After Becoming a Concubine, I Took Down the Princess - Chapter 4

When Yan Heng could finally stand on all four paws again, she could only watch helplessly as the cage in front of her was locked with a “clack.” In order not to be discovered by humans as a fox spirit, Yan Heng could only live so meekly for the time being, planning to immediately escape once she found an opportunity.

She was a fox spirit who had lived for over a hundred years, and now being kept in a cage was too embarrassing. Yan Heng raised her paws to cover her face, crying internally, and decided to keep this matter a secret forever. If her scoundrel of a brother knew about it, he would probably mock her for three days and three nights.

Outside the cage, Yue Du squatted down and said curiously to the man beside him, “Yue Ze, when I found this white-furred creature, I thought it was strange. Look, its behavior is so human-like.”

Yue Ze said indifferently, “Such creatures all possess human-like understanding. Be careful it doesn’t turn into a human and bite you at night.”

Yan Heng: … I refuse to be smeared. We demons absolutely do not eat human flesh, because it doesn’t taste good.

Yue Du looked startled and whispered, “It can even turn into a human? Is it possible that there really are demons in this world?”

Yue Ze deliberately spooked him, “Of course there are. I heard they all have green faces and tusks, and can bite off a person’s head in one go.”

Yan Heng: … Yes, yes, yes, everything you say is correct. We are all incredibly hideous.

Yue Du realized that Yue Ze was intentionally tricking him when he heard the exaggeration. He stood up and said, “Forget about demons. We lost the young miss, and the master said we’d get beaten. If we’re late, mind the extra punishment.”

Hearing this, Yue Ze’s expression turned sorrowful. He lost the mood to tease him and followed Yue Du out, looking dispirited.

Yan Heng watched the two of them leave, then turned, found a comfortable position to lie down, and decided to take a nap to restore her energy. She figured that this group of people would certainly not harm her right now. It would be better to stay for a few more days, heal her injuries, and then she could escape.

After an unknown amount of time, Yan Heng felt vibrations all around her.

The “clank clank” noise woke her from her sleep. Yan Heng impatiently opened her eyes, momentarily thinking she was back on Flowing Cloud Mountain playing with her brother.

It wasn’t until she clearly saw the enlarged face in front of her that she tragically realized she was now a fox in captivity.

“Xiao Xiao, is this the wild fox you picked up?” The speaker was a middle-aged man with a deep voice. When he squatted down to look at her, his eyes carried an inherent commanding presence, suggesting this was the “Master” the two guards had spoken of.

“Master” sounded like just a wealthy local or a county magistrate, so why did he have such an imposing presence? Yan Heng was somewhat frightened by his gaze, instinctively retreating two steps due to her animal danger sense.

“Daddy, it’s afraid of you,” Xiao Xiao held the thin bars of the cage and turned her head to say.

The master looked at his daughter, and the commanding presence instantly retracted, replaced by a father’s loving kindness. He stroked Xiao Xiao’s hair, “Then Daddy won’t stay here anymore. You play with the fox yourself, but be careful not to get bitten.”

Xiao Xiao nodded obediently. The master then glanced sideways at Yan Heng in the cage, seemingly warning her to watch her sharp teeth and claws.

Once the master left, Xiao Xiao let Yan Heng out. Yan Heng had already decided to stay here to heal her injuries, so she gave up on escaping, instead flicked her tail, and lay down beside Xiao Xiao.

Xiao Xiao stroked Yan Heng’s back, but unexpectedly touched the wound scratched by the black bear. Yan Heng instantly winced in pain. The wound had stopped hurting, and she, a fox, could secretly recuperate and heal it with magic. However, Xiao Xiao’s forceful petting hurt her so much that she yelped.

Suddenly, all four limbs were lifted off the ground. Yan Heng had been picked up by this little girl. The girl and the fox looked into each other’s eyes. Yan Heng was carried in her arms and taken outside.

“Yue Du, Yue Du, the fox has a wound,” Xiao Xiao’s voice was soft and sweet; Yan Heng even found it adorable.

Hearing the young miss’s call, Yue Du walked out, leaning against the wall and limping. “Let me take a look, young miss.” Yue Du walked slowly, indicating that the spanking had been quite severe.

Yan Heng was held up over Xiao Xiao’s head and handed to Yue Du.

Yue Du held Yan Heng and examined her, “Hmm… It does have a wound on its body. Young miss, wait for me, I’ll go get some medicine.”

Perhaps the injury from the spanking was too painful to walk, as it took Yue Du quite a while to return. He held a small bottle and a roll of white cloth in his hand. He walked over and said, “This is the medicine we use for injuries. I suppose a fox can use it too.”

As he spoke, he removed the cloth stopper from the bottle, held Yan Heng’s neck down, and shook the medicine onto her wound.

The area torn open by the black bear was all on her back, and the medicine stimulated it with a bone-piercing pain.

Yan Heng: My life is over!

After sprinkling the medicine, Yue Du wrapped her in white cloth several times. At this point, only Yan Heng’s head and tail fur were exposed. This sight made Xiao Xiao giggle. She pointed at Yan Heng and laughed, “Big long worm!”

Yan Heng: … Your whole family is a long worm.

“It’s bandaged. Young miss can take it back now,” Yue Du said as he tidied up the medicine and gauze.

So Xiao Xiao picked the fox up again and held it in her arms, moving gently and deliberately avoiding the wound. Yan Heng thought that though the girl was young, she knew how to care for others.

Back in the room, Xiao Xiao sat on the couch, stroking Yan Heng’s head and talking to herself.

“Fox fox, will you stay with me forever?”

