The palace paths of the Crown Princess's residence were quiet. Only the early-rising palace servants, carrying wooden buckets and holding brooms, silently and efficiently carried out their duties, raising the curtain on a new day for this massive palace.
Gu Chengyin, Shangguan Yunying, and their entourage returned from the Shangguan Manor, their carriage stopping outside the palace gates.
The eight family retainers had no right to enter the palace. They could only bow respectfully outside the gates before returning with the carriage to report back.
Gu Chengyin and Shangguan Yunying, however, proceeded unimpeded, walking briskly straight toward Luo Zhao's daily living quarters.
Arriving outside the bedchamber, they found the doors tightly shut. Several female officials in light crimson palace dresses stood waiting on both sides. Seeing Shangguan Yunying and Gu Chengyin arriving together, they immediately stepped forward to bow.
"Has Her Highness risen?" Shangguan Yunying asked in a low voice.
The leading female official replied respectfully, "Answering Lord Shangguan, Her Highness has just risen and is currently washing up in the inner chamber."
Shangguan Yunying and Gu Chengyin exchanged a glance, both seeing the same thought in each other's eyes: perfect timing.
They needed to see Luo Zhao immediately; not a single moment could be delayed.
"Please inform her that Shangguan Yunying and Gu Chengyin, Director of the Internal Affairs Bureau, request an audience with Her Highness regarding an urgent matter," Shangguan Yunying said solemnly.
The female official complied and went inside to report. She returned a moment later, stepping aside to clear the way and bowing, "Her Highness invites the two lords inside to speak."
The two stepped into the bedchamber, passing through the slightly dim outer hall and turning into the warmer, fragrant inner chamber.
The inner chamber was more spacious and brightly lit than the outer hall, its decorations far more magnificent and exquisite.
A faint, calming fragrance drifted from a gilded incense burner, intertwining with the fresh morning light filtering in through the windows.
The curtains of the massive, carved canopy bed were already drawn back, the bedding neatly arranged.
Luo Zhao was sitting in front of the dressing table.
She had clearly just gotten out of bed. She wore only a plain white nightgown made of soft, smooth fabric, her long hair cascading like a waterfall, yet to be combed.
It draped smoothly over her shoulders and back, making her skin look even more fair and jade-like. She lacked some of her usual awe-inspiring majesty, displaying instead a touch of domestic languor and gentle beauty.
A personal female attendant was holding a warm silk towel, carefully wiping her cheeks and neck.
Hearing the footsteps, Luo Zhao slightly turned her head. Through the bronze mirror, her gaze caught Gu Chengyin and Shangguan Yunying walking in.
Seeing Luo Zhao dressed like this, Gu Chengyin's footsteps involuntarily paused, a fleeting trace of imperceptible surprise flashing through his eyes.
In his impression, Luo Zhao was always the Crown Princess clad in black robes embroidered with gold, her phoenix eyes radiating authority as she looked down upon the masses. When had he ever seen such a relaxed, domestic side of her?
Shangguan Yunying, however, was already accustomed to this. She walked briskly to Luo Zhao's side and naturally took the jade comb from the attendant's hand.
With practiced movements, she began combing Luo Zhao's ink-black hair, reporting in a low voice, "Your Highness, we have returned."
Luo Zhao gave a soft hum of acknowledgment. Her gaze briefly met Gu Chengyin's in the bronze mirror before shifting away. She asked in a flat tone, "What is Shangguan Yuan's attitude?"
Her question was straightforward, even carrying a hint of casualness that showed she did not hold out much hope.
It wasn't that she didn't trust Gu Chengyin's abilities, but rather that she understood that old fox, Shangguan Yuan, too well.
At best, the other party would give an ambiguous stance and hand over some insignificant, peripheral evidence to show his sincerity.
As for anything more? She didn't dare to expect it.
Gu Chengyin did not immediately answer Luo Zhao's question. Instead, he scanned the bedchamber. Aside from them, there were quite a few female officials standing in attendance.
At the same time, a command was transmitted directly into Luo Zhao's mind:
[Have everyone leave the hall, except for Yunying.]
Luo Zhao, who had her eyes closed waiting for an answer, suddenly stiffened!
This familiar command had appeared again! It was just as direct and arrogant as before!
She snapped her eyes open, her phoenix eyes as sharp as lightning.
This guy! To actually use this bizarre method again, at this time, in this place?! What was he trying to do?!
However, Gu Chengyin's expression remained calm, even carrying a sense of solemnity.
Luo Zhao's rising anger and killing intent quickly cooled.
