Aftermath

Rather, when he was away, Cui Zilu could help him look after Luo Zhao and keep watch over the people and matters he could not put at ease.

Cui Zilu was not like Shangguan Yunying. Shangguan Yunying had pledged her loyalty to Luo Zhao first, and only afterward fallen for him.

Cui Zilu, on the other hand, had fallen for him first and only afterward pledged her loyalty to Luo Zhao.

That order mattered a great deal.

Which was why one could say that indulging yourself was pleasurable for a moment, but afterward came the funeral pyre.

In the past, Gu Chengyin only had to think about himself. When it was time to run, he could simply run.

He did not need to explain himself to anyone or take responsibility for anyone.

But things were different now. There were far too many things he had to consider.

So many, in fact, that Gu Chengyin sometimes felt his brain was no longer enough for the task.

……

The Celestial Master’s Residence, main hall.

Morning light filtered through the lattice windows and spilled across the resplendent hall.

Luo Zhao sat upright behind the long desk, with Lin Qingyan seated beside her.

Shangguan Yunying had not come. She was staying inside the Heart-Calming Pagoda, focusing wholeheartedly on her cultivation.

According to the rules, the representatives of every cultivation sect had to submit their personnel list before traveling to the Divine Capital.

Only after receiving joint approval from the Celestial Master’s Residence and the Ministry of Internal Affairs could they set out.

And after entering the Divine Capital, they had to report to the Celestial Master’s Residence first before going to their assigned lodgings to rest.

These were the rules—the ironclad regulations written into the Celestial Master’s Residence’s code, complete with clearly defined penalties.

That was why Luo Zhao and Lin Qingyan were waiting here, receiving the representatives of the various sects one by one.

One by one, they would lower their heads.

One by one, they would express their respect and submission to Great Luo.

Although the major cultivation sects were all very far away—the nearest was still a thousand li distant, while the farthest were separated by countless mountains and rivers—there was an old saying: the Eight Immortals cross the sea, each displaying their own divine powers.

When it came to demonstrating the depth of their foundations, no one would hold back.

Those who could fly flew. Those who could run ran. Those who could use magical artifacts used magical artifacts, and those who could use formations used formations.

Each one was faster, flashier, and more elaborate than the last.

By comparison, however, the two women were more concerned with Gu Chengyin’s whereabouts.

After all, when Gu Chengyin had left, he had not said where he was going.

Although neither of them asked aloud, both of them were secretly thinking about it.

Where had Gu Chengyin gone? Whom had he met? What had he said? What decisions had he made?

Those questions were like a hundred kittens scratching away inside their hearts, making them unbearably itchy.

Yet on the surface, they still had to put on an air of magnanimity.

Luo Zhao accepted the report handed over by a female official, glanced through it, and passed it to Lin Qingyan beside her.

“Auntie, he went to the Cui Residence.”

Lin Qingyan’s hand moved as swiftly as a gust of wind.

Before Luo Zhao had even finished speaking, she had already reached out and snatched the report.

Anyone who did not know better might have thought that Lord Jingzhe was reviewing some top-secret intelligence that concerned the survival of the entire realm.

In reality, it was merely a report submitted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs concerning Gu Chengyin’s whereabouts.

The contents were extremely detailed. It recorded what time he had left the Celestial Master’s Residence, which route he had taken, what he had encountered along the way, whom he had spoken to, and how long he had stopped on each street.

It even recorded the fact that he had yawned once on the road.

Its guiding principle was professionalism, thoroughness, and attention to the smallest detail.

Lin Qingyan read it with great interest, the corners of her lips even curving upward slightly.

Luo Zhao, meanwhile, glanced around the main hall.

The officials had all lowered their heads and were busy with their own affairs.

No one was paying attention to them.

Nor did anyone dare to.

Luo Zhao therefore turned her head, leaned closer to Lin Qingyan, and asked in a low voice, “Auntie, did he go to the Cui Residence because…?”

