For a moment, the entire room was silent.
Then Bai Lingling bent down slightly and gently placed her hands on top of Mo Lingxu's head, guiding his gaze toward the intruders as if she were proudly presenting a priceless treasure.
"Uncle," she said sweetly, "this is my pet."
Yan Hai blinked.
Princess Yuelin froze mid–delicate gasp.
Yun Haisheng's smile trembled as if someone slapped it sideways.
"…Your what?"
"My pet," Bai Lingling repeated, stroking Mo Lingxu's ears smugly. "He comes before everyone else."
Mo Lingxu flicked his tail, deeply satisfied.
He absolutely approved this announcement.
"When did you get a pet?" Yun Haisheng asked stiffly, as if the answer might give him heartburn.
"Yesterday," Bai Lingling said simply.
Everyone:
Yesterday?
As in—twelve hours ago?
They could not believe this crazy girl picked up a beast on the roadside and is now treating it like a son???
Yan Hai swallowed.
"Forget the pet. Yuelin is afraid of dogs."
Princess Yuelin tensed her shoulders like a wilted lotus, staring wide-eyed at Mo Lingxu.
Bai Lingling blinked innocently at her.
"But no one else is scared."
Princess Yuelin trembled harder.
"So," Bai Lingling continued kindly, "since you are frightened, you may leave first."
Princess Yuelin's jaw dropped.
Yan Hai sputtered.
Yun Haisheng choked on his own spit.
Even Bai Lingling's guards almost burst into applause.
One guard couldn't hold it in and muttered boldly,
"She's just a mere maid. Compared to our young miss's beast, she is nothing."
Princess Yuelin's head snapped toward him like he'd slapped her. She almost ran mad at that statement.
In her life she had never been addressed to so lowly before.
"You—do you know who I am?!" she hissed.
Lin Xiaoyu quietly stepped forward and whispered politely,
"Yes. A maid."
Princess Yuelin turned purple.
Bai Lingling nearly laughed out loud from how satisfying that was, but then her gaze drifted down to Mo Lingxu again.
Her smile vanished.
There...along his shoulder...was a faint streak of dried blood.
A wound from last night.
Not fully healed.
Bai Lingling gasped dramatically.
"Oh no… I completely forgot! My pet is injured! Uncle, you must leave immediately or he might die from stress."
"Die?!" Yun Haisheng sputtered. "You're putting a beast before..."
"Yes," Bai Lingling said calmly.
Yan Hai trembled with rage.
"So now… I am less important than… that thing?!"
Bai Lingling widened her eyes, looking pitiful and honest, like a bullied rabbit who'd become a snake.
"No, no, you misunderstand," she said softly. "He's just a beast. Not even a real man. Why would I choose him over you?"
Yan Hai relaxed slightly, pride swelling.
Then Bai Lingling added,
"If he were a man… then I would understand your jealousy."
Yan Hai's face almost exploded.
"So you are saying," he shouted, "that if that creature turned into a man, he would be BETTER than me?!"
Bai Lingling placed her fingers to her lips as if pondering.
"Mm… I mean… look at his fur. If he were human, he might be quite handsome."
Mo Lingxu's tail swayed proudly.
Inside, he thought:
Correct.
Yun Haisheng quickly stepped forward, trying to salvage the situation.
"Qingqing, you must not speak nonsense. How can a beast compare to your fiancé? You cherish Yan Hai deeply, do you not?"
Bai Lingling lowered her gaze, her voice small and soft.
"Cherish…?"
All four guards silently leaned forward.
Their hearts pounding.
Their eyes shining.
She lifted her head slowly.
"You are right, Uncle."
Yun Haisheng brightened instantly.
Yan Hai stood taller.
As expected this ugly girl was still so inlove with him, even if he told her to give her life on the spot she would definitely do it too.
Princess Yuelin stopped breathing.
The guards' smiles shattered into dust.
Their hearts broke like cheap pottery.
Bai Lingling placed a hand on her chest, looking gentle and accepting.
"I do cherish him deeply."
Yan Hai smirked like an idiot.
Bai Lingling continued softly:
"That is why… I prepared a gift."
The room froze.
Even Mo Lingxu stopped swishing his tail.
Princess Yuelin blinked rapidly, caught between pride and terror.
