Special Thanks to these patrons for their support!
S T E L L A R C L O U D
[Galetron]
O R A N G E S T A R
[Alma S.] [Christine G.-L.] [Fazzienaz] [K.Rom]
[Onepiece] [Suong D.] [Tori D.] [Ziana K.-P.]
Y E L L O W S T A R
[Pa.s.serby] [Xena]
G O L D S T A R
[Nevy] [Roxanne C.]
R A I N B O W S T A R
[Allie] [Debra W] [Kiiayame]
T H E S U N
[kuroneko_chan] [Mich.e.l.le K.] [Smurfinbatik] [Sophia W.]
CELESTIAL CONQUEROR
[Ava C.] [Caroline] [Leticia P.] [Lily J.] [Malinkat] [Manon] [Val Nes]
Also, many thanks to everyone who bought me coffee (*≧∀≦*)
Xiao Heng walked straight into the tavern. The lobby on the first floor was filled with scholars composing eight-legged essays. Xiao Heng found a table in the corner and sat down.
"Hey? Why did Long Yi go inside?" Mu Chuan asked.
Guessing lantern riddles and composing poems or couplets could be done outside, and Mu Chuan only wanted to guess a few lantern riddles anyway.
Soon, Mu Qingchen also went inside.
"Fourth brother?" Mu Chuan was stunned. He looked at the golden gourd lantern hanging at the entrance and thought to himself, Seriously? Is that lantern really so attractive? Does fourth brother want it too?
Mu Qingchen did not sit with Xiao Heng. Instead, he deliberately chose a table three or four seats away from Xiao Heng.
The two of them calmly started writing.
It didn"t take long before they attracted everyone"s attention.
A scholar who was writing an eight-legged essay at a window seat patted the companion in front of him and asked, "Do you see that person over there? Isn’t he Young Master Qingchen?"
As soon as he said this, not only did the two companions in front of him stop writing, but everyone else also looked in the direction he was pointing.
Another person recognized Mu Qingchen and whispered, "It really does look like him!"
"No way! Why is Young Master Qingchen here? Is he competing for a lantern?"
"He"s here to disrupt things, isn"t he?"
"Exactly! He"s the top of Shengdu’s Four Young Masters. If he"s writing essays here, what chance do we have?"
At least half of them, who were diligently writing previously, put down their writing brushes.
Just the name "Young Master Qingchen" was enough to extinguish their fighting spirit.
While waiting outside, Gu Jiao and the others guessed many lantern riddles, winning quite a few lanterns, which they gave to pa.s.sing girls.
The news of Mu Qingchen"s presence gradually spread, attracting more and more onlookers.
Finally, after a gong sounded, the tavern owner came out with a smile and personally took down the golden gourd lantern.
"Someone got first place! Who is it?"
"No idea!"
"It must be Young Master Qingchen!"
The owner scanned the crowd, then walked towards Gu Jiao with the lantern and politely said, "Are you Xiao Liulang, young master?"
"I am." Gu Jiao replied.
The owner handed over the lantern with both hands, saying, "Congratulations to Young Master Xiao on winning the lantern."
Someone in the crowd complained, "He didn"t even go in to write an essay!"
The owner smiled at Gu Jiao and said, "The essay written by Young Master Xiao"s friend was highly praised by Elder Yang. It was undoubtedly the best tonight. Young Master Xiao"s friend instructed that this lantern be given to Young Master Xiao. Please accept it with a smile."
Gu Jiao took the lantern.
Only then did the crowd realize the owner had mentioned Elder Yang.
"Heavens! Elder Yang is here!"
"If I had known Elder Yang was here, I would have gone in to write an essay too! Just one piece of advice from him would be worth a lifetime!"
Elder Yang was the literary giant of the State of Yan. All those who came to Shengdu to study aspired to become his disciples, but unfortunately, Elder Yang rarely accepted students privately.
Soon, Xiao Heng and Mu Qingchen came out.
They walked towards Gu Jiao.
Seeing that Gu Jiao knew Mu Qingchen and that both were wearing the Tianqiong Academy uniforms, the crowd wasn"t surprised at all.
A scholar said, "I knew it was Young Master Qingchen. Only his essay could impress Elder Yang."
In a private room on the second floor, Elder Yang was kneeling on a cushion. On the desk in front of him were several eight-legged essays that had just been collected from the lobby.
Sitting across from Elder Yang was an elegant middle-aged man.
"Elder, you"ve read it several times now." The middle-aged man said with a smile. "Is it really that impressive?"
Elder Yang stroked his beard and replied, "Since the time of Jing shizi, I haven"t seen such remarkable and dazzling literary talent."
"He"s Duke An now." The middle-aged man said with a smile, "The t.i.tle "Jing shizi" was used many years ago. But, comparing someone to Duke An, isn"t that too high a praise? Just who is it?"
Elder Yang looked at the signature at the bottom of the essay and said with a peculiar expression, "Long Yi."
......
Gu Jiao and her companions walked along the bustling street. She now had two lanterns, a pink peach blossom lantern and a golden gourd lantern, which attracted the attention of many pa.s.sersby.
