Admitting Defeat and Begging for Mercy

Shangguan Yunying bit down on her lower lip, her soft lips caught tightly between her pearly teeth, leaving faint marks behind.

Her gaze returned from the empty space before her and fell upon the hand of Lin Qingyan, which she was still holding.

Little by little, Shangguan Yunying loosened her grip, raising her fingers one by one.

She allowed Lin Qingyan to hook a finger into her collar.

The pale blue collar parted slightly beneath Lin Qingyan’s fingertip, revealing more of the fair skin beneath.

A breeze brushed against the exposed skin, bringing with it a faint chill that made Shangguan Yunying’s shoulders tremble involuntarily.

At the sight of this, Lin Qingyan smiled faintly.

There was triumph in that smile, along with satisfaction and a touch of tenderness she herself had not even noticed.

Lin Qingyan’s finger remained hooked in Shangguan Yunying’s collar, but she did not continue.

She traced the edge of the opening once with her fingertip, feeling the warmth of the skin beneath the fabric, then withdrew her hand.

“As long as Sister Yunying is willing. I thought you didn’t want to.”

Lin Qingyan’s tone carried a hint of teasing, as well as a trace of relief.

Shangguan Yunying turned her gaze away, letting it wander around the room rather than looking at Lin Qingyan.

The flush from earlier still lingered on her cheeks, and the tips of her ears were red as if they had been scalded.

Her fingers unconsciously straightened the collar Lin Qingyan had disturbed, closing the opening again and fastening the pearl buttons one by one.

Then she said resentfully, “If you hadn’t used Your Highness as a stepping stone…”

“Sister Qingyan, you wouldn’t have obtained Gu Chengyin so easily.”

Shangguan Yunying’s voice was quiet, but every word seemed squeezed out from between her teeth, carrying the grievance and unwillingness she had suppressed for so long.

Lin Qingyan was momentarily speechless.

Her lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to argue.

But she found that something seemed to be lodged in her throat, leaving her unable to utter a single word.

Because Shangguan Yunying was not wrong.

She had indeed used Luo Zhao to provoke Gu Chengyin.

That night, if Luo Zhao had not disturbed Gu Chengyin’s state of mind, Lin Qingyan would never have been able to take advantage of the opening. She would not have been able to pry apart that hard shell when he was at his most agitated.

If she had waited for Gu Chengyin to make the first move…

With that man’s self-control, she probably would have been waiting until the end of time.

There was simply too much occupying his mind: the imperial court, the Crown Prince faction, the Celestial Master’s Residence, Luo Huang…

Every matter and every person was claiming a portion of his attention.

Lin Qingyan certainly had a place in Gu Chengyin’s heart, but just how large that place was—

And how long he would be willing to stop for her—

She had no idea.

So she had chosen to take the initiative.

She had chosen to set aside her restraint when Gu Chengyin was at his most volatile.

She had chosen to use an opportunistic approach and make herself his woman.

When all was said and done, she and Shangguan Yunying were actually much alike.

Both of them had waited. Both had waited in vain. And in the end, both had been forced to take the initiative.

No wonder Lin Qingyan found Shangguan Yunying so agreeable. No wonder she was even willing to have Shangguan Yunying take her place.

Looking at the indignant Shangguan Yunying, a mischievous thought suddenly arose in Lin Qingyan’s mind.

Like a seed watered by Shangguan Yunying’s words, the thought quickly took root and sprouted. In the blink of an eye, it had grown into a luxuriant tree with branches and leaves spreading in every direction.

There was certainly a reason for having Shangguan Yunying take over: Lin Qingyan could not shoulder it all by herself.

Gu Chengyin was simply too formidable. His prowess was so far beyond common sense that it was almost absurd.

Every time, he left her utterly exhausted. Every time, even after she begged for mercy, he still made her continue enduring it.

She, Lin Qingyan, was at least invincible among Golden Core cultivators. How could she lose so miserably every single time?

The word “defeat,” which she had never written in her life, had all been written onto her by Gu Chengyin.

So no matter what, Lin Qingyan had to win back her pride.

She wanted to see Gu Chengyin surrender and beg for mercy too.

Not for any other reason. She simply refused to accept defeat.

Although the hope was slim—so slim that it was practically negligible—

things were different now.

Now there was Shangguan Yunying.

A thought surfaced clearly in Lin Qingyan’s mind.

Could she and Shangguan Yunying really fail to overcome a single Gu Chengyin when working together?

No matter how one looked at it, they had the advantage of two against one.

The advantage was theirs!

Lin Qingyan’s eyes lit up.

She reached out and took Shangguan Yunying’s hand.

This time, she was not putting an arm around her waist or hooking a finger beneath her chin. She was truly shaking her hand.

Lin Qingyan’s fingers slipped between Shangguan Yunying’s, and their hands locked together.

“Sister Yunying, do you want to see Chengcheng surrender and beg for mercy?”

As she spoke, Lin Qingyan stared unwaveringly at Shangguan Yunying, taking in every change in her expression.

Shangguan Yunying’s pupils widened.

Gu Chengyin surrendering and begging for mercy?

She had seen Gu Chengyin strategize with everything under control. She had seen him calm and unhurried. She had seen him gentle and smiling. She had seen him cold and intimidating.

But she had never seen Gu Chengyin surrender and beg for mercy.

That man—the one who always kept everything firmly within his grasp.

The man who had made her wait and hope for so long, yet had never been willing to take that final step.

What would he look like when he admitted defeat and begged for mercy?

Especially when he was defeated by the most primitive method of all.

Shangguan Yunying’s heartbeat suddenly quickened.

It was not the flustered feeling Lin Qingyan’s teasing had stirred in her earlier. This was a more instinctive thrill.

Her fingers tightened involuntarily, and the hand interlocked with Lin Qingyan’s pressed slightly harder.

Shangguan Yunying did not answer. She only looked at Lin Qingyan.

But her eyes had already said everything.

…

“Achoo!”

At the Crown Prince’s Palace.

Gu Chengyin suddenly sneezed for no apparent reason. He rubbed the tip of his nose with the back of his finger and looked around in confusion.

Who was thinking about him out of the blue?

Or was someone plotting against him again?

But it was only a sneeze, after all, and Gu Chengyin did not give it much thought.

He adjusted his posture and lowered his gaze once more.

Luo Zhao was sitting in his arms.

More precisely, Her Highness was openly and unapologetically occupying his embrace as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

The Crown Princess’s back rested against his chest, the back of her head nestled against his shoulder. She had entrusted her entire weight to him without reservation.

Because of the way she was sitting, the black-and-gold palace robes she wore were creased, while the skirt spread across his knees like a stream of sunset flowing over the floor.

And although Luo Zhao was sitting in his arms, she was handling official business with complete seriousness.

That was right—complete seriousness.

Her hands were folded over the documents on the desk before them, her left hand pressing down one corner of the papers.

Her right hand held a vermilion brush, its tip gliding across the page and leaving behind neat, elegant annotations.

Her brows and eyes were lowered slightly. Her long lashes cast a small fan-shaped shadow over her eyelids, concealing the emotions in her eyes.

Her lips were lightly pressed together, the curve of her mouth neither rising nor falling, held precisely at the aloof and proud expression expected of her.

From the perspective of an onlooker, this was exactly how the Crown Prince of Great Luo ought to look.