Shangguan Yunying carried a still-warm purple clay teapot and a fragrant teacup, her steps light and brisk as she passed through the side door of the Mingli Hall.
Her gaze immediately locked onto the quiet figure bent over a desk in the corner of the side hall.
Shangguan Yunying softened her footsteps, trying her best not to disturb the palace servants who were carefully organizing the account books around her, and quietly arrived beside Gu Chengyin's desk.
She did not speak immediately, but first gently placed the purple clay teapot and white porcelain teacup in an empty space at the corner of the desk.
A faint tea fragrance drifted from the spout. It was Spirit Mist Tea, which she had specially prepared for its calming and mind-clearing effects.
Only after doing this did she lean in slightly, getting closer, and called out softly in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "Supervisor Gu."
Gu Chengyin was immersed in the numerical maze of the accounts, pondering a few obviously unreasonable cross-references. Startled by the soft call so close at hand, he subconsciously raised his head.
What met his eyes was Shangguan Yunying's pretty, smiling face.
Her eyes were very bright, as if starlight had fallen into them, and the curve of her mouth was much more lively than usual.
Because they were so close, he could even smell the fragrant breeze wafting from her.
Gu Chengyin slightly raised his eyebrows, a helpless expression appearing on his face. He shook his head and said, "Master Yunying, looking at you, it seems more like you have just come back from a spring outing."
Hearing his words, the smile on Shangguan Yunying's face grew even wider, and the blush on her cheeks became a bit more pronounced.
Not acting reserved, she took the opportunity to sit down on a round stool beside the desk and said softly, "Thanks to my good disciple, although the Ministry of Revenue made things quite difficult, they still did not dare to openly disobey. The account books have basically all been transported over."
Pausing for a moment, she looked at Gu Chengyin with sincere eyes, her voice lowering a bit, carrying heartfelt gratitude. "In the royal court today, thank you very much, Supervisor Gu."
Gu Chengyin waved his hand nonchalantly. "It was my duty to begin with. Besides, since I promised you, I would naturally see it through."
Hearing this, the gratitude in Shangguan Yunying's eyes deepened, but it was immediately followed by a flash of curiosity and inquiry.
She leaned forward slightly and whispered, "There is still one thing I do not understand, and I do not know if I should say it."
"Speak."
"During the morning court session today, when Her Highness was dealing with the impeachment..." Shangguan Yunying weighed her words carefully. "Especially her later reactions, they were very different from Her Highness's usual style."
She observed Gu Chengyin's expression and continued cautiously, "Her Highness has a resolute temperament. In the past, when facing the Second Prince's nonsense, even if she did not refute it on the spot, she would absolutely never choose to delay and ignore it."
She bit her lower lip and still voiced the doubt in her heart. "But today, it was as if... someone had guided her in advance."
After saying that, her bright eyes stared intently at Gu Chengyin, waiting for his answer.
In truth, she was already seventy or eighty percent certain in her heart, but she still wanted to see the person involved admit it himself.
Gu Chengyin looked at her earnest and expectant gaze and found it quite amusing.
He did not hide anything. Meeting Shangguan Yunying's gaze, he admitted straightforwardly, "It was me."
Although she had expected it, upon hearing Gu Chengyin admit it himself, Shangguan Yunying's eyes instantly grew even brighter!
A sense of relief, as if saying 'I knew it,' rippled through her heart, and an even more radiant smile bloomed on her face.
"I knew it! As expected of Supervisor Gu!" Her voice carried a trace of irrepressible joy.
Gu Chengyin could not help but chuckle at her undisguised praise and shook his head. "Master Yunying is being too modest; the main reason is that Her Highness is formidable in her own right."
"No, you are the one being too modest!" Shangguan Yunying wanted to continue saying something to express her inner excitement, however.
"Cough."
A cough, neither light nor heavy but carrying a natural aura of authority, suddenly came from not far away, instantly shattering the atmosphere in the corner.
The smile on Shangguan Yunying's face froze instantly. Like a frightened rabbit, she bounced up from the round stool, quickly turned around, and bowed her head in a swift, seamless motion.
Gu Chengyin's expression also turned serious. He put down the pen in his hand, stood up calmly, turned toward the source of the sound, and bowed in greeting.
They saw that in the direction of the main seat of the great hall, Luo Zhao had appeared there at some unknown time.
There was no expression on her face. Only a pair of phoenix eyes swept coldly over the bowing Shangguan Yunying, before pausing on Gu Chengyin for a moment.
Then, she withdrew her gaze, as if they were merely part of the background of the hall full of account books, and walked straight toward the large red sandalwood chair at the main seat, sitting down with elegant grace.
The palace servants in the hall, who had been busy organizing the account books, were now holding their breath in absolute silence, not even daring to breathe loudly.
"Have all the account books been brought over?"
Luo Zhao's voice rang out, flat and emotionless. Neither joy nor anger could be heard; it was merely a routine inquiry.
Shangguan Yunying quickly replied, "Answering Your Highness, the main account books and files of the Ministry of Revenue from the past ten years have basically arrived. They are currently being counted and categorized. However, the quantity is massive and disorganized, so it will still take some time to completely sort them out."
Only then did Luo Zhao's gaze slowly sweep over the mountain of wooden boxes and ledgers piled up in the hall, and she frowned almost imperceptibly.
This was indeed a colossal undertaking.
She came today originally just to check on the progress, not really expecting to find anything immediately.
After all, how long had Gu Chengyin been looking at them?
Luo Zhao asked casually, "Have you discovered anything?"
This was originally a question asked without any expectations.
However, to the surprise of both Luo Zhao and Shangguan Yunying, Gu Chengyin had already sat back down in his seat after saluting.
Hearing Luo Zhao's question, he did not answer immediately.
Instead, he reached out and precisely pulled out a thin, yellowed booklet from the pile of account books in front of him.
Then, he raised his head and looked at the expressionless Luo Zhao on the main seat, his eyes carrying a rare solemnity.
"Your Highness."
Gu Chengyin's voice was very clear, echoing in the silent hall.
"I have indeed found some noteworthy clues. Although it is merely a glimpse through a narrow tube and the full picture remains unseen, the underlying threads have already begun to reveal a sinister nature."
He paused, his fingers gently stroking the rough cover of the account book, as if weighing its significance.
"However, before I reveal these clues..."
Gu Chengyin's gaze suddenly sharpened. Looking straight at Luo Zhao, he enunciated every word clearly:
"I have a few words I would like to say, and I seek Your Highness's permission."
Luo Zhao cast a strange glance at Gu Chengyin. What could he possibly have to say that required her permission?
But seeing Gu Chengyin's serious expression, Luo Zhao also realized that things might not be so simple.
She said softly, "Granted."
"Thank you, Your Highness." Gu Chengyin bowed in gratitude, and then spoke in a grave tone:
"Your Highness, this account book in my hand, unweighed, is not even three ounces."
"But if it is put on the scale..."
Gu Chengyin's voice suddenly dropped, carrying the oppressive weight of an approaching storm:
"Even a thousand pounds would not be enough to balance it."
"Are you truly ready?"
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 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.
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
