Chapter Fifty-Three: Mistakes

Chapter Fifty-Three: A Mistake

"My father would never bother with a fox, and he even said that the fox was grateful and sensible—a good child who shared the lamb he was meant to eat."

Upon hearing this, the princess with big eyes, who had just transformed from a palace maid, Ironheart Yuan was so enraged his fury threatened to burst forth. Pointing at the princess atop the city wall, he shouted, "Can you speak without gasping for breath?"

The princess with big eyes laughed merrily, "Who told you to always call me a thief?"

Ironheart Yuan helped his mother up and glared angrily at the city wall, waiting for the princess to finish before responding.

"The fox ate the food my father bestowed and then went to play in the palace. I caught it sneaking a pearl from my jewelry box! No wonder I've been losing things lately—it turns out the fox has been stealing them all along.

I just want to know how many treasures your fox has pilfered from the palace."

Ironheart Yuan's face darkened instantly. He knew the fox liked shiny things and enjoyed collecting things in the palace, but he hadn't thought the fox would actually steal.

"Let the fox down first. Whatever it took, I'll have it returned to you."

The little princess atop the wall snickered coldly, "If a thief returns what he stole, does that mean he's no longer a thief?"

Ironheart Yuan smiled, "If you return it, you're no longer a thief—it’s simply a mistake, an unintentional error."

"My teacher said, 'Taking without asking is theft!'"

"That only applies if you don't return it. If you do, it doesn’t count."

"When I caught the fox, it hid the pearl in its mouth and grinned at me. My nurse had to pry it out—it never meant to give it back."

"Why bother with a fox, as clever as you are? It loves shiny things—without them, it can't court a female fox."

"What is courting?"

"It's like when I see how adorable you are, and I can't help but want to give you my best things."

"What good things do you have?" The little princess leaned over the city wall, tiptoeing to peer below.

Ironheart Yuan rummaged through his bag for a long time, finally producing a worn-out brush with barely any bristles left. He held it up and said, "This is my favorite brush. I heard it can write the most beautiful essays. I never part with it."

"Give me the brush!"

"Then let the fox go. We're friends, and a friend's fox is your friend too. Friends don't bully each other's friends."

Ironheart Yuan found a long bamboo pole, hooked the battered brush to it, climbed onto the roof, and handed it to the little princess.

She took the brush and examined it carefully, then held it tight in her hand and signaled the guards to release the fox, lowering it gently.

The guard's face was already turning blue and purple from holding back laughter; Ironheart Yuan suspected that if he didn’t find a place to laugh soon, he might suffocate.

---

The fox was lowered, and Ironheart Yuan quickly untied the strap around its ribs and clambered down the roof.

The princess held the brush and, seeing Ironheart Yuan about to enter the house, called out, "We’re friends; you must stay and talk with me."

Ironheart Yuan waved carelessly, "Friends are tired today; let's talk tomorrow." With that, he ducked into his house, unwilling to linger—the matter resolved, he had no mood for chatting with a little girl.

The princess with big eyes was a bit disappointed, pouting as if she might cry, but she managed to hold back and walk away, gripping the brush tightly.

Wang Rouhua saw the princess leave and the guards laughing themselves to death behind the wall, so she entered the home as well.

Seeing Ironheart Yuan brushing the fox’s fur, she teased, "I never thought my son could trick a princess."

Ironheart Yuan looked up and grinned, "I was desperate! If I hadn't, who knows what would have happened to the fox."

"Nonsense. That little princess never meant to hurt the fox. Didn't you see how securely it was bound, just like a pouch? There was no danger.

She only wanted someone to talk to."

"Mother, I heard from the teacher that you can’t marry a princess—whoever does is unlucky."

Wang Rouhua smiled proudly, "That’s true. Our Song Dynasty princesses aren’t valued. Since the founding emperor set the rule, the power of princesses and their consorts has been stripped. Aside from holding a nominal title, like ‘Military Governor,’ which lets them enjoy more gold and silver, they can only be honorary officials, not involved in politics. Most importantly, marrying a princess means she’s the head of the household; her consort is just a guest in her palace. Even children may take the princess's surname instead of their father's, depending on her wishes.

So, any ambitious young man would never marry a princess. Once you do, forget dreams of glory.

You’ll be destined for greatness, my son—never bow to a woman’s hand. Stay away from princesses."

