Her Cat (Extra Update)

Luo Zhao didn't dare to think about it any further.

If she continued to think about it, if she delved a layer deeper, she feared that the situation she dared not face would appear.

What was that situation?

Luo Zhao didn't dare to think about it.

She could only viciously suppress these emotions, burying them in the deepest part of her heart, to a place where even she could not touch them.

Then, she repeated in her heart over and over again:

She was the Crown Princess. A Crown Princess would not fall in love with anyone, nor should she ever fall in love with anyone.

Shangguan Yunying could like Gu Chengyin; she could have her own love and hatred.

She could struggle between loyalty and love, and she could give herself away time and time again just to make amends.

Gu Xiaoli could like Gu Chengyin. She was her royal mother's cat, a Half-Step Nascent Soul cat demon.

She could follow her feline instincts to get close to anything she liked.

Cui Zilu could like Gu Chengyin. She was the Eldest Miss of the Cui Manor; she could righteously follow behind Gu Chengyin and openly declare her love.

But she alone could not.

Because she was the Crown Princess.

The future Empress of Great Luo, the one who would sit upon that dragon throne in the future.

Her gaze should always look forward, toward that supreme seat of power, rather than falling upon a certain man.

Even if that man was Gu Chengyin.

Luo Zhao took a deep breath, suppressing the very last of her distracting thoughts.

What she needed to do was to continuously improve, use everything she could use, and then ascend to the supreme throne.

And guard the empire of Great Luo. This was what she should strive for with her entire life.

Drawing a few more deep breaths into her lungs, the knot of depression in her chest finally dissipated a little.

When she opened her eyes again, those phoenix eyes had already regained their calm and rationality.

It was as if those emotional fluctuations just now had never happened.

Gu Xiaoli had been quietly watching Luo Zhao from beginning to end.

Her world-weary face remained the same as always, but her large eyes suddenly revealed a scrutinizing gaze.

Because she realized that Luo Zhao had changed, just like an unpolished jade that had finally been carved into shape.

And she had only seen this kind of shape on two people before.

Emperor Luo, and Gu Chengyin.

Xiaoli.

Luo Zhao's voice sounded out, as calm as a pool of deep water—without ripples, without temperature, yet impossible to ignore.

Gu Xiaoli's gaze refocused on her.

You don't want Gu Chengyin to leave, right?

Gu Xiaoli nodded gently.

You also don't want Gu Chengyin to die, right?

Gu Xiaoli nodded again.

Because of the venomous oath, you can't do anything detrimental to Gu Chengyin, right?

Gu Xiaoli still nodded, bobbing her head again and again, as earnest as an obedient little kitten.

Luo Zhao's gaze fell on Gu Xiaoli. There was no scrutiny or oppression in those phoenix eyes.

She just looked calmly, as if looking at a useful object.

Then let's make a deal.

Gu Xiaoli froze.

A deal?

She blinked, a rare trace of confusion appearing on her world-weary face.

A cat's logic is very simple: approach if you like it, stay away if you don't.

Compensate if you owe, act spoiled if you are loved.

Complicated things like deals had never been a cat's area of expertise.

But Luo Zhao didn't wait for her to react and continued speaking:

You are my royal mother's cat. Logically speaking, that makes you my cat.

Luo Zhao paused, a faint curve forming at the corners of her mouth: But I won't force you.

So the deal is this: as long as you become my cat, I won't kill Gu Chengyin.

Moreover, you can still get close to him, and you can still make amends to him in your own way.

How about it?

The bedchamber fell silent.

The sunlight slowly shifted, stretching the shadows of the window lattices by an inch.

Dust motes still drifted in the beams of light, as if time itself was slowly flowing.

Gu Xiaoli blinked, looking at Luo Zhao.

She instinctively felt that there was some ulterior motive hidden behind this deal.

But she couldn't see through it, because she was just a cat.

Cats are very smart, but cats do not understand political maneuvering, nor do they understand scheming.

A cat only knew one thing.

This deal hit her right where it counted.

She didn't resist Luo Zhao.

She never had.

Luo Zhao was the bloodline of Niangniang, Niangniang's only daughter in this world.

From the first moment she saw Luo Zhao, Gu Xiaoli knew that she would protect Luo Zhao, just as she had protected Niangniang back then.

Moreover, Niangniang's dying wish was also for her to protect Luo Zhao.

So, what was wrong with becoming Luo Zhao's cat?

Besides, Luo Zhao had already said that she could still get close to Gu Chengyin and compensate Gu Chengyin.

Gu Xiaoli tilted her head and thought for a moment, then earnestly nodded her chin:

Okay.

Luo Zhao smiled, a light flashing in the depths of her eyes—not of joy, but of control.

Xiaoli.

Luo Zhao's voice remained calm, but it held a trace more warmth:

I won't make you swear a venomous oath like Gu Chengyin did.

But since you are my cat now, you must listen to me.

Therefore, you are not allowed to let Gu Chengyin know about your cultivation level.

Gu Xiaoli thought about it and finally nodded:

Okay.

With that, the deal was struck.

Gu Xiaoli became Luo Zhao's cat, on the condition that Luo Zhao would not kill Gu Chengyin.

A smile curled the corners of Luo Zhao's mouth, and the light in her eyes grew brighter and brighter.

Just now, she had finally figured it out.

So what if she told Emperor Luo that she would kill Gu Chengyin?

So what if she told Gu Xiaoli that she wouldn't kill Gu Chengyin?

Did any of this matter?

None of it mattered.

What mattered was the benefits.

What mattered was who could get their hands on the benefits first.

Dignity and all that.

Integrity and all that.

Reputation and all that.

They were all illusions!

Only the power in one's hands was real.

Luo Zhao's gaze fell on Gu Xiaoli, looking at that world-weary face, a trace of profundity flashing in her eyes.

Gu Chengyin didn't know Gu Xiaoli's true strength.

This was the most crucial point.

He only knew that Gu Xiaoli had memorized the account books and the books in the Myriad Phenomena Pavilion.

So he had only restricted her with a venomous oath and hadn't gone a step further.

If Gu Chengyin knew that Gu Xiaoli was at the Half-Step Nascent Soul realm, he would definitely try every possible means to take her down.

Not with a venomous oath, not with a deal, but with his monstrous scheming.

Bit by bit, he would turn Gu Xiaoli into his cat.

But this time, Luo Zhao had beaten him to the punch.

Because she had memories of the past, she recognized Gu Xiaoli.

And she had made Gu Xiaoli her cat, even if Gu Xiaoli couldn't deal with Gu Chengyin.

After all, the venomous oath was there; she couldn't do anything detrimental to Gu Chengyin.

But did that matter?

No.

Because Luo Zhao could have Gu Xiaoli strike against others.

The noble families in the imperial court, the generals in the military, the border officials in the local regions, the sects in the cultivation world, and so on.

With the Two Capitals and Thirteen Commanderies being so vast, there were so many people and so many factions.

She could use Gu Xiaoli to deter, to control, to...

Weave a massive net.

A net that would envelop Gu Chengyin within it.

As long as the power she grasped was strong enough—strong enough that even Emperor Luo would have to yield.

Then whether to kill or not to kill would no longer matter.

Whether Gu Chengyin lived or died, whether he was the highly esteemed Junior Preceptor Gu, or a little pet kept in a basement.

It would all depend on a single thought from her.

The smile at the corners of Luo Zhao's mouth deepened a little.

This kind of vision, this kind of perspective.

It was something she had learned from Gu Chengyin.