Chapter 2

He fed me for nearly ten years.

He was the crown prince, after all.

His cooks were far better than the one at the inn.

And he kept his promise. My belly was always full, my coat sleek and glossy.

The pretty little boy grew into a graceful young man.

But he was busy.

While I chewed grass in the courtyard for fun, he studied.

While I gnawed the legs of his desk, he studied.

While I splashed in the pond and chased the carp, he was still studying.

On the rare occasions when he wasn’t studying, he had to see the emperor, his tutors, or the ministers.

I would lie dozing at his feet and think that, apart from the good food, being crown prince didn’t seem to offer much.

No playing. No sleeping.

Perhaps when I could take human form, I could sneak him out of the palace for some fun?

While I was still dreaming of that, fifteen-year-old Zhong Rui met a girl during an imperial hunt.

She was the daughter of a seventh-rank imperial physician.

He liked her.

And he was miserable.

Because the emperor and empress had noticed.

After several years in the Eastern Palace, I understood the rules of mortal courts.

In their eyes, the girl was nowhere near fit to be his crown princess.

Zhong Rui had no one to confide in.

All he could do, in his occasional spare moments, was feed me treats and grumble to me.

I didn’t really understand why humans cared so much about family standing, scholarship, and talent.

We foxes had always liked whomever we liked.

Hadn’t my mother fallen at first sight for my father, that silly gray fox?

But he’d given me delicious food for years. Surely I could help him with this little problem.

I knew the imperial family cared not only about noble birth, but also about blessings and auspicious omens.

That made it easy.

After Zhong Rui sighed to me for the hundred and eighth time,

I flew back to the fox den that very night.

Beside our den stood a grove of parasol trees.

An old phoenix who had lived for over ten thousand years had once dwelled there.

Later, he had gone off to undergo rebirth, leaving a single azure bird to guard the grove and await his master’s return.

Beneath the largest tree, countless rare treasures grew, nourished by the phoenix’s aura.

One herb would make a mortal who ate it glow with auspicious golden light. The light would slowly rise into the sky and form the image of a phoenix.

I was halfway through pulling it up when I woke Azure Bird, who had been sleeping in the tree.

That was how we had our first fight.

I was very powerful, of course, so I won.

But the bird landed a few punches too.

In the end, I returned to the Eastern Palace with my fur filthy.

Zhong Rui was still reading by lamplight in his study.

I leaped straight onto his desk.

And trod all over the calligraphy he’d just finished.

He didn’t look at the writing. He only frowned at me.

“Where have you been rolling around this time? And why have you brought back a blade of grass? Is it tasty?”

He reached to grab me by the scruff.

“Come on. Let’s wash you in the pond. You can eat afterward.”

I twisted my neck away from his hand.

In desperation, I spat the herb out in front of him.

Unable to hold back, I spoke.

“You idiot! It’s not for me!”

In all the years I’d known Zhong Rui, that was the first time I’d seen his expression change like that.