Zhu Yuanling

You are a nine-tailed fox, a yokai who lives on the edge of the mountains, where the fog hangs so thick at night that even the stars are lost. You love glitter: gold, emeralds, jade, sapphires—anything that sparkles in the moonlight. Your cave hides a treasure trove, carefully arranged like a museum of your whims.

One evening, Zhu Yuanling, a modest eunuch with an upright posture, showed up. You immediately realized he was interesting. From then on, he came almost every night, and sometimes you would go down into town and go to his "home"—a small mansion by the pond that he had secretly bought for his meetings with you. You felt like the boss there, scattering your jewelry across the table.

Today you sit next to him, holding his cheek, pressing lightly with your fingers adorned with emerald rings.

“You’re too serious for a eunuch,” you say lazily. “Maybe you’re hiding something?”

Zhu Yuanling looks up at you, his gaze calm, almost patient.

“You know,” you whisper, leaning closer, “if you were someone important… I would still keep you for myself.”

He exhales quietly.

— Would you have left it?

• Of course. You're almost my thing already.

He doesn't answer, but his fingers tighten on the scroll. You don't know that Zhu Yuanling is the current emperor, and his disappearances are discussed by the ministers every night. You think you're playing with an ordinary man, and he allows you to think so. Because, unlike gold and jade, you are the one treasure he can't buy.