When Hua Yuelin saw the head, something flickered across her face... recognition.
Her lips parted before she could stop herself.
"Madame Liu…?"
Her voice cracked, thin with shock.
Bai Lingling's eyes sharpened instantly as she clasped her hands together gently.
"Oh? You recognize her? How surprising. I thought she was just some random kidnapper in the forest. You know her personally?"
Hua Yuelin's pupils shrank.
"No — I — she merely worked in the palace as a… a lower maid," she said, forcing the trembling in her voice to quiet. "I have seen her before, nothing more."
Bai Lingling nodded slowly, her expression carrying layers.
"Aha. That explains why she dared to use the princess's name to threaten me. Perhaps she was tired of being a servant and wanted status. How pitiful," she murmured.
But Hua Yuelin's heart was nearly clawing out of her chest.
That was her personal maid.
Her trusted informant.
The one she sent to kidnap this ugly duckling.
How dare this low-born girl kill her person?
How dare she stand here smiling like a gentle flower?
The princess's fury nearly seeped through her disguise.
Bai Lingling tilted her head gently, smiling with such sweetness that even the birds outside probably felt mocked.
"It is a gift," Bai Lingling said softly, her voice floating like warm tea. "A gift… for the princess."
The moment Bai Lingling said "a gift for the princess," all four guards froze so violently their souls nearly jumped out of their bodies.
Their faces turned pale, then blue, then paper white.
"Young Miss… please… say no more…" one guard whispered, voice shaking as if he were facing an executioner.
Lin Xiaoyu grabbed Bai Lingling's sleeve desperately and whispered,
"Miss, retract your words. That… that sounds like treason. Please, Miss, don't scare us to death…"
Bai Lingling ignored all of them politely.
The guards looked like they wanted to kneel and beg her to stop digging her own grave.
The so-called maid stiffened instantly.
Her eyes widened, then narrowed, then widened again like a chicken choking on rice.
"W–What do you mean a gift for the princess?!" Hua Yuelin snapped, her voice cracking. "Are you trying to threaten the princess with this? Are you mad?!"
When they all saw the head was a 'gift' for their princess, they simply thought that Bai Lingling was indirectly trying to send a threatening message to their princess.
And Bai Lingling already knew if she said the wrong thing, these scheming people would definitely try to use it against her.
Bai Lingling blinked innocently, her expression pure as moonlight.
"No, no, Miss Hua. Why would I threaten someone as noble and kind-hearted as the princess? That is not what I mean at all."
Yun Haisheng immediately jumped in, seeing an opportunity to twist the situation.
"Qingqing, if this is not what you mean, then what DO you mean? That head is— This matter must not be disrespectful to the royal family!"
Bai Lingling straightened her spine, her face turning calm, respectful, almost pitiful.
"If Uncle Yun is confused, then allow me to explain."
The guards and Lin Xiaoyu perked up behind her.
Mo Lingxu flicked his tail already interested in this little scheming demon.
Princess Yuelin's knees wobbled.
"Last night on my way to my city," Bai Lingling began, her voice soft but carrying across the courtyard, "I was kidnapped. Dragged away in the middle of the night like a sack of grain. Tortured, threatened, humiliated."
She paused, letting the words sink in, she looked to the side to make her seem even more pitiful.
"And do you know what this woman said to me?"
Hua Yuelin's breath caught.
Bai Lingling clasped her hands together politely.
"She said… that the princess sent her."
Silence engulfed the courtyard.
"She said," Bai Lingling continued slowly, "that the princess wished to torture me, steal everything from me, and hand Yunhe City to someone else."
The guards' eyes went sharp.
Princess Yuelin nearly tripped over her own feet.
Yan Hai panicked and looked away.
Yun Haisheng's smile cracked like a broken plate.
"But," Bai Lingling continued, voice gentle, "I know the princess would never do such a cruel thing. I know the princess is honorable, noble, loyal to her people."
Her gaze shifted deliberately to the trembling "maid."
