The officer glared at Ling Yue, surprised.
The girl standing before him wore only coarse linen, with her hair bound merely by a tattered ribbon. In comparison to Ling Xue's silken embroidery, Ling Yue was no better than a beggar. But her voice had a calmness that struck silence in the courtyard.
"what tribute could a half-starved girl such as you provide?" he demanded, with a tone of mockery.
Ling Yue's lips curled into the ghost of a smile. "Medicine."
The officer blinked, then yelped a laugh. "Medicine? From a family who can't even put food on their table? Do you think the Regent requires your village remedies?"
Ling Yue confronted his disdain with unshaken equanimity. "The Regent does not require common medicine. He requires what no other house is willing to promise—remedies above mortal capabilities.
Whispers spread among the servants. Even Ling Xue, who had been grasping the pillar with desperation, stared at her in shock.
The officer sneered, but a flash of uncertainty crossed his eyes. "Big words. Do you think His Highness a fool?"
Ling Yue folded her hands behind her back, her posture rigid as if appearing in front of an imperial court and not a broken-down estate. "Take me as you may. But if you come back empty-handed, the Regent's fury will not be visited upon the Ling family only—it will be upon you, his envoy, for not bringing him what he wants."
The officer's smirk wavered.
The soldiers stirred restlessly. They all knew the Regent's wrath. To come back without tribute was risky, but to come back with nothing of value was worse.
Ling Yue inched forward, her voice as smooth as rippling water. "Tell His Highness this: the Ling household gives him not just grain or silver, but the healing art unseen in this mortal realm. If he does not believe me, have him call me. If I fail, he can do with my life as he wishes."
Her words lingered in the air, firm and unshakeable.
The officer looked at her. While her body was thin, her eyes had a depth that unnerved him, as though he was not the predator, but the prey being sized up.
Finally, he drew his saber back into its scabbard with a metallic click. "Very well. I will convey your message. But if you are deceitful…" His lips creased into a cruel smile. "Even your bones will not be left."
Ling Yue leaned forward, neither in humble submission nor in rebellious defiance. "Then we are agreed."
The soldiers marched out, their black pennants vanishing beyond the gates. The courtyard was left in stunned silence.
Ling Xue leaned against the pillar, shaking with anger and terror. "You… you had the temerity to bring disaster down upon all of us! If the Regent finds you useless, he will bring down the entire Ling house along with you!"
Ling Yue shifted her head, her eyes cold and expressionless. "Better to bet on one who can fight, than to kneel and wait to be slaughtered."
Her sister stumbled, unable to respond.
Ling Yue's gaze climbed to the far horizon, where the walls of the city loomed up against the twilight.
The Regent would hear of her shortly.
And when she met him, it was not as prey before a wolf, but as equal to equal.