Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 144: Dragon Bird Moves

Back at the Tang Clan’s guest house, Tang Buqi was nowhere to be found. Instead, a steward approached Zhao Changhe and said, “Young Master Zhao, the young master said he sent you a maid, but he could not recall her name. Let me see which one it is... Oh, it’s...”

Zhao Changhe interrupted, “There’s no need for any of the formalities or whatever. Just transfer her to me and be done with it.”

The steward said, “Then she might be disobedient.”

Zhao Changhe patted Dragon Bird on his back and said, “I have a saber.”

“...” The steward glanced at Sisi sympathetically and secretly thought that she might as well stay at the Tang Clan, at least the clan was fairly refined.

Sisi kept her head lowered, afraid to face the steward directly. She then mumbled, “I shall go and fetch water for your bath, master.”

Seeing Sisi scurry away, Zhao Changhe lowered his voice and said to the steward, “Check every nook and cranny of your guest house to see if anyone has been tied up somewhere. Be quick, or you may end up leaving them to starve. Remove her from the records as compensation.”

The steward: “?”

Zhao Changhe patted him on the shoulder and said, “If you find anything, don’t make a scene of it. If you’re unsure, simply ask your young master, he will understand.”

The steward went off to carry out his orders. Zhao Changhe turned to look at Sisi busying herself in the distance. He stretched lazily and returned to his room.

All of his previous doubts were resolved as soon as he encountered Ji Chengkong and heard him say that he had come to Yangzhou and, later, to Gusu to look for someone. He no longer had any doubt that the maid was undoubtedly the fake celestial maiden, as well as the person that Ji Chengkong was looking for. Otherwise, how could such a coincidence come about?

This girl is quite evil, so she probably did not even stop to consider the fate of the real maid that she’s impersonating, leaving her to face a tragedy similar to the flower-picking celestial maiden. Fortunately, since I’ve basically confirmed her identity, I can have the real maid saved before anything else. As for that wicked girl... I wonder what her true purpose is for infiltrating the Tang Clan this time. Anyway, while I figure out her goal, I should teach her a lesson.

On second thought, she either has a face similar to that of Yue Hongling or of an ordinary little maid. Regardless, it seems that I’ve never seen her true appearance... Now that I think about it, the only similarity between the two faces are those lively eyes.

Her skill in disguising herself is much better than whatever Chichi used to conceal her lady bits. I really want to learn how she does it. It would make things much more convenient for me when I wander the jianghu.

You’re plotting against me, so why can’t I do the same to you?

“Master, the water is ready.” Sisi ordered two servants to carry hot water buckets into the house before quickly dismissing them. “Allow me to assist you with your bath.”

Zhao Changhe, who had always dismissed the maids back at the Cui Clan, now stood there motionless, smiling slyly as he observed Sisi.

A blush crept up Sisi’s cheeks as she shyly approached him and reached out to undo his clothing. Naturally, the first thing she took off was the scabbard on his back. “Master, isn’t it uncomfortable to carry this scabbard on you all the time? You carry it even when you enter the water. Isn’t it heavy?”

“Well, my schoolbag during primary and middle school wasn’t any lighter. There’s a reason why I left it to rot when I got older.”

Sisi: “?”

While he spoke, Sisi finally managed to untie the scabbard off of his back. It dropped heavily into her hand, and it nearly slipped from her grasp. She secretly marveled at its weight. Just the scabbard must weigh at least forty to fifty jin. How is he able to wield the saber so effortlessly with just a single hand? Whenever he swings it, he makes it look like a stick.

She did not dare to show any special interest in the saber and set it aside. She then shyly moved to undo his belt.

As she loosened his belt, his shirt opened up, revealing his robust chest and abdominal muscles. The intense visual impact caused Sisi’s breathing to become heavier instantly, and her hands, which were undoing his clothes, began to tremble.

She had to admit that such a physique truly was tempting... Since men could have reactions when they saw a woman’s body, it was perfectly normal for women to also have reactions when confronted with a male physique like Zhao Changhe’s. It was all the same.

She could not help but compare her own chest to his, wondering if her chest was as big as his... In terms of their shape, hers were definitely fuller, but in terms of total mass, she might just lose out to him.

Standing before such a physique naturally brought a feeling of overwhelming pressure and vulnerability. It made her feel as if he could overpower her at any moment and she would not be able to resist.

