Chapter 42 Little Fox

Chapter 42: The Little Fox

On the evening three days later, around 7:15 PM, the shattered bluish-grey tile shards were still under the tree by the riverside path, but Jiang Wang was nowhere to be seen.

Chang Da had been waiting here for a long time, his fists clenched so tightly they creaked.

That brat Jiang Wang actually dared to stand him up. When they met, he would definitely teach Jiang Wang a lesson.

Just as Chang Da angrily punched the tree, causing a wrist-thick branch to snap, Jiang Wang arrived.

Not only did Jiang Wang arrive, but he came panting heavily and looking a complete mess.

Large patches of mud stains on his clothes went without saying; his cuffs and collar were torn in various places, and even his face and hair were as dirty as a stray cat.

Jiang Wang's chest heaved as he hurried over, taking long strides.

He stopped in front of Chang Da, hands on his hips, gasping for breath.

He pointed to his throat, then waved at Chang Da, indicating he couldn't speak because he had run too fast. Then, he pulled out a tattered book from his robe and handed it to Chang Da.

This book was none other than the Daily Record Book Jiang Wang used every day.

The mud on Jiang Wang's body had soaked through his clothes and into the booklet. The originally thin, soft paper became even more fragile after getting wet.

Coupled with his rough action of pulling it out from his robe, the fragile Daily Record Book had completely fallen apart, with only the thread-bound spine still holding together.

Only half of the booklet's blue cover remained, faintly showing the lonely characters for "Daily Record." As for the remaining contents inside, they had already turned into a muddy pulp during the previous action and fallen to the ground.

Chang Da took the booklet, intending to quickly flip through and inspect it, only to find it utterly impossible.

The remaining pages were stuck together, making it impossible to see the contents inside.

Holding this pile of what should have been useful but was now useless daily records, Chang Da was furious.

To say Jiang Wang hadn't provided him with the daily records? Yet here Jiang Wang stood with the booklet right now. To say Jiang Wang had provided them? But the booklet was in such a wretched state, offering no useful information whatsoever.

He really wanted to use the fist that had just punched the tree to punch Jiang Wang, but after another look at the other's frail frame and further consideration, he suppressed his anger and lowered his hand.

Chang Da took this utterly useless Daily Record Book and left in a hurry without even glancing at Jiang Wang. He still had to return and report to his master.

The moment Chang Da's figure disappeared from sight, Jiang Wang straightened up, his heavy breathing returning to normal.

He brushed off the dried mud on his clothes, wiped his face a couple of times, and walked back to the palace with light steps.

He had been so worried these past three days he couldn't sleep. It was only this morning, when he saw Big Orange covered in mud climbing over the courtyard wall, that inspiration struck.

Who said only cats could get muddy?

People could too.

If he appeared before Chang Da covered in mud and panting heavily, no one would think it was intentional. They'd just assume he'd had a streak of bad luck.

On the way, he accidentally stepped into a mud puddle and took a big fall, tearing his clothes and getting them muddy. It was only natural that the items in his robe, especially fragile objects like books, would get ruined.

And by pretending to run over panting, he avoided having to speak and potentially giving himself away. It was a brilliant plan that killed two birds with one stone.

Moreover, he hadn't used the real Daily Record Book. Instead, he had hastily fabricated a fake one today, which didn't contain a single word about Xiao Yan. It was a Buddhist scripture he had copied from the one he brought back from Longquan Temple.

After the booklet got mixed with mud and water, all that could be seen was an indistinguishable black smear. How could anyone possibly make out what was written inside?

Jiang Wang thought his plan was simply perfect. His deliberately serious expression almost failed to contain the wild laughter bubbling up from his heart.

However, as he glanced down at his clothes, a flicker of regret crossed his expression.

This robe was the one he made with Changle during New Year's Eve. Now, after all this trouble, torn and dirty, this piece of clothing was practically ruined.

But being able to deal with the Chang family's representative and buy himself some peace for a while longer meant this robe had served its purpose well.

Even though this robe couldn't be worn anymore, he would still wash it clean and keep it carefully.

Was this just an ordinary piece of clothing?

No, no, no. This was a battle robe!

Jiang Wang returned to the palace in high spirits all the way, but the smile on his face froze the moment he stepped into Biwu Hall.

His round, deer-like eyes widened. The smile vanished from his face, replaced entirely by astonishment.

"Y-Your Majesty, what are you doing here..."

Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow, glanced at the filthy Jiang Wang, and a hint of barely suppressed laughter crept onto the corner of his mouth.

Jiang Wang really did look like a little puppy that had rolled around in a mud puddle.

*

When Ling Hai changed into black night attire, it meant Jiang Wang was about to leave the palace.

It was like this last time, and it was the same this time.

Except this time, when he was about to follow Jiang Wang out of the palace, Xiao Yan stopped him.

Ling Hai took off his night attire and handed it to Xiao Yan.

Based on the information Ling Hai overheard while surveilling Jiang Wang last time, Jiang Wang was going out to meet Chang Da at the usual place this time and would bring the Daily Record Book.

Then Xiao Yan had to go himself. He wanted to see exactly how the two of them made contact.

Strangely, even though there were more convenient main roads, Jiang Wang started taking secluded paths as soon as he left the palace. However, it didn't seem like he was trying to shake off a tail; it was more like he was looking for something.

Finally, after crossing two intersections, Jiang Wang stopped beside a mud puddle in the shadow of a wall corner where the snow hadn't fully melted.

The mud puddle wasn't big, about the length of an arm.