She immediately realized that Gu Chengyin doing this must mean the information he was about to report was extremely important.
Forcibly suppressing the surging emotions in her heart, she pondered for a moment before speaking faintly, instructing Shangguan Yunying beside her:
"Yunying."
"Your servant is here."
"Have everyone exit the hall. Arrange it personally. Without a summons, no one is allowed to come within ten zhang."
Shangguan Yunying immediately complied, "Yes, Your Highness."
She put down the jade comb, turned around, and began issuing orders as she walked.
Soon, all the female officials silently withdrew according to the order, and the heavy, carved doors of the bedchamber were gently pulled shut.
Standing outside the doors, Shangguan Yunying quietly gave a few instructions to several senior female officials who possessed deep, steady auras.
These officials immediately dispersed, planting themselves like nails at key positions around the bedchamber.
Their gazes swept in every direction like hawks, ensuring that not even a flying bird could approach undetected.
Having done all this, Shangguan Yunying finally returned to the inner chamber and closed the door securely behind her.
She returned to Luo Zhao's side, lowering her head and speaking softly, "Your Highness, everything has been arranged."
Luo Zhao gave a slight nod, then turned her gaze back to Gu Chengyin.
"Speak," her voice was calm and unrippled. "What exactly is Shangguan Yuan's attitude?"
Gu Chengyin took a step forward. First, he carefully took out the purple sandalwood box from his robes and held it in his hand.
Then, clearing his throat, he began to recount the clash in the study of the Shangguan Manor from the previous night.
Gu Chengyin detailed the entire process clearly and logically, including the key points of his conversation with Shangguan Yuan, the changes in the other party's reactions, and the consensus they ultimately reached.
Shangguan Yunying stood to the side, listening with an incredibly focused expression.
Meanwhile, Luo Zhao, sitting at the dressing table, remained outwardly calm, but as Gu Chengyin spoke, a stormy sea of shock was already surging in her heart!
She had originally thought that Gu Chengyin bringing back a mere stance would already prove his extraordinary capabilities.
Never in her wildest dreams did she expect that what he brought back was not only Shangguan Yuan's promise, but a heaven-shaking plan capable of rocking the imperial court and altering the political landscape!
Toppling a Grand Secretary!
When these words clearly left Gu Chengyin's mouth, Luo Zhao's fingers, gripping the jade comb, suddenly tightened.
A sharp light exploded in her phoenix eyes, like stars ignited in the dark night, staring fixedly at Gu Chengyin!
Scheming for years, enduring for so long—wasn't it all so that one day she could purge the imperial court, eradicate these parasites and obstacles, and truly grasp the reins of power?
The Grand Secretaries were undoubtedly among the most insurmountable mountains blocking her path!
It wasn't that she hadn't thought of making a move against them, but pulling one hair would move the entire body. Evidence, timing, strength, her royal father's attitude... none could be lacking, making her continually unable to truly make up her mind.
Yet now, Gu Chengyin had actually paved the way for her. He had even pulled in a crucial ally like Shangguan Yuan, handing her a sharp blade capable of cleaving through mountains!
This level of ability, these methods, this terrifyingly precise grasp of human nature and the political situation...
If it weren't for his crooked mind and poor character (Luo Zhao coldly snorted in her heart), and his use of that bizarre mind-control technique on her...
...what a perfect right-hand man he would be! A supreme talent capable of assisting her in achieving an eternal imperial legacy!
For a moment, the emotions surging within Luo Zhao's heart were complicated to the absolute extreme.
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
orn and Humiliation】【Forced Love】 In his past life, Lin Ran was betrayed and murdered by his girlfriend and family, while the yandere female aristocrat, who had treated him as a mere plaything, avenged him by doing in his enemies. Upon seeing the yandere female aristocrat lying in the same coffin, ready to die with him, Lin Ran realized how profoundly mistaken he had been. Reborn, he abandoned the fickle campus beauty and wholeheartedly embraced the yandere female aristocrat's arms. "Ran! If I dig out your eyes and turn them into a specimen, you'll only be able to look at me!" Lin Ran: "Darling, kiss me!" "Ran! If I break your legs, you won't run away anymore, right?" Lin Ran: "Love, hold me tight!" "Ran! If..." Lin Ran: "Hush now! Love me more!" Luo Yao: ... Seeing his scumbag dad: "Take him out!" Seeing his stepmother: "Get rid of her!" Seeing his brother: "Eliminate him!" Seeing his white moonlight: "Send that to Southeast Asia!"