"Really? So that's how it works?" Ironheart Yuan hadn’t realized being a royal consort was such a thankless task—nothing like he'd imagined.

As mother and son spoke, the fox hunched over coughing forcefully. Ironheart Yuan watched nervously as the fox spat out a pearl as large as a fingertip, wagging its tail proudly.

"What a useless creature," Wang Rouhua scolded, quickly retrieving the pearl from the fox’s saliva. She rinsed it in clean water and wiped it dry with a fine cloth, then held it up to the lamp for inspection.

"Oh! This is a Hupo Pearl, with a bluish sheen—likely from the Wangduan Pool... Your great-grandmother had six of these..."

Ironheart Yuan doubted his mother would return the pearl to the princess, so he carried the fox into his room.

After a day’s ordeals, the fox was tired, covering its nose and mouth with its bushy tail as it lay in his bathtub, soon breathing in a steady rhythm.

Ironheart Yuan took out "Building in Dongjing" and began to read carefully, sketching lines on the city’s map with his brush.

He finished reviewing the layout of Yong’an Ward, then raised his head. The round moon had risen outside, shining through the lattice window, illuminating every corner untouched by the oil lamp.

As Ironheart Yuan opened the door, the fox lifted its head warily, eyes glowing in the dim light, then tucked its head beneath its tail again.

"Yuan’er, it's getting late—don’t read under the lamp, you'll hurt your eyes," his mother called from the inner room.

---

Ironheart Yuan replied and went out to the courtyard. He sat in a chair, looking up at the full moon overhead, letting its cold light wash over him.

Whenever the moon was full, he found it impossible to sleep—his mind would become excessively excited. He fought the urge to cry out at the sky, but the surging blood in his chest made his heart beat like a war drum.

Within his small, thin body lay a turbulent heart—only he knew this. Every full moon, he felt as if his spirit wanted to leave his body, and he understood that as well.

A small knife slid silently from his sleeve, gleaming coldly. He and Xiao Qiao had forged it from a piece of fine steel—though not large, it was the best tempered steel, able to cut hair with ease.

He gently pricked his middle finger, and a bead of blood, dark in the moonlight, formed at the tip.

He watched as the bead grew larger, finally becoming a thin stream that fell to the cold earth, quickly soaking in.

Ten drops, no more, no less, and the bleeding stopped. Ironheart Yuan’s tension eased. He scraped off the patch of earth with a spade and tossed it into the little garden, where the flowers were in full bloom.

He tiptoed back inside, closed the door, and lay on his little bed, letting out a long breath, ready to sleep.

Damn it—every full moon I feel strange. Hopefully, this isn’t a sign of high blood pressure; to have that at my age would be the end of everything.

When sunlight streamed through the window lattice, Ironheart Yuan had already been up for a while. He’d slept well last night, and the odd feeling seemed like something from long ago, no longer real.

He shouldered his school bag and headed out, the fox close behind. His mother had decided—the fox was no longer allowed in the palace. It would either go with her to the shop or with Ironheart Yuan to school, but never left alone at home.

At this hour, Dongjing seemed just awakened from sleep. The wooden tub cart selling hot water for washing faces had just stopped at the alley’s entrance. Countless sleepy women rubbed their eyes and yawned as they stepped out, handed chamber pots to the night-soil collector, gave their hot-water basins to the cart crew, and lazily wandered toward the breakfast vendors.

Today, Ironheart Yuan decided to eat dumplings. Xiao Hua tried stopping two women, hoping they’d buy dumplings from her stall, but both coldly refused.

Since Xiao Hua’s mother fell ill, nobody liked her dumplings, and earnings were scarce each day.

Zhang, the wealthy landlord’s son, arrived at the alley’s mouth, surrounded by other children. Each held a meat pastry in his mouth, swaggering as they walked.

Spotting Ironheart Yuan and the fox at the alley’s entrance, Zhang called out, raising his meat pastry, "Brother Yuan, I’ll treat you to—"

"Dumplings!" Ironheart Yuan cut him off coldly.

"Then dumplings it is!" Zhang, ever the shrewd merchant's son, replied.

"Two big bowls each—from now on, that’s our daily meal!"

Ironheart Yuan, already the top dog at school, set the rule for them.

PS: Still asking for recommendation votes, still asking for favorites—Jie Yu is greedy and wants everything. Please throw your votes to Jie Yu. Jie Yu bows in thanks.