He hesitated there for a long time, as if steeling himself. Clenching his fist, he plopped down into the mud puddle.

Not only that, Jiang Wang tore his clothes, dug out some more mud from the puddle and smeared it on himself, even smearing it on his face.

Jiang Wang grimaced in disgust, but his hands didn't stop moving.

After busying himself for a while, confirming he was covered in mud, he took out a small booklet from his robe and gently dipped it into the mud puddle.

Xiao Yan wasn't following too closely, only able to vaguely see the outline of the booklet, which looked very much like the Daily Record Book.

But... wasn't Jiang Wang supposed to take the Daily Record Book to meet Chang Da? What was the point of manhandling himself into this state now?

Xiao Yan didn't understand, but he didn't say anything, just silently followed, wanting to get to the bottom of it.

After crossing two more intersections, almost at the destination, Jiang Wang came up with a new trick.

He started jumping up and down on the spot until he was panting heavily, and only then did he jog off toward the "riverside path."

After his meeting with Chang Da, his act of being too disheveled and exhausted to speak was utterly convincing. Who knew if Jiang Wang had used this trick to fool many people before?

The daily record book, after being soaked in mud and jostled around during his run, was already in tatters when Jiang Wang took it out from inside his robes again.

The cover was in shreds, and the contents inside weren’t much better.

If he hadn’t witnessed the entire 'operation,' Xiao Yan figured he, too, would have been deceived by Jiang Wang’s slightly innocent yet deeply apologetic expression at that moment.

He really was like a cunning little fox, pretending to be naive with a sly smile.

Faced with Jiang Wang, who seemed to have 'tried his best only to have terrible luck and ruin everything,' Chang Da wore a rare expression of frustration—wanting to strike but unable to raise his hand, wanting to scold but unable to open his mouth.

In the end, Chang Da left in a huff, filled with pent-up anger, while the grimy little fox walked off with a light, cheerful step, practically swishing a tail.

Xiao Yan used his qinggong to leap across the rooftops through the night, returning to the palace ahead of Jiang Wang.

But he didn’t go back to Cangwu Hall; instead, he went directly to Biwu Pavilion.

He sat in the main room, waiting for Jiang Wang to return.

Jiang Wang’s expression was exactly as he had anticipated.

As soon as he entered and saw him sitting there, his face was a mix of surprise, astonishment, and a trace of barely noticeable panic.

The little fox’s fur bristled, yet he still pretended to remain calm.

“Where have you been, Minister Jiang? How did you get yourself into such a disheveled state? I’ve been waiting for you for two hours.”

Two hours? Had he been out for that long?

Jiang Wang frantically rubbed his face with his sleeve, trying to wipe off the mud.

As a result, the mud on his face didn’t diminish at all; instead, he smeared even more mud from his sleeve onto it.

“Your Majesty, I… I just went out for a stroll and accidentally fell.”

“Is that so? Well, you really ought to be more careful.” Xiao Yan pretended to bring it up casually. “By the way, I heard from the Imperial Household Department that you requested several blank daily record books from them today?”

“Yes, the previous one is almost used up. I was afraid of delaying Your Majesty’s affairs, so I requested a few in advance as backups.”

Jiang Wang kept his head down, not daring to look at Xiao Yan for fear of making eye contact.

Although Xiao Yan was known only for eating, drinking, and having fun, Jiang Wang had always felt subconsciously that Xiao Yan was inexplicably dangerous—even more so than Chang Da.

Xiao Yan chuckled lightly and stood up to leave, but he still tossed out a remark.

“Very well, it’s good that Minister Jiang has returned. In that case, you should rest early.”

Watching Xiao Yan’s departing figure, Jiang Wang’s mind was filled with questions.

Why had Xiao Yan come to his place?

And why had Xiao Yan mentioned the daily record book? Did he know that he was using it for other purposes?

However, these questions were soon interrupted by Changle.

“Young Master! Where have you been?! How did you end up looking like a mud-covered monkey?!”

Changle’s astonished voice came from the doorway. It had only been a short while since he last saw Jiang Wang, so how could his young master now be almost unrecognizable?

His young master was usually very clean—how could he have mud all over his body and face?!

Changle suddenly thought of something, and his expression immediately grew tense.

“Young Master, have you been bewitched by someone, or have you been cursed?”

Otherwise, it would be truly difficult to explain his young master’s unusual behavior today.

Jiang Wang couldn’t help but smile wryly. “Alright, Changle, I just went out and fell. Don’t make wild guesses here. Hurry up and help me wash off, or else once the mud dries, your young master will really turn into a mud figure!”

On one side, Changle quickly heated water and prepared a bathtub to give Jiang Wang a thorough scrubbing.

On the other side, Xiao Yan, who had already returned to Cangwu Hall, placed a small table by the window, opened a pot of wine with particular interest, and enjoyed a leisurely drink under the moonlight.

Based on the various signs from this incident, it seemed that Jiang Wang was not closely connected to Chang Wenji’s faction.

If they had a good relationship, he would only need to hand over the daily record book. Jiang Wang wouldn’t have had to go through all this trouble to make himself look so disheveled.

Realizing this, Xiao Yan felt inexplicably pleased.

＊

In the study of the Chang residence, Chang Wenji looked at the pile of mud brought back by Chang Da, his expression serious.

After pondering for a while, Chang Wenji spoke coldly.

“Since he’s not taking his work seriously, let’s teach him a lesson.”

Author’s Note:

Jiang Wang: “This humble consort” is now clearly distinguished.