Chapter 156: Maidservant and Chief

Chapter 156: The Maidservant and the First Seat

Gusu remained in a state of chaotic warfare. Tang Wanzhuang took charge of addressing the Maitreya Sect within the city, initiating a purge of the sect and the local factions allied with the Lu family.

Internal mourning gripped the Tang clan as well. The mere eruption of sword-intent when the Malice Blade unearthed had claimed many lives; others perished or sustained injuries in the ensuing stampede, compounded by the casualties suffered during their steady retreat against the Lu family earlier on. To speak of the Tang family's demise might be an exaggeration, but nearly every household had lost someone, and their strength had undeniably waned.

Even Tang Wangsheng himself had been severely wounded during the chaos and was currently recuperating. Tang Buqi took up the mantle, laboring to untangle the knotted mess of family affairs.

Zhao Changhe lay in the guest courtyard, wrapped tightly from head to toe in bandages. He looked just as wretched as Wan Dongliu had a few days prior, confined to the bed with his eyes rolling about, unable to easily turn his head.

"Sisi, does it really need to be wrapped like this? I’m starting to suspect you did it on purpose..."

Sisi leaned back in a nearby lounge chair, leisurely holding a history book of the Great Xia as if cramming for knowledge. Hearing his question, she replied lazily, "Count your blessings. Look around the Tang estate—who else has time to bother with you? Isn't it just me, your poor little maidservant, still looking after you?"

"You aren't a maid of the Tang family; you're my maid servant."

"Yes, yes, yes." Sisi's beautiful eyes rippled as she spoke in a cooing tone, "Well then, Master, what was that gold foil you clutched so desperately even while changing clothes and applying medicine? Won't you let your loyal little maid take a look?"

"Haven't you already furiously bound it to my body? It’s poking me to death, damn it..."

"Since we depend on each other for survival, it should rest close to your flesh," Sisi said seductively. "Of course, if Master is willing to tell the truth, what presses against your flesh might not be gold foil, but perhaps something else..."

Zhao Changhe's throat bobbed, but he quickly stiffened his neck. "The truth is it's a heart-protecting mirror I prepared in advance. See how it came in handy? A mere Maitreya was already within my calculations..."

Sisi curled her lip, choosing not to argue with him.

What kind of heart-protecting mirror could withstand a strike from the fifth rank of the Earth Board? Even if it were one, it would be considered a treasure.

Yet then again, Zhao Changhe holding the gold foil could not block her sight. She had peered at it from every angle and found nothing; it looked like a piece of ordinary gold foil. Perhaps it truly was just a material of unique texture that he intentionally placed over his chest to use as a mirror shield, which remained plausible.

Whether it was a treasure or not, Sisi had no intention of openly snatching it from his hand. Instead, the way this fellow gripped it so fiercely had annoyed the little maidservant. Sisi had wound the bandages around him layer after layer until he resembled a zongzi, wrapping the gold foil right along inside before she lay down to read in contentment.

The starkly powerful Dragon-Sparrow was right beside the bed, and Sisi hadn't even thought to steal it and run, let alone a scrap of gold foil... honestly.

Being bound so tightly that he could not move was agonizing for an active person like Zhao Changhe. Before long, his eyes began to roll around again. "Hey, Sisi..."

"What?"

"We’re so familiar now, why don't you wash off your disguise and let me see your true face?"

"We aren't familiar. Who is familiar with you? Who even are you, and how long have we been cooking for us to be done?"

"...I heard that leaving this kind of stuff on for too long ruins the skin."

"Exactly, so my true appearance is hideous and full of pits. Don't look."

Zhao Changhe refused to give up. "You can stop flipping through that history book, too. The Dragon-Sparrow isn't recorded there."

Sisi speed-read through the pages. "Who told you I was looking for the Dragon-Sparrow? Can't I just read history?"

"Then don't you want to know the origin of the Dragon-Sparrow?"

The Dragon-Sparrow: "..."

Sisi finally closed the book, her face once again adorned with a smile. "Is Master willing to tell?"

Zhao Changhe coughed dryly. "There are three conditions..."

Sisi shifted and drew close to the bedside, her finger hovering over the tender flesh of his waist. Grinding her teeth, she said, "What time do you think it is to demand three conditions? Do you really think I'm easy to bully?"

"Wait, I haven't finished. If you can fulfill just one of the three conditions, I'll tell you."

Sisi pouted, finding this somewhat acceptable. Halting her pinching motion, she asked softly, "Then what are Master's orders?"

"First, let me see your true face."

Sisi snorted twice. "Go straight to the second."

"Second, unravel this zongzi-like SM binding of mine and wrap it normally. I can't take it anymore."

"What is Ai-Si Ai-Mu? Forget it, no need to explain your dialect. Either way, I won't unravel it." Sisi smiled brightly. "Straight to the third."

In truth, where would Zhao Changhe get a third condition? Stripped down, he simply wanted to choose between seeing her true face or loosening the bandages, and now he was caught short. Seeing her smug expression, a surge of irritation brought a new thought to his mind: "Third, give me a kiss. It's not like we haven't done it before."

Sisi's eyes widened.

The next moment, a man's miserable shriek echoed from the guest courtyard. It was impossible to tell which piece of flesh had been pinched, but it sounded exceedingly pitiful.

Tang Wanzhuang, who had just entered the courtyard, slowed her steps.

