Gu Chengyin narrowed his eyes. The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue had died suddenly, and the Imperial Household Department was stepping in to replace the Ministry of Rites.
The person in charge would undoubtedly be him, a Director of the Imperial Household Department.
Brother Chengyin?
Cui Zilu walked a short distance and noticed that Gu Chengyin hadn't followed her. Furthermore, his expression was extremely solemn.
She couldn't help but stop and call out in confusion. Lifting her skirt, she lightly turned back.
Hearing her voice, Gu Chengyin's fingers twitched slightly, hiding the Crown Prince's token in his robes.
What was certain was that this was a counterattack from Xiao Song.
Because the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Xiao Bichang, was a member of the Xiao clan.
What ruthless methods. A dignified Vice Minister was sacrificed just like that.
It was because Shangguan Yuan had been extricated, so the Left Vice Minister Xiao Bichang, who took over the Ministry of Revenue's affairs, was destined to take the blame.
So they simply sacrificed him directly, abandoning the pawn to save the king?
Is this the composure and decisiveness of the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet?
Gu Chengyin's mind raced. Currently, there was one point he had personally confirmed.
The Xiao and Cui families were not a monolithic block.
The case definitely had to be investigated, but his life also had to be preserved.
Fortunately, a protective charm had just arrived right in front of him.
What's wrong, Brother Chengyin?
Cui Zilu looked up with her small face, asking with concern, Did something happen?
Although she wasn't involved in court politics, being born in the Cui Manor meant she was no stranger to this kind of suddenly heavy atmosphere.
Gu Chengyin leaned down slightly, his smile returning as he invited her, Something did indeed happen. Sister Zilu, do you want to go out with me to solve a major case?
Solve a major case?
Cui Zilu's eyes lit up instantly, the light of pleasant surprise almost overflowing. Is it the kind of major case written about in plays and books?
The next second, her excited little face slumped. The corners of her mouth turned down slightly, and her fingers twisted her skirt sash. But... lately, neither Father nor Mother has allowed me to leave the manor.
Gu Chengyin asked curiously, Why? You're not a child anymore.
Mentioning this, Cui Zilu showed an aggrieved expression and muttered with a bit of defiance:
Isn't it because of last time... Last time I left the manor, I didn't actually do anything. It was just... just when I went to the Cabinet to find Father.
I saw a lot of old case files piled up in the courtyard, all moldy. I thought that since the weather was dry and things could catch fire easily, it was so dangerous to pile them up like that. So I kindly gave a reminder... Cui Zilu's eyes darted around as she spoke.
A reminder? Gu Chengyin raised an eyebrow.
Um... a reminder... with a fire starter...
Cui Zilu's voice grew softer and softer, but she quickly became self-righteous again. I really just lit a small pile! I wanted to get their attention! Plus, it was put out very quickly, it just burned some scrap paper!
The several elderly Grand Secretaries weren't angry. Elder Hu even praised me for having good ideas!
But after Father found out, he came back and told Mother. Since then, I haven't been allowed to leave the manor.
Gu Chengyin: Uh...
He nodded, showing his understanding. So that's how it is. It seems that leaving the manor openly won't work.
Cui Zilu thought Gu Chengyin had given up on the idea. Her sparkling eyes instantly dimmed, and she whispered, Then... let's just forget it...
Openly won't work. Gu Chengyin suddenly changed the subject, his voice carrying a bewitching allure that tempted one to fall. We can only do it secretly.
Do it secretly? Cui Zilu blinked, not understanding.
Gu Chengyin's gaze swept over her exquisite dress and hair bun, and he uttered four words: Dress as a man.
Cui Zilu froze for a moment, then reacted. She almost cried out in surprise and quickly covered her mouth with her small hands.
Her eyes went wide, eager to try. D-dress as a man?! Brother Chengyin, do you mean... you want me to dress up as a boy and go out with you?!
Of course.
Gu Chengyin nodded with a smile. Change into some neat clothes, tie up your hair, and touch up your makeup.
Then you can openly... oh no, leave the manor under a new identity.
This proposal completely struck Cui Zilu's heart, which yearned for freedom and adventure.
All her depression was swept away, replaced by burning fighting spirit and a sense of novelty.
That's wonderful! Brother Chengyin, you are simply too smart! Why didn't I think of that!
She excitedly hopped on the spot, then forced herself to calm down. Looking left and right as if carrying out a top-secret plan, she lowered her voice and said, I'll go back and change right now! Brother Chengyin, wait for me, I'll come find you as soon as I'm done!
I guarantee I'll look completely different, even the maids in my room won't recognize me!
She spoke rapidly, her small face flushed with a healthy red from excitement, her eyes shining like stars.
Gu Chengyin nodded. Alright, I'll wait for you. Go on.
Mhm!
Cui Zilu nodded vigorously. Like a little sparrow hearing the signal that its cage was opened, she lifted her skirt and turned to run, leaving behind only a faint wisp of a young girl's fragrance.
Gu Chengyin wasn't in a hurry either. He slowly returned to the Green Mountain Courtyard.
Not long after, a young man walked in, wearing a dark green, narrow-sleeved, waist-cinching martial outfit, with hair tied up high in a ponytail using a hairband of the same color.
The clothes fit well, evidently the result of alterations. The belt around the waist accentuated a slender yet strong waistline, and on the feet was a pair of small black boots.
Using some unknown method on the face, the skin tone looked slightly darker, and the eyebrows were drawn thicker and straighter.
Most of the feminine softness was concealed. Only the eyes remained clear and lively, currently trying hard to stare wide to appear more heroic.
Cui Zilu stopped in front of Gu Chengyin. Imitating a man's cupped-fist salute, she deliberately kept her voice low and flat:
Marquis Gu, you have waited long.
After saying this, she couldn't quite hold it together. The corners of her mouth turned up, but she immediately pursed her lips again, looking eagerly at Gu Chengyin, waiting for his evaluation.
Gu Chengyin looked her up and down with great interest. His gaze swept from her hair bun to the tips of her boots, and he nodded slightly:
Mhm, the image is already eighty or ninety percent there, it's just...
He took a step closer, his fingertips lightly pointing at her throat. Men usually have an Adam's apple here, and the vibration position when speaking is slightly different from women.
When you speak, you can try to sink your breath three parts deeper, feeling the voice coming from your chest rather than your throat.
Then he demonstrated the gait. When walking, open your shoulders a bit more and increase the distance between your steps. Don't take light, mincing steps like a woman.
Cui Zilu listened carefully and immediately followed his instructions.
She cleared her throat and tried hard to sink her breath. When she spoke again, her voice was indeed a bit lower and hoarser: Marquis Gu... is this alright?
At the same time, she straightened her back, tried to pull her shoulders back, and took much larger strides.
Although her movements were still a bit stiff, at first glance, she already looked quite like a refreshing young man.
Very good.
The smile in Gu Chengyin's eyes deepened. Remember, from now on, you are my personal bodyguard. Your surname is Lu, with the single character Zhi. Watch more, listen more, speak less, and follow me closely.
Lu Zhi.
Cui Zilu repeated it silently to herself and nodded heavily. I remember, Cheng... Marquis! Fully immersing herself into the role made her even more excited.
Let's go, Lu Zhi.
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.
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
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.
