Successor

Heavenly Master Manor, Tranquility Pagoda.

Shangguan Yunying followed Lin Qingyan and stepped into this pagoda she had only ever gazed at from afar before.

The news of her resignation as Chief Maid had already spread, so she could no longer openly return to the Crown Prince's Palace.

And Gu Chengyin had told her to resign and then spend some time with Lin Qingyan, so Shangguan Yunying had come to Heavenly Master Manor.

Even if she was reluctant, she still came.

When she arrived, the cultivators of the Manor said Lin Qingyan was handling some affairs and asked Shangguan Yunying to wait a while.

So she waited, for about half a shichen, until Lin Qingyan finally arrived in a hurry, saying only three words.

"Follow me."

Then she turned and walked toward the Tranquility Pagoda, with Shangguan Yunying following behind.

Neither of them spoke along the way.

"Make yourself at home, sit anywhere you like."

Lin Qingyan's voice was cool and light, carrying her usual air of detachment.

By the time she said this, she had already taken a seat at the low table, reaching out to move a teapot and two cups in front of her.

Shangguan Yunying did not stand on ceremony and sat down at once.

Having served as Chief Maid in the Crown Prince's Palace for so long, she had met all kinds of important figures and experienced all kinds of situations.

Lin Qingyan's reputation might be impressive, but that was hardly enough to make her feel ill at ease.

As she sat down, she even habitually smoothed her skirt.

Lin Qingyan personally poured a cup of tea and set it before Shangguan Yunying.

The tea streamed from the pot's spout, drawing a jade-green arc through the air, and as it landed in the cup it stirred a ripple, the fragrance of the tea spreading out with it.

Then Lin Qingyan spoke:

"Yunying, you must have already heard about the imperial decree."

Shangguan Yunying paused, her hand frozen around the teacup. It was a long moment before she replied:

"I have. Lady Jingzhe holds a noble status, so I should not say too much."

"But since this concerns Gu Chengyin, I believe you should be very careful. Do not let the imperial decree blind your judgment."

As she said this, Shangguan Yunying raised her eyes and met Lin Qingyan's gaze directly.

There was no evasion in her eyes, no probing, only frank and sincere earnestness.

A flicker of appreciation passed through Lin Qingyan's eyes.

Of course she understood what Shangguan Yunying was trying to convey.

She was warning her to be wary of the imperial decree, wary of Emperor Luo, and not to be blinded by the so-called bestowed marriage.

Shangguan Yunying was not being jealous, not making a sour reminder.

Rather, she was telling her: His Majesty would never be so kind, so the decree must be problematic.

Do not let your guard down because of the marriage, for it would only put Gu Chengyin in even greater danger.

On matters of such principle, Shangguan Yunying was stronger than both her and Gu Xiaoli.

Lin Qingyan let out a faint, inaudible sigh.

Just earlier at the Crown Prince's Palace, she and Gu Xiaoli had been at each other's throats over the marriage decree.

And what about Shangguan Yunying?

She too had received word of the decree, and her heart must have ached as well.

Yet the first thing she said was not a complaint, not grievance, but a warning for her to be careful.

Was this the awareness and bigger picture of a former Chief Maid?

No wonder Gu Chengyin was so fond of Shangguan Yunying.

But since Shangguan Yunying had adopted such an attitude, Lin Qingyan was certainly not one to be petty about it.

She would never lose to Shangguan Yunying on something like this.

But Lin Qingyan's gaze was unconsciously drawn to something else.

Shangguan Yunying was holding her teacup, drinking.

Her posture was flawless, back straight, wrist slightly curved, the rim of the cup touching her lips, the tea slipping down without a sound.

That was the grace carved into the bones of a Chief Maid—no matter the time or place, she never lost her poise.

But what Lin Qingyan was looking at was not her poise. It was the way Shangguan Yunying, as she held the cup, drew her arms slightly inward.

Compressing the already overwhelmingly imposing curve of her chest into an even more striking sight.

Lin Qingyan's gaze lingered on that dramatic swell for less than a breath before she looked away.

Quickly, as if avoiding something that could scorch her.

But even that brief moment was enough to make her expression shift strangely.

As if recalling something, and also as if lamenting something.

Lin Qingyan's brows furrowed, then relaxed, then furrowed again, repeating this several times.

She was remembering certain things she wished she could forget—things tied to Gu Chengyin.

Things tied to moments she struggled to endure all alone.

To nights of biting her lip, clutching the bedsheets, trembling all over yet unwilling to push him away.

"Do you want to have Chengcheng for yourself?"

When this question slipped out, even Lin Qingyan herself was startled.

She hadn't planned to be this direct, but the words simply slid off her tongue on their own.

The sudden question made Shangguan Yunying freeze.

Her hand, holding the teacup, hung motionless in midair—the rim still less than an inch from her lips, yet unable to move closer.

What did that mean?

Was she testing her?

Or...

Shangguan Yunying's mind raced.

She had been Chief Maid for so long—she had seen countless forms of testing.

A master testing a servant, a superior testing a subordinate, an ally testing an ally.

The methods of testing were endless, but they all boiled down to the same principle.

Ask a question that should not be asked, and watch the reaction.

If Lin Qingyan was testing her feelings for Gu Chengyin, then how should she answer?

Admit it? Deny it? Hedge her words?

But Lin Qingyan wasn't asking whether she liked him—she was asking whether she wanted to have him.

These two questions seemed similar on the surface, but they were worlds apart.

The former asked about her feelings; the latter asked about her intentions.

The former could be vague, but the latter demanded a clear answer.

Lin Qingyan saw the wariness and hesitation on Shangguan Yunying's face and knew she had sprung this too abruptly.

But of course, she would not tell the truth.

She wouldn't say that she was finding it hard to keep up with Gu Chengyin and wanted someone to share the burden.

Nor would she say that after every time he had his way, she had to lie in bed for half a day just to recover.

Those words, Lin Qingyan would never speak aloud.

So she shifted her gaze away, letting it fall on the yellow-flowered rosewood clothing rack in the corner.

Draped over the rack was a robe, moonlight-white, made of the finest fabric—it was hers.

"All you have to do is call me 'Sister,' and I'll help you conceal Chengcheng's perception."

As she said this, her gaze remained on her robe, but the tips of her ears began to turn faintly red.

Shangguan Yunying, meanwhile, was stunned.

The words echoed in her mind over and over, each one perfectly clear.

But strung together, they made her wonder if she had misheard.

How could she not understand what this meant?

Lin Qingyan withdrew her gaze, straightened herself, and leaned close to Shangguan Yunying's ear.

At the same time, she raised a hand and tugged open her collar, revealing countless marks for Shangguan Yunying to see.

Shangguan Yunying's shoulders instinctively tensed. She could feel Lin Qingyan's lips moving.

Each word seemed to be written onto the shell of her ear with a feather, ticklish enough to make her want to pull her neck back.

"As long as we conceal his perception, Chengcheng won't know who he's with."

"Then you can take my place~"