“Fox fox, I miss my mo… mother.” Daddy told her not to call him “Imperial Father” or her mother “Imperial Consort” outside, and not to reveal her identity.

“Fox fox, your fur is so nice to touch…” To the sound of sweet “fox fox” whispers, Yan Heng’s eyes drifted shut and she fell into a deep sleep.

After living there for a month, Yan Heng not only fully healed her injuries but also got noticeably chubbier due to the excellent food. The only strange thing was the bald patch on her head.

This was because Xiao Xiao loved to stroke the top of her head the most, sometimes not paying attention to her strength and simply pulling out tufts of fox fur. Yan Heng was furious, but since she was eating and sleeping on their dime, she felt too embarrassed to say anything. She just figured it was only a few strands of fur; let her pull them out.

That afternoon, the sunlight was perfect in the room. She was dozing on the small couch. Xiao Xiao excitedly ran in holding something, her little face full of smiles: “Fox fox! I found this in my bundle!”

In this courtyard, everyone but her father was respectful to her, and the only one who could alleviate her boredom was this fox.

Yan Heng lazily lifted her eyelids and saw Xiao Xiao presenting something to her like a treasure. It was a bracelet, a delicate gold chain strung with pearls and agates, sparkling under the sunlight. It was extremely beautiful.

“I’m giving it to you,” Xiao Xiao said, reaching to grab Yan Heng’s paw.

The chain looked quite valuable. Money delivered to the doorstep shouldn’t be refused.

The chain seemed to have a mind of its own; once placed on Yan Heng’s paw, it automatically adjusted its size. A circle of white fur surrounded the bracelet, giving it an extra touch of liveliness.

Yan Heng rubbed Xiao Xiao’s palm. Xiao Xiao picked her up and lay down on the bed to take a nap with her. Yan Heng entered dreamland in the warm quilt.

After an unknown amount of time, the light in the room dimmed. Yan Heng slowly opened her eyes. Xiao Xiao was still asleep, smacking her lips contentedly.

Yan Heng had just had a dream, and it was about Xiao Xiao. She couldn’t recall the specific details of the dream, only the people who appeared in it.

She was usually a very deep sleeper and rarely dreamed, yet now she had dreamed of this little girl she had only known for a month.

Yan Heng sat up on the bed. Her nose twitched slightly, catching an unfamiliar scent.

It was a delicate lotus flower fragrance. She was certain she had never smelled it before. She lowered her head and vigorously sniffed the bed, locating the source of the fragrance on the sleeping Xiao Xiao. Did this girl bathe this morning and switch to a different perfume? Why hadn’t she smelled this scent before? Never mind, she figured she had been living too comfortably lately, and even her nose wasn’t working properly.

Yan Heng lightly jumped off the bed. A ball of fluorescent light flashed out, and when it faded, the fox was gone, replaced by a graceful, charming young woman. The woman was alluring, with upturned eyes and a tear mole beneath one eye. Dressed in a simple white dress, this appearance surprisingly carried a unique, captivating charm.

Yan Heng had learned to transform into a human form years ago. Previously, because her magic had not yet recovered, she had to appear in her fox form daily.

She rushed to the mirror first to check her hair, and after turning around several times to confirm she wasn’t bald, she turned back and sat on the couch, gently touching Xiao Xiao’s tender cheek: “Little girl, I won’t stay with you anymore. I’ve been away for more than a month, and my family must be getting worried.”

Xiao Xiao didn’t know what she was dreaming about, her brows slightly furrowed. Yan Heng reached out and gently smoothed her brow. After sitting for a moment longer, she cast an invisibility spell and slipped away.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, she returned. She opened a drawer and took a few bracelets and pieces of jewelry.

“Young miss, please don’t cry anymore. Your subordinates are already doing their best to find that white fox,” Yue Du said, at a loss.

Xiao Xiao woke up from her nap to find the fox gone. She searched the room for a long time but couldn’t find a trace, so she sat on the bed and cried loudly.

This panicked the guards. They knew the young miss was the master’s beloved daughter, and her mood even concerned their lives.

“You must find the fox, even a different one will do,” the master stood at the door, instructing Yue Ze.

“Yes,” Yue Ze bowed and immediately left to search.

“Father, why don’t I go buy two rabbits to soothe Xiao Xiao first?” Standing beside the master was a handsome young man, who was Xiao Xiao’s older brother.

The master nodded, “Go ahead. Find some well-behaved ones.”

“Yes,” the young man also bowed slightly but was called back by his father before he walked two steps.

“A-Feng, also buy some candy,” the master frowned deeply. A-Feng slightly nodded, bowed, and quickly left.

The master watched his son leave, then turned and went into the room to comfort his daughter.

“Xiao Xiao, be good. Your brother has gone to help you look too,” he held his daughter in his arms, his eyes full of tenderness.

Her brother had been in another prefecture and only returned this morning. Xiao Xiao hadn’t had a chance to introduce “Fox Fox” to him.

Xiao Xiao, with teary eyes, asked, “Will Fox Fox come back?”

The master gently wiped her tears with a handkerchief, “Of course it will come back. Now, will Xiao Xiao be a good girl and go to dinner with Daddy?”

Perhaps the presence of her father was too reassuring. Xiao Xiao gradually stopped crying, nodding obediently, ready for her meal.

After eating, she still thought about the matter, but then A-Feng brought back two rabbits, one black and one white, and her attention was immediately diverted.

Children forget things quickly. The sadness was soon swept away by other things. Within three days, she had forgotten about “Fox Fox” and was only concerned with “Bunny Bunny.”

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