Shangguan Yunying was just about to call out when she suddenly paused.
Her gaze shifted from Gu Chengyin to examine the interior of this premium guest room.
From left to right, from inside out, not even sparing the area behind the folding screen.
With a bit of scrutiny, a bit of suspicion, and a bit of...
the careful wariness of someone trying to catch a cheating lover.
Gu Chengyin blinked, pretending to be puzzled. "Yunying, what are you looking for?"
Shangguan Yunying finally withdrew her gaze.
She scanned the room one more time to confirm that, aside from Gu Chengyin.
There was indeed no one else. Only then did her expression completely relax.
Then, a brilliantly radiant smile blossomed on her face.
"I missed you so much!"
Shangguan Yunying opened her arms, dashed over in a few steps, and threw her arms around Gu Chengyin.
Her movement was so fierce and forceful that she nearly knocked him out of his seat.
Gu Chengyin subconsciously held her shoulders. Before he could even react.
He felt Shangguan Yunying rubbing affectionately against his chest.
"Gu Chengyin! I really missed you so much!"
Shangguan Yunying's voice came from his embrace.
A hint of a smile had just surfaced in Gu Chengyin's eyes.
But then he remembered something, and his heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Wait.
Who was he just holding?
It was Lin Qingyan.
Since when had he been holding her?
Since she blushed crimson, or since she let slip that secret?
No, it was even earlier, starting from when she proactively nestled into his arms.
And now?
He had just finished holding Lin Qingyan, and now he was holding Shangguan Yunying.
This...
Gu Chengyin lowered his eyes to look at Shangguan Yunying buried in his chest, feeling an ominous premonition.
Not because of guilt, nor because of his scumbag behavior.
But because...
The time gap was too short.
So short that the faint, cold fragrance still lingered on his collar, so short that the warmth of another person still remained in his embrace, so short that...
Sure enough, in the next breath, Shangguan Yunying seemed to smell something.
She lifted her head, her nose twitching a few times.
"Huh?"
Shangguan Yunying frowned, a flash of doubt crossing her eyes as she couldn't help but ask:
"Why do you smell so fragrant?"
Gu Chengyin didn't change his expression, replying unhurriedly:
"This is a premium room in Fanlou."
Saying this, Gu Chengyin gently pulled Shangguan Yunying out of his embrace just a bit.
His tone was as natural as if discussing the weather. "There are always some special incenses here. I might have caught some of the scent."
"Is that so?"
Shangguan Yunying sniffed again, her frown deepening. "But why does this scent..."
"Yunying."
Gu Chengyin interrupted her, his expression turning a bit more serious:
"You haven't said why you suddenly came to Luodu. Did something happen in Shendu? Or did something happen to Her Highness?"
Mentioning serious business, Shangguan Yunying's attention was indeed diverted.
She nodded, the naive charm fading from her face, replaced by solemnity.
"It's Her Highness. Something happened to her."
Hearing that something happened to Luo Zhao, Gu Chengyin asked:
"What happened?"
Shangguan Yunying replied in a deep voice:
"Her Highness suppressed an imperial edict and refused to issue it. She was ordered by His Majesty to reflect on her actions behind closed doors."
......
Time rewinds to a few days ago.
Outside the Xuanwu Gate of the Imperial Palace in Shendu.
After hearing the contents of the edict, Shangguan Yunying's eyes instantly widened.
She couldn't help but cover her mouth and exclaim in a low voice:
"His Majesty wants Lord Jingzhe to arrest Gu Chengyin and bring him back to the capital?!"
Luo Zhao did not reply. She merely looked at Shangguan Yunying, watching the rapidly shifting expressions on her face.
From shock to confusion, from confusion to anxiety, from anxiety to anger.
The corners of Luo Zhao's mouth curled up slightly, though it vanished in an instant.
Because Shangguan Yunying didn't know that the contents of this imperial edict were actually written by her, Luo Zhao.
However, Luo Zhao was not going to tell Shangguan Yunying the truth either.
Even if she still believed in Shangguan Yunying's loyalty, believing that her chief female official would not betray her.
But, Gu Chengyin had truly taught her too, too much, such as...
Never build everything upon trust.
Only interests are absolute.
Therefore, not only would Luo Zhao not tell Shangguan Yunying the truth.
She also wanted Shangguan Yunying to believe that this edict was the will of Emperor Luo.
Shangguan Yunying was still saying anxiously, "Your Highness, Gu Chengyin did not usurp anything, it was..."
"Yunying."
Luo Zhao spoke up to interrupt, her voice as calm as if she were saying the weather was nice today.
"I am preparing to suppress this imperial edict."
Shangguan Yunying froze, blinking her eyes as she hesitated:
"Suppress the imperial edict?"
"Yes."
Luo Zhao nodded to confirm: "Suppress it and not issue it."
Shangguan Yunying couldn't react for a moment.
When she finally did, she was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, almost jumping up entirely:
"No! Your Highness, you are the Crown Princess! If you suppress this imperial edict, it will cause a massive disaster!"
Shangguan Yunying was so anxious that her voice changed pitch. She stepped forward and grabbed Luo Zhao's hands:
"You cannot do this! This is defying an imperial decree! It is gross disrespect! It is..."
"Yunying."
Luo Zhao interrupted again, her gaze as calm as still water.
"I must suppress this imperial edict."
She looked into Shangguan Yunying's eyes and emphasized word by word:
"You know the reason."
Shangguan Yunying's anxious voice came to an abrupt halt.
She stared blankly at Luo Zhao, remembered something, and suddenly understood the reason why Luo Zhao wanted to suppress the edict.
Because Luo Zhao was a hypnotized subject.
Because Luo Zhao was the Highness who had absolute trust in Gu Chengyin.
Because Luo Zhao was the Crown Princess who viewed Gu Chengyin as her master.
Such a character, upon personally receiving such an imperial edict, what would she do?
Of course, she would suppress it and not issue it.
Of course, she would hide this decree away, bury it in the dust.
Hide it until the end of time, absolutely never allowing it to harm her master.
This was what a qualified hypnotized subject should do.
After figuring out the reason, Shangguan Yunying's expression changed.
She looked at Luo Zhao's calm, unrippled phoenix eyes, unable to distinguish for a moment whether this calmness was the effect of the hypnosis.
Or if it was Luo Zhao's own choice. Or perhaps, the two had long been intertwined together, no longer distinguishable.
Shangguan Yunying opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but not knowing what to say.
If this imperial edict was issued, the one to suffer would be Gu Chengyin.
If this imperial edict was not issued, the one to suffer would be Luo Zhao.
Loyalty and love were completely pitted against each other at this moment.
Which side should she choose?
What should she do?
Shangguan Yunying fell into silence.
She felt like she was being torn in half.
One half told her: You are Her Highness's chief female official, you must think of Her Highness.
If Her Highness suppresses the edict, she will be punished, she will be deposed, and she will be doomed beyond redemption.
You must persuade Her Highness to issue the edict.
The other half told her: You like Gu Chengyin, you cannot watch him get hurt.
Once this imperial edict is issued, he will become a prisoner, an imperial criminal escorted back to the capital.
Could you bear it?
Right at this moment.
"Yunying."
Luo Zhao's voice sounded again, carrying an inexplicable certainty.
Shangguan Yunying lifted her head and saw that faint, almost imperceptible smile at the corner of her mouth.
A smile?
Her Highness was smiling?
At a time like this?
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
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...
