Mentioning this, Gu Xiaoli instantly fell silent.
She even turned her head away, her gaze drifting, not daring to look Gu Chengyin in the eye.
Though she was a cat, that didn't mean she was oblivious.
Reporting to Luo Zhao that it was all about pretending to scatter candy, she could feign innocent ignorance, thinking they were just fighting.
But was that really a fight?
Of course not.
Gu Xiaoli was well aware that Lin Qingyan was the one getting pummeled, one-sidedly.
A glint of amusement flickered in Gu Chengyin's eyes.
So it seemed this world-weary little girl wasn't all that weary after all.
He was about to say something more when he suddenly heard a flurry of hurried footsteps behind him.
The steps were urgent and heavy, not like the quick, shuffling gait of a palace attendant, nor the long, confident strides of a warrior.
Instead, they carried a sense of pressing haste, a running pace that couldn't bother to stay prim and proper.
Gu Chengyin turned around.
A young eunuch came dashing down the corridor, panting heavily.
Sweat beads on his forehead glittered in the sunlight.
His face was unnaturally pale, his lips trembling slightly, and in his hands he held something bright yellow.
It was an imperial decree, made from gleaming yellow silk, bordered with embroidered five-clawed dragon patterns—so dazzling in the sun it was almost unbearable to look at.
The young eunuch reached Gu Chengyin, came to an abrupt halt, his knees giving way as he knelt down.
“Junior Preceptor... Junior Preceptor Gu!”
The eunuch's voice quavered, whether from running or fear: “His Majesty's verbal order—no, His Majesty's imperial decree! Summoning Junior Preceptor Gu to the palace immediately!”
Gu Chengyin gazed at the yellow silk, his expression unchanged.
His face hadn't altered since the moment the eunuch appeared.
Even upon hearing the words “to the palace immediately,” his brow didn't so much as twitch.
Gu Chengyin's eyes rested on the decree for a single beat.
Then he reached out and took it.
“Your subject, Gu Chengyin, receives the decree.”
His voice was steady and resolute, without a trace of panic or surprise.
In truth, Gu Chengyin wasn't surprised at all.
Emperor Luo's urgent summons to the palace was expected.
Cui Zhenji's resignation memorial had already been sent to the Grand Secretariat, and given how well-informed Emperor Luo was, he probably knew about it the moment the memorial reached the Ministry of Personnel.
Coupled with the fact that Lin Qingyan was currently on her way into the palace, Emperor Luo couldn't possibly remain in the dark.
With these two matters colliding, Emperor Luo could hardly avoid thinking of him.
And so, Gu Chengyin merely pondered what attitude Emperor Luo would take when meeting him.
Would it be a routine report between sovereign and subject, or a private meeting between brothers-in-law?
Was it a probe, a warning, or a showdown?
Gu Chengyin tucked the decree into his sleeve, turned around, and looked at Gu Xiaoli.
Gu Xiaoli was still standing there, mouth slightly open, eyes wide and round, like a porcelain doll suddenly frozen in place.
Her gaze fell on the bright yellow silk protruding from Gu Chengyin's sleeve, and her pupils contracted.
“Brother...”
Gu Xiaoli's voice dropped lower than before: “His Majesty, he...?”
“It's nothing.”
Gu Chengyin cut her off, speaking calmly: “Keep cultivating. We'll talk once I'm back.”
Gu Xiaoli stared at him for two breaths, then gave a vigorous nod.
“Alright.”
Gu Chengyin turned and walked toward the palace gates.
His strides were unhurried and steady, each step planted firmly.
There was no sign of urgency or anxiety, but his mind was already racing.
What was Emperor Luo's mood right now?
Had Lin Qingyan arrived yet?
What had she said to Emperor Luo?
Did he summon me after hearing her words, or had he already decided before she spoke?
The answers to these questions could only be known once he reached the Warm Pavilion.
Outside the palace gates, a small sedan chair with a blue felt canopy was already waiting.
Two eunuch bearers stood with hands at their sides, and upon seeing Gu Chengyin emerge, they bowed in unison.
It was clear Emperor Luo was in a hurry—even the sedan had been dispatched from the palace.
Without a word, Gu Chengyin lifted the curtain, bent down, and sat inside.
The sedan lifted and headed toward the imperial palace.
In the palace, at the Warm Pavilion.
The hall was three bays wide and two bays deep, paved with gold bricks and adorned with landscape paintings by famous masters of previous dynasties.
In the corner sat a gilded boshan incense burner, wafting the scent of dragon brain incense.
Curling smoke filled the chamber with a warm, cozy air.
But in this moment, the atmosphere in the Warm Pavilion was anything but warm.
Emperor Luo sat behind the imperial desk, dressed in casual robes, without a crown—a simple jade hairpin held his topknot in place.
In his hand, he toyed with a single Go piece, a black one made of yunzi stone, slowly turning it between his fingers.
Before him lay an unfinished game of Go, black and white locked in fierce struggle, danger lurking everywhere—who knew how long it had been played.
Standing beside the imperial desk was Lyu Fang, hands at his sides, eyes low and gaze inward, like a lifeless statue.
There was no one else in the Warm Pavilion.
No ministers, no guards, not even the tea-serving eunuchs had been sent away.
Only Emperor Luo, Lyu Fang, and that thick, suffocating silence in the air, so condensed it seemed ready to drip like water.
Emperor Luo placed the black piece on the Go board with a soft click—crisp yet heavy.
“Has Jingzhe left?”
Emperor Luo's voice carried the inherent authority that comes from spending years on the dragon throne.
Lyu Fang bowed slightly: “To answer Your Majesty, Lord Jingzhe left the palace just now.”
“By the look of it, heading toward the Celestial Master's residence.”
“What did he say to you before he left?”
“Lord Jingzhe said...”
Lyu Fang's tone remained steady, but the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, as if restraining a smile: “If Your Majesty dares to put my dear Chengcheng in a tough spot, he'll move that loquat tree out of the Imperial Garden.”
Emperor Luo's fingers stopped moving over the Go board.
The loquat tree.
It was no rare species, certainly no exotic treasure—just an ordinary loquat tree.
Countless such trees dotted the Great Luo Dynasty, none of the least distinction.
The only special thing about it was that Empress Lin had loved it, so he had planted it with his own hands.
But that same year,
Empress Lin had died.
Now its canopy shaded the courtyard like a grand pavilion.
Emperor Luo fell silent.
Lin Qingyan wanted to move that loquat tree from the Imperial Garden, not because she liked it.
But because she knew what that loquat tree meant.
“This Jingzhe,”
Emperor Luo said, his tone unreadable: “He grows ever more unruly.”
Lyu Fang said nothing.
This was not a remark for him to follow up on.
Emperor Luo's fingers began to move again, picking up a white piece from the board.
He set it down, then picked it up again, and finally closed his palm around it.
His gaze settled on the board, on the murky battlefield of black and white.
“Has Gu Chengyin arrived yet?”
Just as Lyu Fang was about to answer, footsteps sounded from outside the door.
Not too fast, not too slow—each interval precise, as if measured with a ruler.
Neither hurried nor slack.
This was a pace honed through deliberate control, the kind of gait forged in countless audiences at court—between sovereign and subject—a muscle memory earned through countless debates.
Lyu Fang's ear twitched.
“To answer Your Majesty, Junior Preceptor Gu has arrived.”
Emperor Luo did not look up.
His gaze still rested on the Go board, his fingers still slowly rotating that white piece.
His expression remained unchanged; even the rhythm of his breathing held steady.
But the air in the Warm Pavilion grew heavier still.
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
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!
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.
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
