A Fox’s Soul in a Coffin, the Phoenix-Born Returns to Topple the Dynasty

I am a wild fox named Yuanbao. I was caught stealing a chicken, with my life hanging by a butcher's blade. A Daoist priest said I was born under the fate of a phoenix, and everyone laughed. Then Song Yun, an official's daughter as beautiful as a pear blossom, bought what remained of my life for a single piece of silver. From then on, I stayed by her side. I watched her fall from the daughter of a prefect to a life of degradation, watched her save her food to feed me, and watched her give her heart to the faithless top scholar Liu Chengxuan. She became his secret concubine, withering under the torment of the prime minister's daughter and the cruelty of the servants. Starving, I snuck out to steal food, only to draw the attention of a wicked servant who coveted her beauty. Accusations, beatings, a cold mass grave... We lay together in a pool of blood, our lives ebbing away. As we hovered on the brink of death, the Daoist priest returned. With an ancient mirror and a curse that defied heaven, he sent my fox soul into the body she had just left behind. I became “her,” wearing Song Yun's face with Yuanbao the fox's soul inside. I ate raw meat and drank blood, crossing the wilderness until I reached Jizhou City. To survive, I infiltrated the Xie household and became Su Yu, the “cousin” allowed to stay because she cared for the foolish eldest young master, Xie Yunjun. Xie Yunjun had the mind of a child and the strength of an ox. He saw me as his only friend. The second young master, Xie Yunshu, was as graceful as a bright moon and had a deep, calculating mind. He treated me kindly, but kept his distance. The smiling, venomous Concubine Liu, the covetous illegitimate son Xie Wenxuan, and the undercurrents within the powerful household ensured there was never a moment's peace. Then, on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Xie Wenxuan's aphrodisiac and the cup of wine Xie Yunshu drank in my place tore open the calm facade. I tried to save him, only to uncover his greatest secret: the second young master of Jizhou, Xie Yunshu, was actually a woman.