Gift of the Fox

Chapter 26: Tao's Strategy

"It's terrible! Both of them are locked in the dungeon!" 

Liz exclaimed while making Tao's bed. All of the friends - Tao, Tiegan, Nick, and she - were gathered in the room.

"I wish I could do something to prove their innocence..." Tao sighed.

"Ugh, that damn Wang Hu took me to show me my new tiger exactly on that day, or I'd have been there to save the Crown Prince and nothing of this would've happened!" Tiegan clenched her fists.

"Calm yourselves, girls," Nick said after some minutes of reflection. "Tao said they still don't know who the maidservant is who brought the Crown Prince that basket, right?"

"Huh? Yes, that's true..." Liz said, "But why is it so important?"

"If we find that maidservant, the whole mystery will unveil." Nick smiled. "Liz, I think you said you were at the gathering of the maidservants in the kitchen when it happened. Since it was the preparation for a grand feast, all of the maidservants should've been there. So, were all of them there? Who was missing?"

"You're right! Quite a sharp mind you have, Nick! Well, I recall all of us were there, except Tiegan, of course, because she was with Prince Wang Hu at that time, and, now that you say it..." Liz furrowed her brow, "Christine was missing too."

"Hmm..." Tiegan screwed her eyes. "This is not the first time she messes everything up."

"Yeah!" Tao frowned. "It was she who almost killed me back when I was still in my original girl form!"

"Well then, I guess that maid is our main culprit for now," Nick said. "We've got to plan on how to make her speak."

"Oh, that one, Nick, please leave to me."

Tao grinned and walked out of the room. The others watched her with astonishment as she disappeared behind the door.

"She clearly has something nasty up her mind," Liz said.

"Go, Tao! Take your revenge!" Tiegan got excited. 

Nick only chuckled, but happily. Tamie was smart. She would have a good plan if she indeed had one.

Tao walked out of the 4th prince's residence and into the yard, where she noticed Christine at the river with other water-maids, washing clothes as usual.

"Have you heard? Prince Wang Di has been promoted as the heir of the emperor!" one of them said.

"Well, it was obvious, since he is the second-born of the emperor and the 1st queen." Christine shrugged. 

"Poor Crown Prince! He was always nice to all of us..." Janice, one of the maidservants, remarked with a tint of sadness.

"Hmph, none of those princes is too nice to us." Christine rolled her eyes. "They're princes, after all. Stuck-up lads."

"Well, at least men-servants are nice, aren't they?"

They all started and looked back, to see a dazzling young man of a middle-sized stature, with long brown hair and captivating brown almond eyes. He wore an orange kimono. All of the girls recognized him at once - it was that legendary servant of the 4th prince, the son of the celestial dragon emperor and the nine-tailed fox queen, Xin Tao!

"Oh, my! Such a visit!" the eldest of the maidservants, a black girl from Southland, Rosette, exclaimed. "It is you, Xin Tao!"

"Yup, it's me, ladies."

I remember too well how Christine falls for handsome Wanglongian boys. If I work well now, I might even make her tell me everything.

Christine had indeed grown excited, just like the other girls:

"It is such a pleasure to see you visit us, Xin Tao!"

"So, what is the reason for your arrival?" Rosette wondered.

"Well, you might know how worried I was back in battles... I am happy to be back because I've decided to end my inner pain and anxiety, and reveal my secret to one of you."

All of the girls gasped in stupor and excitement and began whispering among themselves. Rosette asked impatiently:

"Haha! Who's the lucky girl, Xin Tao?"

"It is the beauty that overshadows the sun itself."

Tao walked up to Christine. The latter's cheeks flushed. She cast her eyes down, with an awkward smile appearing on her face:

"Y-You don't mean... me?"

"Exactly you, Christine." Tao caressed her blonde hair. 

If only you knew what an ugly ogre you are, Christine... 

Tamie thought and barely held herself from bursting out laughing. Instead, she morphed her sarcastic smile into an affectionate one, as if truly dazzled by the girl's beauty. It gave Christine even more goosebumps down her spine.

"Aww, such an emotional moment!" 

The girls cackled, but they were jealous deep within: 

Why that hag and not us?

Christine was blushing. A bright smile of gratitude, happiness, and, of course, pride, had covered her lips:

That's that! Even this legendary man falls for me! My dream has finally come true!

"So, what would you say if... we had some alone time?" Tao asked.

The girls cackled even more - such a straightforward offer! Christine grew all red:

"But I have my work to do..."

"That will wait. I have waited for this for such a long and terrible month!" Tao stroked her blushing cheeks. "I desire you, Christine."

In her mind, however, Tamie had different thoughts:

Who would ever want a dirty hag like you, you fool? This girl falls for boys' lies so easily! Ugh, Christine, you are hopeless...

She morphed her sarcastic smile into an affectionate one again, making Christine lose her mind. The latter winked at him in a coquettish manner:

"O-Okay, if you long for me so much..."

Tao grabbed her hand and took her away into the forest. The girls laughed behind their backs, but once the "couple" disappeared, they all frowned.

"Why Christine of all girls?" Janice snarled, "She's the ugliest both on the inside and on the outside!"

"You said it, Janice!" Rosette pouted. "I wish I knew what's going on in that guy's head..."

But how could they ever know that inside that guy's head, there wasn't actually a guy's head at all?