Chapter 537: Little Maid's Contempt

Held in his embrace, the maid's heart pounded so loudly that even Zu'an could hear it.

"Xiao Tuo, why are you so nervous?" Zu'an suddenly understood why so many people coveted power. The feeling of a superior toying with a subordinate, with everything under control, was indeed exhilarating.

"I'm not... not nervous," the maid quickly explained.

Seeing her anxious expression, Zu'an almost burst out laughing. It seemed people from ancient times were still simple; even a highly trained female spy couldn't hide her thoughts. If centuries more had passed, spies of later feudal dynasties would not have allowed him to spot their weaknesses so easily.

At this point, the maid gradually regained her composure. She knew she couldn't leave anytime soon, so she decided to seize the opportunity to complete her master's mission.

However, Zu'an preemptively asked, "By the way, since Tuo State is in the east, do you know anything about the Dongyi State?"

He knew that directly asking about her background would likely be useless. It would be better to ask about things she couldn't lie about, slowly lowering her guard, and then get to the main point later.

"Dongyi State?" The maid was surprised, not expecting him to ask such an irrelevant question. Shouldn't he be asking about Qiangfang?

She increasingly felt that this dissolute monarch seemed somewhat unfathomable. Nevertheless, she replied, "I know a little. The Dongyi people are skilled archers; the character 'Yi' itself evolved from a person carrying a bow and arrow. Their customs are very different from those of the Shang State..."

Hearing her reply, Zu'an nodded subtly, gaining a deeper understanding of Dongyi. "By the way, do you know the princess of Dongyi State? Do they have a national treasure, a jade cong?"

He thought of the previous girl's request. Having heard Ya Chang mention that Fu Hao was very fond of that jade cong, he figured the Dongyi princess must be a contemporary figure.

"The Dongyi princess?" The maid thought for a moment before replying, "Two years ago, the great Shang fought a war with Dongyi. The great Shang won decisively and captured their princess, Jiang."

Zu'an quickly asked, "Where is she now?"

The maid's expression turned odd. "She was sacrificed long ago. Her skull was even placed in a bronze steamer and steamed."

Zu'an: "..."

Alas, that Jiang Jiang was truly tragic. He had originally thought to use his current position as the Shang King to see if he could save her, but he didn't expect that he still couldn't change her tragic fate.

"What about Dongyi State's jade cong?" Zu'an continued to ask. As things stood, he could only fulfill her dying wish to let her spirit rest in peace.

The maid showed hesitation, and after a moment, she said, "According to the Dongyi people, that jade cong can communicate with spirits. So, it is now in the Grand Priest's hands, enhancing his sacrificial abilities."

"The Grand Priest?" Recalling her earlier hesitant expression, Zu'an's heart stirred. "Xiao Tuo, are you and the Grand Priest on good terms?"

The maid's expression changed, and she quickly said, "Your Majesty misunderstands. It's just that the Grand Priest's status is noble, and I, your servant, dare not speak carelessly about him, which is why I hesitated."

Zu'an thought that in this era, the Grand Priest represented the envoy of the gods, and in some respects, his status was no less than that of the Shang King. Recalling that Fu Shuo had previously mentioned trying to reclaim the sacrificial rights, he presumed this Grand Priest was not on their side.

"Tell me about the Grand Priest," Zu'an asked. "What is the Grand Priest's name?"

The maid's expression was odd, thinking, 'You don't even know this? Have you been possessed?' Nevertheless, she replied, "The Grand Priest's name is Lian, and he is Your Majesty's cousin..."

As Zu'an listened to her explanation and asked questions, he finally understood the Grand Priest's identity. It turned out that he was the son of the king before the previous one, King Xiao Xin. When Xiao Xin died, his son was still young, so he passed the throne to his younger brother, Xiao Yi, who was Wu Ding's father.

This made it obvious that Lian must be dissatisfied with Xiao Yi's act of passing the throne to his own son. By rights, the throne should have returned to their lineage, so he harbored disloyal intentions.

All those historical dramas in his past life weren't watched in vain; these relationships were easy to guess.

