The three women came to the main hall.

The Ninth Princess walked in front, Zisu and Yudie behind her, and Lin Ying behind them.

When the woman emperor saw the three women, her eyes lit up.

There was no denying they were all remarkably beautiful, each in her own way.

But when her gaze landed on Lin Ying, she was a little puzzled. Was this one Ning Chen's woman too? Since when had his taste gotten so strange?

It wasn't that Lin Ying was ugly. It was just that her clothes, her manner and her age all made her look like a country woman from some village.

The Ninth Princess held her back perfectly straight. She was not going to be outdone in presence.

They were sizing up the woman emperor too, and they were inwardly amazed. It was one thing for her to be so highborn, but she was this beautiful too, stunning and regal.

"Huai'an, Ninth Princess of the Great Xuan, greets Your Majesty!"

The Ninth Princess curtsied gracefully.

The Great Xuan was a great power, and she was a princess of the Great Xuan. She had no need at all to kneel to the woman emperor of a neighboring state.

"This commoner woman, Yudie (Zisu), greets Your Majesty. May Your Majesty the woman emperor be well!"

Zisu and Yudie bowed after her.

They were subjects of the Great Xuan and didn't need to kneel fully to a neighboring woman emperor either, but they bowed lower than the Ninth Princess.

Lin Ying said nothing. She just followed along with a bow!

The woman emperor looked at them without expression. She did not need to be angry to be feared.

The Ninth Princess helped herself to a seat off to one side.

Yudie and Zisu had meant to stand behind the Ninth Princess, but she pointed to the chairs beside her. "Sisters, please sit! Sister-in-law Lin Ying, you sit too."

Something flickered in the woman emperor's eyes. The Ninth Princess called her sister-in-law, so she wasn't one of Ning Chen's women.

Yudie and Zisu exchanged a glance, went over…