"Liulang, your lantern is really beautiful!" Yuan Xiao said, pointing to the gourd lantern in Gu Jiao"s right hand.
Of course, it was a gift from her husband.
Mu Qingchen"s suspicious gaze fell on Xiao Heng. Who exactly was this person?
"Jerky! Fresh and delicious jerky!" A vendor"s shout came from not far away.
Xiao Heng said to Gu Jiao, "You keep strolling, I"ll go buy some jerky."
After he left, Mu Qingchen blurted out, "You like jerky?"
This question was odd, and even Mu Qingchen"s own eyebrows raised in surprise. Why did he instinctively think that everything Long Yi did was for Xiao Liulang?
Gu Jiao felt she needed to answer this question carefully.
At this moment, Mu Chuan discovered a new lantern riddle stall and called out to them, "Fourth brother, Liulang, let’s go there quickly!"
"Liulang, come on, let"s check it out!" Yuan Xiao urged.
Gu Jiao was successfully pulled away by the two, leaving My Qingchen"s question unanswered.
The place selling jerky wasn"t far, just across from a ready-made clothing shop. There was a good business for the jerky, with many people in line. Xiao Heng stood at the end of the queue.
Xiao Heng waited patiently.
He wasn"t quite used to wearing a mask yet and tried to adjust it with his hand, but accidentally knocked it off.
He bent down, extending his slender fingers to pick up the mask that had fallen to the ground, and gently dusted it off.
At the same time, a woman carrying an embroidery basket walked out of the clothing shop.
The woman"s attire wasn"t overly luxurious, but her demeanor and bearing were far from ordinary.
She walked past the jerky stall and got onto a carriage parked by the roadside.
Perhaps the enticing aroma of the jerky was too tempting, and the woman couldn"t help but glance at the stall.
With just one glance, she froze completely.
But the carriage started to move.
The woman, unable to sit steadily, fell backward, and the curtain in her hand dropped with a snap.
"Stop! Stop!"
She shouted.
The coachman halted the carriage.
A young servant girl inside asked, "Aunt, what"s wrong? Did you leave something in the shop? Should I go get it?"
The woman didn"t answer her, instead lifting her skirt and hurriedly getting off the carriage.
She approached the jerky stall and began to push aside the people in line one by one.
"What are you doing?"
"Are you crazy?"
The crowd shouted angrily.
The woman murmured in a daze, "Where is he? Where is he?"
The young servant girl came over and asked, "Aunt, who are you looking for?"
The woman, lost and forlorn, said, "His Highness, the Eldest Imperial Grandson... I saw His Highness..."
The young servant girl looked around and then whispered, "Aunt, you must be mistaken. The Eldest Imperial Grandson hasn"t been in Shengdu for a long time. He went with the former Crown Princess to look after the imperial mausoleum."Raz P."s Thoughts
To read advance GSPW chapters! Updates 7x a week (daily).
You can read up to 45 advance chapters in our patreon so you should go check it out. ^^
No patreon but want to support us? Then,
OR if you can"t support us in money, you can always support us emotionally -just hope into . Hehehe~
--------------------------------------------
PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR NEW PROJECT:
Description:
In the suspenseful supernatural novel “Records of Mortals,” Jiang Baiyan, once a solitary and impoverished youth, finds refuge in the Shi family of Chang’an due to his extraordinary bloodline. With his clear and captivating peach blossom eyes, this seemingly innocent young man conceals a fanatical and malevolent lunatic within. Destined to succ.u.mb to darkness amidst hardship and degradation, he becomes a harbinger of chaos.
When Shi Dai suddenly transmigrates, she takes on the role of the Shi family’s young lady, the one who subjects him to countless trials, eventually leading to her demise.
The twist? She never got to finish reading the novel.
From what she knew of the plot, Jiang Baiyan was just a silent, timid, and often bullied pitiable character.
***
Jiang Baiyan had never encountered someone like Shi Dai.
After he had slaughtered all the evil creatures in the garden, the blood-stained young man, exuding a murderous aura, approached her step by step, his lips curling into a malicious smile, "Scared?"
Shi Dai responded, “You’re really amazing! I applaud you until I spin like a spiral and fly around the moon three hundred times! And also——you have dimples when you smile!"
Jiang Baiyan: ...?
—
After seeing her at a lantern festival with another man, Jiang Baiyan lowered his eyes, his fingers twirling her hair. He said in a mocking and sinister tone, "The mansion in the western suburbs...if I hide you there, no one will find you, right?"
Shi Dai replied, "Does it come with meals and lodging? Can I sleep in everyday? Oh, and your cooking is the best!"
Jiang Baiyan: ...?
—
Jiang Baiyan was supposed to dislike her, even hate her, but as their separation drew near, his eyes turned red and he grabbed her sleeve, pleading, "Don"t abandon me, alri—”
Shi Dai responded, "Alright, alright, I’ll only have you. Mwah."
Jiang Baiyan: ...?
He hasn"t finished his lines yet though…