Turns Out I'm the Real Monster?!

That was why Ling Ye lost her composure the moment Bai Xiang walked out.

The resemblance was uncanny!

A person’s face could be disguised.

But the posture and bearing cultivated over many years, an elegance that was bone-deep, were nearly impossible to imitate.

Ling Ye’s heart began to race.

A chill, mingled with incredulous suspicion, rose from the bottom of her heart.

However, when she focused and took a closer look, that intense feeling of familiarity inexplicably faded.

Because in her memory, the Empress was cold.

As cold as an ancient glacier, as indifferent as a deity looking down on the mortal world.

But this woman before her...

Although her figure was similar, her temperament was far more gentle and soft, with a worldly, domestic air.

Even so, the doubt deep in Ling Ye’s heart did not completely disappear.

It was rumored that the Demon Queen had been burned to death on Lu Platform. However, the Emperor had recently dispatched the Inner Guard in secret, making one wonder if the infatuated monarch had truly been so ruthless.

"Xiang’Er, let me introduce you to a new friend."

Jiang Mu led Ling Ye over to Bai Xiang and said with a smile, "This is Ling Ye, Lord Ling. She’s a Patrol Envoy for the Demon-slaying Bureau, and she’s very capable."

He then turned to Ling Ye and introduced the other woman:

"This is my housekeeper, Bai Xiang. You can call her Aunt Xiang; she won’t mind."

"Oh, right. She’s a mute."

’A mute?’

The suspicion in Ling Ye’s heart deepened.

’Isn’t the best way to completely hide one’s identity to just keep your mouth shut and pretend to be mute?’

Bai Xiang shot Jiang Mu a reproachful glare.

Then she turned to Ling Ye and gave a graceful, standard curtsy.

Seeing that Jiang Mu was travel-worn, his face and hands still stained with unwashed blood and dirt, she naturally took a simple, clean handkerchief from her sleeve.

She walked over to Jiang Mu and gently wiped the blood from his face, her movements tender and meticulous.

Then she took his hand and carefully wiped it clean.

Seeing this, the last trace of doubt in Ling Ye’s heart vanished completely.

She completely dismissed her earlier, absurd thought.

’This woman could not possibly be the Empress of Great Qing.’

Because she knew that the Empress suffered from a strange affliction, or perhaps some kind of curse, that prevented any man in the world from touching her.

Not even the current Emperor had ever touched the Empress’s person.

Yet this woman before her was wiping a man’s face and holding his hand.

Skin-to-skin contact, without any issue.

’How could she possibly be the legendary, untouchable Empress?’

’I must be crazy...’

Ling Ye shook her head, mocking herself inwardly. ’Even if the Empress didn’t really die in the fire on Lu Platform, how could she possibly end up in a common courtyard like this, working as a housekeeper for a Demon Slayer Envoy?’

However, a new question surfaced in her mind.

’Didn’t Xiaojiang say this Bai Xiang was the housekeeper?’

’But this level of intimacy...’

Looking at their overlapping hands, that little sliver of discomfort in Ling Ye’s heart quietly re-emerged.

’Some housekeeper. I bet her duties extend to the bedroom.’

Fortunately, this Miss Bai Xiang’s looks could only be described as pretty and pleasant, not stunningly beautiful.

’Given that guy Jiang Mu’s past reputation as a playboy and his current sought-after status, he probably... wouldn’t be interested in her, right?’

Ling Ye thought with some uncertainty.

...

After a few brief words, Jiang Mu went to bathe and change his clothes.

After Yuan Ahqing brought Ling Ye some tea, she ran back to the sand pit to continue her practice.

Bai Xiang, for her part, gestured a few pleasantries to Ling Ye in sign language before turning and entering the kitchen to start on dinner.

Ling Ye sat alone in the main hall, sipping her tea, and suddenly felt a bit awkward.

She had thought about going to the kitchen to help out.

But when she got to the doorway and saw Bai Xiang’s skilled and efficient knife work, she silently retreated.

She was reminded of her youth.

Back then, she hadn’t despised men as she did now. Her thinking had been rather traditional, and she always felt that having good cooking skills would be a plus in the eyes of her future husband.

So she had eagerly gone to learn how to cook.

But her master only glanced at her in an apron before saying meaningfully:

"Ah, Ye’Er, no need to trouble yourself. With a body like yours... you already come with a bountiful feast. Your future husband and children won’t go hungry. There’s no need to practice cooking."

At the time, she was young and naive, and so she really never did practice again.

Bored and with nothing to do, Ling Ye went out to the sand pit in the courtyard to watch Yuan Ahqing practice.

"HYAH! HAH!"

The little girl was practicing very seriously.

It was just that...

With such an imposing big sister standing beside her, staring with a cool, detached gaze, Yuan Ahqing felt her whole body go stiff. It was as if her limbs were no longer her own.

She either moved the wrong limbs in sequence or used too much force and nearly tripped herself.

It couldn’t be helped. The little girl was already very socially awkward.

On top of that, Ling Ye’s presence and her suffocatingly magnificent figure put the girl under immense pressure.

"..."

Ling Ye also realized she was being a bit of a distraction, an actual source of interference, so she resentfully walked away.

She ended up walking over to the vegetable garden to look around.

It had to be said, the vegetable garden was very pleasing to the eye. Though the arrangement of plants seemed random, the overall effect was inexplicably comfortable to look at.

Before long, Jiang Mu came out from his bath.

Seeing Ling Ye standing in front of the vegetable patch, he walked over to her side and said:

"Xiang’Er takes care of all this. She likes fiddling with these things, and I can’t be bothered, so most of this courtyard is hers to mess with."

Ling Ye turned her head to the side.

The afterglow of the setting sun sprinkled across the man’s handsome, clean-shaven profile, coating it in a layer of soft, warm golden light.

’This must be what they mean by a dashingly handsome young man.’

Ling Ye had to admit, the boy’s looks were certainly enough to be the ruin of women.

She averted her gaze and said coolly, "Where is she from?"

"She’s a refugee from over by Yan City."