It Never Happened

Outrageous! This was the height of insolence! Giving him an inch and he takes a mile!

A blazing inferno of anger threatened to break through the dams of Luo Zhao's reason.

She had never met anyone so brazen and arrogant, challenging her bottom line time and time again.

Did he really think that in this Great Luo, this Divine Capital, he was the only one she could use!?

Her hands, hanging within her sleeves, clenched into tight fists. Her nails dug deeply into her palms, the stinging pain barely enough to maintain the calm facade on her face.

Endure! She had to endure! A lack of patience in small matters would ruin great plans!

However presumptuous he was now, he would suffer just as miserably in the future!

Just treat it as the dying fantasy of a dead man!

Luo Zhao repeatedly convinced herself in her heart, viciously crushing that sense of humiliation and suppressing it to the deepest depths of her soul.

She slowly loosened her clenched fists, trying her best to make her movements seem natural, and then, she actually walked toward the stone table.

Reaching out with those slender hands accustomed to holding a brush to write imperial edicts in red ink, she picked up the cyan jade teapot.

The pot was empty. She turned and walked toward a small copper stove not far from the edge of the pavilion. On the stove rested a silver kettle, kept warm over a gentle fire, filled with prepared hot water.

This detail made her hate him even more. Even the hot water had been prepared early on, making it seem as if she were specifically waiting to serve him!

Lifting the silver kettle, she poured hot water into the cyan jade teapot, swirled it to rinse the pot, and poured it out.

Then, she took out some top-grade Cloud Mist Spirit Tea from a small porcelain jar nearby, scooped an appropriate amount with a jade spoon, placed it into the pot, and poured in hot water once more.

Her movements were slightly stiff, but overall quite fluid. After all, living in the palace, she had seen the procedure many times, even if she had never done it herself.

Hot steam curled upward, and the fragrance of the tea gradually drifted through the air.

Luo Zhao carried the freshly brewed pot of tea back to Gu Chengyin.

With her eyelashes slightly lowered, avoiding Gu Chengyin's gaze, she held the teapot and poured the clear, pale yellow tea into an empty cyan jade cup on the table.

The stream of water was steady, and the aroma was tantalizing.

Filling it to seventy percent, she stopped, put down the teapot, and picked up the filled cup with both hands, slowly presenting it on the table in front of Gu Chengyin.

Throughout the entire process, not a single word was spoken. There was only the faint rustle of her sleeves rubbing against the air, and the sound of her own heartbeat, which only she could hear.

Gu Chengyin watched her complete this series of actions. Although she seemed slightly silent and tense, she had indeed done as told.

His wicked sense of amusement thoroughly satisfied, he reached out and picked up the cup of tea. The warm and mellow fragrance was refreshing to the heart and mind.

He blew on the hot steam and took a shallow sip.

"Good tea."

Gu Chengyin praised casually, as if he were merely evaluating the tea itself.

Luo Zhao remained standing by the table with her eyes lowered. Upon hearing this, the corner of her mouth twitched slightly, but she did not reply.

In her heart, she had already sliced Gu Chengyin into a thousand pieces.

Gu Chengyin put down the teacup, his fingers gently rubbing the smooth rim. His tone turned formal, "Entering the palace tomorrow, does Your Highness have any instructions? Or are there any people I need to pay special attention to?"

He began to cut to the chase, taking the opportunity to gather some intelligence in advance.

Luo Zhao took a deep breath, suppressing all her emotions. She raised her eyes and looked calmly at Gu Chengyin.

"Yunying will come shortly to report on the situation in the Divine Capital. Steward Gu may listen in together."

Shangguan Yunying's footsteps sounded somewhat hurried, breaking the subtle and dangerous balance within the pavilion.

Her crimson martial attire had been changed into a light crimson everyday palace dress, the pattern of a mythical Luan bird carrying a branch on her cuffs shimmering delicately.

Her steps were hasty, and her brows were slightly furrowed, clearly bringing news that was far from ordinary. However, when she rounded the rockery and caught sight of the scene in the pavilion, her footsteps could not help but pause.

