A Servant to Her, Cai Lin's Methods, a War Between Women

In the main hall.

Nalan Yanran sat in the guest seat as if on pins and needles, her fists clenched. Her gaze kept drifting toward the window, and tension showed in her brow.

Her purpose in coming to see Xiao Yan was obvious. He only needed to ask around the Imperial Capital to learn that her grandfather was gravely ill and that the countless Alchemists her family had invited had all failed to cure him.

But as her father had said, she was an adult now and had to shoulder the Nalan Family's responsibilities. So... even if Xiao Yan humiliated her, she had to endure it.

"Were you Young Master Xiao Yan's fiancée, Sister Nalan?" Qing Lin asked as she poured tea, curiosity shining in her jade-green eyes.

"Once," Nalan Yanran replied. Her eyes dimmed, and she lowered her head somewhat awkwardly to sip her tea.

"Oh~" Qing Lin seemed to understand. She stood to one side and said no more.

An odd silence settled over the room again.

Nalan Yanran stole a glance at the lovely Qing Lin. The girl's waist was slender as a snake's, and when her sleeve lifted, jade-green scales could be glimpsed beneath the fair skin of her wrist. Understanding dawned in Nalan Yanran's eyes.

She's a half-blood of the Snake-People Tribe and the human race...

He took this girl as a servant? Then might we become colleagues?

Nalan Yanran looked away, her eyes full of complicated feelings. Was she unwilling? Not really. Once she had offered to serve him, there was no turning back.

She could only hope he would not treat her too cruelly.

As she brooded, the door slowly opened. Two figures entered, one behind the other. Nalan Yanran hurried to her feet, but her expression turned from surprise to outright fear.