The situation with Si Ming was resolved much easier than Bai Feng Jiu expected.

After listening to her over the top dramatic explanation about the dangers she encountered, while taking a simple walk, Star-Lord Si Ming seemed satisfied. He trusted Dong Hua Dijun with his charge and had no plans to resume involuntary child care services.

What Feng Jiu found truly curious was the expressions on Si Ming's face when she mentioned the cooking lessons. He went from horror to unease to relief, as her story progressed.

The one thing that Star-Lord insisted on was Feng Jiu's lessons. She had to read the scrolls assigned to her and answer questions based on her reading.

Dijun closed the matter with: "It will be taken care of," and somehow all responsibility for the Princess of Qing Qiu landed in the lap of Emperor Lord. Little Jiu personally felt that Si Ming was quite happy to be free of her and he looked like he got an unexpected win over his lord.

It's not like Little Jiu minded spending time with Dijun. She thought he was quite nice if a little peculiar at times, and clearly very bored with life.

As the Princess of Qing Qiu, she was determined to pay him back for all the kindness he showed her. She considered various ways on how to achieve this, however, the ruler of Tai Chen Palace did not seem to lack anything.

Except for entertainment? Maybe?

She lacked thumbs at the moment to do anything of significance and her magical knowledge was mostly battle and fortune-telling focused, however, she did know a few tricks that were taught by her aunty Bai Quin.

The only question was, who would be her first lucky target?

(*^_^*)

While planning her first "experience" for Dong Hua Dijun, Bai Feng Jiu met a new friend. It was especially beautiful Mu Cheng Butterfly.

The butterfly was busy escaping from a bunch of maids. Apparently she was a special pet of Princess Zhi He and she was very fond of running away from her cage.

Feng Jiu held the opinion that intelligent beings should not be held in cages unless they committed a crime. So, she naturally distracted the maids by sending a few small fireballs their way and setting one of their dresses on fire.

The maid panicked and jumped into the nearby pond. Other maids promptly forgot about chasing the butterfly and turned all their energy to rescuing their co-worker. Turned out the maid in the pond did not know how to swim!

Little Jiu congratulated herself on her successful, self-appointed mission and followed Mu Cheng Butterfly to a different courtyard.

Feng Jiu introduced herself and the two of them hit it off very quickly, even formed a fast friendship. While Butterfly could not talk, she was clearly intelligent and prone to mischief. Soon the two of them planned their first adventure together.

(*^_^*)

Dong Hua Dijun was enjoying a peaceful afternoon while savoring a cup of handpicked tea.

Tea art was something he was knowledgeable and passionate about. It was one of the little joys in his very long life. The fragrance, color and methodology of preparation greatly impacted the final result. Changing one element would completely alter the end result. At this point making tea for him was akin to meditation.

The Emperor Lord was resting with his eyes closed in a shade of silver willow and appreciating a gentle, fragrant breeze caressing his skin. Suddenly the wind changed direction slightly and picked up in strength.

When Dijun opened his eyes, he was met with a truly unforgettable sight. His household servants were running from a tornado that was as tall as an old pine tree. This wind funnel somehow was pink.

The tornado moved closer and closer to his resting place, the servants scattered all across the garden. Suddenly, the tornado stopped then raised itself high off the ground and turned into a pink peach blossom rain.

Sounds of gentle zither music started playing in the background and the previous chaos turned into a scene that would fit into any romantic play.

A little fox suddenly popped up from behind the silver willow tree.

"Do you like it?" she asked him eagerly.

"I think you have too much free time on your hands."

"So you do like! I knew it!" The Fox Child was getting more and more excited.

"It's certainly special. What motivated this display of magic?" The Emperor Lord really did not understand how must one's thought process work to come up with such a display.

"You, of course. I did it to add some variety to your life!"

Variety in life? Well, that was good motivation. Since he took in Little Jiu his life had suddenly changed from constant washed out pastels to some random blindingly colorful spots. This was something that Dijun could appreciate. No one else around him had noticed or cared about him and his wishes to such an extent. Even he himself could not see his needs as clearly as the little fox near him. Little Jiu's methods might have been unorthodox, but both reason and execution made him smile.

"Then you have succeeded."

From that day on he could frequently observe little red fox and Mu Cheng Butterfly terrorizing his staff with a variety of silly pranks. He was never a target, but all results of all this mischief were set up so he could always observe the results.

Another beautiful afternoon, when Dong Hua Dijun was playing go with Lian Song, the Third Prince of Nine Heavens, another such event occurred.

The maids all chased a little red fox who was now excellent at dogging and avoiding their attempts to capture. The tragic part was that all three maids were bald and had no eyebrows.

"So I heard that you have started raising a little fox," Lian Song began the topic cautiously.

"As you see," Dijun was not paying attention to the game anymore but enjoying the spectacle set up by Little Jiu.

"And this mischief? Does it not disturb you?" The Third Prince pointed to the bald maids.

"Why would it disturb me? My little friend tries hard to entertain me." Dijun's answer left Lian Song reeling in astonishment.

"Have you considered teaching your new friend some other hobbies? Go, perhaps? "

"Then what will be your purpose?"

And that was when Lian Song knew to give up on the topic of Dijun's newfound fox friend.

(*^_^*)

Soon the ten months of Bai Feng Jiu's stay in Nine Heavens came to an end. To celebrate her first successful visit, she begged Dijun to throw a small dinner party.

She even convinced Star-Lord Si Ming to get her some sorrowless flower petals, so she could present her sorrowless cakes to all her friends.

The attendee list was very small, just herself, Si Ming, Mu Cheng Butterfly, Dijun and Lian Song.

Those were the only people who knew she was an actual intelligent and talking being and not just a little pet fox.

"Dijun, are you showing off your cooking skills tonight?" asked Lian Song. He seemed wary of the fish served to him.

However, once he observed the gusto that Little Jiu was stuffing herself with, the Third Prince decided to take a bite. His face lost all color and he started choking immediately.

"Ah, I made your fish using the old recipe. I remember how much you liked it."

"And the other dishes?" cautiously questioned Si Ming.

"Oh, some others were made by Jiu's recipes. Some are your old favorites," Dijun smiled.

He clearly turned this dinner into a death roulette!

The only people unencumbered by Emperor Lord's cooking were, of course, Jiu and Dijun himself. The little fox had an excellent sense of smell and could tell at a first whiff what was safe to eat.

Sitting like this in Nine Heavens and having this dinner felt warm and comfortable. In Feng Jiu's mind, this feeling could only compare to a family dinner in the Fox Cave.