Chapter 10

The fox's performance was truly impressive, but for Tie Xin Yuan, it was merely an inevitable outcome.

Since returning to Tokyo, Tie Xin Yuan had purposefully trained the fox. Compared to other animals, the fox's intelligence was relatively high.

Especially when the fox in front of you was a little one whose only goal was to fill its belly, training became much easier.

After feeding the fox, it had to bring something back to Tie Xin Yuan, even if it was just a piece of wood. Otherwise, there would be no food for the next meal, and it would also face punishment from Tie Xin Yuan.

After training for half a year, the little fox had come to understand that when someone gave it food, it had to give something in return. Thus, it began collecting its treasures, and the Shoushan stone was one of them.

The fox of the Tie family had almost become a curiosity in Tokyo. Many people who had nothing better to do would come near the Yun family's residence, hoping to see what the Tie family's fox looked like.

When they saw the little fox running home with a small bamboo basket in its mouth, their eyes nearly fell out. A fox that could help the lady of the house bring back washed clothes was something they had never heard of.

Thus, many people with ulterior motives began to appear, hoping to capture the fox and sell it to wealthy families for a high price. However, their plans never succeeded, as the fox never strayed more than ten steps from the imperial city.

The royal guards on the city walls knew that the emperor was very fond of this fox, and they were not kind to anyone who tried to capture it.

Moreover, during the cold winter when they stood on the city walls enduring the wind, the fox would always bring them a small pot of warm yellow wine to keep them warm.

The wine was not much, just enough for each person to take a small sip, but the Tie family was not a wealthy household, and the fact that they thought of everyone during the cold winter was truly commendable.

Therefore, the people of Tokyo sometimes saw the fox perched on the city walls of the imperial city, calling out. Clearly, the royal family had acknowledged the existence of this fox.

At the same time, rumors of a fox spirit began to spread again, and some people with ill intentions even reported the matter to the Kaifeng Prefecture.

Bao Zheng laughed it off when he saw the complaint. What fox spirit? It was nothing but nonsense. If he were to take a relatively intelligent fox for a fox spirit, he would become a laughingstock in the scholarly circles of the Song Dynasty.

"Confucius did not speak of strange and supernatural things!"

Bao Zheng had always been critical of the Tie family living at the foot of the imperial city. The emperor's words were law, and what he said in public could not be changed.

He was not interested in having a petty quarrel with the emperor over such a trivial matter.

The conflict between the two empress dowagers had almost torn apart the relationship between the emperor and his ministers, making the contradictions between them even more acute.

Bao Zheng always believed that it was a waste of the emperor's and ministers' energy to focus on matters that did not benefit the country or the people.

He had seen the Tie family's fox in the palace. When the emperor was so engrossed in reviewing memorials that he forgot to eat, the fox would impatiently wait outside the window, occasionally jumping up to check if the emperor was eating.

It was just a greedy fox. If it could, as the eunuchs said, make the emperor eat an extra bowl of rice, it would be a good thing.

After all, it was just a pet. The worst it could do was eat a little more, which was insignificant compared to the harm caused by the incompetent officials in the court to the Song Dynasty.

However, he could not help but think of the eyes of the infant in the Tie family. No matter how he looked at it, those eyes did not belong to a baby.

Tie Xin Yuan also saw Bao Zheng. This old official was always poor, and while others rode in carriages after court, he rode in a cart pulled by an ox.

Under the umbrella, a scholar-official, holding his court tablet, passed through the bustling market with a calm face, accepting the flattery of the people. This had become a scene in Tokyo. Tie Xin Yuan always thought that this old official would not remain so calm forever.

A heavy snow began to fall.

The world was covered in white, and all the filth was hidden under the snow, turning Tokyo into a fairy tale world.

Tie Xin Yuan lay in front of the only small window in his house, looking at the beautiful world outside.

Now, Tie Xin Yuan finally understood what it felt like for Sun Wukong to be trapped under the Five Elements Mountain for five hundred years. Having a body full of abilities but being unable to move was a torment.

He was not much different from Sun Wukong. One was trapped under the Five Elements Mountain, and the other was trapped in this small body.

While Tie Xin Yuan was lost in thought, a small bowl of noodles appeared in front of him.

His mother was preparing for the family's livelihood—she planned to open a noodle shop. Otherwise, the two of them would eventually starve if they continued to live off their savings.

