But as everyone looked at her, they felt that this woman didn’t seem like a woman at all, but rather like a block of ice—an unapproachable ice. Though the woman in blue was beautiful, she was also extremely cold, as cold as the blade of a sword drawn from icy water.

Casually, she had a sword tucked at her waist, its scabbard somewhat worn, the blade narrow. Standing among so many important figures, she was neither aloof nor self-abased. When she heard Princess Taylor’s recommendation, she showed no sign of surprise, as if she felt all of this was only natural and to be expected.

She had this confidence because she believed in herself.

David Sullivan looked at the woman for a long while, finally unable to hold back and said, “Princess, but she’s a woman.” In David Sullivan’s eyes, women were weak, playthings, dispensable ornaments; he never believed women could accomplish anything.

Princess Taylor glared at David Sullivan and said, “So women aren’t people?”

David Sullivan truly thought so, but still forced a smile and said, “Of course women are people. But there are many things women simply can’t do.” Princess Taylor sneered, “That’s where you’re completely wrong. Who says women are inferior to men? In my view, there’s nothing men can do that women can’t. If you disagree, why not give an example! Even charging into battle, fighting on the front lines—the things you men are so proud of—there were women like Hua Mulan and Liang Hongyu in ancient times. It’s not that we can’t do it, we just don’t care to. Even being emperor, we women have Wu Zetian.”

David Sullivan was left speechless, unable to think of a single thing women couldn’t do. What’s more, when it came to being emperor, Taylor spoke so freely that he dared not respond. He coughed, changed the subject, and said, “But what the Master wants us to do might be very dangerous.”

Princess Taylor retorted, “Do you even know what the Master wants us to do?”

David Sullivan was momentarily stunned and turned to glance at Edward Cooper. While their argument was heated, Edward Cooper sat there as if it had nothing to do with him, eyes closed.

David Sullivan’s throat was dry from coughing, so he could only shake his head and say, “I do not know. But surely the Princess doesn’t know either?”

Princess Taylor smiled and said, “Indeed, I don’t know either. But it can’t hurt to prepare more people for the Master to choose from, right? Who knows, maybe the Master wants a woman to bear a child—can you men do that?”

Everyone lowered their heads, wanting to laugh but not daring to. Charles Thompson also shook his head secretly, thinking that this princess really could say anything.

David Sullivan’s expression was caught between laughter and tears, and he could barely even cough.

The woman in blue frowned slightly, a bit displeased, as if she wanted to say something but held back. Princess Taylor changed the subject with a smile: “Besides, if you all knew this sister’s identity, you’d probably back off on your own and not dare to compete with her for the task.”

David Sullivan frowned, glancing sideways at the woman in blue and said, “We still don’t know this young lady’s identity?”

Charles Thompson suddenly spoke up from the side: “Commander Ji is busy with official duties, so it’s no wonder you haven’t met this young lady. She is a constable, named Emily Harris.”

David Sullivan’s face showed obvious disdain, thinking to himself, “A constable? What’s the big deal? Look at how they treat her like a treasure.”

A woman serving as a constable was uncommon in the Ming Dynasty, but not unheard of. Ever since the founding emperor established the country, all the people were assigned professions, and sons inherited their fathers’ trades, with no room for change. In other words, whatever the father did, the son had to do as well—no switching careers. But in some families with no sons, women often had to take their place, so there were quite a few female officials in various professions. He guessed Emily Harris was one such case.

But suddenly, something occurred to him, and David Sullivan felt a chill in his heart. He asked, “Is it Emily Harris, the constable of Dinghai?” Seeing Charles Thompson nod with a smile, David Sullivan couldn’t help but frown.

He suddenly realized which Emily Harris this was.

Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, aside from the long-standing border troubles with the Tatars and Oirats in the north, there had recently been the problem of Japanese pirates along the coast. Therefore, the emperor Zhu Di had established garrisons in these areas to protect Ming territory.

Zhejiang Province, being a coastal region, was of utmost importance to the Ming. However, among the pirates were mysterious ninjas who wreaked havoc at sea and were hard to capture. To maintain local peace, the Provincial Administration Commissioner Li Zhigang came up with a new idea: have each of the seventy-eight counties in the eleven prefectures of Zhejiang select an outstanding constable to compete. The best among them could even be recommended directly to the court to take on the important task of capturing pirates.

All the counties were sharpening their swords, but no one expected that the honor of being the top constable among the seventy-eight counties of the eleven prefectures would go to a woman from Dinghai.

And this woman was Emily Harris.

Thinking of this, David Sullivan didn’t know what skills Emily Harris had, but he understood why Princess Taylor was so confident, and couldn’t help but take a sharp breath. Seeing Brian Carter with his head lowered, lost in thought, he suddenly felt a sense of unease.

Brian Carter was also a remarkable person. In recent years, he had distinguished himself in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, solving many major cases for David Sullivan and earning his appreciation. David Sullivan had originally been eighty percent confident of winning this time, but knowing that the woman was actually Emily Harris, he couldn’t help but worry.

In a flash, David Sullivan had an idea and said, “Your Highness, what we say doesn’t really count… this, uh, Constable Harris… whether or not to use her should be up to the Master.” He deliberately pretended not to know Emily Harris’s background, hoping Edward Cooper would think this woman was useless.