Luo Zhao did not know.
She did not know what her imperial father would do, nor did she know what Gu Chengyin was thinking.
She only knew one thing.
Her imperial father, and Gu Chengyin.
Both were natural-born monsters of political maneuvering.
And she.
Was merely a chess piece.
A chess piece that Gu Chengyin used to counterattack Emperor Luo.
When this thought crossed her mind, a self-deprecating smile appeared on the corners of Luo Zhao's lips.
If this word got out, who would dare to believe it?
The dignified Eldest Princess, the only Crown Princess of the Great Luo.
Was actually just a chess piece.
Luo Zhao lowered her eyelashes, but only for a breath.
When she opened her eyes again, the trace of self-deprecation in the depths of her eyes had already dissipated.
All that remained was an unmelting coldness.
She stopped dwelling on it.
To find out what her imperial father would do, she just needed to enter the palace and find him directly.
Yunying.
Shangguan Yunying had been standing behind her the whole time, and upon hearing her voice, she stepped forward.
Your Highness?
Luo Zhao looked at her and said word by word.
We are entering the palace immediately.
Shangguan Yunying was taken aback, opened her mouth, and subconsciously said:
Your Highness, are you going personally? Will this...
Luo Zhao shook her head and said: Gu Chengyin will not know.
After saying that, she walked quickly outside.
Looking at her resolute back, Shangguan Yunying said no more and just followed closely.
The moonlight fell on them, stretching their two silhouettes long and thin.
...
In the warm pavilion.
Emperor Luo was not asleep.
He leaned against the soft couch, resting his chin on one hand, looking straight ahead.
He was waiting.
Waiting for Luo Zhao.
He already knew what happened in the Luo Capital.
Lin Qingyan fought three people alone and entered the Celestial Master's Mansion to recuperate.
Gu Chengyin had also gone to the Celestial Master's Mansion.
And then he was surrounded.
But it was only a siege.
Because whether to kill him or not did not depend on the cultivators of the Celestial Master's Mansion in the Luo Capital, nor did it depend on him.
It depended on the soon-to-arrive Luo Zhao.
Right at this moment, extremely light footsteps came from outside the door, followed by Lyu Fang's voice.
Master, Her Highness has arrived.
Emperor Luo showed no surprise at all and casually said:
Let her in.
Lyu Fang complied, the footsteps faded away, and then returned.
The door of the warm pavilion was gently pushed open.
A slender figure, backlit by the moonlight, stepped into the pavilion.
Emperor Luo looked at Luo Zhao.
Looking at that face which bore a seventy percent resemblance to Empress Lin.
That face inherited Empress Lin's gentleness, as well as his own sharpness.
He watched her momentary pause as she stood at the doorway.
That was the gaze of a daughter looking at her father.
It was also the gaze of a Crown Princess looking at an emperor.
Lyu Fang did not follow her in; after Luo Zhao stepped into the warm pavilion, he gently closed the door.
After entering the warm pavilion and standing still, Luo Zhao gathered her robes and bowed.
Your daughter has come late at night and disturbed Imperial Father's rest.
Please forgive my offense, Imperial Father.
Emperor Luo waved his hand, his movements very casual.
Now it's just the two of us in the warm pavilion, so let's dispense with these empty formalities.
Zhao'er.
Speak directly.
Luo Zhao slowly straightened up. She raised her eyes and looked straight at Emperor Luo on the soft couch.
After a long while, she spoke:
Imperial Father.
Did you issue a decree to the Celestial Master's Mansion in the Luo Capital.
Ordering them to kill Gu Chengyin.
These words were spoken very directly.
So directly that there was not a trace of concealment, no layer of buildup, and none of the tactfulness that should exist between a sovereign and a subject.
Emperor Luo narrowed his eyes, and his body slowly sat up straight.
From a leaning posture to sitting upright, his back as straight as a pine.
There is such a matter.
Luo Zhao's expression did not change, not even her eyelashes fluttered.
She just nodded slightly, as if confirming something she already knew.
Then she asked again:
Did Aunt.
Also receive the same decree?
Emperor Luo did not speak this time, but nodded to confirm.
After receiving two confirmations, Luo Zhao took a deep breath.
This breath was taken so deeply that one could hear the faint sound of airflow passing through her teeth.
Then, just as she was about to continue speaking.
A command suddenly appeared before her eyes.
[Force Abdication]
Two words.
Just suspended right in the center of her field of vision.
