Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 447: Testing Cadres

The situation had begun to become clear.

Sisi and her faction were the ones opposing the idea of rebellion, or rather, they did not want to fulfill someone else’s ambition to unify Miaojiang. Their assassination of the pacification commissioner was not an act of rebellion. It was a move to extinguish the excuse others might use to start a rebellion.

Since the oppressive Great Xia official had been assassinated, it would be hard to justify a rebellion based on that reason.

Moreover, the assassin was Yue Hongling, another person from Great Xia. What did a Xia person killing another Xia person have to do with them? Even if the imperial court demanded accountability, they could stand aside.

Under normal circumstances, Sisi’s thinking might have seemed somewhat naive. If the imperial court truly did come to investigate, how could the local tribes possibly not suffer any consequences? But the current situation made it so this normally far-fetched thought was actually fairly realistic.

With things as they were, the Xia Dynasty was truly too weak to pursue retribution. At most, they might issue a warrant for Yue Hongling and leave it at that. The matter really would not have much to do with the local tribes. As for the warrant, Tang Wanzhuang could easily sweep it under the rug.

The Demon Suppression Bureau Chief’s gigolo... uh... I mean the Demon Suppression Bureau’s undercover agent is here!

The assassinated pacification commissioner was, after all, a corrupt official who oppressed the people, nearly sparking a rebellion. His assassination actually averted that disaster. How would Tang Wanzhuang view this? She likely had her own sense of justice.

With that thought, Zhao Changhe looked at Sisi with some surprise. “Hey, why haven’t you thought about uniting Miaojiang yourself? Why are you just playing the role of disruptor?”

“Yeah...” Sisi propped her cheek up with her hand again. “The Xia people have treated me so badly, hugging, kissing, pressing, and touching me all over, even shoving gross things in my face. In the end, they dumped me without mercy. Should I put up a sign saying ‘All Xia people must die’?”

Zhao Changhe coughed, “Strictly speaking, I’m not really a Xia person.”

“Oh? So, someone knows he’s the bad guy I’m referring to? At least you have some self-awareness.”

“...”

Sisi leisurely reclined in her chair, sipping her wine, her gaze lingering on him for a while before she suddenly chuckled. “First Seat Tang treats me well. I don’t want to see her coughing to death from hearing I’ve started a rebellion. And don’t think it’s because of you—don’t get cocky.”

“When was I cocky?”

“Besides, she’d be the one truly upset by all this, not you. I don’t think you care that much about rebellion itself—you only care about the purpose behind it. Are people truly resisting tyranny, or are they driven by uglier ambitions? After all, you were once a bandit leader yourself.”

Zhao Changhe paused for a moment, then fell silent.

Sisi laughed, “Oh, are you surprised I know you so well? Don’t get too proud, though. This is all Yue Hongling’s analysis; it has nothing to do with me.”

Zhao Changhe just kept drinking quietly.

This girl keeps jabbing at me. Every other sentence is a jab... I might as well just let her vent until she gets over it.

Sisi returned to the main topic, “My tribe is backed by ancient traditions. Although we lack certain knowledge in martial arts and wish to learn more about those of the Central Plains, when it comes to the gu arts and witchcraft, we are the ancestors of everyone here. If we were to truly leave the secret realm and establish ourselves in this world, we would indeed have the reason and power to become the overlord of this region.”

Zhao Changhe said, “Exactly. That’s why I asked you why you’re not interested in doing so.”

“Because only a few of us have come out, and I am leading them.” Sisi smiled brightly. “I told you before, my journey to the Central Plains to seek martial arts was a wager within the tribe. If I’m able to prove that the outside world is beneficial, the tribe will naturally consider establishing a permanent base here and engage more broadly with this world. That’s what this is about. Oh, by the way, you deserve some credit for that. Do you want a reward for the sword arts you gave me?”

Zhao Changhe remained expressionless. “That was rightfully yours. Your experience and insight played a crucial role in the exploration of the Sword Emperor’s tomb. Without you, we wouldn’t have gained those inheritances. You always had a right to a share.”

“You...” Sisi seemed surprised. “Why are you so boring now? Have you really become that serious just because you’ve gotten together with Big Sis Yue?”

Zhao Changhe seriously said, “That’s right. A man who’s ready to settle down and build a future has to be more mature.”