She stubbornly believed that if her brother-in-law, who was known for his good taste, approved of the noodles, they must be good. She had even named the shop "Brother Seven's Noodle Shop."

His meticulous mother discovered that her son had a discerning palate. Anything he ate more of must be delicious. In the past month, she had conducted many experiments, and this small bowl of noodles was another of her ideas.

No vegetables, bad!

No toppings, bad!

Too much sesame oil, bad!

The coarse salt had not dissolved, bad!

Tie Xin Yuan criticized his mother in his heart, but he smiled and finished the noodles, then turned to play with the little fox.

"Not good..."

His mother was clearly disappointed and continued to experiment with the main dish for her noodle shop.

In fact, Tie Xin Yuan wanted to tell his mother that since they were doing business for the common people, they should not be so particular. As long as the noodles were oily and served in a large quantity, even if the broth was not very tasty, as long as it was spicier and oilier than others, and the noodles were hot and spicy, no one would remember their parents after eating a bowl of steaming, spicy noodles.

Word of mouth would spread, and customers would flock to the shop.

If they added a thin slice of fatty meat on top of the noodles, it would be a feast for the laborers in Tokyo, and the shop's reputation for being honest and fair would spread throughout the city, and a memorial archway would not be too much to ask for.

Unfortunately, Tie Xin Yuan's dinner was still the failed experiment—noodles. His mother placed the noodles on the broken table and sat him on a small stool before continuing her work.

There were boiled vegetables on the table, which was a luxury in the winter of the Song Dynasty.

The Tie family had a fox that brought everything home, so the vegetables that the royal family enjoyed were also on the Tie family's table.

In Tie Xin Yuan's small wooden bowl was a thin slice of cured meat, which his mother had specially prepared for him. He was only allowed to suck and lick it, as he only had four teeth and could not chew it yet.

When his mother finished cleaning the stove and returned to the table, she found a bowl of beautifully arranged noodles in front of her.

Green vegetables lay on top of the white noodles, and a translucent slice of cured meat was hidden beneath them. The most remarkable thing was that vinegar had been added to the noodles, giving them a fragrant, sour aroma.

Clearly, her son was playing with his food again...

This was sinful, Wang Rouhua glared at her son. She could not let him get used to playing with food. She thought Tie Xin Yuan should go hungry today.

Seeing that his mother did not intend to give him another bowl of noodles, Tie Xin Yuan crawled into the bathtub, opened the fox's mouth, and checked to make sure it was not smelly before pointing to his own mouth.

The fox, extremely impatient, climbed out of the bathtub, crawled under the door, and returned with a large piece of cheese in its mouth...

Tie Xin Yuan would never eat the side the fox had bitten. He slowly licked and sucked on the cheese, and his eating speed was naturally slow. However, he was very patient. He was still young and had a lot of energy, so if he did not eat enough high-calorie food, he would end up like Wu Dalang, a short and weak man.

With a new idea, Wang Rouhua began to experiment with her new product. She did not seem to have had enough to eat from the previous bowl. In the past, she would have been ashamed of her appetite, but since following her brother-in-law, the more she ate, the happier he was...

Men had large appetites, and such a bowl of noodles was not enough. There were no vegetables in winter, so it had to be salted vegetables. Should she add a slice of meat?

Outside, the snow was falling heavily, and a faint orange light from the small house shone on the snow, giving it a rosy hue.

The guards on the city walls stood under the shelters, still vigilantly watching their surroundings. The emperor had returned to the palace, and they could not afford to be lax.

Yang Huaiyu's cloak was covered in snow. As the imperial city commander, he could not afford to be lax even in such a night. This was his third time checking the guards.

The snow covered Tokyo but did not reach the city walls, creating a black iron line in a white world, making the imperial city look even more majestic.

The light from the Tie family's house was like a gem on this iron line, shining brightly. Every time he saw the small house of the Tie family, Yang Huaiyu felt a surge of anger.

He had always been concerned about the safety of the royal family, but now he had a reputation for being harsh and bloodthirsty among his colleagues, which made him very depressed.

Yes, the emperor's favor was supreme. A word could elevate someone to the highest ranks, or a word could send someone to the lowest depths, never to return.

A black figure stumbled toward the city wall, and without hesitation, Yang Huaiyu seized the eight-cow crossbow from the guard and pulled the trigger.

With a "click," the thick arrow was fired, and the black figure was immediately pinned to the ground, making no sound.

The snow continued to fall, and soon the black figure turned into a white statue.

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