Volume 1, Chapter 54: I'm Going to Make a Scene! I Feel Like I've Become a Concubine's Maid!

After the Scarlet Flame Empress appeared, neither Xia Mengying nor Xia Yumeng uttered a sound.

Zhu Zhihan, however, spoke up earnestly, "Zhihan will not admit defeat! Zhihan is just as beautiful as my sister!"

If anyone else had said this, Lin Yao would have most likely suspected they were hinting at some advantage of a twin sister pairing.

But coming from Zhu Zhihan, there was clearly no such implication.

She merely meant to express that she would be as beautiful and outstanding as her sister, President Han Yanran.

As a master of balancing his affections, Lin Yao naturally could not leave his beloved wives feeling dissatisfied.

Starting directly with Zhu Zhihan, he kissed the faces of all four women in turn: Zhu Zhihan, Xia Mengying, Xia Yumeng, and the Scarlet Flame Empress.

Then, he solemnly told the four of them, "From now on, the five of us living a good life together is better than anything else!"

Xia Mengying rolled her eyes.

No matter how extraordinary or exceptional Lin Yao was, she did not want him to have too many women.

Yet, for now, she could not control him.

Besides, unlike her younger sister and Zhu Zhihan, she did not completely view herself as Lin Yao's appendage.

In her heart, Lin Yao was undoubtedly her future husband.

However, she and Lin Yao were strictly in an equal relationship, not a subordinate one.

She would become one of Lin Yao's wives, but she would never become a mere possession of his.

Her younger sister Xia Yumeng, on the other hand, remained as unserious as ever.

Xia Yumeng scrunched up her face with a pitiful look and said, "Oh no! This is terrible, my status as the little wife is dropping again!"

Knowing this was just routine behavior for Xia Yumeng, Lin Yao still found himself somewhat amused yet exasperated.

After a brief moment of thought, he intentionally said to her, "Don't worry, your status as the little wife won't drop. They are all wives, and you are the only one who is the little wife."

"I refuse!" Xia Yumeng shook her head in protest. "Why are they all on equal footing while I'm half a rank lower? I won't be the little wife anymore!"

Lin Yao reached out and pinched Xia Yumeng's soft, flawless, and rosy cheek, smiling as he said, "That won't do. I've already decided that you are naturally suited to be my little wife."

Xia Yumeng shook her head repeatedly again. "I don't want to! I disagree!"

The Twin-Winged Golden Cicada, witnessing this, hastily chimed in, "Whatever the master says goes! Stop making trouble for the master!"

This time, instead of swatting the Twin-Winged Golden Cicada away with a single slap, Xia Yumeng grabbed it in her hand and punted it away like a football.

Xia Yumeng had no idea that the Scarlet Flame Empress had no intention whatsoever of competing with them for favor.

Seeking only a swift death, the Scarlet Flame Empress cared not a whit about the position of mistress of the inner court.

Since she could not die for the time being, however, she had no choice but to focus on surviving in the present.

The Scarlet Flame Empress quickly noticed the Shadow Werewolves in the surroundings and recalled that earlier, a Shadow Werewolf had accidentally stumbled into the Phoenix Formation without perishing.

Because the Shadow Werewolf had survived, she had also failed to read its memories.

Still speaking with a slightly hoarse voice, she turned to Lin Yao and asked, "What is the deal with these spirit beasts?"

As soon as the Scarlet Flame Empress asked, Xia Yumeng retrieved a box of throat lozenges from her beast-taming ring and, with the demeanor of a spectator watching the show, asked, "Big sister's voice is very pleasant, but it's a bit hoarse. What happened to big sister?"

While speaking, Xia Yumeng offered a lozenge to the Scarlet Flame Empress.

The Scarlet Flame Empress took the lozenge, inspected it with her spiritual power, and upon confirming there were no issues, parted her vermilion lips slightly and popped the candy into her mouth.

A trace of delicate, rich, and sweet peach flavor instantly blossomed across the Scarlet Flame Empress's taste buds.

Quite satisfied with the candy offered by Xia Yumeng, the Scarlet Flame Empress said, "This Empress likes it very much. What reward do you desire?"

"Ah?" Xia Yumeng was stunned at first, then muttered with a hint of grievance, "Why do I feel like my status is even lower than a little wife now? I've gone straight to being a bedchamber maid!"

"I'm unhappy! I'm going to throw a tantrum!"

With an expression of exasperated amusement, Lin Yao pulled Xia Yumeng directly into his arms and planted a fierce kiss on her lips. "What tantrum? What bedchamber maid? You will always be my little wife, and your status won't be demoted!"

"Besides, she is the last empress you spoke of. Her usual manner of speaking is just like this; she isn't targeting you."

With this explanation from Lin Yao, Xia Yumeng and the others were once again frozen in astonishment.

Especially Xia Yumeng, who truly had not expected that the ancient records she had come across while spectating were actually true!

The last empress, also known as the Scarlet Flame Empress, was none other than the Scarlet Flame Empress herself.

For a long time, Xia Yumeng had dismissed those ancient records within her clan as sheer nonsense.

Never had she imagined that such an empress truly existed in ancient times!

After her mysterious death, the Scarlet Flame Empress had actually undergone Nirvana and been reborn, and had even become one of old monster Lin Yao's wives!

Just now, when Lin Yao kissed the Scarlet Flame Empress, Xia Yumeng had seen it clearly: the Scarlet Flame Empress showed not the slightest trace of aversion.

Xia Yumeng was extremely curious about what kind of sorcery Lin Yao had used to conquer even this legendary empress.

Of course, what Lin Yao used to conquer the Scarlet Flame Empress was not sorcery, but waist-work.

To be precise, Lin Yao had not truly conquered the Scarlet Flame Empress yet; she had merely temporarily compromised.

As for why the Scarlet Flame Empress showed no aversion when Lin Yao kissed her a moment ago, the reason was naturally simple.

To the Scarlet Flame Empress, being kissed by Lin Yao was already completely trivial and painless.

Inside the Crimson Lotus Barrier, Lin Yao had practically subjected her to every imaginable form of harsh treatment.

Lin Yao then briefly introduced his various wives to one another before leading the team out to continue seizing the opportunities hidden within the Rose Treasury.

Unlike the completely useless Twin-Winged Golden Cicada, the Scarlet Flame Empress not only knew the route to the treasure hall but was also aware of where specific treasures were located.

Consequently, as the group proceeded, the lead was handed over to the Scarlet Flame Empress.

The Scarlet Flame Empress decided against playing any tricks for the moment; she would first lead Lin Yao and his group to acquire a few fine items, and then find an extremely perilous location to throw her life away.

She remained entirely oblivious to the [Damage Sharing] talent Lin Yao had placed upon her.

She simply believed that after initially gaining Lin Yao's trust, she could seize the opportunity when Lin Yao let down his guard to successfully end her own life.

Just as Lin Yao had surmised, she was far too proud; even at this stage, she could never genuinely submit to Lin Yao.

Unaware of the Scarlet Flame Empress's inner thoughts, Lin Yao could nevertheless perceive that this woman was very likely up to no good.

For no other reason than this: the Scarlet Flame Empress was currently far too cooperative, which completely contradicted her personality.

Lin Yao immediately transmitted his voice mentally to warn the Scarlet Flame Empress:

"If you dare pull any tricks later on, I guarantee you won't die, and tonight I'll repeat everything I did to you in the Crimson Lotus Barrier with interest."

The Scarlet Flame Empress let out a cold snort, replying through a mental transmission as well: "This Empress has no idea what you are talking about! Besides, just how do you plan to punish this Empress?"