“Hey, how much longer are you going to touch me? The water will get cold soon,” Zhao Changhe’s voice, half amused and half teasing, sounded in her ears.

Sisi snapped out of her daze, withdrawing her hand as if she had just received an electric shock. She cleared her throat and said, “Um, about your pants, would you mind taking them off yourself, master?”

“Um...you want me to take them off while you watch?”

Absolute silence suddenly befell the room.

At this moment, Zhao Changhe was a bit bewildered, and so was Sisi.

Neither of them knew how a real maid served her master during their bath; neither of them had seen it before...

Sisi nearly lost her mind at this moment. Just looking at his chest, abs, and biceps had already caused her heart to beat faster. Was she now going to watch him take off his pants?

Zhao Changhe glanced at her, unsure of what she was thinking. But in his mind, Sisi was a very open-minded and carefree girl who even kissed him without reservation. So what if she watched him take off his pants?

He had been standing there long enough for a bath. If it was not for him wanting to figure out what she was up to, he would have kicked her out a long time ago. What a waste of time.

Without further ado, Zhao Changhe took his pants off and jumped into the tub with a splash.

He turned his head to look at Sisi, who was still in a daze, and waved his hand in front of her face.

“Hey! Are you still there? Didn’t you say that you would massage my shoulders? What are you doing daydreaming there?”

“Ah? Ah...” Sisi shook herself awake. Then, she quickly ran to his back and obediently began massaging his shoulders without saying a word.

That thing just now... Maybe it was a good thing that we were interrupted that day. If we had really gone through with it, would I have died back then? Is that thing really something that a human can bear? Maybe it would be better to just let someone as powerful as Yue Hongling take something like that... Wait, why am I thinking about that...

Her mind was in utter chaos. Sisi did not know what she was thinking anymore.

“You dare say that you’re good at giving massages?” Zhao Changhe’s voice resounded in her ears. “Have you not eaten?”

Sisi came back to her senses and said angrily, “I ate breakfast, but I vomited everything back out.”

“...”

“Besides, your muscles are so tough, which woman can even massage them! Young Master Tang said that you’re close with Yue Hongling, right? Then maybe you should go find her to give you a massage!”

“Hey, is that something a little maid should say?”

Sisi said angrily, “I don’t care. My slave contract has already been torn apart, right? I’ll massage you and be done with it! You either take it or leave it!”

“Where are you massaging?”

The room fell silent once again, and Sisi’s eyes widened.

“...” Zhao Changhe wanted to teach the little maid a lesson, but now flirting with her felt even more awkward. After a while, he waved his hand and said, “Forget it, you can either go eat something or take a bath. Do whatever you need to do. I’ll wash myself.”

Sisi quickly withdrew her hand and went to pretend to tidy up the clothes she had taken off of him as if she were going to help him wash them.

Zhao Changhe said lazily, “Stop messing around over there. I’ve got spares. I’ll just throw away those old clothes later.”

“Oh...” Sisi did not suspect that there would be anything valuable in his pockets. Instead, her gaze shifted to Dragon Bird, and she ultimately could not resist touching it while still pretending to tidy up. “ Master, what’s the name of this saber? It looks very impressive.”

Zhao Changhe turned his back to her, but he could clearly see everything behind him. After some thought, he decided to see what her reaction would be if he directly said its name, “Dragon Bird.”

Sisi’s reaction was one of astonishment. She muttered to herself, “Nonsense. Is that the name of a saber or is he just referring to what he wanted me to massage earlier?”[1]

Dragon Bird: “?”

Zhao Changhe: “?”

Dragon Bird suddenly became furious and swung itself, together with the scabbard, toward Sisi’s face.

Even though Sisi knew that the saber could move on its own, she never thought that it would suddenly do so at this moment. Caught off guard, she could not dodge in time and nearly got struck right in the face. She suddenly felt someone grip her hand and forcefully pull her, causing her to topple over into the bathtub with a loud splash.

Her face did not get hit by Dragon Bird, but she did get hit by something in the tub...

Sisi found herself questioning her life choices while she was in the water.

If there was a chance to start over, she would rather die than take on the role of this miserable little maid.

1. Gentle reminder that “bird” in Chinese refers to exactly what you think it refers to. ☜