So Luo Zhao chose to remain silent.
Lin Qingyan watched Luo Zhao's evasive gaze and let out another cold snort.
She knew it.
She knew Luo Zhao had always had her eyes on Gu Chengyin, had never once let go.
Even though Gu Chengyin's status was now her uncle by marriage, even though Gu Chengyin already had her, Lin Qingyan.
Luo Zhao still hadn't given up. She didn't care about any of that.
Those words that spilled out impulsively, those emotions laid bare without restraint, those true thoughts hidden beneath that cold, proud mask.
Just now, all of it had been exposed without reservation.
Because Luo Zhao was desperate.
The Imperial Consort selection had originally been a perfect opportunity.
The Emperor Luo had personally made a move, personally made her play. Luo Zhao finally had backing to go after Gu Chengyin.
As long as Gu Chengyin became the Imperial Consort, it would be legitimate, it would be aboveboard, no more sneaking around.
Of course Luo Zhao wanted this chance. Of course she wanted Gu Chengyin to become her Imperial Consort.
Not because of some court balance, not because of some political marriage.
But because she wanted Gu Chengyin.
Whether from the angle of hatred, or from the angle of love.
She wanted Gu Chengyin.
This, Lin Qingyan saw with absolute clarity.
But Gu Chengyin had turned the Imperial Consort selection right around and dissolved it, bring Luo Zhao's carefully laid plans crashing down.
But did that mean Luo Zhao had given up?
No.
Luo Zhao was never someone who gave up.
She would continue to endure, continue to wait, continue to look for the next opportunity.
And when that next opportunity appeared, she would pounce on it without hesitation and clutch it tightly in her hands.
As for why Lin Qingyan wanted to teach Luo Zhao a lesson?
It wasn't because Luo Zhao had designs on him, but because her attitude was unacceptable.
Perhaps it was also because she had given up on herself and let herself go completely.
But Lin Qingyan wouldn't accept that.
She wouldn't accept Luo Zhao's attitude toward Gu Chengyin.
So she was angry.
"Zhao'er."
Lin Qingyan spoke, her voice still carrying that gentle tone that made Luo Zhao's skin crawl.
Luo Zhao's shoulders trembled. She didn't look up.
"Actually, the Imperial Consort can still be summoned."
Hearing this, Luo Zhao's head snapped up.
Her phoenix eyes were filled with shock and disbelief. Her pupils dilated, her lips parted, her entire body frozen in place.
She didn't understand what Lin Qingyan meant.
Hadn't the Imperial Consort selection already been dissolved?
Hadn't Gu Chengyin already become ineligible?
Once the news of Shangguan Yunying resigning as Chief Palace Lady spread, wouldn't the imperial edict become impossible to issue?
Wasn't this already set in stone?
How could it still be summoned?
Luo Zhao's mind raced, chewing over Lin Qingyan's words again and again.
The Imperial Consort can still be summoned...
Can still be summoned...
Still be summoned...
No.
Suddenly, Luo Zhao thought of something.
Just because Gu Chengyin couldn't be the Imperial Consort didn't mean no one else could!
Who said the Imperial Consort had to be Gu Chengyin?
When the Emperor Luo summoned an Imperial Consort, it didn't have to be Gu Chengyin. It could be anyone who met the criteria.
Someone could be chosen from the aristocratic families, from talented scholars of humble origins, from the nephews of powerful ministers...
Could it be that her aunt was planning to personally push this forward?!
This wasn't impossible!
Luo Zhao's pupils contracted sharply.
She looked at the gentle yet dangerous smile on Lin Qingyan's face, looked at the surging light swirling in those cold, clear eyes, and felt a chill run down her spine.
Seeing the panic in Luo Zhao's eyes, Lin Qingyan knew she had figured it out.
She curved her lips slightly, a smile as gentle as the spring breeze of March.
But in Luo Zhao's eyes, it was colder than the frost of deep winter.
"Zhao'er, you don't want someone else to take this Imperial Consort position, do you?"
Every word of this sentence was like a knife, striking precisely into Luo Zhao's heart.
Luo Zhao's fingers began to tremble uncontrollably.
Of course she didn't want that.
She absolutely didn't want someone else to become the Imperial Consort!
What she wanted was Gu Chengyin. It had always only been Gu Chengyin.
Other men, she wouldn't even spare a single glance.
Those aristocratic sons, those scholars of humble origins, those nephews of powerful ministers.
Were they worthy of her?
Were they fit to stand by her side?
No.
Not a single one.
But if Gu Chengyin couldn't become the Imperial Consort, and someone had to fill the role...
Luo Zhao didn't dare think further.
Her face turned pale. The panic in her phoenix eyes grew thicker. Her fingers trembled more violently.
She wanted to say something, but it was as if something was lodged in her throat. Not a single word came out.
Just then, Lin Qingyan suddenly raised her hand, her slender fingers landing on her own collar.
Then she pulled the collar open slightly.
More "strawberries" were revealed, falling into Luo Zhao's line of sight.
Then Lin Qingyan spoke, her voice soft and honeyed.
Like a zither melody echoing in the dead of night—lingering, suffused with longing, causing the heartstrings to quiver.
"Then you be a good girl and behave."
"Only then will Chengcheng reward you~"
"Just like your aunt~"
Luo Zhao's breathing completely fell into chaos.
She stared at the "strawberries" on Lin Qingyan's neck, her mind going completely blank.
Reward?
Just like her aunt?
These "strawberries" were a reward?
If there were this many on her neck alone, then what about other places?
Luo Zhao's ears instantly flushed crimson. The red spread from her ears to her cheeks, from her cheeks to her neck.
Her entire face was like a boiled shrimp, so red it seemed ready to drip blood.
Her heart pounded like a war drum, thumping furiously against her chest, almost leaping out of her throat.
Luo Zhao didn't dare look at Lin Qingyan's neck anymore.
She lowered her head, biting her lower lip, her fingers twisted tightly together within her sleeves.
Lin Qingyan watched Luo Zhao in this state and nodded with satisfaction inwardly.
Zhao'er, Zhao'er, you're still too naive after all.
Just a little scare and you're already crumbling.
She withdrew her hand, taking a step back. Her moon-white dress swayed gently.
The expression on her face returned to that cold, aloof demeanor.
"So, what is Gu Chengyin to you?"
Luo Zhao bit her lower lip, silent for a moment.
Then she spoke, her voice small and soft.
Carrying a hint of unwillingness, a hint of humiliation, and a hint of resigned acceptance:
"Royal Tutor..."
Lin Qingyan raised an eyebrow.
"Hm?"
The tone rose at the end, carrying displeasure and undisguised threat.
As if to say: Are you sure that's the answer?
Luo Zhao's lashes trembled. Her bitten lower lip was nearly broken.
She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, as if she had made some kind of resolution.
Then she spoke again, her voice even smaller and softer than before.
Carrying a meek obedience that even she couldn't believe:
"...Uncle."
The corners of Lin Qingyan's lips finally curled up in satisfaction.
What she wanted wasn't just the answer, but the attitude.
As long as the attitude was correct, she couldn't be bothered to care what Luo Zhao did next.
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.
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
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!
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!
