From a logical perspective, whether it was Emperor Luo or Cui Shifan, the probability was higher than it being Luo Zhao.
However, because of the actual contents of the imperial edict, Gu Chengyin did not completely rule out Luo Zhao, but rather temporarily placed her in third place.
Unless there was evidence to prove that this edict was neither brokered by Cui Shifan nor issued by Emperor Luo, then Luo Zhao would be the only remaining possibility.
But he certainly couldn't share this deduction with Lin Qingyan.
She still didn't know that he had Luo Zhao under his control.
Gu Chengyin analyzed in an unhurried voice:
"No matter what, I am still the Junior Preceptor to the Crown Princess."
"If Her Highness had issued this edict, it would be damaging her own prestige and slapping her own face."
"There is absolutely no need for that."
The logic was sound.
Listening to him, Lin Qingyan nodded as well.
Logically speaking, Luo Zhao was indeed the most unlikely candidate.
She was the Crown Princess.
The future Empress.
Someone who needed to establish her authority in the royal court.
What benefit would she gain from issuing such an edict, forcing Gu Chengyin to return to the capital as a state criminal?
None.
Absolutely none.
Yet, deep down, Lin Qingyan still had a strong premonition.
That edict was issued by Luo Zhao.
As for the reason.
She didn't know.
Because it was purely her intuition.
It lacked any logical support, let alone any reason.
But Lin Qingyan just felt that only Luo Zhao would issue such an edict.
Even if this edict would damage her face as the Crown Princess.
Luo Zhao still issued it.
Such a contradictory logical conflict made Lin Qingyan involuntarily furrow her brows.
She recalled the Luo Zhao she had seen before departing on her sect inspection.
This Crown Princess who was as docile as a kitten by Gu Chengyin's side.
This Highness who was cold, arrogant, isolated, and kept everyone at arm's length on the outside.
Yet, this niece whose eyes always seemed to flicker with something whenever she looked at Gu Chengyin.
A thought suddenly flashed through Lin Qingyan's mind.
What if Luo Zhao was faking it?
What if she was deliberately pretending to be docile, deliberately pretending to be obedient?
Lin Qingyan's pupils suddenly shrank.
She remembered how she had first noticed Gu Chengyin.
It was because of Luo Zhao.
It was because, in Luoshui Commandery, she had seen a completely different Luo Zhao when she was beside Gu Chengyin.
That look in her eyes, that posture, that expression...
were exactly the same as how she behaved around Gu Chengyin now.
If Luo Zhao liked Gu Chengyin, then the docility she showed around him would be genuine.
But what if... Luo Zhao was faking it?
What if all that docility, that obedience, those flickering looks she gave Gu Chengyin, were all an act?
Then what did she want?
What did she want to get from Gu Chengyin?
Or rather, what did she want to do to him?
Lin Qingyan's brows furrowed tighter and tighter.
She thought of Luo Zhao's identity and status.
Would someone of such standing truly submit to a person without reservation?
Would a Crown Princess really fall in love with someone?
Would she?
Lin Qingyan wasn't sure.
She only knew that she herself was someone who wore masks in front of others.
Cold and aloof, keeping people at a distance—those were her masks.
Only in front of Gu Chengyin could she take off these masks and reveal her truest self.
What about Luo Zhao?
Was Luo Zhao's docility in front of Gu Chengyin the result of taking off her mask.
Or was she wearing another one?
Take, for example, this imperial edict that ordered her, Jingzhe of the Celestial Master Mansion, to personally arrest Gu Chengyin and bring him back to the capital.
If this edict really was issued by Luo Zhao.
Then what exactly was Luo Zhao's goal?
To have her personally arrest Gu Chengyin?
To make Gu Chengyin return to the capital as a state criminal?
To sweep away the prestige of the entire Crown Princess faction?
To...
Lin Qingyan's pupils slightly shrank.
To make the whole court and country believe that Gu Chengyin had fallen from power?
To make Gu Chengyin lose all his backing?
To make Gu Chengyin fall out of favor?
To make Gu Chengyin...
rely solely on her, Luo Zhao?
As soon as this thought surfaced, Lin Qingyan's heart skipped a beat.
But if this were really the case, if Luo Zhao was truly targeting Gu Chengyin.
What should she do?
Luo Zhao was her niece.
The biological daughter of her older sister, the Empress.
The Crown Princess.
The future Empress.
And Gu Chengyin was her...
Her what?
Lin Qingyan bit her lower lip.
Gu Chengyin was her Chengcheng.
The person she liked.
The person she wanted.
The person she wanted to protect.
If Luo Zhao really wanted to target Gu Chengyin...
To use an imperial edict to erase Gu Chengyin's status and power.
What should she do?
Who should she help?
How should she choose?
Lin Qingyan's mind was a tangled mess.
She excelled at fighting, not at these trivial matters.
Especially the kind that required weighing options, calculating, and making choices in complex relationships.
The more she thought about it, the more confused she became, and the more confused she became, the less she knew what to do.
Finally, after thinking it over, she decided to just ask Gu Chengyin.
After all, Gu Chengyin's brain was far more useful.
No matter how complex the situation, he could always find the essence through logical deduction.
Lin Qingyan opened her eyes and looked up.
Gu Chengyin was gazing out the window, the moonlight casting faint shadows on his face, highlighting his sharp features and calm expression.
He seemed to be deep in thought.
After watching him for a while, Lin Qingyan spoke softly:
"Chengcheng."
Gu Chengyin snapped back to reality and looked at Lin Qingyan.
"Hmm?"
Meeting Gu Chengyin's gaze, Lin Qingyan asked cautiously,
"How is your relationship with Zhao'er?"
Hearing this question, a hint of confusion flashed in Gu Chengyin's eyes.
Hadn't Lin Qingyan asked this question before?
His answer back then had been very straightforward: he respected Her Highness, and that was it.
Or did Lin Qingyan mean to ask about Luo Zhao's opinion of him?
Well, she would definitely have to ask Luo Zhao to know that.
Lin Qingyan seemed to see through Gu Chengyin's confusion and added,
"What I mean is..."
She paused, carefully weighing her words.
"Is there some kind of misunderstanding between you two?"
Misunderstanding?
The confusion in Gu Chengyin's eyes deepened.
What misunderstanding could there possibly be between him and Luo Zhao?
On the surface, they were the Crown Princess and the Junior Preceptor to the Crown Princess.
One was responsible for teaching and training, and the other for receiving the teaching and training.
In secret, one was a hypnotist, and the other the hypnotized.
Still, one was responsible for teaching and training, and the other for receiving it.
What a simple and pure relationship.
How could there be any misunderstanding?
Gu Chengyin looked closely at Lin Qingyan and noticed the earnest expression in her eyes.
He suddenly realized that Lin Qingyan wasn't just asking casually.
She had genuinely sensed something, just as she had sensed his true intentions.
After all, Lin Qingyan could sense the electricity in people.
Even without any logic or reason, she could skip the deduction process entirely and arrive straight at the correct answer.
Therefore, Lin Qingyan must have noticed something.
And from that final answer, she was working backward, trying to construct the entire logical chain.
Gu Chengyin thought for a moment before asking straightforwardly,
"Auntie, if you have something to say, just say it directly."
"I trust your intuition."
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
world slacker. But a genius female disciple just had to get clingy, insisting that he take her as a disciple. Not only that, she was always making advances on him, thoroughly disrupting his peaceful slacker life...
