Putting everything else aside, Gu Chengyin truly did miss the cold and aloof Luo Zhao of the past for a moment.
That Luo Zhao who, on their first meeting, looked down at him with condescension.
That Luo Zhao whose phoenix eyes held frost, whose entire being radiated a keep-your-distance vibe.
That Luo Zhao whose every other word was "how dare you" and whose closing line was always "you're being presumptuous."
A Luo Zhao like that was at least pleasant to look at.
Not the current Luo Zhao, whose mouth said one thing while her body did another.
A Luo Zhao who made him want to conquer her every moment of the day.
Gu Chengyin let out a silent sigh in his heart.
Maybe he should just hypnotize Luo Zhao after all.
The thought flickered through his mind, but only for an instant, because Gu Chengyin knew he wouldn't actually do it.
He wouldn't waste something important on something useless.
But that didn't stop Gu Chengyin from reminiscing about the cold and aloof Luo Zhao of the past.
With that thought, Gu Chengyin took a step toward Luo Zhao.
A faint smile played on his face, warm and composed.
As if he wasn't walking toward an enraged Crown Princess, but rather a cat that was all bark and no bite.
Luo Zhao instinctively wanted to step back.
Her body reacted faster than her mind.
The tips of her feet shifted slightly backward, her center of gravity leaning to the rear, her whole posture forming a stance of retreat.
But her hands were still tightly wrapped around Shangguan Yunying, and Shangguan Yunying didn't move.
So she couldn't back away either, and could only watch helplessly as Gu Chengyin approached.
Then he stopped right in front of Luo Zhao, reached out, and grabbed her arm.
With a gentle tug, he pulled her entirely out of Shangguan Yunying's embrace.
Luo Zhao, caught off guard, stumbled forward a step, barely steadying herself in front of Gu Chengyin.
Her arm was still in his grip, the warmth of his large palm seeping through her clothes, sending a tingling heat across the skin of her arm.
"You..."
Luo Zhao instinctively wanted to rebuke him, to put on the dignity of the Crown Princess.
But Gu Chengyin didn't even glance at her.
His gaze landed on Shangguan Yunying as he spoke:
"Yunying, go handle your business first."
Shangguan Yunying was briefly startled, then quickly understood what Gu Chengyin was referring to.
Resigning from the position of Chief Female Official had originally been her personal decision.
It was for cultivation, for breaking through to the Golden Core stage earlier, for having more time to be with Gu Chengyin.
But now, this matter was no longer just about her alone.
It concerned the entire situation, influenced the direction of the future, and even determined whether the imperial edict could be issued.
Its importance went without saying.
And the reason she had to tell Luo Zhao was out of basic respect.
No matter what, Luo Zhao was the Crown Princess, the banner of the Crown Princess faction.
She was the foundation of their current status and influence.
Although Gu Chengyin didn't care about Luo Zhao as a person, he cared very much about the identity of Crown Princess.
Shangguan Yunying glanced at Luo Zhao, her eyes carrying a hint of apology, mixed with resolution.
She knew Luo Zhao would feel reluctant, panicked, and even angry.
But this matter was already decided; even if she disagreed, it wouldn't change anything.
After all, whether it was the Crown Princess faction or the Crown Princess's palace, neither was under Luo Zhao's control anymore.
Besides, right now, Luo Zhao herself was in Gu Chengyin's hands.
With that thought, Shangguan Yunying nodded, acknowledging Gu Chengyin's instruction.
Then she looked at Luo Zhao and said seriously:
"Your Highness, rest assured."
"Even if I'm no longer the Chief Female Official, you are still my Crown Princess."
These words were spoken with great solemnity, not as a formality but as a promise.
No matter how Shangguan Yunying's identity changed, no matter whether she remained Chief Female Official or not, no matter how much she adored Gu Chengyin, Luo Zhao's place in her heart would never change.
At most, she just ranked right after Gu Chengyin.
With that, Shangguan Yunying turned and walked out of the hall.
Her steps were quick, robes fluttering, her skirt tracing a smooth arc behind her.
She didn't look back, because she knew that if she turned and saw Luo Zhao's reddened phoenix eyes, she would soften, she would waver, and she would say something like "Then I won't resign after all."
But this matter could not afford softness.
As long as Gu Chengyin was there, the Crown Princess faction would never collapse.
No matter how loud the Prince faction clamored, they were nothing but clowns.
Shangguan Yunying's figure disappeared at the threshold of the hall, and the sound of her footsteps gradually faded into the distance.
Luo Zhao watched Shangguan Yunying's retreating figure and blinked.
She didn't doubt the sincerity of Shangguan Yunying's words.
Even without being Chief Female Official, Shangguan Yunying still had her in her heart.
Luo Zhao was clear on that.
But the problem was...
Luo Zhao's gaze drifted downward, landing on Gu Chengyin's hand gripping her arm.
That hand was elegant in its bones, long and powerful, with light calluses on the fingertips.
It was clamped around her arm, its warmth radiating continuously through her clothing.
Luo Zhao looked at that hand, then at the direction Shangguan Yunying had disappeared.
Then she looked at her own current situation and swallowed the words she was about to say.
She was the Crown Princess, this was her palace, she was the master, and Gu Chengyin was the subject.
So why did it feel like she was a little kitten being held by the scruff by Gu Chengyin, completely at his mercy?
Luo Zhao cursed Gu Chengyin another hundred times in her heart.
But after cursing, she still stood obediently in place, without struggling, without resisting.
Not that she didn't want to, but she knew struggling was futile.
Gu Chengyin was a man who seemed easygoing.
But when he truly decided on something, no one could stop him.
Whether she struggled, resisted, or even dragged Emperor Luo into it, Gu Chengyin wouldn't bat an eye.
Besides...
Luo Zhao stole a glance at Gu Chengyin, then quickly looked away.
Besides, she didn't actually want to struggle that much.
After all, she had gotten used to it.
After all, it wasn't like this was the first time.
The moment this thought surfaced, Luo Zhao startled herself, and the tips of her ears flushed red involuntarily.
She began to scold herself inwardly: Luo Zhao, oh Luo Zhao, you are the dignified Crown Princess, the future Empress. How can you be so spineless in front of this Red Egg, Gu Chengyin?
Don't you have any pride left?
But Luo Zhao's body, very honestly, didn't move.
After Shangguan Yunying left, Gu Chengyin turned to Lin Qingyan.
"Aunt, what do you think of Her Highness's words?"
Lin Qingyan had been standing quietly to the side the whole time, watching everything unfold. Her expression remained that cold and distant look.
But in her clear, cool eyes, a glint of amusement surfaced, as if she had discovered something interesting, or as if she were calculating something.
Hearing Gu Chengyin's question, she walked over unhurriedly.
Her moon-white long dress trailed along the ground, making a faint rustling sound.
The sound of her footsteps echoed through the silent hall, step by step.
It was as if each step landed on Luo Zhao's heart, making her pulse race involuntarily.
Luo Zhao watched Lin Qingyan approach, and a sense of foreboding suddenly welled up inside her.
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
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.
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!
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