Inside the room by the bedside, Sisi sat sideways on the bed, her hand pinching the soft flesh of Zhao Changhe's waist. Her upper body was bent low, her crimson lips a mere hair's breadth away from grazing his cheek, moving slowly across that tiny distance until they hovered over his lips.

Zhao Changhe: ...

Sisi seemed to sense something, chuckling softly as she murmured seductively, "You truly are Sisi's master. Even wounded to this extent, your blood and qi remain so vigorous."

Lips over lips, her breath was like orchids.

Fingers at his waist, twisting with force.

Poor Zhao Changhe held his breath until his old face turned blue and purple, entirely unsure of what emotion he should feel.

"We’re not pretending anymore, are we?" Sisi murmured. "Yes, that fake Hongling was me. What of it? You took advantage of me, aren't you happy? Do you think in your heart that Sisi is loose?"

"No, no... hiss... oh, yes, yes, ow!"

"I wanted to draw out your secrets, or even use you for myself... It was merely delivering qi, I wouldn't be like you all... with so many rules and restrictions." Sisi bit her lower lip. "In fact, I've only kissed that one time. You didn't think I actually go around kissing anyone carelessly, did you?"

"No, no... I know you were inexperienced. A practiced one couldn't have impersonated Yue Hongling."

"So you knew..."

"..."

"Sisi knows Master is a clever master... Then does Master realize now that you are in the palm of my hand, and whether you live or die depends entirely on my whim?" Sisi spoke softly, "Tell me your secrets, including the Dragon-Sparrow. Considering we faced life and death together, I won't torture you, alright?"

Zhao Changhe said honestly, "If your torture means what you're doing now, with your soft chest pressing down on me, then please torture me some more. Ow~"

"Knock, knock, knock," came the sound of a hand on the door.

Tang Wanzhuang maintained her sense of propriety and did not intentionally eavesdrop. She could not hear the whispered words by their lips, but the hissing and howling were difficult to miss. Unable to bear it any longer, she finally knocked.

As if a spring were installed in her waist, Sisi leaped up instantly, straightening her appearance to assume the guise of an obedient maidservant.

Zhao Changhe coughed dryly. "The door is unlocked, come in."

The door opened, and Tang Wanzhuang stood there quietly. Her gaze swept up and down, sizing up Sisi by the bed before looking at the zongzi-like Zhao Changhe. Ultimately, she said nothing about it, merely remarking, "If you are recovering... it is best not to be too indulgent..."

Zhao Changhe: "..."

Sisi: "..."

"Cough." Zhao Changhe felt helpless. "You have a mountain of affairs, yet you have the leisure to come to my quarters?"

"I've made the general arrangements. A bit later, Weiyang and the others will arrive..." Tang Wanzhuang said softly, "Other minor details... are not as important as you."

"Don't say that!" Zhao Changhe countered. "I'm nothing important."

Tang Wanzhuang replied, "At least this time, you are the benefactor of the Tang family."

"I did it for my friend Tang Buqi, and for the common people of Gusu. It has nothing to do with a single coin from the Tang family," Zhao Changhe stated. "If you thank me on behalf of the people, I won't feign modesty. I risk my life doing good deeds precisely because I want a few words of praise, and I am entirely justified in asking for compensation."

Tang Wanzhuang found it somewhat amusing. "What compensation do you want? Ensuring your maidservant enters the Tomb of the Sword Emperor? Or do you want that malice treasure Maitreya tossed into the pool?"

Sisi felt that according to Zhao Changhe's usual routine of conversation with her, this fellow ought to say "What I want is you." Yet to her surprise, Zhao Changhe became so serious he seemed like a different person from a moment ago: "I want both conditions, and I also need you to promise one thing."

"Please speak."

"The Tomb of the Sword Emperor is now connected; please seal it off immediately. I know you will certainly investigate afterward, and I won't stop you. Take me and Sisi along at that time, but afterward, please do not continue such actions. On the contrary, you must find every way to isolate it once more."

Sisi was taken aback, but Tang Wanzhuang smiled faintly, as if deliberately asking, "Why is that? This ancient site of great import—if you could explore it at length, the one who stands to gain the most might well be you..."

Zhao Changhe replied with great seriousness, "I trust neither the Demon Suppression Bureau nor the Tang clan. If we keep blindly probing the tomb and stir up some calamity like the Sword Emperor's rebirth, we'll both die. Besides..."

He paused, then struck even closer to the bone: "Can you truly be sure that in the future, Gusu will still be under your control, and not Maitreya's? Given the current situation, even Xia Longyuan wouldn't dare say that."

Sisi finally nodded, thinking to herself that this fellow was indeed clear-headed and rational.

But then Tang Wanzhuang smiled softly, stepped forward gracefully, and sat on the edge of Zhao Changhe's bed. "I've already begun preparations for this. Once you're healed, we'll all go take a look together."

As she spoke, her slender hand swept over the bandages, which snapped apart inch by inch like zongzi wrappings. "Who bound you up like this? It does no good for the wound. I have a special royal ointment for external injuries—have your maidservant apply it inch by inch. The effect..."

Before she could finish, Sisi behind her planted her hands on her hips, brows knitted in anger. "A maidservant only knows how to wrap you like a dumpling! The esteemed Chief is so skilled and clever at treating wounds, isn't she? Then be so kind as to apply it yourself. Let this maidservant see how much the one who keeps talking about gratitude is willing to do—or if it's all just lip service, leaving others to do the work!"