Luo Zhao was stunned.
This was a command from Gu Chengyin.
But why now?
Why could he send commands from so far away?
Moreover, what did forcing an abdication mean?
Was it telling her to force her imperial father to retract his order?
How could that be possible!?
Her imperial father's words were as precious as gold and jade; how could there be any reason to retract a decreed order?
From what standpoint could she force him?
What bargaining chips did she have to force him?
She...
Luo Zhao's train of thought was abruptly interrupted.
Because she realized.
She had suddenly lost control of her body.
It wasn't sluggishness, it wasn't numbness, it was a complete loss of control.
Her hand still maintained the posture of hanging down, but that hand was no longer her hand.
Her legs were still standing in place, but those legs were no longer her legs.
Her eyes were still open, she could still see, still hear, still perceive.
But she couldn't do anything.
She could only watch helplessly.
Watch as she was forcibly switched out by the consciousness puppet.
Squeezing her away!
Luo Zhao was dumbfounded.
Thoroughly dumbfounded.
Wasn't her hypnosis lifted?
Wasn't she no longer under Gu Chengyin's control?
Why was this happening?
Wait.
Luo Zhao suddenly realized something.
That command just now.
It was only after the command appeared that the consciousness puppet forcibly switched.
This meant.
The consciousness puppet still absolutely obeyed Gu Chengyin's commands!
The hypnosis had never been lifted!
Luo Zhao's thoughts fell into a state of chaos.
But amidst the chaos, a name suddenly surfaced.
Gu Xiaoli.
Gu Xiaoli!
Emperor Luo looked at the Luo Zhao in front of him suddenly fall silent.
He showed a look of confusion and was just about to open his mouth to ask.
[Luo Zhao] suddenly raised her head.
She cupped her hands and said respectfully, word by word:
Your daughter implores Imperial Father to retract the order.
Spare Gu Chengyin.
Emperor Luo's brows furrowed slightly, and he did not answer immediately.
He just looked at [Luo Zhao], looking at this biological daughter whose aura had suddenly undergone a drastic change.
Her standing posture had changed. Just a moment ago, it was the respectful posture of a Crown Princess seeking an audience with the Emperor.
Now, she stood perfectly straight, like an unsheathed sword.
Her gaze had changed. Just a moment ago, there was thirty percent reverence, but now, there was only unyielding sharpness.
Her tone had changed. Just a moment ago, it was the humility of a daughter asking her father for forgiveness, but now, it was an imploration to retract the order...
Forcing the Emperor.
In the depths of Emperor Luo's eyes, something flickered slightly.
But he did not show it.
He simply said indifferently:
Zhao'er.
His voice was not loud, but it carried the oppressive might of an emperor.
My words are as precious as gold and jade; how can there be any reason to retract a decreed order.
I know that Gu Chengyin is very formidable, but his problems are also very great.
You are the Crown Princess, you cannot...
Before Emperor Luo could finish his words, he saw [Luo Zhao] suddenly move.
She turned and walked to the side.
Emperor Luo's gaze followed her figure.
Watching her walk to the wall.
Watching her raise her hand.
Watching her pull out the Imperial Sword of State hanging on the wall and grip it in her hand.
The blade was unsheathed by three inches, and the cold light reflected on her face, making those burning eyes look even brighter.
Emperor Luo's brows furrowed even deeper, and just as he was about to speak.
He saw [Luo Zhao] hold the sword against her own neck.
The movement was clean and neat, without a trace of hesitation.
The edge of the sword pressed against her throat; advancing just a fraction more would draw blood.
Looking death calmly in the face, she said:
If Imperial Father insists on taking Gu Chengyin's life.
Then your daughter will follow after his death.
And die for love!
Emperor Luo: ...
Luo Zhao: ...
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.
e school belle recognized by the whole school, a genius girl from the kendo club. She also has a hidden identity, the youngest legendary demon hunter. Chen Shuo just transmigrated and found himself turned into a weak, helpless little vampire. He was caught by Su Xiyen and taken home at the very beginning. Since then, Chen Shuo's life creed only had two items. "First, classmate Su Xiyen is always right." "Second, if classmate Su Xiyen is wrong, please refer back to item one." Many years later, Chen Shuo, who had turned back into a human, led a pair of twins to appear in front of all the vampires to share the secret of how he turned back into a human. "It's simple, I tricked a female demon hunter into becoming my wife!"
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!
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.
