Chapter 540: Attack the Heart

"What's different?" Zu'an asked, holding her and sitting on the edge of the bed. He made no further moves.

Xiaotuo turned her face away, her lips pressed tightly together. She didn't answer, clearly feeling that anything she said at this point would be meaningless.

Zu'an smiled slightly. "It's just my soft heart. I can forgive everything that happened before. From now on, you just need to be completely mine."

"You're dreaming!" Despite trembling with fear, Xiaotuo mustered her courage and declared, "My heart will always belong to Brother Lian. I'll never yield to a tyrant like you."

Zu'an chuckled. "You're so devoted to Lian, but he might not trust you anymore."

Xiaotuo bit her lip tightly and then said, "Brother Lian and I grew up together; we understand each other perfectly. You can't sow discord between us."

"Is that so?" A hint of mockery flashed across Zu'an's face. "If you truly loved each other, how could he bear to send you into the palace to serve other men?"

"Isn't it because you and your father seized the throne that rightfully belonged to him? Since I love him, I naturally have to do everything I can to help him," Xiaotuo replied.

"Even sacrificing your own purity?"

"I'm willing!" By this point, Xiaotuo had calmed down and said coldly, "Do whatever you want with me, kill or torture. Don't waste your breath."

Zu'an, however, looked appreciative. "What a brave woman. It's a pity you've placed your trust in the wrong person."

Xiaotuo turned her head away, clearly unwilling to argue about it.

Zu'an then continued, "My earlier remark about Lian possibly not trusting you wasn't baseless. Think about it: when you first entered the palace, you sent out intelligence very frequently. But later, the intervals between each piece of information grew longer and longer, and recently, it's been a very long time between transmissions. Why is that?"

"I..." Xiaotuo gasped, unable to explain why. She hadn't even noticed the change herself.

Zu'an smiled. "It's because you've developed feelings for me over time. Subconsciously, you feel guilty towards me, and that guilt led to this change."

Had he not noticed the change in her, he wouldn't have bothered with all this talk. He would have simply ordered the guards to take her away, to be thrown into the imperial prison if not executed.

Xiaotuo's face paled, and she quickly retorted, "Nonsense! How could I possibly develop feelings for you?"

"Even little cats and dogs develop affection if you keep them long enough, let alone a living person. Besides, we've been together constantly these past days, doing things more intimate than what spouses do. Is it really that strange for a young girl like you, inexperienced in such matters, to unknowingly develop feelings for me?" Zu'an replied.

"No... that's not it..." Xiaotuo still argued, but her tone was no longer as firm as before.

She herself felt a little lost. Could it be true, as he said, that she had developed feelings for him?

But I clearly love Brother Lian. How could I be such a fickle woman?

Seeing her expression shift, Zu'an pressed on. "No matter how strong your feelings for Lian are, a man can't simply disregard such things. Even if he successfully takes the throne in the future, the thought of you having pleased another man will surely be unbearable for him. So, from the moment you agreed to this plan, regardless of whether Lian or I win, your fate is bound to be tragic."

Xiaotuo's face grew a shade paler. She had, in fact, considered this possibility before, but she had instinctively reassured herself that Brother Lian wasn't that kind of person, refusing to dwell on it. Now that he had laid it bare, she understood it was highly probable.

Zu'an continued, "When he thinks about your past, he'll feel uneasy. And then, connecting that with the decreased frequency of your messages, won't he suspect that you've been sleeping with me every day, that I've seduced you, and you've subconsciously developed feelings? These two factors combined are like adding frost to snow; there's no way you can ever go back to how things were."

Xiaotuo took a deep breath. "I know all this, but so what? Since I agreed to help him, as long as he ultimately succeeds, I'll be content if he occasionally remembers my good deeds. I never intended to live happily ever after with him anyway."

"Remember your good deeds?" Zu'an scoffed. "Naive! It'll be a miracle if he doesn't hate you to the bone. How could he possibly remember your good deeds?"

"Nonsense! How could he hate me?" Xiaotuo exclaimed anxiously. This was her sole pillar of belief, and she wouldn't allow anyone to destroy it.