"A… gift?" Yun Haisheng repeated, voice trembling with greed.
"Yes," Bai Lingling said. She turned toward her guards, her tone sweet but commanding.
"Go ahead. Bring out the gift."
The nearest guard went pale instantly.
His soul visibly left his body.
He looked at Bai Lingling as if begging her not to do this.
She just smiled.
"Y-Young Miss… that… that was the gift meant for… for a very special person…"
The moment those words left his mouth, Yun Haisheng's eyes lit up with undisguised greed.
A special person? Was it him?
His beloved niece finally remembered who her real family was? Yan Hai straightened his back proudly, as if he already placed the gift on a shrine in his mind.
And Hua Yuelin, the princess pretending to be a maid, widened her beautiful eyes in delight. A special person? Surely she was the one.
Surely this ugly girl had prepared something to apologize for earlier.
Surely a servant of the princess deserved a luxurious treasure.
Even the guards exchanged looks.
If only these fools knew.
Bai Lingling clasped her hands together sweetly, her smile practically glowing.
"Quick, quick. They are waiting."
The guard swallowed his soul back down, bowed stiffly, and hurried out like he was being dragged by fate itself.
As the door shut, Bai Lingling turned back to the three idiots with a kind expression that made Mo Lingxu, in beast form at her feet, give her a slow side-eye.
Then she bent down, her long hair brushing his fur softly, and cupped his head with both hands.
He blinked, golden eyes widening slightly as her lips pressed a light kiss between his ears.
In front of everyone.
She whispered, "Good job scaring that girl. I should reward you properly later."
Mo Lingxu froze.
Reward?
His tail gave one traitorous twitch.
He could feel it.
Something warm and smug blooming right in his demon beast chest.
This woman…
She dared to kiss him like that?
In front of these rats?
Very interesting.
Bai Lingling straightened and patted his head casually, like he was merely a well-trained pet, and then she looked at the trio with the gentlest smile she had ever faked.
"Well then. Since Miss Hua is so frightened of my pet, let's all step outside."
Her tone was so polite that it somehow offended them even more.
Yan Hai puffed up like a rooster.
"Qingqing, I'm glad you've finally come to your senses. You were acting so—"
He did not finish because the guard returned then, carrying the sealed wooden box in both hands like it was a cursed artifact.
He looked like he wanted to cry.
Or run.
Or throw the box into the nearest river.
But he kneeled respectfully and offered it up.
"Young Miss… the gift… has arrived."
Bai Lingling's smile brightened like sunlight.
"Ah, wonderful."
She took the wooden box, graceful as ever, then turned toward Hua Yuelin with a look of pure innocence.
"This is for your princess."
Three jaws dropped.
Because the box looked… ordinary.
Plain wood.
No jewels.
No golden carvings.
Not even a silk ribbon.
Hua Yuelin blinked, confused, but greed still sparked in her eyes.
She accepted the box carefully, though it was far heavier than she expected.
"I… I cannot present it without ensuring it is safe," she said sweetly. "For the princess's sake, it must be checked. The princess—"
"No," Bai Lingling said gently, cutting through her words like a blade hidden in silk. "If it is for your princess, then only your princess should see it. It is something very dear to her. You cannot open it."
That sentence landed like a hammer.
Yun Haisheng leaned forward greedily.
Yan Hai lifted his chin in superiority.
Hua Yuelin felt her heartbeat flutter.
They were all imagining treasures.
But the guard behind Bai Lingling was whispering prayers to every ancestor he had.
Hua Yuelin's curiosity won.
Hua Yuelin lowered her eyes, but the noble sharpness in her voice betrayed her. "For the safety of the princess, this servant must inspect the gift," she said, her tone soft yet carrying that strange authority no ordinary maid could ever possess. "I dare not present anything unverified."
Bai Lingling gave a gentle smile, the type that hid storms beneath calm water. "If it must be checked, then please… open it." Her voice sounded warm, yet her eyes glittered like she already knew what was waiting inside.
The wooden box sat heavy in Hua Yuelin's hands. She lifted the lid slowly, as if expecting jewels. For a heartbeat, nothing moved. Then her entire body froze, the blood draining from her face.
A strangled scream tore out of her throat. "AHH!! MADAME LIU!!"
The box fell.
The severed head rolled onto the stone courtyard with a dull, dreadful thud.