Good things came one after another. Through a friend's introduction, Chen Azhi met a beautiful girl, and the two started dating. Though their relationship had only progressed to holding hands, it was enough to excite Chen Azhi.
When Chen's Father and Chen's Mother heard the news, they were overjoyed and urged him to bring the girl home to meet them.
To their surprise, the girl not only showed no disdain for the Chen family’s modest living conditions but even busied herself helping out, addressing Chen's parents affectionately as "Uncle" and "Auntie," which delighted them.
Despite their happiness, they didn’t forget the practical matters. Casually probing, they inquired about the girl’s family background. When they learned her family was in business, Chen's Mother’s face lit up with joy.
"So, dear, how much dowry does your family expect?" Chen's Mother asked cautiously. She was thoroughly pleased with this potential daughter-in-law—she had helped with cooking and cleaning, leaving Chen's Mother free to relax.
"Well... my dad said the dowry should be 880,000," the girl replied.
The cheerful atmosphere in the Chen household froze.
"880,000? You—" Chen's Mother’s expression darkened. In her view, marriage was about continuing the family line and managing household chores—how could it cost so much?
But the girl’s next words silenced her: "My family will provide a dowry of 1,880,000."
Hearing this number, Chen's parents gasped. A dowry—1,880,000!
The girl continued, dropping another bombshell: "My dad said this money, along with the dowry, will all go to me and my husband." At this, she shyly glanced at Chen Azhi.
Chen Azhi’s heart nearly leaped out of his chest—a beautiful girl, a wealthy father-in-law, and a fortune just for getting married!
"Mom!" Chen Azhi looked pleadingly at Chen's Mother.
Chen's Mother was also flustered: "But dear, you’ve seen our family’s situation. 880,000 is..."
The girl stood up. "880,000 is just symbolic. My dad said if a family can’t even afford that, I wouldn’t have a good life, and he wouldn’t let me marry into it."
Just then, a car horn sounded outside. The girl rose. "My driver’s here. I’ll take my leave, Brother Azhi." She smiled at Chen Azhi and playfully winked.
The Chen family saw her off, watching as she stepped into a luxury car.
"My goodness... she really is from a wealthy family?" Chen's Mother murmured.
Only Chen's Father remained skeptical: "880,000—what if this is a scam?"
Chen Azhi grew agitated. "How could it be a scam? Look at my clothes, my necklace!" He eagerly showed them off. "Xue bought all of this for me!"
Chen's Mother hesitated. "How could it be a scam? On the wedding day, we’ll bring out the dowry, and her family will present the dowry in front of everyone. I doubt they can perform magic tricks!"
An idea struck her. "Azhi, ask her if the dowry and the bride’s gift will be presented on the same day."
Though reluctant, under his parents’ pressure, Chen Azhi called Xue.
After hanging up, he announced, "Xue said both the dowry and the bride’s gift will be displayed at the wedding, and then they’ll be given to us!"
Chen's parents exchanged glances—this was a sure deal!
But where would the money come from?
Of course, from Chen Xiaoxiao! The Gu family had money!
When the Chen family showed up at her doorstep, Chen Xiaoxiao’s expression darkened.
"You want more money?" Her tone was sharp.
Chen's Father glared. "What do you mean ‘want’? We’re asking you to lend money to your brother!"
"No!"
Chen's Mother quickly intervened. "Xiaoxiao, he’s your only brother. Now that he finally has a chance to marry, will you just watch him stay single?" She even pretended to wipe away tears.
Chen Azhi chimed in, "Xiaoxiao, help me out. Once I’m married and get the dowry, I’ll pay you back."
Chen Xiaoxiao was furious and helpless. When she married into the Gu family, these bloodsucking relatives had already taken a million. Now they were demanding another 880,000—how was this possible? "I have my own life to live. Where would I get that kind of money? Stop pressuring me."
Chen's Father, humiliated, slammed the table. "You’re like spilled water—once married, you forget your own family! If you won’t lend it, I’ll stay right here!"
Chen Xiaoxiao was at her wit’s end. Staring at their ugly faces, her resentment peaked, but she didn’t know how to shake them off.
Just then, Gu Xiuyuan returned. Seeing the Chen family, his expression soured. To make up for the million Gu's Mother had given away, he had taken on multiple projects and was exhausted.
"Dad, Mom," Gu Xiuyuan greeted them reluctantly.
Chen's Mother acknowledged him, while Chen's Father snorted.
"Xiaoxiao, what’s going on?"
"Xiuyuan, they... they want me to give 880,000 for Chen Azhi’s wedding!" Chen Xiaoxiao finally had someone to lean on.
"What?!" Gu Xiuyuan was stunned. "Didn’t we already pay the dowry?"
"Xiuyuan, we’re just borrowing it this time," Chen's Mother explained. "The girl’s family agreed—on the wedding day, we’ll show the money as a formality, and her family will give a dowry of 1,880,000!"
Gu Xiuyuan paused. "Are you sure this isn’t a scam?"
"A scam? Would a scammer agree to show the money at the wedding?" Chen Azhi was incensed—he wouldn’t tolerate anyone slandering Xue.
"But we really don’t have the money now," Gu Xiuyuan said.
"No money?" Chen's Father scoffed. "Your family has no money? Don’t lie to us. You gave a million to marry this girl, but now you won’t lend 880,000?"
Before Gu Xiuyuan could respond, something clattered to the floor behind him.
He turned to see a horrified Gu's Mother and a stunned Gu's Father, the groceries in his hands scattered on the ground.
"Mom, Dad... you—"
"A million? What million?!" Gu's Father had finally come around after days of persuasion from Gu's Mother. After all, Chen Xiaoxiao was their adopted daughter who had taken their name—as long as the couple was happy, that was what mattered. He had even bought groceries to celebrate, only to walk into this shocking revelation.
"Oh, in-laws, you’re back!" Chen's Mother quickly stood.
"What million?" Gu's Father’s piercing gaze shifted from Gu Xiuyuan to Chen's Mother.
Chen Azhi shrugged. "The million your son gave as dowry for my sister—did you forget already?"
Gu's Father’s eyes bulged, his breathing ragged.
"Old man!"
"Dad!"
Gu's Father was rushed to the hospital, with Chen Xiaoxiao accompanying him. The Chen family, unsure of what had happened but unwilling to get involved, decided to retreat and return another day.
"Boss, I don’t fully understand, but this seems really bad," Xu Jiabo muttered after reporting the situation.
Fang Zhiyi smiled. "People who are cautious are actually easier to deceive—as long as they can’t figure out what the scammer really wants."
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