Zu'an reached out, hooked her chin, and closely examined her beautiful face. "Since I knew your intentions from the very beginning, how could I not have been prepared?"

Xiaotuo suddenly realized something, and her face changed dramatically.

Zu'an's fingers caressed her cheek, feeling her smooth, delicate skin. "You've been secretly getting a lot of information from me and passing it on during this time, haven't you? Although you were very careful each time, how could I let you succeed when I was deliberately on guard?"

"But I still found a lot of confidential information!" Xiaotuo said hastily.

Zu'an smiled. "Because I deliberately let you transmit that false information."

"False information?" Xiaotuo's mind reeled, her entire being stunned. She no longer cared about his hand caressing her—of course, given their intimacy over the past while, such a touch was nothing at all.

Zu'an nodded. "Actually, I should thank you. It would have been quite troublesome for me to eliminate some of the opposition. But through you, I misled Lian, causing him to kill a large number of his own loyal confidants. Hahaha, he thought I had bribed those people. On the contrary, the people he later relied heavily on and tried to win over were actually my own."

"You helped me so much and harmed him so severely. Tell me, will Lian remember your good deeds, or will he hate you?"

Xiaotuo felt utterly cold and quickly struggled excitedly. "You devil!"

Zu'an directly restrained her flailing hands and said coldly, "You were the ones who meticulously plotted to harm me first. So, who is the devil?"

Xiaotuo's face was blank, and she seemed to have lost all her strength, sobbing softly.

All her beliefs had completely crumbled. Only now did she realize that everything she had stood for was, in fact, a joke.

Yet, she had sacrificed her purity and happiness for it, and had also caused devastating damage to Lian's ambitions.

The man remained relentless, his devilish voice continuing to whisper in her ear: "When Lian realizes all this, combined with the seeds of doubt already planted in his mind, his first reaction will be that you've developed feelings for me, betrayed him, and conspired with me to deceive him."

"No, that's not true..." Xiaotuo shook her head frantically, murmuring, but she knew how powerless her words were.

"Why are you telling me all this? Are you deliberately trying to humiliate me?" Xiaotuo asked, looking at him through her tears.

Zu'an looked back at her, reaching out to wipe the tears from her cheeks. "Because I want you."

"You already have me!" Xiaotuo cried out. Hadn't he had her every day, in every possible way? Was he still not satisfied?

"No, not yet," Zu'an shook his head.

Xiaotuo froze, her expression initially confused. After a moment, she understood his meaning: he wanted not just her body, but also her heart.

She let out a cold laugh. "Do you think that's possible?"

Zu'an said calmly, "If I hadn't sensed the changes in you towards me during this time, and the struggle and hesitation you yourself didn't even notice each time you sent out information, I wouldn't be saying all this to you."

Xiaotuo fell silent. Had she truly, unknowingly...

Zu'an then continued, "Why grieve for a man who would use his beloved woman's body to achieve his goals? Remember, besides love, you have your family, and the people of Tuo. Do you want them to be chopped into mincemeat and turned into human sacrifices because of your choices?"

"You truly are a demon!" Xiaotuo trembled all over.

Zu'an shook his head. "I'm not threatening you with this. You know very well that many things aren't solely decided by the King. When Lian is eventually dealt with, the court officials will certainly hold you accountable too, along with your family and clan. It's not a matter of me simply choosing not to pursue it; otherwise, the state would fall into chaos."

"What I'm telling you now is merely to offer you a way out. Only by completely becoming my person, allowing me to publicly state that you were always my mole, can you and your clan avoid that tragic fate."

Seeing the blankness in her eyes, Zu'an lowered his head and kissed her red lips.

Xiaotuo instinctively tried to push him away, but her hand stopped halfway.

Zu'an smiled faintly, took her hand, interlaced their fingers, and then, holding her, rolled onto the bed.

Xiaotuo's heart began to pound. Although she had been intimate with him many times recently, she felt exceptionally nervous now, even more so than on their first night.

She knew the difference now, and her heart was filled with conflict and hesitation.