Appearance
Routes
Route 1 - Submission
You rebuff her feelings of love for you and teach her her place as a subordinate.
- She found religion as a solace. She is a promoter of the ..., which is a buddhist like religion centering around finding happiness through being content and lowering expectations. She becomes an ardent follower of it, and through the questline you have a chance to promote the religion or even adopt it as state religion with her being a sort of symbol of it.
- To protect her ego she adopted a dogmatic and self-righteous philosophy revolving around being satisfied with her station, like a nun.
- A key concept behind the religion is to do everything in your power to worship that which is worthy. So long as you give everything, you will feel content.
Quest reward:
- Becomes a symbol of social stability. Improves GDP and tax rate of conquered provinces by 15%.
Route 2 - Greed
You indulge her in her needs rather than rebuff her efforts to establish greater intimacy with you. This isn't really a status change, but more of upgrading a pet to premium instead of regular pet food because you feel like it.
She develops greed, not for money, more for a sense of wanting more things than is right for her station. You validate her feelings of love for you and she wants to be your mistress.
Primary Reasons for indulging her (Real but Base):
- Physical attraction to her beauty that he's gotten used to but is still lovely
- Pity/duty from their history
- Her utter devotion triggering protective instinct
However these reasons are a bit insulting to both you and her, for you it's a bit base male desires (showing you as being manipulated rather than seeing what she can do for you), and for her, it's pathetic. So to cope you develop a rationalization that she is "comforting".
Secondary Layer (Rationalization):
- MC needs to justify these base impulses to himself
- "Comfort" becomes convenient intellectual framework
- Having someone who is purely his
- Her lack of ambition/agenda becomes retroactive justification
- More about ownership than actual comfort
The catalyst:
- Trigger the base impulses first (beauty/pity)
- Then provide framework for rationalization
- Allow MC to feel he's making a calculated choice
- While really just indulging simpler desires
To make this make sense we can compare her to Weilan.
Weilan provides active comfort through:
- Engaging, funny, entertaining personality
- Sexual enthusiasm, constant availability and energy
- Intellectual stimulation and professional value
- Weilan inspires him to be active and engage with her, she is not stressful or demanding, but fun and relaxing. But he wants to talk with her, he somewhat feels bad if he doesn't fuck her since she's always wet and hot for him.
ZZ provides passive comfort through:
- Simple presence, zero engagement/performance required
- Complete acceptance of being ignored
- Pure devotional presence
Yes ZZ is only nice as a contrast in short, chill doses otherwise she's kinda boring. But MC realizes value in having both:
- Rewarding active engagement (Weilan)
- Someone who passively exists (ZZ)
ZZ's lack of sexual pressure is actually a feature, not a bug. This makes her somewhat unique. But in reality he can get this chillness from anyone else, including Weilan and Yaling, so this is definitely a rationalization rather than the actual reality.
The greed path then becomes interesting because:
MC chooses to upgrade her precisely because her lack of demands is valuable
Making her slightly higher maintenance is his choice, not her requirement
She never loses that core quality of expecting nothing
Even her "greed" is completely dependent on his whims
This route is not one where you fall in love with her scintillating personality. Zhenzhen is just not capable of that. Rather you do it out of a sense of duty from your long history with her, your desire of her beauty, and a recognition of her sheer devotion and loyalty.
- However these reasons are a bit insulting to both you and her, for you it's a bit base male desires, and for her, it's pathetic. So to cope you develop a rationalization that she is "comforting".
She has always wanted to dress in the fancy clothes of the nobility, and has a deep emotional reaction to finally being able to be sexy. Replacing her individuality destroying servants livery with a sexy dress. She finally feels like a real woman.
She gets you to give her your elite magecraft hormone treatments to restore fulls sexual function instead of getting less advanced ones from the clinic.
How to get onto the greed route
We're looking for either a 3 scene process.
Goals:
- Trigger the base impulses first (beauty/pity)
- Then provide framework for rationalization
- Allow MC to feel he's making a calculated choice
- While really just indulging simpler desires
Scene 1 - Physical Beauty Trigger: During a rainstorm, ZZ gets caught in the rain while crossing between buildings. Her thin servant's clothing clings to her body, revealing her beauty that MC has taken for granted. Key elements:
- Accidental rather than manufactured moment
- Shows her continuing to perform duties despite discomfort
- Highlights both her beauty and her pathetic devotion
- MC's initial reaction is pure male response
- But her complete lack of awareness or attempt to use the situation adds to impact
Scene 2 - Accidental Threesome with Weilan MC was having a chill, nonverbal moment with ZZ, maybe cuddling or just resting. Weilan shows up for her scheduled sex, and her hot and engaging energy electrifies him. The comparison between the two sexually is interesting, Weilan's natural enthusiasm and ZZ's struggle, particularly her dryness.
