Chapter 4: Cast a long line to catch a big fish

Youyou bowed slightly, her tone gentle and pleasant.

To put it bluntly, Yun Fei had never heard Youyou speak in such a tone before.

“Damn it! Are girls really that popular? Why is everyone’s attitude toward me doing a complete 180-degree turn? This is discrimination! Pure discrimination!”

Even though Yun Fei was furious inside, she still gave Youyou a sweet smile.

After all, Youyou was someone close to her mother, and she had to show the proper respect.

“Thanks for the hard work, Aunt You… I’ll just… take that one then!”

Yun Fei had previously focused all her energy on picking fights with the Saintess and had no experience with this, so she skimmed through them and picked one at random.

“Very well, Your Highness. I will take the others away. Goodnight, Your Highness!”

Youyou left with the group, leaving Yun Fei and the chosen young maidservant behind.

Yun Fei watched as the door was closed by the last person to leave, and she dropped the sweet smile she had been maintaining.

Honestly, keeping up that expression was quite exhausting.

“This Young Master thinks you look quite unfamiliar. Are you new? What is your name? What is your strength?”

Yun Fei straightened her clothes and jumped down from the bed.

She pulled out a chair and sat on it with her legs crossed, acting nonchalant.

While playing with her fingers, she didn’t forget to exert the pressure of her Star-Plucking Realm onto the maid.

The maid’s slightly timid expression instantly turned to terror.

Under the dual weight of the pressure and her own fear, she knelt on the ground, trembling.

“Your… Your Highness! My name is Ling. I’m… I’m new… My current level is… the Moon-Seizing Realm.”

Ling lowered her eyes, not daring to look up for a second.

“Lift your head.”

Yun Fei swept a cold gaze over her, a wicked smile playing on the corner of her lips.

“This servant… This servant cannot lift it.”

“Heh… You can’t even lift your head under pressure from someone just one major realm higher than you? You aren’t worthy of being my maid.”

Yun Fei was in a playful mood now, her eyes filled with amusement as she watched the maid’s reaction.

“I… I… Yes!”

It seemed that the reverse psychology worked.

Ling clenched her fists, gritted her teeth, and lifted her head.

However, her forehead was covered in sweat, showing that it was indeed quite a struggle.

“Hmph… Not bad! You have some backbone! From now on, you’ll follow me.”

Yun Fei raised a soft, slender hand and pinched Ling’s chin, while her other hand patted Ling’s cheek.

“Remember, following me isn’t a good job. In the future, I will be the one ruling the entire Demon Realm, and I’ll constantly be at odds with those people from the Profane Realm. As my maid, you’ll be the one doing the dirty work and manual labor~”

A shadow flickered in Yun Fei’s eyes.

“Especially toward that woman Mu Lingxi, who turned me into this!”

“Yes… Yes! Your Highness! I will certainly not fail your expectations!”

Ling remained kneeling on the ground, but her body was ramrod straight, showing an air of absolute loyalty.

“Very good! Now dismiss yourself! This Young Master is tired!”

“Um… Your Highness… do you need me to…”

“I don’t! Get out!”

“Yes!”

Ling ran away in a hurry, leaving Yun Fei alone in the room.

“Hmph! I haven’t even looked at my own body yet! How could I let you touch me?”

“Still… she actually had the scent of Spiritual Power on her… There’s no such thing in the Demon Realm. A maid… Could she be a spy from the Profane Realm? Interesting~”

—

The next day, warm sunlight pierced through the thick clouds of the Demon Realm, bringing a touch of light once again to this territory that had been gloomy for many days.

“Your Highness! The Venerable Lord wants you to go to the main hall to discuss business.”

As soon as Yun Fei opened her door, she saw Ling standing guard at the entrance.

“You’ve been here the whole time?”

Yun Fei was a bit surprised.

She had woken up quite early today, and usually, maids wouldn’t be up yet at this time.

“In response to Your Highness, we new maids have to undergo intensive training until late at night during the first few days. By the time I finished, I saw it was almost dawn, so I hurried over to stand guard.”

Yun Fei arched an eyebrow and observed her more closely.

There were some lingering sweat stains on Ling’s body, and parts of her clothes were clinging to her skin. It seemed she really had just finished.

“Fine then. Go back and rest for now. But remember this, I hate betrayal most of all. You’ve probably heard more or less about my methods over the past few days?”

Ling’s body trembled slightly for a moment, and a flash of panic crossed her eyes, which Yun Fei caught completely.

“Interesting~ Is she really a spy? With such shallow acting… Aunt You shouldn’t have been unable to see through it… Could she be testing me?”

It was early morning, and Yun Fei didn’t want to think too much.

She made some mental notes and hurried toward the main hall.

Inside the hall, Yun Ming had already been waiting on the throne for a long time.

“Heh… Fei’er, are you satisfied with the maid you chose yesterday?”

Yun Ming rested her chin on her hand, looking at Yun Fei below with great interest.

“…Mother, you actually know, right? The aura on that maid…”

Seeing her mother’s expression, Yun Fei became even more certain of her suspicion.

She walked to the side of the throne and sat in the first high-backed chair nearest to it.

“But you still chose her, keeping her in your sight for most of the time. Truly my daughter—much more reliable than that son of mine~”

The first half was fine, and Yun Fei found it quite pleasing to hear, but what on earth was the second half? Who was she being sarcastic toward?

Yun Fei curled her lip in dissatisfaction and looked away, refusing to meet her gaze or reply.

But Yun Ming wouldn’t let it go.

She looked at Yun Fei sitting upright in the high chair with an elegant and composed posture, showing no trace of the boy she used to be. It amazed her greatly.

“Fei’er… you seem to have been completely transformed~ Even your habits are no different from those of a noble young lady~”

At the mention of this topic, Yun Fei had a bit of trouble controlling her expression, but she suppressed it with all her might.

This woman was definitely trying to provoke her into talking back rudely so she could find an excuse to punish her!

“My dear Mother~ Have you forgotten? Previously, under the guise of training, you made me learn feminine etiquette while I was still male and had me infiltrate the banquets of the old nobility in drag to dismantle their rebellion plans.”

Yun Fei wore a fake smile, staring straight at her mother, her resentment plain for all to see.

“Ah~ So it was that matter? It seems your mother had quite the foresight. This way, my explanation will have much more weight once those ministers arrive.”

Fore… sight?

Yun Fei gritted her teeth as she repeated those words in her heart.

She truly didn’t understand how her mother could say such things so shamelessly and without any psychological burden.

“Fei’er, how do you plan to handle that maid?”

At this point, Yun Ming finally seemed to start talking about serious business, causing Yun Fei’s expression to sober up.

“Cast a long line to catch a big fish.”

“It seems Fei’er already has her own strategy~ Then Mother won’t interfere too much~ Just tell Aunt You directly if you need anyone.”

“Mhm.”

Yun Fei responded as if it were nothing.

Based on her current track record, her plan was quite simple and crude, but it was undoubtedly the best method she could come up with.