Chapter 144: Dragon Sparrow Leaps In The Face

Chapter 144: The Dragon Sparrow Slaps the Face

Back at the Tang family guest courtyard, Tang Buqi was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a steward-like figure approached: "Young Master Zhao, the young master said he sent you a maidservant, but he couldn't recall her name. I came to see which one it was. Ah, it turns out to be Shi..."

Zhao Changhe interrupted, "As for things like changing her registration, don't bother me with it. Just tear it up and be done."

The steward said, "Then she might not obey."

Zhao Changhe patted the Dragon Sparrow: "I have a blade."

"..." The steward cast a sympathetic glance at Sisi, thinking to himself that she might as well have stayed in the Tang household—at least it would have been more refined.

Sisi kept her head lowered, not daring to meet the steward's gaze directly, and murmured, "I'll go fetch water for the master to bathe."

Watching Sisi run off, Zhao Changhe lowered his voice to the steward: "Search the corners of your guest courtyard. See if anyone's tied up somewhere—don't let them starve. Free her from her registration as an apology."

The steward: "?"

Zhao Changhe patted his shoulder: "If you find her, don't say a word. If you don't understand, go ask your young master—he'll get it."

The steward took his leave. Zhao Changhe turned to see Sisi bustling about in the distance, stretched lazily, and went back to his room.

His unexpected encounter with Ji Chengkong had already cleared up most of his earlier doubts, based solely on the phrase "I came to Yangzhou and Gusu to find someone." This maidservant was undoubtedly the fake Celestial Maiden, and Ji Chengkong was looking for her—otherwise, how could such a coincidence occur?

This girl was sinister indeed. She probably hadn't even considered the fate of the real maidservant she was impersonating, just as tragic as the Nianhua Celestial Maiden before. Fortunately, as soon as he confirmed her identity, he remembered and moved to save the real maidservant first.

Such a sinister creature—he had no idea what she was up to infiltrating the Tang family this time. In any case, before he figured out her goal, he needed to find some way to teach her a lesson...

Come to think of it, she either bore a resemblance to Yue Hongling or had the face of an ordinary little maidservant. He had never seen her true appearance... In hindsight, the only common feature between her two faces was those lively eyes, bright as stars.

Her disguise skills were far superior to Chichi's earlier attempts to conceal her feminine traits. This was a technique he'd quite like to learn—it would be extremely convenient for traveling the martial world.

You're plotting against me—why can't I plot against you?

"Master, the water's here." Sisi directed two servants to carry a hot water bucket into the room, then quickly shooed them away, smiling obsequiously: "Sisi will attend to the master's bath."

Zhao Changhe, who had always dismissed maidservants in the Cui household, stood there motionless, watching Sisi with a half-smile, waiting to see how she would handle it.

A blush crept up Sisi's cheeks. Shy and timid, she approached and reached out to undo his clothes. The first thing she naturally went for was the blade: "Master, you keep this scabbard hanging on you all the time, even when you go into the water. Isn't it heavy?"

"Actually, my schoolbag in elementary and middle school wasn't much lighter than this. It's no wonder I ended up slacking off as I grew up."

Sisi: "?"

As she spoke, Sisi finally managed to remove the blade. It nearly slipped from her hands as she felt its weight, and she was secretly astonished—this thing, scabbard and all, must weigh forty or fifty catties. How could he swing it with one hand as if it were an ordinary light saber?

She didn't dare show too much interest in the blade, so she set it aside and shyly reached for Zhao Changhe's belt.

The belt came loose, and his upper garment fell open, revealing his powerful chest and abdominal muscles. The intense visual impact made Sisi's breath quicken, and her hands began to tremble as she undid his clothes.

There was no denying that such a physique was truly seductive... If men could react to a woman's body, why shouldn't a woman react to a man's? It was the same.

She felt as if her head wasn't even as big as his pectorals.

Sisi secretly compared—she wondered if her own chest was that large... In shape, it was certainly more prominent, but in terms of sheer mass, it might not be a sure thing...

Standing before such a body, she naturally felt an overwhelming pressure and weakness, as if a mountain were bearing down on her. She felt that if he suddenly pressed her down, she would be powerless to resist.

"Hey, how much longer are you going to grope? The water's going to get cold." Zhao Changhe's voice came, tinged with amusement.

