Prince! The political conspiracy is not a play, the show is real

Tao Yao had never properly left the Shi Mansion before. Even when she did sneak out, she was quickly recaptured by Shi Yiqian. So this time, she made every possible preparation, dressing like a man and even imitating Lu Che, covering her face completely with a black cloth. She wanted to have a good time.

After all, he would be "exiled" to the Zhou Mansion in Jiangnan in a few days. No matter how bold Tao Yao was, he still felt a little apprehensive when facing Zhou Yan, a man who had already married five wives.

In ancient times, if a man had many wives, it would not be criticized. Instead, people would think that he must have some outstanding qualities, such as wealth or status, to attract so many women.

But if they were women, they could only be loyal to one person for their entire lives. For example, Zhou Yan's five wives, which one of them was not completely devoted to him? But when they saw Tao Yao, they all put on fake smiles.

No matter how unwilling they are in their hearts, they will like it as long as their husbands like it.

On the surface, the wives and concubines seem to be harmonious, but behind the scenes they are definitely fighting to the death.

If Tao Yao married into that group, she would be walking into a tiger's mouth. Even if Tao Yao had no intention of competing for favor, she would definitely be skinned alive by those women.

Tao Yao has already prepared herself mentally for the hellish trials, thinking that life will be hard over there anyway, so she might as well have some fun today.

The lantern festival in the capital of Chu State was not only held during the Lantern Festival. The Lantern Festival would start on the eve of New Year's Eve and would last until the end of the first lunar month.

During the Lantern Festival, when night falls and the lights come on, the streets are deserted under the stars and the moon. People gather in the bright lights to make wishes for the coming year. The royal nobles will also take this opportunity to visit the streets and alleys and donate food to poor families. Therefore, this annual Lantern Festival celebrated by the whole country is the festival that the people look forward to the most.

When Tao Yao was eating secretly in the kitchen, she accidentally heard a few cooks chatting about the Lantern Festival. They talked about it in great detail, saying that the Lantern Festival in the capital was like the Peach Banquet in Heaven. From then on, the Lantern Festival left a regret in Tao Yao's heart.

Before leaving the capital, she must see the Lantern Festival with her own eyes.

Only when she actually witnessed the Lantern Festival did she truly understand the saying, "Seeing is believing." Tao Yao had only seen ancient lantern festivals in period dramas, but those were, after all, scenes contrived by modern imagination. Only by actually attending the ancient lantern festival could one truly appreciate the lively and magnificent splendor of the festival.

Thousands of lanterns of various colors bloomed in clusters along the long street like hundreds of flowers, and like a sky full of neon sparks extending from the ground to the horizon, like a ball of burning clouds, burning the inky night into orange, making it almost impossible to distinguish between day and night.

The streets and alleys were packed with people, and it was very lively. Many vendors were hawking some novel things that Taoyao had never seen before. Taoyao was excited and curious as she walked among the vendors, looking left and right. Suddenly, her attention was caught by a little wooden fox, and she could no longer walk.

The little fox was white all over, had nine tails, two auspicious clouds painted in vermilion on the ends of its eyebrows, and held a red and juicy apple in its mouth. It looked very cute.

The vendor tending the stall was concentrating on carving another fox in his hand. His fingers were slender and plump, and he looked like someone who had never done housework. But his hands moved lightly and skillfully, and he soon carved another fox. He placed it next to the fox in front with a ringo in its mouth, making a perfect pair.

Tao Yao took a closer look and saw that the newly carved fox had a pink peach blossom pinned on its head. Its face was rosy and its posture was like a phoenix, but it only had eight tails behind it.

Tao Yao couldn't help but remind the stall owner: "Boss, your fox is missing a tail."

The stall owner slowly raised his head after hearing this. Tao Yao then realized that the stall owner was wearing a fox mask. Although she couldn't see his true face, she felt that he looked a little familiar.

"Sir, would you like to buy a wood carving?"

As soon as the stall owner opened his mouth, Tao Yao suddenly felt something was wrong. Why did the voice sound so familiar?

As if noticing Tao Yao's doubts, the stall owner coughed a few times and handed over another notebook.

Tao Yao took the book and saw the three big characters "Fox Fairy Record" written on the cover. She opened it and saw pictures of various foxes. Tao Yao quickly found the eight-tailed fox with peach blossoms on its head.

This book not only contained many illustrations of foxes, but also contained a legend written in tiny handwriting beside each fox. This eight-tailed fox was a great demon named Yao Zhuo, who had cultivated for a thousand years and endured countless hardships. He was only one step away from becoming an immortal—growing this last tail.

Only with the Nine-Tailed Fox could she ascend to heaven and attain enlightenment.

Yao Zhuo searched heaven and earth, but could not find a way to cultivate the last tail. One day, Yao Zhuo met a Taoist priest, who took pity on his plight and performed a divination for him. The divination indicated that in the Yunni Realm, east of the Great Wilderness, a fox fairy named Changyu was guarding a rare fruit that was rarely seen in a thousand years.

This precious fruit is an auspicious object formed by the essence of all things in heaven and earth for millions of years. It is rosy in color and is called ringo.

The Taoist priest told Yao Zhuo that if he had the ability to pick apples, he only needed to take a bite, and he would grow a ninth tail and become an immortal.

If that fails, Yao Zhuo will have to endure countless pains in the human world that ordinary monsters cannot bear, until he dies.

Yao Zhuo was overjoyed. After thanking the Taoist priest, he immediately set off towards the east of the Great Wilderness. The journey was long and winding, with mountains and rivers to the horizon. By the time Yao Zhuo had overcome numerous obstacles and reached the Land of Clouds and Rainbows, his fur had become rough and sparse from the journey, and the fox had lost all its former glory as a great demon.

But Yao Zhuo had no regrets. As long as he could get the chance to become an immortal, this little pain was nothing.

Yao Zhuo paid a visit to Chang Yu as he wished. Chang Yu was deeply moved when he heard the story of the fox demon that traveled thousands of miles away, and quickly agreed to Yao Zhuo's request.

But at the same time, Chang Yu also told Yao Zhuo that Ringo was formed from the essence of heaven and earth for tens of millions of years, and had been stationed in the Yunni Realm for thousands of years. If one ate its fruit, it would mean that one was willing to sacrifice oneself.

The price of ascending to immortality by eating ringo is to sacrifice oneself and become a "ringo".

The story ends here, and there is no further text.

Tao Yao asked curiously, "Huh? Why is there no text after this? What happened to Yao Zhuo? Did he become an immortal?"

The stall owner put down his carving knife and gently tapped the Yao Zhuo wood carving with his slender fingertips. He said, "This story is a folk tale, perhaps lost and without an ending. So no one knows whether Yao Zhuo later became an immortal, or what he looked like after becoming an immortal. So, I had to carve it in its eight-tailed form."

Tao Yao seemed to be lost in thought. She leaned over and carefully examined the beautiful fox demon before her. She sighed regretfully:

"It seems that Yao Zhuo was only herself when she was still the Eight-Tailed Fox. After becoming an immortal, she lost her name and was forgotten in the human world."