The night was as dark as ink, and all was dead silent.
The architecture of the Crown Prince's Palace outlined a silent silhouette under the faint light of the stars and moon, with only a few halls still lit.
Gu Chengyin's carriage rolled across the palace roads, finally stopping in front of the courtyard of the side hall where he resided.
The driver was from the Internal Affairs Department, silent and reliable. After Gu Chengyin stepped down, he quietly drove the carriage toward the palace's carriage quarters.
A chilly night breeze blew past. Gu Chengyin took a deep breath of the cold air, slightly dispelling the scent of wine and the aura of scheming from the Cui Estate.
He looked up at the side hall where he lived; the windows on the second floor were pitch black, clearly indicating no one was waiting.
There was still light shining from the Wenli Hall. It was likely the eunuchs on night duty still handling affairs, but Luo Zhao herself should have already rested.
After a moment of thought, Gu Chengyin decided not to disturb her. This was not something that could be explained in just a few words.
Besides, it was late. If Luo Zhao had already fallen asleep, it wouldn't be good to wake her up.
Gu Chengyin stepped into his small courtyard.
The courtyard was not large but elegant and tidy. The female official on night duty, hearing the noise, had already come out with a lantern to welcome him, bowing respectfully. The Marquis has returned.
Yes, there's nothing else. Go and rest, Gu Chengyin instructed.
Yes, Marquis. Hot water has already been prepared; you may use it at any time. The female official complied, hung the lantern under the corridor, and quietly withdrew.
Gu Chengyin walked into the hall alone.
He didn't linger and went straight up to the second floor, returning to his own room.
Pushing the door open, he could faintly see the outline of the room by the dim moonlight filtering through the window and the light from the lantern in the corridor.
The room was not big and simply furnished: a bed, a table, a chair, a wardrobe, and a copper basin stand for washing up.
A faint, fresh breath lingered in the air, mixed with a hint of sandalwood.
Gu Chengyin lit the lamp on the table. The soft halo immediately dispelled the darkness and illuminated the room.
Just as he walked toward the bed, preparing to lie down for a while, his movements suddenly froze.
The quilt on the bed.
It wasn't flat and empty.
Instead, it was bulging into a lump, and faintly rising and falling?
Gu Chengyin stiffened mid-step, his brows slowly furrowing.
Then he reached out, gently pressed on the bulging lump, gave it a slight push, and asked in a low voice:
Gu Xiaoli?
The thing under the covers seemed startled and squirmed a bit.
Immediately after, the corner of the quilt was carefully lifted to reveal a crack, and a furry head poked out from inside.
Gu Chengyin clearly saw a small, drowsy face.
Her soft, short black hair was somewhat messy, and her large, cat-like eyes remained exceptionally bright. She blinked, looking at Gu Chengyin with a bit of bewilderment.
It really was Gu Xiaoli.
Gu Chengyin sighed silently, withdrew his hand, sat on the edge of the bed, and asked with a slight headache:
Why are you here?
Gu Xiaoli seemed not fully awake yet, or perhaps she was a bit unsettled by Gu Chengyin's serious expression.
She blinked her eyes, which were filled with innocence and a sense of matter-of-factness, and answered softly:
Xiaoli... is a personal maid.
She tilted her head, seemingly not understanding why Gu Chengyin would ask such a question. Isn't a personal maid... supposed to warm the master's bed?
Warm the bed?
Gu Chengyin choked on this righteous and confident statement, not knowing how to refute it for a moment.
Personal maids warming the bed—in this era, especially in the palace and noble households, such a custom indeed existed.
But he had never thought this set of rules would be applied to him, let alone to a half-grown child.
Gu Chengyin looked at Gu Xiaoli's pure eyes, and the sense of absurdity in his heart grew heavier.
Who told you this? Gu Chengyin rubbed the space between his eyebrows, trying to find the culprit.
Gu Xiaoli was very honest and immediately answered, The older maid sisters in the palace told Xiaoli.
They said that a personal maid not only has to warm the master's bed but also, whenever the master wants, give the master...
Stop!
Gu Chengyin quickly interrupted the rest, feeling his headache worsen. He had really been careless!
He was only thinking about giving Gu Xiaoli the title of a personal maid, completely forgetting that some rules were entirely unsuitable for her.
Although the world-weary loli was indeed very beautiful, the problem was, how old was she?
By Gu Chengyin's standards, she was absolutely a minor.
If anything really happened, in his previous life, he would be chopped into mincemeat on the street.
Adulthood was the most basic bottom line.
This dangerous misunderstanding had to be corrected immediately!
The expression on Gu Chengyin's face became gentle and solemn. He slowed his tone and spoke in a patient and guiding manner:
Xiaoli, you must have misunderstood my meaning.
Gu Xiaoli shrank into the quilt, revealing only half her head and those big eyes, looking at Gu Chengyin with curiosity and confusion.
When I said personal maid, I didn't mean to treat you as that kind of... servant who waits on people.
Gu Chengyin weighed his words carefully to make his explanation sound reasonable and credible. Actually, I think of you as my younger sister.
Younger sister?
Gu Xiaoli repeated the word, the confusion in her eyes deepening. She felt lost regarding this identity.
Yes, younger sister.
Gu Chengyin spoke smoothly without changing his expression, his tone even carrying a trace of reminiscence and sorrow. Once, I also had a younger sister.
She was about the same age as you, lively, cute, and clever. Unfortunately, due to some unforeseen events, we were separated, and we have not been reunited to this day.
Gu Chengyin's gaze fell softly on Gu Xiaoli's face, as if he were looking at another shadow through her.
The first time I saw you, I felt you looked somewhat like her, especially these eyes, so vivid and clear.
So, in my heart, I unknowingly started treating you like my younger sister.
Making you my personal maid was actually just to give you a reasonable identity so you could stay by my side. It was never to have you do such things.
These words were spoken with deep sincerity. Gu Xiaoli listened quietly, her big eyes unblinking.
Although she didn't understand why Gu Chengyin didn't rightfully claim her, even though she wouldn't put up any resistance.
But Gu Xiaoli could feel the earnestness and protectiveness in his tone.
After hesitating for a moment, looking into Gu Chengyin's expectant gaze, she tentatively and softly called out:
Bro...ther?
Gu Chengyin's eyes lit up, and he immediately encouraged her, That's right! So you see, you are not a personal maid at all, but my younger sister!
Warming the bed is a maid's job. How could I let my younger sister do it? Don't you agree, Xiaoli?
He cleverly swapped the concepts, reducing the issue to the fact that a younger sister does not have the duties of a maid.
Gu Xiaoli tilted her head and thought for a moment, feeling like something wasn't quite right.
Younger sister? Maid? Warming the bed? The logic was a bit convoluted.
But seeing Gu Chengyin's affirming gaze, and the sense of closeness brought by the title of younger sister—something different from being a maid.
She still obediently nodded and softly replied, Mhm... it seems so.
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
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.
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