She left the sentence unfinished, but the meaning was obvious.

Luo Zhao also knew that Cui Zilu had returned, so there was no doubt that Gu Chengyin had gone to the Cui Residence for her.

Lin Qingyan continued reading the whereabouts report and answered without much concern, “Chengcheng won’t sleep with Cui Zilu.”

Luo Zhao could not help freezing at that answer.

Not because Lin Qingyan was wrong, but because she sounded far too certain.

There had been no hesitation, no guesswork, and no trace of uncertainty in her voice.

Luo Zhao looked at Lin Qingyan’s calm profile, and an inexplicable jealousy welled up inside her.

She was jealous of how well Lin Qingyan understood Gu Chengyin.

She was also jealous of the trust Lin Qingyan placed in him.

Lin Qingyan did not notice the change in Luo Zhao’s emotions. Her attention remained fixed on the report.

Her eyes paused over a certain line, and her brows furrowed slightly before relaxing again.

Then they furrowed once more, as if she were digesting some information she did not particularly like.

“Still, this Xiao Ruxu is quite something. She actually used Chenglu Academy to entice Chengcheng.”

At the mention of that name, Luo Zhao quickly composed herself and tucked that faint trace of jealousy away.

At the same time, she searched her memory for the relevant information and asked, “Auntie, do you mean that Chenglu Academy was actually set up by Xiao Ruxu?”

Lin Qingyan nodded and gave a cold snort.

“Cui Zilu is a pampered young lady from a prominent clan. How could she possibly know what Chengcheng wants?”

“If Chenglu Academy didn’t exist, Chengcheng wouldn’t have gone to the Cui Residence in the first place.”

Luo Zhao agreed with this conclusion completely.

She had been by Gu Chengyin’s side for so long. She had watched him for so long and studied him for so long.

She knew exactly what kind of person he was. More importantly, she knew what he cared about and what he did not.

No matter how deeply Cui Zilu loved him, Gu Chengyin would not care. He certainly would not take the initiative to see her.

But Chenglu Academy was different.

As long as there was profit to be gained, Gu Chengyin would not only go to see Cui Zilu—he would even call her “Mother” if necessary.

So this precise and decisive move could absolutely not have been conceived by the current Cui Zilu.

There was no doubt about who had thought of it.

It could only have been Xiao Ruxu, the matriarch of the Cui Clan.

At that thought, Luo Zhao’s brows drew together slightly.

Cui Zilu’s appointment as the new chief lady official had already been settled.

Both publicly and privately, she could be said to be the best candidate.

But that did not mean there were no hidden dangers.

Cui Zilu had fallen for Gu Chengyin first and only afterward become the chief lady official.

That order determined that her loyalty could never be one hundred percent.

If one day she had to choose between Gu Chengyin and Luo Zhao, whom would she choose?

The answer went without saying.

Cui Zilu would not choose Luo Zhao.

She would choose only Gu Chengyin.

No matter how well Luo Zhao treated her, it would still be nothing more than the Crown Princess’s favor.

No matter how poorly Gu Chengyin treated her, he was still Brother Chengyin.

For the Luo Zhao of the past, that would have been absolutely unacceptable.

But now, she herself belonged to Gu Chengyin, so there was no longer anything worth quibbling over.

What concerned Luo Zhao was not Cui Zilu’s loyalty.

It was something else—something that sent a chill through her heart.

The reason Gu Chengyin wanted Cui Zilu to become the chief lady official was that he wanted the Cui Clan to become half of the Crown Prince faction.

But why did he want the Cui Clan to become part of the Crown Prince faction?

To fill the vacancy left by the Shangguan family?

That was the surface-level reason, but not the true one.

And Luo Zhao happened to know what the real reason was.

Gu Chengyin was making arrangements for what would happen after his departure.

He was ensuring that, once he was gone, the Crown Prince faction would not collapse simply because it had lost him.