Shen Xitong cast a contemptuous glance at Chu Ling, full of disdain.
"Go on then. Just what identity are you using to meet with Lu Ye now?" Shen Xitong asked.
"I am the young masterâs maid!"
Chu Ling straightened her back and said with renewed spirit.
"Proof?"
Shen Xitong held out her hand.
"What proof?" Chu Ling was caught off guard.
"You say you're Lu Ye's maid and that just makes it true? Then I could say Iâm Lu Yeâs mother, and does that make me his mother for real?"
"How dare you insult the young master like that!"
Chu Ling exploded in fury.
Shen Xitong laughed gleefully. "I insult him because weâre close. Go ahead, try calling yourself his motherâsee if Lu Ye doesnât sew your mouth shut."
Chu Ling was both furious and helpless.
She came to apologize to Lu Ye, not to pick a fight.
"No proof..."
The contract she sold herself with had already been burned to ashes within the first three minutes of her rebirth.
"No proof, and you still want to call yourself a maid? Honestly, I doubt Lu Ye even remembers you. Thatâs enoughâleave. If Lu Ye had to meet everyone who claimed to be his maid, heâd never get any cultivation done."
"No! I truly have something important to tell the young master. You must let me in! If this delays his plans, you wonât be able to bear the consequences!"
But Shen Xitong didnât budge a single inch.
She continued blocking the way.
"Of course, if you canât prove youâre Lu Yeâs maid, thatâs not necessarily a problem either. As it happens, I do know one way you could prove it."
Chu Ling struggled to suppress the urge to act out.
"...What way?"
Shen Xitong smiled gentlyâand in that moment, it was as though the whole world lost its color.
"Simple. Call me Matron."
Chu Ling froze for a moment, then flew into a rage.
Though she called herself the young masterâs maid, sheâd never truly placed herself in the position of one.
"Young master"âthat was just a habitual form of address.
Lu Ye had once said it himself: there would be no distinction of wife or concubine among them. He would treat all the women equally, with love and care.
She wasnât even a concubine, let alone some servantâhow could she possibly accept calling herself a maid in earnest?
Her so-called âmaidâ status was just like how Yue Hongling called herself âlittle junior sisterââa unique title to protect oneâs standing.
Didnât she still refer to Bai Qiulan as âSister Baiâ?
And now she was being asked to call Shen Xitong Matron?
"Youâre dreaming!" she snapped.
Shen Xitong wasnât surprised at all. She shrugged.
"There you go. Since youâre not Lu Yeâs maid, that means youâve got nothing to do with him. Off you go."
"Iâm not the young masterâs maid, Iâm his wife! Let me in!"
Shen Xitong rolled her eyes so hard they nearly flipped out of her skull. "You donât even qualify to be his maid anymore, and youâre still delusional enough to want to be his wife? Youâre nothing but a toad chasing a frogâugly and full of tricks!"
"With a face like yours? Average. Figure? Average. Cultivation? Also average. And you think youâre good enough to be Lu Yeâs maid? If Lu Ye wanted maids, the line of better candidates could stretch from Grand Dao Sect all the way to the Eastern Sea! What are you even thinking?"
Chu Ling felt as though her steel teeth were about to shatter from the pressure of her clenched jaw.
How was she a toad? What part of her was âaverageâ?
Her face was stunning, breathtaking. Her waist was slender enough to grip in one hand. Every inch of her body was firm, tight, and springy.
And yet Shen Xitong had just torn her apart like she was completely worthless.
Chu Ling wanted to argue back, but the moment she looked at Shen Xitongâthat overwhelmingly beautiful face, that flawless figureâshe realized she couldnât compete. Not at all.
In comparison to Shen Xitong, she was completely outclassed on every front. Even their aura wasnât on the same level.
The aura Shen Xitong exudedâit perfectly matched the name â NĐŸvĐ”lŃĐłht â (Donât copy, read here) she had given herself.
Matron.
She truly had the air of a household matron.
One had to know: in the beginning, Shen Xitong had planned to take on the form of a cute little loli.
Bouncy, lively, like a little bunnyâwho wouldnât love that?
But in the end, sheâd thought it through. A loli? A loli had zero presence. This system was going to be a queen! A crushing, radiant, peerless queen!
Chu Ling was pinned under Shen Xitongâs gaze, her aura crumbling bit by bit.
Shen Xitong said nothing, merely stared.
"...If I call you Matron, that will really prove Iâm the young masterâs maid?" Chu Ling asked, jaw clenched tight.
Shen Xitong nodded.
"As Matron, I have the authority to confirm it."
Chu Lingâs lips twitched. Inside, she was in turmoil. She was doing this to win the young master back!
If she had to swallow some humiliation... it was worth it.
At last, Chu Ling mustered every ounce of courage in her body and called out in a voice just barely above a whisper:
"...Matron..."
Shen Xitong flicked her ear.
"What was that? I didnât catch it."
Chu Ling bit her lip hard.
"Matron!"
This time, her voice was loud enough. Shen Xitong heard it clearly.
"Mhm."
Shen Xitong gave a satisfied nod.
"Alright. I suppose youâve now proven youâre Lu Yeâs maid."
She smiled as she spoke.
"Then can I go see the young master now?" Chu Ling asked eagerly, already starting to walk forward.
"Insolence!"
Shen Xitong barked.
"Youâre a maid. What business do you have meeting the master directly? If you have something to report, you must go through me! And what is that garish outfit youâre wearing? Looking like some seductive vixen! Go change into plain clothes at once. Then come report your business to me properly!"
Chu Lingâs eyes turned red.
She glared at Shen Xitong with everything she had.
But Shen Xitong only returned her gaze, completely unafraid. If anything, her expression was mocking, full of scorn.
"What? Staring at me like that? Is that how you treat your Matron? No sense of propriety whatsoever. A woman like youâcanât even manage the bare minimum for a maid. You donât deserve to be one!"
"You betray the master. You scorn the matron. You donât know your place. You have no skills, no talent. Every day you dream of rising above your station. What a disgrace!"
"If youâre going to be a maid, then learn what it means to be a maid. Back when you were still part of the household, people treated you decently for the masterâs sake. But now? Youâre no one."
"Innate Sword Body? Please. I could throw a stone and hit a hundred of you."
Chu Lingâs eyes were now completely bloodshot.
Her demon sword was trembling nonstop.
"What? You going to kill your Matron?"
Chu Ling was barely holding back the explosive rage in her heart. She hadnât come here to make things worse. She came to reconcile.
Sheâd heard Yue Hongling talk about how insufferably âgreen teaâ Shen Xitong was, how infuriating she could be. At the time, she hadnât really believed it.
Green tea? What use was that?
Act coy and prissy and people would just get disgusted.
But now... what Shen Xitong was showing wasnât even green tea.
It was just pure aggravation.
Chu Ling was so pissed off, she ran.
She was afraid that if she stayed even one second longer, her demon sword would snapâand sheâd end up chopping Shen Xitong into bits.
Watching Chu Ling flee in disgrace, Shen Xitong tilted up her little chin in pride.
"Utterly pathetic."
"System Queen, unmatched and mighty!"