A Barely Perceptible Trace of Inferiority in Her Voice! (Please Subscribe and Vote with Monthly Tickets)

Lianxing carefully dressed and did her makeup, selected a box of Spirit Tea from her treasured collection as a gift, and mustered her courage. Following the address she had obtained, she arrived alone outside the small courtyard where Li Chen lived.

She took a deep breath and gently tapped the door knocker, her heart fluttering like a startled fawn.

The door opened with a creak, and a woman appeared behind it.

She wore a pale purple embroidered gown, her cloudlike hair loosely arranged and secured with a simple jade hairpin. Her exquisite beauty was no less than Lianxing's, but rarer still was her air of regal elegance, as though she had been born to dwell in jade palaces and jeweled towers. It was a presence cultivated through years in an exalted position.

Compared with her, Lianxing felt that her own cool aloofness as a "Holy Maiden" seemed rather provincial and immature.

Especially striking was the woman's perfectly developed figure, voluptuous yet slender, brimming with the seductive charm that only a mature woman possessed.

The woman who had opened the door was none other than Tuoba Anyu. Having lived deep within the imperial palace, lavishly pampered, she had naturally maintained herself exceptionally well. She looked young and beautiful, yet her regal bearing was impossible to conceal.

For a moment, Lianxing felt painfully inadequate and stammered, "M-may I ask if Commandant Cheng lives here? My name is Lianxing. I came especially to thank him for helping me out of trouble last time."

Tuoba Anyu gently studied the delicate beauty before her, inwardly marveling that His Majesty attracted romantic admirers wherever he went-and such exceptional ones at that.

She smiled faintly and stepped aside. "So you're Miss Lianxing. Please, come in. It's windy outside."

After thanking her, Lianxing entered the courtyard, looking somewhat