . They could definitely not fall behind!

The first and the second guard kowtowed again . “These servants were muddle-headed at the time! The Princess’s actions naturally all have their reasons! These servants should not have tried to second guess the Princess’s decisions . Please, Princess, forgive us!”

Mo Qingli gently stroked the fur in her embrace, her mood buoyant . “This time, this Princess will take it upon herself to forgive you . However, there will be no next time!”

“Yes, yes, yes, many thanks to the Princess!” The first guard pulled at the second guard’s hand, directing them to quickly retreat from the scene before the Princess changed her mind .

Mo Qingli stroked the small fox’s fur again, enjoying the soft texture below her fingertips . She smiled . “What is it? Last time you ran away without even a peep, even destroying part of my residence in the process! How can you bear to come back?”

The small fox rubbed its head against Mo Qingli’s arm, its scarlet eyes filled with grievance .

“Pu—” Seeing this, Mo Qingli burst into unexpected laughter . However, she was quick to return back to her original indifferent appearance . After all, she was a cold and powerful jiangshi .  How could she bear to tarnish her reputation like this?!

“Did you come back just to see me?” Mo Qingli restrained her happiness as she spoke to the small fox .

The small fox nodded .

Yue Yao watched the scene in front of her with a blackened face . What exactly was she looking at? Princess and this fox were… apparently engaging in conversation! Heavens, she must have seen wrong . Right, absolutely!