Pressure!
In that instant, Luo Zhao felt an overwhelming pressure surge toward her like mountains collapsing and seas roaring.
Although Lin Qingyan’s tone was not harsh—in fact, it could even be called gentle.
Her hands rested casually on the armrests, and her beautiful eyes regarded Luo Zhao with a half-smile.
It was as though she had seen through something amusing, or perhaps had never taken this little episode seriously at all.
There was even a hint of the intimacy between sisters sharing private words.
Yet those cool eyes held a clear understanding that saw through everything.
The moment Lin Qingyan’s gaze fell upon her, Luo Zhao almost instinctively wanted to retreat.
It was an instinctive wariness of danger that seeped from her very bones.
Like snakes hidden beneath the weeds by a riverbank—still and silent, yet you knew they could bite at any moment.
What had she called Gu Chengyin after Lin Qingyan left just now?
Given the perverse relationship between the two of them, what else could it have been?
Of course, she had called him “Master.”
Luo Zhao had called Gu Chengyin many things. In front of outsiders, she called him Junior Preceptor Gu, and she had also addressed him by his full name.
Only the title “Master” came with conditions.
There had to be no outsiders present, no one else could hear, and no evidence could be left behind.
Only then would Luo Zhao brazenly use that title.
Whenever someone else was around, Gu Chengyin was her Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince, her legitimate subject, and her little uncle by marriage.
But now that things had come to this, any attempt to argue would be pointless.
“I…”
Luo Zhao opened her mouth, her mind racing through various excuses.
Yet every one of them sounded pale and ridiculous the moment it reached her lips.
“His Highness didn’t call him anything.”
At that moment, Shangguan Yunying suddenly spoke up. Her voice was clear and natural, with a hint of amusement.
“I was right beside her at the time. Sister Qingyan, perhaps you misheard?”
Luo Zhao could not help casting her a grateful look.
Clearly, Shangguan Yunying was helping her smooth things over.
Although she was no longer the chief lady attendant, she was still protecting Luo Zhao in this way.
Lin Qingyan merely glanced at Shangguan Yunying.
Of course she knew that Shangguan Yunying was covering for Luo Zhao.
But she did not expose her. Instead, she withdrew her gaze and turned gracefully toward the chair by the window.
The third floor was smaller and more private than the second. By the window stood three empty chairs and a small table, arranged in a tiny semicircle.
Lin Qingyan settled into one of the chairs. She lifted a hand to straighten her cuff, then extended an index finger toward the seats opposite her.
“Sit.”
Luo Zhao and Shangguan Yunying exchanged a glance, and both saw the same resigned acceptance in each other’s eyes.
They obediently walked over and sat in the empty chairs.
Luo Zhao sat directly opposite Lin Qingyan, while Shangguan Yunying took the seat beside her, facing the window.
Outside was the scenery of the Celestial Master’s Residence. Bare branches swayed gently in the wind against the gloomy gray sky, resembling a desolate gongbi painting.
At that moment, the two of them looked like the most well-behaved students waiting to be lectured by their teacher.
Lin Qingyan’s gaze lingered on each of their faces for a moment.
When she looked at Luo Zhao, it was the scrutinizing gaze of an elder toward a younger member of the family—understanding, tinged with helpless indulgence.
After all, the Heart-Calming Pagoda was her magical treasure. Whenever she wished, she could see everything that happened inside it.
So Lin Qingyan had not merely heard what happened. She had seen it as well.
She had seen how Luo Zhao threw herself into Gu Chengyin’s arms.
And she had seen that side of Luo Zhao—one she had never witnessed before.
When Lin Qingyan looked at Shangguan Yunying, however, there was something more in her eyes.
Luo Zhao could not say what it was. She only felt that Lin Qingyan’s gaze lingered on Shangguan Yunying slightly longer than it had on her.
And the place where that gaze settled seemed to be… her neck?
“This is the third floor,” Lin Qingyan said, her voice unhurried. “Chengcheng can’t hear us here.”
Hearing that name leave Lin Qingyan’s lips, Luo Zhao suddenly felt something indescribable stir within her.
Gu Chengyin was her Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince. He was her Master.
But in Lin Qingyan’s mouth, he would forever be Chengcheng.
“And the day after tomorrow will be the first Taihe Battle.”
Lin Qingyan paused when she reached this point, then continued.
“So, Zhao’er.”
Her gaze returned to Luo Zhao’s face.
“I don’t care what you’re thinking right now.”
“Whether it’s genuine or false, I can pretend I saw nothing.”
Luo Zhao’s heart jolted.
She understood those words.
Lin Qingyan was referring to the shameful relationship between her and Gu Chengyin.
To the illicit entanglement that should never have existed between the Crown Prince and her Junior Tutor.
She was telling Luo Zhao: I know all about the little secret between you two. I’ve simply chosen not to pursue it.
Not pursue it.
Not that she was unaware. Not that she had failed to notice.
She had chosen not to pursue it.
That frightened Luo Zhao more than a direct accusation would have.
Because this was the attitude of someone in a superior position—the indulgence of one looking down from above.
At its core, Lin Qingyan was drawing a boundary:
I can tolerate you this far, but do not cross the line.
“However.”
Lin Qingyan’s voice suddenly changed.
It was still gentle, but the chill hidden within that gentleness was more piercing than the north wind in winter.
Her gaze shifted from Luo Zhao’s face to Shangguan Yunying’s as she spoke, every word deliberate.
“Nothing must happen to Chengcheng.”
“No one is permitted to harm him. Not even you, Zhao’er.”
Lin Qingyan’s gaze returned to Luo Zhao.
Luo Zhao instinctively wanted to argue, but the words died in her throat.
Because she suddenly realized that Lin Qingyan was not questioning her.
She was informing her:
Under no circumstances could Gu Chengyin’s safety be compromised. It came first, and Luo Zhao had no special privilege.
“I believe Yunying and I are of one mind on this.”
Lin Qingyan finished speaking, the corners of her lips curving slightly.
Shangguan Yunying did not hesitate. She did not even glance at Luo Zhao.
She answered decisively, as though the question required no thought at all.
“Mm. I agree.”
Simple. Direct.
She had not left Luo Zhao even the slightest room for negotiation.
Looking at the two women before her, Luo Zhao found the sight of them reaching an agreement strangely theatrical. It brought many things to mind.
She should have known from the beginning.
From the moment she first developed feelings for Gu Chengyin that she had no right to harbor, she should have known.
This man was no ordinary Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince. He was someone countless people held in the palms of their hands.
Lin Qingyan cherished him. Shangguan Yunying cherished him. Gu Xiaoli cherished him too.
And what about Luo Zhao?
She was the Crown Prince, the future female emperor.
There was nothing she could not obtain.
Yet when it came to this man, she had exhausted every scheme and resorted to every method.
In the end, all she had gained was a little sweetness, bestowed upon her like alms within the limits of what was permitted.
Gu Chengyin would always be the one in control of the situation, while she would always be the one led around by the nose.
But none of that mattered anymore.
Luo Zhao drew a deep breath and raised her head.
“I can swear a deadly oath.”
She looked straight into Lin Qingyan’s eyes. Her voice was not loud, but every word was exceptionally clear.
“I will never take Gu Chengyin’s life.”
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!
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
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.
