The little fox, who had only just been soothed, couldn’t help but bare her teeth at the woman.
Who was playing around?
Didn’t this person know that the base of a fox’s tail was strictly off-limits? To take such liberties and then act as if nothing had happened… it was truly loathsome.
However, remembering that Luo Wuyan was merely a human who likely knew nothing of the Fox Clan’s physiological quirks, the little fox forced herself to stay calm. Still, the thought of her tail being handled left her fuming.
Taking advantage of a moment when Luo Wuyan wasn’t looking, the fox lunged forward and bit down on her sleeve, using every ounce of her strength to tear a tiny hole in the fabric.
Feeling the tug on her sleeve, Luo Wuyan glanced down. Seeing the tiny teeth marks near her cuff, she nearly burst out laughing.
Finding her revenge met with mockery instead of remorse, the little fox huffed and turned around, presenting her backside to Luo Wuyan.
Luo Wuyan smiled and reached out to pat her, but she froze an instant before making contact. She had almost forgotten that the little fox didn’t have Sister Youran’s memories yet. If she was too forward, she might actually terrify the poor thing.
Sensing the rush of air behind her, the little fox instinctively turned her head. Luo Wuyan’s pale, slender palm was hovering just above her tails, mere inches away.
Is she going to stroke my tails again?
The fox jumped in fright, hurriedly spinning around to face Luo Wuyan while letting out a series of frantic chirps and squeaks.
Luo Wuyan chuckled and scooped the fox—who looked to be on the verge of a mental breakdown—up to eye level, whispering softly to comfort her. “Alright, alright. I won’t touch your tails.”
Before the little fox could even breathe a sigh of relief, she felt a sudden warmth against her pointed ears.
A teasing voice drifted into her ear at the same time. “I’ll just give these little ears a tug instead.”
The little fox shook her head wildly, trying to toss the hand aside.
“So cute!” Luo Wuyan laughed, releasing the ears and transition to a gentle pat on the fox’s head. Once the little creature settled down, she spoke with a serious tone. “Don’t leave my side during the banquet later. You’re too small; I’m afraid someone might accidentally hurt you.”
The little fox paused, suppressing the urge to nod, and simply blinked her eyes.
Seeing that she understood, Luo Wuyan breathed a secret sigh of relief. She hadn’t expected Sister Youran to wake up at this time; otherwise, she wouldn’t have come to the palace at all. But now that they were here, leaving abruptly without a word would surely reach her Imperial Sister’s ears and cause trouble.
She would just have to let Sister Youran suffer through the banquet while tucked away in her arms.
Once they left the palace…
Thinking of the cold, distant “keep-away” attitude Sister Youran maintained in her human form, Luo Wuyan felt a headache coming on. She understood that Youran acted that way to hide her identity and stay vigilant, but it was hard to swallow when that vigilance was directed at her.
They were supposed to be so close…
The little fox buried her head back into Luo Wuyan’s chest. In a place where Luo Wuyan couldn’t see, her tiny eyes were filled with contemplation and confusion.
Just now… when Luo Wuyan touched her tails, it felt as if… she had touched every single one of them?
But with her Illusion Technique in place, outsiders should only be able to see a single tail. How had Luo Wuyan managed to touch every one of them so accurately? Was it a coincidence, or something else entirely?
The little fox’s tiny eyes flickered with massive doubt.
The suspicions she had harbored before came rushing back. Thinking back to their first meeting, Luo Wuyan had gifted her those prayer beads, and then the jade hairpin just a few days ago…
Was this person really not doing this on purpose?
The little fox snuggled deeper into Luo Wuyan’s chest. After taking a deep, satisfying breath of the rich Kingly Aura, she squinted her eyes in comfort.
Forget it. The Kingly Aura on this person is too dense and too pure.
For the sake of the Kingly Aura, she could convince herself to ignore these anomalies for the time being.
Seeing the little creature in her arms settle down, Luo Wuyan gently stroked her head. With a faint smile playing on her lips, she looked toward the distance…
“Help! Help! Someone fell into the water!”
Amidst the chorus of startled cries, a figure dove into the water with clinical precision, as if they had been expecting this very moment.
A short while later, a soaking-wet young girl was hauled out of the water. Because the rescue had been so prompt, the girl was still conscious. However, upon seeing the person who had saved her, her eyes widened in shock.
How could it be this playboy?
The one who was supposed to save her was the Prince of Baiyue!
Luo Wuyan lowered her gaze, masking the mockery swirling in her eyes. If I let you have your way in this life too, it would only prove my own incompetence.
The one who had fallen into the water was Lin Shuqing, the second legitimate daughter of the eldest branch of her maternal grandfather’s house. Unhappy with the marriage her family had arranged, she had staged this entire performance.
In the previous life, she had used this “accidental” drowning to successfully ensnare the elegant and refined Prince of Baiyue. Later… after she became the Baiyue Princess Consort, she had secretly convinced her relatives to defect to Baiyue to consolidate her own power. She had even dragged Luo Wuyan—who was then a “Prince” with no real power—into the mess.
By the time Luo Wuyan had realized what was happening, it was too late. As the only “Prince” of the late Emperor to have survived, her close ties to the Baiyue Royal Family made any claims of innocence unbelievable. To cover up that one moment of negligence, she had been forced to make mistake after mistake, eventually being pushed down the path of rebellion—a road with no return.
Otherwise, even if she had only been a wealthy idle noble in her past life, she could have stayed with Sister Youran forever. There would have been no need for the bloodbath that followed…
Thinking of the despair she felt when Sister Youran disappeared before her eyes in that past life, a flash of deep agony crossed Luo Wuyan’s eyes.
It was her. She was the one who had brought disaster upon Sister Youran.
This time, she would nip everything in the bud.
In the previous life, didn’t Lin Shuqing use the excuse of “intimate physical contact” in the water to insist on marrying the Prince of Baiyue? Well, this time, the “hero” who saved the beauty was the most famous playboy in the capital. She wondered what choice Lin Shuqing would make now.
Would she accept her fate, or try to find another way out?
Recalling how determined the playboy was to have Lin Shuqing when she had someone arrange their “meeting,” the curve of Luo Wuyan’s lips widened.
This playboy, Li Shaoheng, was the youngest son of his family. His elder brothers were all successful officials in the imperial court, leading his elders to spoil him rotten. This had resulted in a lawless, untameable personality. As for the beauties Li Shaoheng kept in his courtyard—each was as lovely as a flower; none were inferior to Lin Shuqing.
The only reason he had set his sights on Lin Shuqing was to win a petty contest of “face” against his hedonistic friends. However, as the greatest playboy in the Imperial Capital, he hadn’t survived this long by being an idiot. He wouldn’t let an advantage like this go to waste.
Now that she was stuck with Li Shaoheng, Lin Shuqing wouldn’t have the time or the energy to plot her way into becoming the Baiyue Princess Consort.
The commotion on the shore continued. Luo Wuyan stood in the pavilion, holding the little fox and quietly enjoying the farce before turning to leave via a different path.
