Can Only Probe Tentatively

A deathly silence fell over the pavilion.

A gentle breeze swept past, fluttering the hem of Luo Zhao's dark dress and the stray hairs on Gu Chengyin's forehead, yet it could not blow away the chill rising from the soles of their feet.

The life-and-death race against time they had experienced in Luoshui Commandery, the thrilling pursuits and counterattacks, the hundreds of thousands of rebel troops relentlessly chasing them...

Everything seemed like a colossal illusion, meticulously orchestrated and then forcibly erased. Only those who had experienced it firsthand served as the sole authentic footnotes to this grand mirage.

Gu Chengyin's mind was racing. The existence of the system gave him a perception of anomalies that far exceeded that of ordinary people.

His face darkened as he slowly spoke, analyzing the situation:

"A complete blockade of information, tampering with facts, replacing key figures, and creating an illusion that everything is normal."

"To even make the traces of the mobilization of hundreds of thousands of troops vanish without a trace from official records."

"This absolute control over intelligence and personnel, as well as the power to cover the entire Luoshui Commandery and even influence the eyes and ears of the imperial court..."

He looked up, his sharp gaze fixed on Luo Zhao, and said word by word:

"The Second Prince could never achieve this. If he had this capability, Your Highness wouldn't have even been able to leave Luodu."

"Let alone in Luoshui Commandery. The only person in the entire Great Luo who could pull this off so effortlessly..."

Luo Zhao's lips turned slightly pale. She finished Gu Chengyin's sentence, her voice carrying the weight of a thousand pounds:

"Only Imperial Father."

Yes.

Only the Luo Emperor, who had wielded the highest authority of Great Luo for decades and whose foundation was as deep and immovable as a mountain.

Only he could quietly lay out such a heaven-shaking scheme, turning an entire commandery into a chessboard, using the Crown Princess and tens of thousands of elites as pawns, to stage a rebellion and pacification so real that it blurred the lines of truth.

Including those replaced generals, the seemingly normal deployments, the erased traces, and so on.

But why?

Why create the illusion of his own coma and the princes forcing his abdication?

Why force his own daughter into a desperate corner, fighting a life-and-death battle against hundreds of thousands of rebels in Luoshui Commandery?

Was it for a test? A purge? Or was there an even more profound purpose?

Countless questions, like freezing water, drowned Luo Zhao's heart.

She felt a bone-piercing cold, not only from this subversive truth but even more so from the fear and unfamiliarity of that unfathomable imperial statecraft.

"Tomorrow's audience..." Gu Chengyin muttered, his eyes deep and thoughtful. "It seems all the answers will only be known when we enter the palace tomorrow."

Shangguan Yunying was also shaken by this deduction. She subconsciously looked at Luo Zhao, her eyes filled with worry.

She knew that the impact of this truth on Her Highness was far greater than any open rebellion with real swords and spears.

Amidst this heavy atmosphere, Gu Chengyin's gaze once again fell on Luo Zhao beside him.

The sense of anomaly he had just overlooked due to the shocking news surfaced in his mind.

The Luo Zhao before him, her reactions were a bit too vivid.

Gu Chengyin carefully recalled Luo Zhao under the hypnotized state.

She had been more like an exquisite, perfect AI robot, completely devoid of emotional fluctuations, her eyes often carrying a vacant calmness.

Occasional reactions were slightly delayed and programmed, as if separated by an invisible membrane.

Especially when he issued commands through the system, the rigidity brought by absolute obedience was particularly obvious.

But the current Luo Zhao, although trying her best to maintain calmness, showed instantly contracting pupils, slightly trembling fingertips, a voiceless gasp, and eyes surging with shock, bewilderment, fear, and even a trace of the pain of being schemed against by her closest kin.

These subtle yet rich emotional changes were like undercurrents beneath the ice; though desperately suppressed, they still genuinely burst forth.

She did not seem like an AI robot whose emotional responses were simplified and delayed.

She was more like a living, breathing human being, displaying the most instinctive reactions when encountering a drastic upheaval.

An absurd thought slithered into Gu Chengyin's mind like a venomous snake:

Could the hypnosis have failed?

No.

The system had not prompted any anomalies, and the previous commands to come over and pour tea had been sent normally.

Luo Zhao had also obediently followed them. If she were acting according to her original personality, it would be absolutely impossible for her to do such lowly tasks.

Moreover, if she wasn't hypnotized, how could she have received the commands sent by the system?

After all, Gu Chengyin hadn't issued them verbally.

But this sense of vividness existed so obviously that, with his current perception, he simply could not ignore it.

Gu Chengyin narrowed his eyes slightly. No matter what, Luo Zhao was the Crown Princess of Great Luo.

It was perfectly normal for her to have some unknown trump cards up her sleeve.

Furthermore, they were no longer in Luoshui Commandery but had returned to Shendu.

If she had encountered some supreme expert who saw through her condition, it was entirely possible.

But in any case, Gu Chengyin had to confirm exactly what state Luo Zhao was in right now.

This was even more important than tomorrow's audience at the palace, given his understanding of this Highness.

If the hypnosis was truly broken, she would one hundred percent kill him.

A casual verbal decree could send Foundation Establishment experts, including Shangguan Yunying and Chen Busha, hunting him to the ends of the earth.

It seemed he could only test the waters.

Gu Chengyin's pupils contracted slightly, though he remained impassive on the surface.

The fingers of his hand, resting beneath the stone table, twitched slightly.

Shangguan Yunying stood outside the pavilion, her line of sight blocked by the stone table, unable to see his movements underneath.

Gu Chengyin needed a test that was sensitive enough, private enough, and capable of instantly triggering an instinctual reaction.

Verbal probing was too slow and easily disguised.

Making eye contact? Luo Zhao's mind was currently reeling, her gaze wandering; it might not be effective.

His gaze casually swept over Luo Zhao's hand hanging by her side, then followed the smooth lines of her dark palace dress, landing on her leg covered by the hem.

This was it.

Gu Chengyin extended his left hand, slowly and naturally dropping it by his side. Gliding against the edge of the cold stone stool, it moved silently to the side.

The movement was as gentle as a breeze, without stirring a single rustle of clothing. All his attention was focused on his fingertips, perceiving the flow of air and the distance.

Luo Zhao was currently immersed in a tsunami of crashing thoughts.

Her Imperial Father's good health and his grand scheme were like two icy chisels, shattering her cognitive framework of all recent events.

She needed to re-evaluate everything, needed to figure out how to handle tomorrow's audience, and needed to digest the immense sense of loss and chill of being used as a pawn by her closest kin.

Gu Chengyin's analysis further confirmed her most dreaded suspicions, sending shivers down her spine.

All her willpower was spent suppressing the churning emotions within, maintaining a facade of composure, and thinking about her next move.

Towards Gu Chengyin, who was close at hand, she subconsciously maintained the highest level of vigilance, but she also relaxed just a fraction because she had successfully played the role of an obedient hypnotized victim moments ago.

Right at this moment.

A warm palm, carrying an almost blasphemous casualness, was placed on her left thigh without any warning.

Through the high-quality but rather thin fabric of her dark palace dress.

It pressed down firmly.