Objectively speaking, it wasn't surprising that Lian was dissatisfied. Zu'an believed that if he were in Lian's shoes, he would definitely try to reclaim "his own" throne.

Of course, Zu'an was currently Wu Ding. Furthermore, knowing that Wu Ding was a wise ruler who reigned for decades in history, and with the historical trend established, he couldn't simply abdicate in favor of another.

"Your Majesty seems to trust the Prime Minister greatly," the maid suddenly asked.

Zu'an saw that she was deliberately changing the subject, clearly unwilling to talk more about Lian, and he understood her intention.

"Fu Shuo is my friend, and he is an upright and capable man, so naturally, I trust him," Zu'an explained with a smile.

The maid did not refute him; instead, she profusely praised Fu Shuo. However, she later subtly dropped comments meant to sow discord between Fu Shuo and Wu Ding.

Her provocations were actually quite clever, leaving almost no trace. If Zu'an hadn't been wary of her from the start, he likely wouldn't have sensed the manipulation.

The maid felt that her purpose for staying had been achieved, and she was eager to leave and deliver her message, so she found another reason to excuse herself.

Who knew Zu'an would suddenly sweep her up into his arms? "Hahahaha, where are you going? Stay and sleep with this king!"

Maid: "..."

Anger points from Xiao Tuo: 233,233,233...

This lecherous, dissolute monarch, after asking all those questions, was clearly after *this*!

Feeling the man's masculine scent so close, her heart fluttered in panic, and she instinctively struggled.

Zu'an gasped, admiring the designers of this trial. One had to remember that their physical bodies hadn't entered; only their souls had. The characters appearing here should be considered NPCs in a game, except that if this game couldn't be cleared, it would cost the player their life.

But weren't these NPCs a bit too realistic to hold?

He could keenly feel the astonishing elasticity of her skin and the warmth of her body. Coupled with the friction from her struggles, it made him restless with desire.

Zu'an had originally only intended to scare her with this, but with her wriggling in his arms like that, he felt a surge of heat rising in his lower abdomen.

"Could it be that Xiao Tuo thinks this king is not good enough for you?" Sensing her struggles, Zu'an asked in a deep voice.

"Xiao Tuo wouldn't dare," the maid thought, complaining inwardly. What could I say? Would I really dare to say you're not good enough? Wouldn't I be dragged out and chopped into mincemeat?

At this point, she also realized that her behavior was somewhat unreasonable, so she gradually stopped struggling as she had before.

"Then perhaps you already have a lover in your heart?" Zu'an continued to ask.

"Xiao Tuo doesn't," the maid quickly denied. Yet, the image of a man still flashed through her mind, and she sighed inwardly, 'It seems he and I are fated not to be together in this life. Now, the only thing I can do for him is to fulfill his wish.'

Sensing her unusual reaction, Zu'an smiled slightly, but didn't expose her. He continued to hold her as they rolled onto the bed, and one of his legs naturally draped over her.

Held tightly from behind by him, feeling the heavy weight of the man's body, the maid's heart sank to rock bottom.

She knew she couldn't escape her fate today. She sighed faintly in her heart, "Brother Lian, Xiao Tuo can no longer remain a virgin for you."

As she thought of her sorrow, a line of clear tears unknowingly streamed from the corner of her eye.

However, she also knew her mission. Biting her lip, she thought, 'Since it's come to this, I must maximize the use of my body, try my best to please this dissolute monarch, gain his trust, and sow discord between him and Fu Hao, so that I can help Brother Lian in the future.'

She had already prepared herself for sacrifice, but the man behind her made no further moves.

Soon, snoring sounds came from behind her.

The maid was startled. Asleep?

Recalling the dissolute monarch's previous uninhibited behavior with Fu Hao in the room, she flushed and spat disdainfully, 'You lecher, can't your body handle it now?'

And he wanted to take advantage of me!

She twisted her body, trying to quietly slip away. But the hands holding her were like iron clamps; she couldn't budge them.

Fearing she might wake him, she reluctantly gave up. While pondering her next moves, she inwardly disdained him for his lack of virility.

Suddenly, her small face turned beet red, because she felt something pressing against her from behind.