Bai Shuangshuang leaned back, her head about to hit the ground—
A pair of arms caught her firmly from behind.
“Sorry, sorry! That was rude of me!”
Bai Shuangshuang steadied herself and took a closer look.
Before her stood a girl in white robes, around sixteen or seventeen years old.
Her simple white dress made her figure look slender.
Her black hair was loosely tied up with a silver hairpin, a few stray strands hanging by her ears.
Her face was small, with curved brows and eyes—the kind of girl-next-door appearance that made you want to pinch her cheeks.
Right now, those eyes blinked in panic, and her earlobes were red enough to drip blood, as if she had committed an unforgivable crime.
“I—I am a disciple of the Clear Dew Sect. I was sent by my master to the Jingnan Prince Manor to discuss important matters.”
The girl stammered, not daring to lift her head.
“You must be Lady Zhao, the daughter of the Jingnan Prince Manor, correct?”
From the brief glance earlier, this person’s clothing and bearing were extraordinary, not like a maidservant.
She must be the Commandery Princess Zhao Qingyue.
Bai Shuangshuang was taken aback.
She had expected the Immortal Sects of the Southern Region to send some shrewd old fox, but instead, a girl about her own age showed up—and judging by her demeanor, her skin was thinner than paper.
She opened her mouth to explain, since the girl had mistaken her identity.
“Actually, I—”
“Yes, this is our princess.”
From behind, Zhao Qingyue’s lazy voice drawled, slowly picking up the conversation.
“How dare you, waltz into the Prince’s Mansion and nearly knock over the princess on your first day? You’ve got some nerve~”
Bai Shuangshuang turned back to glare at her, mouth open wide enough to hold an egg, and raised her index finger toward herself.
‘Me? I’m the princess?’
Zhao Qingyue ignored her look and continued smoothly.
“You can go back. The mansion doesn’t welcome rude people. No need to negotiate~”
“Ah? I—I—I—”
The girl in white panicked, her eyes reddening, tears threatening to fall.
In reality, due to the stagnation of spiritual energy in the Southern Region, every sect now needed to consume more spirit rice and spirit stones than usual just to keep the sect running normally.
That meant everyone was hemorrhaging resources.
The shares the Prince’s Mansion promised were their lifeline.
Her master had discussed with a few other sects and ultimately decided to send her to negotiate this deal.
The reason, in truth, was quite subtle.
Somehow, her master had heard that the Prince of Jingnan had a soft spot and was most susceptible to the coaxing of his daughter, the little Commandery Princess Zhao Qingyue.
And that little princess seemed to have a preference for cute, gentle, and slightly silly girls.
So, being the most airheaded one in the sect, she was the perfect candidate.
Thus, she was sent.
And now, she had managed to offend the princess on her first visit.
If she couldn’t secure the deal with the mansion, how would she face her master when she returned?!
“I didn’t mean to!”
Flustered and at a loss, she froze for a moment, then clenched her teeth and tore off a crescent-shaped white jade pendant hanging around her neck.
“Th-this is my family heirloom jade pendant! I offer it to you, Princess, as an apology!”
Bai Shuangshuang, seeing this scene, was also at a loss.
She turned back and shot Zhao Qingyue a glare.
‘It’s all your fault! Bullying her like this! What is this? We just met and you’ve already got her family heirloom out…’
She coughed and could only play along with Zhao Qingyue’s act.
Right now, she was the princess.
“Alright, Bai Shuangshuang! Let people off the hook when you can. I haven’t even spoken yet—why are you making decisions on your own?”
Zhao Qingyue, however, picked up the thread seamlessly.
“Yes, miss! It was me shooting my mouth off. My brain doesn’t work too well. Please don’t mind me~”
Bai Shuangshuang’s mouth twitched.
‘Wait, did she just insult me?’
Annoyed as she was, she still had to placate the girl in white.
So she turned around, softening her tone.
“Miss, what’s your name?”
“In answer to the Princess, this one’s name is Qiu Yue—autumn and moon!”
“Oh~ Miss Qiu Yue, is it?”
Bai Shuangshuang nodded slightly and pointed in the direction she had come from.
“Go straight from here, and you’ll reach the mansion’s Council Hall. The Prince is waiting inside.”
She coughed and pointed at Zhao Qingyue.
“Don’t mind my maidservant. She’s a bit clueless.”
“Yes, my name is Bai Shuangshuang. I’ve got something wrong with my head. Don’t bother with me.”
Zhao Qingyue nodded like a pecking chicken.
“This…”
The girl in white hesitated, glancing between the two.
She simply couldn’t figure out what was going on with this strange pair of mistress and maid.
“Then I’ll take my leave first. Thank you, Princess!”
But she didn’t dare ask.
She shoved the crescent-shaped white jade into Bai Shuangshuang’s hands and scurried off, as if afraid the other would change her mind.
Clutching the white jade, still warm from the girl’s body heat, and watching her retreating figure, Bai Shuangshuang was bewildered.
‘What is this? How did I become a spoiled princess?’
“Alright, stop staring. She’s long gone~”
Zhao Qingyue’s voice drifted from behind, lazy and tinged with a faint sourness.
“You’re really getting into the role of miss, aren’t you, Lord Bai?”
Bai Shuangshuang rolled her eyes.
“This is all your fault!”
“My fault?”
Zhao Qingyue walked up to her, arms crossed, head tilted, a half-smile curving her lips.
“I didn’t tell you to stare at that little girl’s butt.”
“Huh? When did I—”
“You did. And for quite a while.”
Zhao Qingyue nodded seriously.
“I counted. You stared at her back for at least five breaths. What, got mesmerized? Well, she is a cute little girl, and from an Immortal Sect at that. Tsk, truly otherworldly—”
Bai Shuangshuang took a deep breath and decided not to argue with this troublesome brat.
She held up the jade pendant as if it were a hot potato.
“What do I do with this?”
Zhao Qingyue glanced at it, her tone airy.
“The little girl gave you a love token. Just keep it~”
Bai Shuangshuang rolled her eyes again.
“Enough, enough. Let’s talk business.”
Zhao Qingyue dropped her playful demeanor and tilted her chin toward the Council Hall.
“What were they discussing in there just now? Right after you finished, a representative from an Immortal Sect shows up at the mansion?”
Bai Shuangshuang gave a brief summary, recounting the conversation in the Council Hall, then embellished it with a vivid description of how her brilliant decision had left both the Prince and Hengyang Xiansheng utterly impressed.
Zhao Qingyue blinked after listening.
“Half a percent? Just half a percent?”
Even though she didn’t understand the cultivation world, half a percent did sound miserly.
“Mm.”
“And they agreed to that?”
“Of course, why wouldn’t they?”
Bai Shuangshuang shrugged.
“If I’d known they’d send such a naive little girl, I’d have made the Prince cut the offer in half again~”
Zhao Qingyue looked at her and sighed.
The sigh was exaggeratedly dramatic.
“Heartless, Bai Shuangshuang.”
She shook her head, her expression pained.
“You haven’t even taken office as a big official yet, and already you’re thinking about bullying little girls. Tsk—forgotten your roots—”
Bai Shuangshuang spread her hands, looking innocent.
“Fine, go ahead and pin that on me. I’ve got nothing left to say.”