"So I instructed my men to kill this traitor and bring her head, so that the princess may judge the matter herself."
Hua Yuelin gawked at her, completely cornered.
Bai Lingling spread her hands gracefully.
"And since her personal maid is right here… should she not take it back to the princess immediately? Otherwise, people may misunderstand. They may think she is part of the plot."
Princess Yuelin's face turned white, then red, then purple.
She took a frantic step back.
"M–Me? Pick that up?! I–I am only a servant— I—"
"No," Bai Lingling said sweetly, "you are her personal maid. Someone who serves the princess should not be afraid to show loyalty. Pick it up."
Although Bai Lingling looked innocent at the moment, her eyes held a lot of anger and irritation in it.
Yan Hai immediately stepped forward to shield Hua Yuelin.
"Qingqing, how could a delicate woman—"
"Silence," Bai Lingling said politely. "If you touch it for her, rumors will spread that you, my fiancé, are also involved in treason."
Yan Hai's hand froze mid-air.
Yun Haisheng panicked. He could see their plan collapsing.
He forced a stiff smile toward Hua Yuelin.
"Miss Hua… hurry. Bring it. For the princess's integrity."
Hua Yuelin's glare could have burned a temple down. She was the princess of this kingdom, how could she touch the head of a dead person.
Hua Yuelin stared at the box as if it were filled with poisonous snakes.
Her fingers twitched above it, refusing to move.
Bai Lingling tilted her head with fake concern.
"What is it? Does the princess's personal maid not dare touch something meant for the princess?
If you hesitate too long, some people might… misunderstand."
The pressure fell like a mountain.
Hua Yuelin's jaw clenched.
She would rather swallow poison than do this.
But she bent down anyway.
Her delicate fingers wrapped around the rim of the box with all the elegance of someone handling manure.
The head shifted inside with a horrible little thunk and she flinched so hard her knees buckled.
The guards behind Bai Lingling nearly collapsed from suppressing laughter.
Even Bai Lingling's smile twitched proudly.
Her fingers shook so violently the head knocked against the lid.
"Good," Bai Lingling said softly. "This shows your loyalty."
Every guard behind her nearly howled with laughter.
Bai Lingling clapped her hands together lightly.
"Well then, since the gift has been accepted, it is time for you all to leave. My pet still has wounds. I must tend to him. Humans can wait. My pet cannot."
Yan Hai's eyes bulged.
"You— You are putting a BEAST before US?"
Bai Lingling placed a thoughtful finger on her chin.
In this world? Where every man seeks to use me? Where every family member plots against me?
You dare ask me such a question? Phe Yan Hai! Of course he is better than you.
She smiled gently, like a killer holding a bouquet.
"Yes. My pet is better than every man alive."
"You—!" Yan Hai exploded. "So you admit that if he were a man, you'd prefer HIM over ME?!"
Bai Lingling did not hesitate.
"If he were a man," she said calmly, "he would be far superior to you."
Mo Lingxu's tail swayed smugly behind her legs.
Yan Hai nearly fainted.
Bai Lingling turned away gracefully, letting her sleeves dance behind her as if she were dismissing dust.
Yun Haisheng finally gathered his dignity — what little he had left — and forced a smile uglier than a crying pig.
"We… we will take our leave for now," he croaked.
Yan Hai clutched Hua Yuelin's arm like a drowning chicken as they hurried out, the wooden box wobbling dangerously in her hands.
None of them dared look back.
When the door finally closed behind them, Bai Lingling let out a slow exhale.
Her guards immediately beamed like proud fathers.
Lin Xiaoyu's eyes shone with so much admiration she nearly burst into tears.
Bai Lingling glared at all of them.
"What are you smiling at? Do you think this place will arrange itself? Move.
We are living here now. Stop grinning like stray dogs and go make yourselves useful."
The guards straightened instantly.
"Yes, Young Miss!"
Even Mo Lingxu let out a soft huff that sounded suspiciously like laughter.