Chapter 447: Testing Cadres

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.

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?”