So no matter what Gu Chengyin is doing, no matter where he is, no matter how many women are around him.
None of this matters.
Zilu, there is only one thing you need to do.
Xiao Ruxu raised her finger and tapped it on Cui Zilu's chest, directly over her heart.
The tap was so light it felt like touching something fragile.
But to Cui Zilu, it felt as though that tap had struck her very soul, making her whole body tremble.
Support him unconditionally.
Cui Zilu's eyes turned red.
Not from grievance, not from being moved, but from a jumble of pain and warmth and an inability to express what she felt.
As time goes on, as the days grow longer, Gu Chengyin will come to see your worth.
Xiao Ruxu's voice dropped low, as if she were stating something she had long understood.
Because you alone will unconditionally support everything he does.
You alone will unconditionally accept everything about him.
You alone will unconditionally sacrifice yourself to lift him up.
Cui Zilu's tears fell again.
But this time, she did not hide, did not wipe them away, did not bury her head in her knees.
She simply raised her head, looked at Xiao Ruxu, and let the tears stream down her cheeks.
One drop after another fell to the ground, staining small, dark patches.
These patches were like blossoms drenched by rain, blooming upon her heart.
Cui Zilu's lips trembled, her lashes trembled, her fingers trembled, her whole body trembled.
But her eyes, still glistening with tears, red and swollen, began to brighten.
It was as if something deep in the depths of her heart had been awakened, rising irrepressibly into light.
Xiao Ruxu looked into her daughter's eyes and knew she had absorbed it.
Not just heard it, but absorbed it.
Hearing is the work of the ears; absorbing is the work of the soul.
And Cui Zilu's soul, at that moment, had been ignited by Xiao Ruxu's words.
After hearing Cui Zilu's retelling, Xiao Ruxu did not say much more.
She simply reached out and pulled her daughter into her embrace.
Her gaze, however, drifted over Cui Zilu's shoulder to a place far away.
That place was the Divine Capital, where she had long been absent, where Cui Shifan was.
Her husband was currently in the Crown Princess's palace there, paving the way for Cui Zilu's future.
And she was here, laying the foundation for Cui Zilu's future.
The two of them, one at the front and one at the rear, one charging into battle and one securing the home front.
This was a tacit understanding built over decades, requiring no discussion, no communication, not even an exchange of glances.
Xiao Ruxu knew what Cui Shifan was doing, and Cui Shifan knew what Xiao Ruxu was doing.
That was enough.
Her gaze fell on the plaque of the Cheng Lu Academy.
Cheng Lu Academy.
Why was it called Cheng Lu Academy?
Who was Cheng, and who was Lu?
Of course, Xiao Ruxu knew; she knew everything.
She had known from the moment Cui Zilu first mentioned the words “Brother Chengyin” in front of her.
From the moment Cui Zilu said, “I want to do something for him.”
From the moment Cui Zilu said, “I want to build an academy.”
She had not asked why, not asked if it was worth it, not asked if she was sure.
She had simply said, “Alright, Mother will help you.”
Xiao Ruxu's gaze returned to Cui Zilu's face, and she continued gently,
What Gu Chengyin needs most right now is trustworthy talent.
And this is precisely where those other ladies fall short compared to you.
They hold high positions and look down on everyone.
They would never lower themselves to cultivate the talent Gu Chengyin needs.
But, coincidentally, the Cui Clan of Qinghe has never been lacking in talent.
When Xiao Ruxu said these words, her tone carried a natural, matter-of-fact certainty.
A millennium-old noble clan. These four words are not just for show, not just written in the family tree for boasting.
They are composed of blood, sweat, wisdom, and the perseverance of countless late nights burning the midnight oil, generation after generation.
A legacy built up bit by bit.
The talent of a noble clan does not fall from the sky, nor is it poached from elsewhere; it is cultivated from within.
One generation teaches the next, one generation passes it on to the next—those classics, histories, strategies for governing, and wisdom for navigating life.
Like an underground river, they have flowed through the bloodline of the clan for a thousand years, never running dry.
Cui Zilu was a daughter of that underground river; in her veins flowed the most refined blood of the Cui clan over a thousand years.
This was not pride, but fact.
Fact needs no pride, only to be seen.
It was only after Xiao Ruxu's reminder that Cui Zilu realized she was not worthless.
Her advantages had always been there, from the day she was born.
And those advantages were substantial.
So substantial that Cui Zilu had never thought about it before, so substantial that she had never dared to think about it.
Not because she was not good enough, but because she was so good that she herself did not know how good she was.
She should not compete with those other ladies over who was more dazzling, who was more outstanding, who was more worthy of standing by Gu Chengyin's side.
Instead, she should provide Gu Chengyin with what those ladies could not.
Just as Xiao Ruxu had said, none of those ladies could lift Gu Chengyin up.
But she, Cui Zilu, could. She could lift Gu Chengyin up.
Not by standing behind him, not by standing beside him.
But by using the millennium-deep legacy of the Cui clan as a foundation, elevating him to higher places.
She could provide Gu Chengyin with the talent he needed, in any field.
This was the foundation that would allow him to take on any task without fear of having no one to rely on.
How tall a tree can grow does not depend on how lush its branches and leaves are, but on how deep its roots are planted.
Gu Chengyin is a tree, one that is growing wildly, its branches and leaves already blocking out the sun.
But his roots were not yet deep enough, not yet stable enough to keep him standing firm on this land through wind and rain.
And those other ladies, none of them could help him root deeper.
Luo Zhao could not, because she was the Crown Princess; she needed Gu Chengyin to root for her.
Lin Qingyan could not, because she was Jingzhe; her roots were in the Celestial Master's residence, not in the court.
Shangguan Yunying could not, because loyal talent cannot be bought with money alone; it must be cultivated with time and effort.
Only she, Cui Zilu, could.
She could help Gu Chengyin plant an entire forest.
Cheng Lu Academy was the first tree in that forest.
Most importantly, you must not think of monopolizing Gu Chengyin, let alone locking him away.
When Xiao Ruxu said this, a strange smile crossed her face, as if she had seen through something.
Instead, when he is tired and wants to find a place to rest, you should say...
Xiao Ruxu's voice suddenly became very gentle, like a spring breeze, neither cold nor hot against the skin.
But it let you know it had arrived, that winter was over, and everything was awakening.
“Welcome home.”
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!
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.
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.
nce】【Lighthearted Comedy】【Ultimate Gentleman's Novel】【Viewer Discretion Advised for Under 16】 The mightiest human hero, Sharen Morian, is resurrected after a thousand years by his wife—the Demon King. This is not your typical hero-vs-demon-king tale.
