"Back then, I didn't know your identity." Zu An chuckled awkwardly.

"You can hug any woman you don't know, but you can't hug someone like me who's a friend or acquaintance, right?" Shang Hongyu glared at him, then chuckled at his awkward expression. "Don't get the wrong idea. The reason I let you put your arm around my waist is because we were just practicing our formal demeanor for the Dragon King and me. Now we're practicing for everyday dances or other everyday situations. After all, to outsiders, we're a very loving couple."

Zuan keenly sensed the unusual tone in her words: "In the eyes of outsiders?"

Shang Hongyu sighed softly: "Back then, I only married the Dragon King because of the tradition of intermarriage between the mermaid and dragon clans. But the Dragon King is a womanizer and a lecher. He spends very little time in the palace throughout the year. Instead, he goes around hunting for women. Do you think there is much affection between us as husband and wife?"

Zuan asked in confusion, "Since the Dragon King is so lustful, and the Queen is so beautiful, why would he run away from her?"

"Don't you men all like new things?" Shang Hongyu gave him a resentful look.

Zuan: "..."

There's no way to respond to that.

Shang Hongyu then said, "Actually, it's the Dragon King's peculiar habits that are the problem..."

"Special?" Seeing that the other party seemed reluctant to talk about it, Zu An became even more gossipy and hurriedly pressed for details.

Shang Hongyu, unable to bear it any longer, had no choice but to reply:

"These things shouldn't be told to outsiders in the first place, but the situation is special now. Well, since you're going to pretend to be him, you should be aware of this, otherwise it will be easy to give yourself away."

"He often liked to pretend to be an ordinary person and then seduce married women from various ethnic groups."

Zuan: "???"

The Dragon King saw an upright-looking man in the sky above the capital, but it turns out he was a traitor named Cao?

Shang Hongyu also felt somewhat embarrassed and ashamed: "He likes to drag innocent people into his schemes and enjoy the feeling of them struggling on the edge of morality and desire. In fact, he has harmed the families of many nobles and ministers in the sea tribe. I will tell you about these ministers later, otherwise it will be bad if you run into them and get exposed."

Zuan: "???"

"He even laid hands on the families of his ministers? Wasn't he overthrown by the ministers uniting together?"

"Why overthrow it?" Shang Hongyu asked, puzzled. "It would be an honor for those ministerial families, especially if they could give birth to the bloodline of the Dragon King. That would be even more perfect. Regardless of whether the illegitimate child will be recognized by the family in the future, it would be a huge help to the ministerial families."

Zuan: "..."

He felt he had heard too many shocking things today; it was all a bit too outrageous.

Shang Hongyu seemed to have thought of something, and then smiled and said, "Relatively speaking, our sea race's customs are more open than those of the demon race, and our views on this kind of thing are indeed quite different from those of your human race."

Zu An thought to himself that it wasn't just slightly different, it was completely opposite.

At this moment, Shang Hongyu continued, "Regardless of the overall sea race or the stability of the Dragon Palace's power, the Dragon King and I must appear to be in love to the outside world, lest some guys have unrealistic fantasies."

"You mean some women want to climb the social ladder?" Zu An's heart skipped a beat.

“Not just women, some men too,” Shang Hongyu replied.

Zuan's eyes widened instantly, like copper bells.

Seeing his expression, Shang Hongyu immediately knew he had misunderstood, and said irritably, "It's not what you think. Some ministers, after learning about the Dragon King's hobbies, deliberately selected some beautiful women to take as concubines, and then, through various coincidences, leaked the information to the Dragon King, waiting for him to come and steal them. Later, they wanted to elevate these women to higher positions, bringing glory and power to their families. If this wasn't controlled, wouldn't the entire Dragon Palace be in chaos?"

Zuan chuckled self-deprecatingly, at least in this respect, humans and sea creatures are quite similar, and there were even many similar things in their past lives.

"Alright, alright, these are all secrets between us as husband and wife, and you've found out everything," Shang Hongyu said coquettishly. "So, are you going to hug me or not?"

"Just hug me, I'll hug you then." Zu'an was also a little frustrated. Why did this feeling feel so strange? It was as if their identities were reversed.

He reached out his hand, but paused just before touching the other person. He quickly regained his composure; it was just an act.

Having seen many storms, he quickly calmed down and naturally put his arm around the other person's waist.

Although it wasn't the first time I'd hugged her, the special feeling was still quite obvious.

Whether it was a mermaid's innate ability or not, her waist was truly flexible and slender, and even through her clothes, one could feel its amazing elasticity and smoothness.

Shang Hongyu's cheeks flushed slightly. The heat from the other person's palm felt like the sun, making her feel warm and comfortable all over. At the same time, her heart started beating faster.

However, she reacted quickly and calmly gave instructions: "Don't be so stiff with your hands, be more natural, um, a little higher."

While speaking, she guided his hand to adjust his position.

Compared to her delicate skin, Zuan's hands were slightly rough, but she didn't feel uncomfortable at all. On the contrary, the two skins had a strange compatibility.

As the other person's hand moved, she suddenly felt her legs go weak.

"What's wrong?" Noticing that she seemed a little off, Zu'an asked with concern, "Could it be that your injury has relapsed?"

"It's alright." Shang Hongyu took a deep breath and calmed herself down.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!