Scene 3 - MC goes to find ZZ, just to cuddle with her. He has doesn't want to bother Yaling or Weilan, who has things to do, would just like some non-verbal/non-sexual cuddling while he thinks to himself. He finds her deep in prayer, to him and worshipping him. Maybe she's even doing some masochistic thing I dunno. He hugs her, sees that she's hurt from his neglect (possibly have a conversation where she sobs and tells him a bit of her feelings), and decides to upgrade her, keep her closer, give her gifts like fine clothing, (choice for player).
The "comfort" rationalization can emerge after these scenes as MC justifies his growing desire to upgrade her status. It's not why he does it, but how he frames it to himself.
Scene 1 Text
Through the manor's tall windows, rain hammered against glass in heavy sheets. The Day of Loyalty ceremonies had concluded, the usual rituals and presentations mercifully brief due to the approaching storm. As the last carriages prepared to depart, carrying away loyalist children and their mothers, something caught ZZ's eye that made her heart nearly stop.
One of the younger children had innocently pocketed a small bronze icon from the family shrine - the one depicting proper hierarchy that she had seen MC's mother pray with countless times. The sacred piece showed a solfrey extending blessing to kneeling commoners, their faces upturned in proper devotion. ZZ's chest tightened. The icon's absence would disrupt the shrine's spiritual harmony, creating a void in the careful balance she maintained. More than that, it represented a breach of sacred trust - a corruption of the very hierarchy the Day of Loyalty celebrated.
Divine punishment would surely follow such transgression. ZZ could already feel it gathering in the storm clouds above. Without hesitation, she stepped out into the deluge. Rain immediately soaked through her thin servant's clothing, plastering the fabric to her skin, but she barely noticed as she hurried after the departing carriages. The icon had to be retrieved. Not just for its religious significance, but because it belonged to MC's household. Each splash of her sandals through growing puddles was a prayer - for speed, for success, for forgiveness of the innocent breach.
From his study window, MC glimpsed movement in the courtyard. Lightning flashed, illuminating ZZ's figure as she rushed through the rain. Her wet clothing clung to every curve of her body, revealing the beauty she maintained but never flaunted. Water streamed down her face, yet she pressed forward with singular purpose, her dedication evident in every urgent step.
Heat stirred in his groin at the sight of her wet form. The thin fabric left little to imagination, highlighting the swell of her breasts, the curve of her hips, the slightly hardened peaks of her nipples in the cold rain. But something else stirred too - a tightening in his chest as he watched her sacrifice comfort and dignity over such a small matter. All to maintain proper order in his household.
ZZ reached the lead carriage just as it began to move. Speaking quickly to the driver, she retrieved the icon from the apologetic child. Success flared warm in her chest despite the cold rain plastering her hair to her face. The shrine's harmony would be preserved. Her fingers traced the bronze figures reverently - the proper order restored through her service.
Turning back toward the manor, she clutched the sacred icon to her breast. Her soaked clothing felt heavier with each step, but she took comfort knowing she had protected MC's household from even this minor spiritual breach. Each raindrop felt like a blessing now, washing away the momentary disorder. Her prayers of gratitude mingled with the storm's fury.
MC's breath caught as she passed beneath his window. Rain had rendered her clothing nearly transparent, highlighting every graceful line of her body. Her thin garment clung to the subtle curve of her breasts, the gentle slope of her belly, the sweet arc of her hips. Yet she showed no awareness of her exposed state, focused only on returning the icon to its proper place. His cock hardened painfully at the sight of her wet form, even as something protective and possessive clenched in his chest.
She had always been like this - sacrificing herself for his household without hesitation or complaint. The rain simply made her devotion more visible, made him see what had always been there. How many times had she performed such acts of service unseen? How many small sacrifices had he missed while she maintained his world in perfect order?
Rising from his chair, MC moved quickly through the manor halls. He found her at the shrine entrance, water pooling at her feet as she prepared to restore the icon. Her hands trembled slightly from the cold as she raised the bronze piece. Droplets fell from her eyelashes like tears of relief.
Without a word, he stepped behind her. She stiffened in surprise but didn't turn, maintaining proper focus on her sacred duty. He placed his hands over hers, helping guide the icon back to its place. Her skin was cold and wet beneath his touch, her body shivering slightly against his chest.
"My lord," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. "The shrine's harmony... I couldn't let it be disturbed..."
"Shhh." He turned her gently to face him, drinking in her rain-soaked beauty. Water beaded on her skin like jewels, her nipples clearly visible through the clinging fabric. But it was the pure devotion in her eyes that truly caught him - that absolute submission that made his cock throb even as his heart ached.
Cupping her face in his hands, he traced his thumbs across her wet cheeks. She leaned into his touch like a flower seeking sun, though her eyes remained downcast in proper deference. Her breath came in small gasps, whether from cold or arousal he couldn't tell.
"You're freezing," he murmured, pulling her closer. Her wet clothes soaked into his, but he didn't care. She felt so small in his arms, so vulnerable yet so perfectly his. Need surged through him - to warm her, to reward her, to claim her utterly.
Her only response was to press closer, accepting whatever attention he deigned to give her. Just as she had accepted every other aspect of her service - with complete submission and grateful devotion.