Inside the pavilion, Gu Chengyin sat leisurely on a stone stool, his posture relaxed, toying with a cyan jade teacup in his hand.

And Her Highness the Eldest Princess was actually standing to the side. Although her expression was as aloof as ever, her standing position and posture...

...carried a bit of a servant's demeanor. What made her heart skip a beat even more was...

...the tea set on the stone table, which had clearly just been used, and the cup of tea still steaming in front of Gu Chengyin.

Her Highness... personally poured tea for Steward Gu?

This thought made it hard for Shangguan Yunying to even breathe smoothly.

Even though she knew Her Highness trusted Gu Chengyin deeply, even to the point of almost obeying his every word, seeing such an overstepping scene with her own eyes still shattered her established understanding.

She quickly lowered her eyes, concealing all her outward emotions, and walked briskly to a spot three paces outside the pavilion, bending her knees in a curtsy:

"Your Highness." She then turned to Gu Chengyin, speaking with equal respect, "Steward Gu."

Upon hearing the footsteps, Luo Zhao had already adjusted her posture, deeply hiding the stiffness and humiliation born from being forced to serve tea.

She sat down calmly, restoring her usual indifferent majesty, and gave a slight nod as she asked, "What is it? Why the rush?"

Gu Chengyin also put down his teacup and looked at Shangguan Yunying, inwardly welcoming the timely appearance of this female official, which perfectly broke the somewhat strange atmosphere from just now.

For some reason, he had a feeling that Luo Zhao seemed a bit different today.

Shangguan Yunying straightened up, her voice laced with unbelievable shock and doubt, "Your Highness, this humble official has compiled the recent news from the Divine Capital."

She paused, seemingly organizing her words, and also because the news was simply too bizarre:

"His Majesty... is in good health and has never fainted. Furthermore, at the beginning of the Yin hour today, he even got up as usual and practiced a set of health-preserving fist techniques in the Imperial Garden. His complexion is rosy, and he is hale and hearty. Afterward, he had breakfast and is currently reviewing memorials in the Imperial Study."

"Huh?!" Luo Zhao's brows furrowed instantly. The mask of calmness she had maintained cracked, and her phoenix eyes were filled with shock and doubt.

Old Emperor Luo fainting, and the Second Prince seizing the opportunity to force an abdication—this was the reason for her traveling north under the stars, and the root of all the turmoil over the past few days!

Gu Chengyin's brows also locked together, his fingers unconsciously tapping on the surface of the stone table.

This news was too bizarre, completely overturning the foundation of all their previous knowledge.

Shangguan Yunying took a deep breath and continued, "Not only that, this humble official has verified that the morning courts have been held as usual recently. The various ministries are operating smoothly, and there has been no forced abdication or coup d'état."

"The Second Prince, Luo Yanchen, has claimed to be ill and has closed his doors to visitors for over half a month. However, there is nothing unusual about his mansion, nor has he been placed under house arrest. Everything inside and outside the imperial court is normal, as if nothing has happened at all."

"How could this be?" Luo Zhao pressed further. "What about Luoshui Commandery? The ambush by the garrison of Beihe City, the cities of Shuanghe, Huangzhong, and Liming raising the flag of rebellion, the encirclement and pursuit by hundreds of thousands of troops—could all of these be illusions?"

Shangguan Yunying's face turned even uglier, her voice dry:

"That is exactly the most bizarre part. The main generals, deputy generals, and even some mid-level officers of the garrisons in the various cities of Luoshui Commandery were replaced in batches by the Cabinet a week ago, under the pretext of corruption, dereliction of duty, and ineffective troop training."

"The newly appointed generals were all directly dispatched by the Ministry of War, with all procedures fully completed. At present, there is no news indicating any signs of rebellion in Luoshui Commandery, nor have there been any abnormal troop movements."

"Those ambushes and rebel forces we experienced, in the eyes of the imperial court and the Cabinet..."

"...seem to have never happened at all."