Now, as for his character, his conduct, his ambition.
When did you become so modest?
The implication of that sentence: you have never been a modest person.
The things you've done—which of them could a modest person have done?
And now you tell me you dare not take credit. Do you think I’ll believe that?
Gu Chengyin’s breathing did not change in the slightest.
“Your Majesty.”
He lifted his head and for the first time looked straight into Emperor Luo’s eyes.
“Your subject is not being modest. Your subject is an honest man.”
“That is why your subject simply spoke the truth.”
Emperor Luo’s eyes narrowed just slightly.
Pressure surged forward.
No spiritual power was released; no presence was exerted.
Emperor Luo was now just an ordinary man, sitting in an ordinary chair.
Wearing ordinary robes, looking at Gu Chengyin with ordinary eyes.
But that pressure was more suffocating than the oppressive force of any Golden Core cultivator.
The atmosphere in the warm chamber grew heavy once more.
Emperor Luo set down the memorial in his hand.
“Gu Chengyin.”
The emperor addressed him by his full name.
Three words, each crisp and distinct.
“Your subject is here.”
“You and Jingzhe.”
Emperor Luo’s gaze fell upon Gu Chengyin’s face.
“What is your relationship?”
The question came so abruptly that if it had been anyone else, they might have been left speechless.
But Gu Chengyin’s expression remained unchanged.
His face was as calm as stagnant water; even his eyes did not waver.
Because Gu Chengyin knew this question was coming sooner or later.
From the moment he had obtained Lin Qingyan, he knew it was inevitable.
Because Lin Qingyan was not just Jingzhe of the Celestial Masters’ Residence, not just the Golden Core invincible cultivator.
She was the younger sister of Empress Lin.
She was Emperor Luo’s sister-in-law.
Gu Chengyin was silent for a moment.
In that instant, countless images flashed through his mind.
Every single one was of Lin Qingyan.
Then Gu Chengyin spoke.
“Your Majesty, your subject and your sister-in-law have lived and died together as one.”
The warm chamber fell silent.
Emperor Luo’s expression did not change.
His brows did not twitch, his eyes did not narrow, his lips did not press together.
His expression remained exactly as before, as if he had heard nothing.
But the fingers resting on the desk curled inward slightly.
Gu Chengyin let out a silent breath of relief.
Emperor Luo did not fly into a rage.
He did not slam the table.
He did not order someone to drag him out and behead him.
He only curled his fingers slightly.
That meant Lin Qingyan’s “reasoning” had had its effect.
Emperor Luo’s fingers unfurled one by one on the desk.
Like a frozen river slowly thawing in spring.
Cracks spread across the ice, and the water beneath surged through the fissures, carrying a bone-chilling cold.
“Lived and died together as one?”
Emperor Luo repeated those four words.
His voice was lower than before, low enough to sound like he was talking to himself.
Gu Chengyin did not respond.
At this moment, there was no need to respond.
The words had already been spoken—everything that needed to be said had been said, and nothing that should not have been said had been uttered.
What remained was Emperor Luo’s reaction.
Emperor Luo shifted his gaze from Gu Chengyin’s face to the window.
The window was covered in thick rice paper, hiding the view outside, leaving only a vast, pale light.
That light, set against the amber glow of the lamps, seemed particularly glaring.
Like a piece of white jade inlaid into a wall—warm to the touch but cold at heart.
“Jingzhe came to see me just now.”
Emperor Luo’s voice drifted back from the window, carrying a faint weariness.
Gu Chengyin’s expression shifted slightly—finally, they were getting to the heart of the matter.
“She explained a great many truths to me.”
Emperor Luo tapped his fingers lightly on the window frame twice, the rhythm identical to the taps he had made on the memorial earlier.
Two dull knocks, unhurried.
“Some truths I took to heart.”
“Some truths I did not.”
Gu Chengyin’s breath paused briefly.
Taken to heart.
Not taken to heart.
This was not about agreement or disagreement—it was about consideration.
It would take time to consider.
So no decision had been made yet.
And not making a decision was itself a decision.
A decision not to take a stand, to wait and see, to observe what would happen next.
“Your Majesty is wise and insightful.”
Gu Chengyin said.
Four words, as standard as if they had been copied from a court etiquette manual.
Emperor Luo turned his head and looked at Gu Chengyin again.
“Gu Chengyin.”
The emperor called his name once more.
“Your subject is here.”
“I have long known that Jingzhe likes you.”
Emperor Luo’s gaze fell upon Gu Chengyin’s face, like two swords still sheathed in their scabbards.
“But you should also know that I do not like you.”
These words were so direct they did not sound like an emperor speaking to a subject.
No metaphors, no hints, none of the courtly roundabout rhetoric.
It was a naked, unadorned expression.
Gu Chengyin’s expression still did not waver.
But in his heart, his estimation of Emperor Luo rose another notch.
For an emperor to speak such words to a subject meant one of two possibilities.
First, Emperor Luo was a tyrant, speaking his mind carelessly, without restraint.
Second, Emperor Luo was a ruler of supreme confidence.
So confident that he did not need to conceal his likes and dislikes from anyone.
So confident that even though Gu Chengyin had Lin Qingyan, the emperor could still control everything.
Emperor Luo was clearly the second type.
Gu Chengyin gave his answer.
“Your Majesty is wise and insightful.”
Emperor Luo stared at him for a while longer before finally speaking.
“I have read Cui Zhenji’s resignation memorial.”
The emperor’s voice returned to its earlier casual, flat tone.
“As for the Cabinet, I will have them draw up the draft opinion as soon as possible.”
A Cabinet draft opinion.
The emperor’s vermilion approval.
This was the standard procedure for all major personnel appointments at court.
When Emperor Luo said he would have the draft opinion expedited, it meant he would not obstruct the memorial in the process.
At least not proactively.
This was a concession.
A concession that could be withdrawn at any time, but a concession nonetheless.
Gu Chengyin knew this concession was not for him.
It was for Lin Qingyan.
“Your subject thanks Your Majesty for his grace on behalf of Minister Cui.”
The warm chamber fell silent once more.
So silent that one could hear the faint crackling of the last embers of dragon’s musk incense in the boshan censer.
One could hear the low rumble of the hypocaust beneath the glazed bricks.
One could hear the hum of Lyu Fang’s breath as he held it.
“Gu Chengyin.”
Emperor Luo finally spoke again, his voice lower and heavier than before.
“I want to ask you one thing, and you must answer truthfully.”
Gu Chengyin’s spine tensed for just an instant, then straightened again.
“Your Majesty may ask.”
Emperor Luo’s gaze rested on his face for a long time.
So long that Gu Chengyin could read much from that silence.
Emperor Luo was hesitating.
This emperor of decisive action was hesitating.
What was he hesitating about?
After a moment, the emperor finally spoke.
His voice was very low, low enough to sound like he was talking to himself.
But every word fell distinctly into Gu Chengyin’s ear.
“What exactly are your intentions toward Zhao’er?”
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
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.
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
