When the female official in charge of internal and external communications rushed up to the second floor of Wenli Hall.
She reported the news that Gu Chengyin had been taken away for investigation by the Department of Scrutiny on charges of falsifying his background.
Shangguan Yunying, who was organizing the account books, looked as if she had been struck by lightning. The files in her hands fell to the ground with a clatter.
She stood up abruptly, the color instantly draining from her face, and a chill rushed from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head.
"Impossible!"
Shangguan Yunying cried out, "I handled his files with my own hands! How could they be forged!?"
"Besides, I clearly wrote that he was a commoner from the countryside. Where did this 'poor scholar' background come from!?"
"It must be that old thief Xiao Song acting out of desperation, using the Ministry of Personnel to make trouble!"
Anxious as an ant on a hot pan, she ordered sternly, "Go immediately and find Gu Chengyin's original filing documents! Hurry!"
"Yes!"
The female official, also badly frightened by Shangguan Yunying's loss of composure, quickly bowed to accept the order and trotted downstairs.
Shangguan Yunying's mind was in turmoil, both angry and anxious.
She knew that the Ministry of Personnel's Department of Scrutiny specialized in auditing official files. Xiao Maoqing was a member of the Xiao clan; holding official documents and bringing the Golden Imperial Guards to arrest someone in the streets meant the procedure was fully legal and compliant.
But once Gu Chengyin was taken into the Ministry of Personnel, there was no telling how many of the Xiao family's disciples and former subordinates were inside.
She couldn't even imagine what might happen.
Torture to extract a confession? Forced admission of guilt? Or even a staged suicide?
"Your Highness!"
Shangguan Yunying suddenly turned to Luo Zhao, who had been sitting upright at the main desk:
"I dare to guarantee with my life that there is absolutely no problem with Gu Chengyin's files!"
"This must be Xiao Song's conspiracy! We must save him immediately! Should we ask His Majesty..."
Before she could finish speaking, she saw Luo Zhao raise a hand, making a gesture to stop.
Luo Zhao slowly lifted her eyelids. She showed no panic, no fury, not even surprise, only the solemnity of deep thought.
"Yunying, calm down."
"The sky is not falling."
These few simple words smoothed away Shangguan Yunying's panic.
Although her worries remained, she at least regained her rationality.
Then she heard Luo Zhao speak in Gu Chengyin's calm tone:
"Elder Xiao, I understand him."
Luo Zhao's fingertips traced lightly across the smooth desktop. "He acts cautiously and will never easily leave anything that could be used against him."
"A low-level and easily discoverable trick like fabricating files is not his style."
She paused, her eyes turning sharp.
"This time, for him to act so decisively by using the Ministry of Personnel to strike in the streets, and even mobilizing the Golden Imperial Guards to accompany them."
"This shows that he likely holds some solid evidence in his hands, or at least a suspicious point that can stand up to scrutiny."
Shangguan Yunying's heart tightened as she listened. "But Your Highness, the files are clearly..."
Luo Zhao interrupted her, "This also shows someone is getting desperate."
She looked at Shangguan Yunying and said word by word, "Desperate to get rid of Gu Chengyin. Only if he disappears immediately will they have a glimmer of hope."
Just as she reached this point in her analysis, Luo Zhao herself suddenly froze.
A clear thought uncontrollably intruded into her mind.
Before Gu Chengyin left Wenli Hall, all his subsequent plans, steps, how to implement them, and even how to divide the benefits...
He had told her everything clearly and plainly!
He was going to the Cabinet to communicate with Grand Secretary Yuan, to have the Crown Princess's Palace and the Chief Surveillance Bureau merge their cases.
He wanted to enter the palace with her again to change Emperor Luo's attitude.
He analyzed the reactions and interest demands of all factions.
He had even planned out the distribution ratio of the benefits.
What he did was like a strategist about to travel far away.
Handing over his entire formulated strategy, down to the smallest detail, to his lord.
And all she had to do seemed to be, during his temporary absence.
To follow this brilliant plan he left behind, continue pushing the chessboard, and just take it step by step...
No wonder...
No wonder when she heard that Gu Chengyin had been taken away by the Ministry of Personnel's Department of Scrutiny, facing such serious accusations and danger.
Deep in her heart, apart from the initial shock, there wasn't much panic or fear.
Because she already knew how every subsequent step should proceed.
Was this also part of your plan...
Luo Zhao bit her lower lip hard, an extremely complex emotion suddenly erupting within her.
Even without that damn directive, even if you are imprisoned at this moment.
I still have to act like a marionette, moving forward along the tracks you laid out in advance.
Then what am I exactly?!
Your most obedient dog?!
The surging emotions almost drowned Luo Zhao, causing a trace of suppressed redness to well up in her phoenix eyes.
Her strong pride and independent will clashed fiercely with the cruel reality of being manipulated right before her eyes.
But in the next moment, her powerful willpower and rationality, forged through a thousand trials.
Acted like the sturdiest dam, forcefully suppressing this churning flood of emotions.
I cannot lose control!
No matter how resentful, no matter how unwilling, I absolutely must not be swayed by emotions!
I must face reality rationally and then make the right decision.
As long as I implement and respond according to the framework of the plan Gu Chengyin outlined.
This sudden crisis before me can be resolved, and even transformed into an opportunity to counterattack!
That damn man will sooner or later be locked in a dark, sunless underground prison.
And pay a trillion times the price for his current actions!
So I absolutely cannot, in such a major matter concerning the overall situation and my own interests.
Act recklessly because of personal emotions!
That would be true stupidity and seeking my own doom!
Having figured this out, or rather, having forced herself to accept this point.
Luo Zhao took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
With this action, the last trace of struggle in her eyes completely disappeared.
It was replaced by a firm, sharp light.
At the same time, an aura of confidence, stronger than ever before, explosively erupted from her!
Standing to the side, Shangguan Yunying was shaken by this sudden change in momentum, her mind trembling.
She only felt that the Luo Zhao before her seemed to have become different.
In the past, her aura was certainly strong, but when facing those calculating old ministers, there was always a stifling feeling of being unable to exert her full strength.
But the current Luo Zhao, the confidence and certainty between her brows and eyes, could pierce through all conspiracies and tricks.
"Yunying."
The cold and majestic voice sounded, instantly pulling Shangguan Yunying back from her shock.
Shangguan Yunying immediately straightened her back, gathered all her thoughts, and replied with utmost respect:
"Your Highness!"
Luo Zhao's red lips parted slightly, every word clear and powerful:
"Send someone to notify the Ministry of Personnel..."
She paused, her voice suddenly rising:
"No, notify the entire court and the public!"
"Gu Chengyin is my person."
"He carries the Crown Prince's token, personally bestowed by me."
Cold light radiated from Luo Zhao's phoenix eyes, and a fierce killing intent spread out:
"Whoever dares to touch a single hair on his head."
"I will execute their entire nine generations!"
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.
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
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]