Sisi snapped back to reality, pulling her hands away as if shocked. She coughed dryly and said, "Um, the trousers... Master, could you take them off yourself?"

"If I take them off, will you watch?"

The room fell silent.

At that moment, Zhao Changhe was a bit stunned, and Sisi was equally bewildered.

Neither of them knew exactly how a real maidservant was supposed to attend to a bath—they had never seen it done...

Sisi's thoughts were even more scattered. She had already felt her heart race just from seeing his chest, abs, and biceps—and now she was supposed to watch him take off his trousers?

Zhao Changhe glanced at her, wondering what she was thinking. In his mind, she was a very bold little enchantress, one who had even dared to kiss him after only two meetings. So why should he hold back?

He had been standing there long enough just for a bath. If it weren't for wanting to figure out what the hell she was up to, he would have kicked her out long ago. What a waste of his time.

Zhao Changhe stripped off his trousers in a few quick moves and jumped into the tub with a splash.

He turned to look at Sisi, who was still dazed, as if something had shocked her.

"Hey!" Zhao Changhe waved his hand in front of her face. "Snap out of it. Didn't you say you'd massage my shoulders? What are you thinking about?"

"Ah? Ah..." Sisi shuddered, almost running around to his back. She began massaging his shoulders obsequiously, not saying a word.

She felt as if touching his shoulders sent electric currents through her... That thing earlier was so big... Thank goodness they had been interrupted that day. If it had actually happened, would she have died there? Was that something a human could endure? Better to let someone as strong as Yue Hongling handle it... Wait, what was she thinking...

Her mind was in complete chaos. Sisi no longer knew what she was thinking.

"Is this what you meant by 'Sisi's shoulder massage is so comfortable'?" Zhao Changhe's voice came again. "Didn't you eat?"

Sisi snapped back, annoyed: "I did eat, but I threw it up."

"..."

"Besides, your muscles are so hard—what woman could massage them? Tang Shaoye said you're close with Yue Hongling, right? Then go find her to massage you!"

"Oh, is that something a little maidservant should say?"

Sisi retorted angrily: "I don't care. I'm not massaging anymore. Since the slave registry has been torn up, right? I'll just scrub you down and be done with it. Take it or leave it!"

"Scrub where?"

The air went still again. Sisi's eyes widened.

"..." Zhao Changhe wanted to teach the little enchantress a lesson, but he wasn't very good at teasing. The situation was growing increasingly awkward. Finally, he waved his hand: "Forget it. Either go eat something, or go take a bath yourself. Just do whatever you need to do. I'll wash myself."

Sisi quickly took the opportunity to back down, withdrawing her hands. She continued to fuss hypocritically over his discarded clothes, pretending to be ready to wash them for the master.

Zhao Changhe said lazily, "Stop pawing at those. I have my own luggage. I'll just throw these old clothes away later."

"Oh..." For the moment, Sisi didn't suspect there was anything important hidden in his clothes. Her gaze kept flickering to the Dragon Sparrow. Finally, unable to resist, she pretended to tidy it and touched the blade, asking, "Master, what is this blade called? It looks so imposing."

Zhao Changhe had his back to her, but he could see her clearly through his peripheral vision. He thought for a moment, wanting to test her reaction to the name "Dragon Sparrow," so he said directly: "Dragon Sparrow."

Sisi was stunned for a moment, then muttered to herself: "You must be joking. Is that the name of the blade, or what you wanted me to scrub earlier?"

Dragon Sparrow: "?"

Zhao Changhe: "?"

Suddenly, the Dragon Sparrow erupted in fury. Blade and scabbard together, it flew straight at Sisi's face.

Even though she knew the blade could move on its own, she never expected it to suddenly go berserk at that moment. Caught off guard, Sisi couldn't dodge in time and nearly took the full force of the blow. Suddenly, she felt a hand grab her, and a powerful force yanked her forward. With a loud splash, she tumbled headfirst into the bathwater.

Her face was spared from the Dragon Sparrow outside.

But the Dragon Sparrow inside the tub slammed into her face, even grazing her lips...

Sisi sat in the water, questioning her life choices.

If she ever got a second chance at life, she would rather die than pretend to be this damn little maidservant.