51: Chapter 51 Why is Arya so mean?

In the Ducalia Territory, Chief Guard Cheng Yu and Aria were drinking the nuptial wine.

The wedding wasn't until next month, but the couple couldn't wait, so they went through the ceremony once according to Aeldari customs and once according to Cheng Yu's hometown customs.

"Oh, my other half of the soul, before we unite, there are some things I must tell you."

Aria was, after all, of true noble birth. Although she sometimes behaved poorly, that didn't mean she wasn't capable of acting like a noble.

"My dear, I already know."

Chief Guard Cheng Yu had already seen the information that Cheng Yu had made accessible to him through their shared consciousness.

Aria had dated a ridiculous number of boyfriends and girlfriends in the past... but Chief Guard Cheng Yu understood; his marriage to her was largely out of a sense of gratitude.

After the wedding, they could each do their own thing without interfering with one another; he would simply fulfill his duties as Chief Guard.

"I am still a virgin, and the Aeldari physiological structure is different from humans, so you must undergo some body augmentation before we can unite, otherwise, there might be a risk to your life."

"..." Chief Guard Cheng Yu's face clearly displayed his disbelief—not at the latter part, but at the former.

"I swear by Cegorach that I am telling the truth."

Chief Guard Cheng Yu's pupils dilated. If a Harlequin Aeldari said this, it had to be the truth, unless she was willing to suffer eternal damnation under Slaanesh after death just for this lie.

"I... I am also a virgin."

"Tch, men." Aria rolled her eyes; this time, it was her turn to be skeptical.

"I swear to my Emperor, I am telling the absolute truth." Chief Guard Cheng Yu held up two fingers. "If I am lying, may His Majesty immediately strike me down with heavenly lightning!"

"That's more like it..." Aria rolled her eyes in an attractive way this time. Aeldari really were beautiful; even picking their nose looked incredibly graceful.

Hidden in the shadows, the agent from Thirteen Offices quietly recorded in their shared consciousness notebook: "The Dukaria couple is badmouthing Cheng Yu while whispering to each other; their attitude is not very respectful."

"What kind of body augmentation do I need to do? Will it take long?" Chief Guard Cheng Yu could hardly wait.

"It won't take long, just a moment."

Aria suddenly kissed Chief Guard Cheng Yu's lips, infusing it with her psychic allure.

How could the little fellow handle that? He immediately lost consciousness in pure bliss.

Aria was absolutely right; the Aeldari had an extremely strong talent for sensory stimulation.

If just a kiss could do this, then without the physical augmentation, Chief Guard Cheng Yu's obituary could have been sent out along with the wedding invitations.

"Take my man to get surgery. I want this, and this, and this... actually, never mind, let's go with that one, that shape is better."

Countess Dukaria was instructing her private Aeldari doctor on the modification projects she wanted, as if she were ordering from a menu.

The shared consciousness was indeed not omniscient; sometimes it only saw the surface of issues. How could Main Body have known that Aria was still a virgin? She had nearly two reinforced platoons' worth of ex-boyfriends and ex-girlfriends.

But seeing the surface was enough; Aria was indeed a selfish beast, and Main Body hadn't been wrong about that.

...

"Yucai" Hive City, intelligence trading tea stall.

Sophia wasn't feeling well today, so Iron Fist Cheng Yu had to come to buy intelligence by himself.

The higher one's position, the more one needed this kind of information.

The more power Iron Fist Cheng Yu wielded, the more he felt the terror of power.

Every day, he had to sign off on the execution of so many clones and outsiders. Iron Fist Cheng Yu was truly afraid that one day, he would appear on someone else's list. The court struggles were like walking on thin ice...

"Yo, s-so it is a high-ranking lord!"

The stuttering clone of Cheng Yu walked over, leaning on a crutch and swaying with every step.

Although Iron Fist Cheng Yu had concealed his face, the difference in status and the divergence in their thoughts meant that the temperament of each Cheng Yu clone was vastly different—this was the blessing of the Slaanesh mask.

"Keep your voice down. They might be inspecting the market today."

"Inspect? Let them inspect. A man only dies once."

The stuttering Cheng Yu ordered a pot of Tieguanyin. Tea on Cheng Yu Planet was extremely expensive; at its cheapest, one tael of tea leaves cost five hundred credits, while a newspaper only cost half a credit.

Being able to drink such precious tea by the pot showed that the stuttering Cheng Yu was doing well for himself and had some real capability.

"Long, long live the Emperor, and may this humble one be drunk every day!"

The stuttering Cheng Yu took a large gulp of the strong tea, and the wrinkles on his forehead smoothed out.

"What kind of information do you have for sale?"

Iron Fist Cheng Yu hadn't come with any specific objective today.

The cooperation agreement between the Dark Mechanicum Archmagos and the Empire had already been implemented. There was nothing in it that could threaten his position, and there were quite a few clauses that were favorable to him.

"W-well, the intelligence on Rogue Trader Kaelus... n-no, you don't want it?"

"Who is Kaelus?" Iron Fist Cheng Yu frowned.

"Oh, oh, I misspoke. I shall slap my own mouth." The stuttering Cheng Yu smiled and tapped his own lips twice.

Iron Fist Cheng Yu scrutinized this clone. He really didn't know how, as an early-generation clone, this Cheng Yu had managed to accumulate such a thick layer of cunning temperament in such a short time.

"Tell me the valuable intelligence."

"O-okay, okay..." The stuttering Cheng Yu lowered his voice to a level where one had to lean in close to hear.

"The Noble Consort, Lady Istvaan, used special means to send a letter to T-Terra. Do you want to know the contents of the letter?"

"Screw you, I don't." Iron Fist Cheng Yu broke out in a cold sweat.

"H-His Majesty wants to build an Astropathic communication station. Do you... do you want to know why?"

"..."

Iron Fist Cheng Yu really did want to know this. Logically speaking, there was a shared consciousness network between Cheng Yu and his clones, which allowed for zero-cost, faster-than-light communication.

The Empire recruiting Astropaths was merely to deceive outsiders; why would he spend such a huge fortune to build communication stations?

"Anything else?" Iron Fist Cheng Yu was very interested in this piece of intelligence, but he couldn't show it; intelligence brokers were notoriously ruthless with their pricing.

"Right now, these two are the most valuable pieces. A-as for others... they are all matters outside the Empire. Are you interested in those too?"

The stuttering Cheng Yu tilted his head and sized up Iron Fist Cheng Yu; he had already roughly guessed who the other person was.

"Boring. I thought you might have some impressive channels. Fine, I'll take the second one; I can at least use it to report back to my boss."

Iron Fist Cheng Yu was still pretending, and the stuttering Cheng Yu couldn't be bothered to expose him, simply holding his teacup and chugging the tea like a thirsty ox or donkey.

"Then, let's, let's make friends. One hundred thousand credits."

"?" Iron Fist Cheng Yu frowned. "Why is it so cheap? Didn't you say it started at ten million before?"

"I, I judge the person. Before, your... your companion didn't, didn't look like a smart person. Selling to her meant I had to bear, bear additional risks."

"Fine." Iron Fist Cheng Yu handed over a bearer draft issued by the Ducalia Territory.

Because the Ducalia Territory had luxurious Aeldari goods as exchange collateral, and Aria was obsessed with making money, she allowed the drafts to be bearer instruments. Therefore, the corrupt clones within the Empire all loved the drafts she issued.