Sisi’s expression soured as if she had eaten something unpleasant. She looked at him disdainfully, yawning in boredom. “In any case, most of our efforts are still focused within our secret realm. We have very few people outside, so it’s not in our interest to compete for power here. Keeping the status quo of tribal autonomy works best for us. As for whether we’ll develop ambitions after we’re more deeply rooted, I have no idea. Do you want to eliminate this potential threat early?”

According to her, the Ancient Spirit Tribe had plenty of internal issues to deal with. She had mentioned them being guardians of forbidden areas. They had a lot of unresolved problems, and it would be a long time before they posed any real threat to the Great Xia Empire. Why worry about such distant concerns when the opportunity to leverage them now was so perfect?

Moreover, Zhao Changhe’s real purpose here was to visit the Ancient Spirit Tribe. He sought many things that likely existed within their secret realm. He did not come to get entangled in mundane matters. As long as he knew that Yue Hongling was safe, there was not much else in the southwest that required his attention.

Zhao Changhe said seriously, “I supported Batu, so why should I not support you? I only care about what benefits the current situation. What happens in the future has nothing to do with me. I’m not some loyal servant to the Great Xia Empire, planning and scheming for them.”

“Oh, support me, eh?” Sisi playfully edged closer, her voice once again seductive and teasing. “A humble girl like me needs support from a big figure of the Central Plains. How might Lord Zhao be willing to show his care?”

“If you can speak properly, I’ll give you my support.”

“Is that so...” Sisi did not seem convinced. She leaned back again and lazily said, “Fine. It looks like you’ve learned most of what you wanted to know, and my interest in you has been worn down by your seriousness. Go back to your guest room and rest. We’ll talk more tomorrow if needed.”

It was indeed late, and Zhao Changhe, having been cursed and poisoned earlier, felt tired. Since most things had been clarified, he did not press further. He stood up to leave. “You should rest as well, saintess. We can talk more tomorrow.”

Sisi waved her hand dismissively, looking rather bored, signaling for him to leave.

Zhao Changhe did not mind and turned to leave the main tent. Outside, a few young maidservants were waiting. Seeing that he was actually leaving properly, they were somewhat surprised and covered their mouths, giggling. “Honorable guest, please follow us.”

Although Sisi had said that they did not have many people, the mountain stronghold was actually quite large. The guest tent was in a remote corner, and inside, there was a large barrel steaming with hot water. Floating in the water were some unknown flower petals, giving off a refreshing fragrance.

The maidservants giggled and asked, “Would you... like us to assist you in bathing?”

“Why are you talking just like your saintess?”

“Hehe... Did our saintess really say something like that to you?”

“No, she just spoke with the same tone. You know what I mean?”

“The tone... hehe.” The young maidservants said nothing more, laughing as they withdrew.

The maidservants, of course, did not know about the time Sisi had been disguised as a maid and suffered from teasing. If the saintess, with her esteemed status, used such a seductive tone, it was either because she was ready to kill someone or she had a slight interest in testing their character.

But judging by the saintess’ behavior, it didn’t seem like she planned to kill him. Could it be that the saintess actually feels some attraction to this man from Xia that she’d only just met? That doesn’t seem right...

The maidservants could not possibly understand the complex relationship and emotions between Zhao Changhe and Sisi. In fact, even Zhao Changhe and Sisi themselves were not sure how to act around each other. Their interactions had become a muddled mess, with both behaving instinctively.

Zhao Changhe, feeling exhausted, did not want to think too much. He finally had a chance to take a proper hot bath, and it almost brought him to tears.

Sinking comfortably into the bath, he closed his eyes to rest. Yet he had not even relaxed for half a cup of tea’s time before he suddenly opened his eyes, sensing that something was wrong.

A wave of heat surged from his lower abdomen, and his mind became filled with restless thoughts. Images of Sisi and the charming maidservants began swirling in his mind, shifting to focus on their exposed waists and their delicate, jade-like feet. These scenes flashed through his mind one by one.

He had been drugged with an aphrodisiac.

Zhao Changhe checked internally but found nothing, just like when he checked for the weakening curse earlier. It looked like he would need to use the Qinghe Mirror to check again. But in this situation, pulling out a mirror would be too conspicuous...

Giving up on using the mirror, Zhao Changhe instead relied on Tang Wanzhuang’s Moonglade Sutra to forcibly suppress the rising desire. With a sigh, he muttered to himself, “Can’t I just take a peaceful bath for once...”

A fragrant breeze wafted by, and Sisi appeared quietly beside him, her slender waist exposed and her bare jade-like feet gleaming. She then seductively whispered, “Master, would you like your maid to attend to you?”

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