The Grand Secretary’s Pampered Wife

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Liao Chen felt his head throb in frustration; he had foolishly thought that becoming a monk would exempt him from the relentless pressure to marry, but clearly, that had been nothing but his own naïve wishful thinking.

Gu Jiao stood off to the side, her face brimming with undisguised glee at his misery.

“Heh.” Liao Chen chuckled dryly. “Why is no one pestering you to marry?” He wasn’t fooled for a second. He knew perfectly well that her so-called marriage to Xiao Heng was nothing but a sham.

Gu Jiao shook her little head proudly. “I’m betrothed now!” This time, it was for real!

Liao Chen felt as if an arrow had pierced straight through his knee.

Inwardly, he clenched his fists and swore that once he returned to the State of Zhao, he would immediately start urging Shangguan Qing to get married!

And Little Jing Kong too!

So what if he was only six years old?

Marriage urging should start from the cradle!

……

After leaving the residence, Shangguan Yan ordered a eunuch to deliver her verbal command to summon the Ministry of Works to repair and refurbish the Xuanyuan residence. This way, when Xuanyuan Qi and Liao Chen returned from visiting Jing Kong, they would be able to move directly into the newly renovated manor.

As she was about to step into her carriage, Shangguan Yan turned to Gu Jiao. “JiaoJiao, would you like to come into the palace with me later?”

Duke An immediately interjected, “JiaoJiao is coming back to my estate with me.”

Shangguan Yan retorted, “She is my daughter-in-law.”

Duke An countered, “She is my daughter, and besides, without a proper marriage, she doesn’t count as a daughter-in-law!”

Leading his horse, Liao Chen glanced at Duke An, then at Shangguan Yan, silently thinking to himself, are the two of you seriously trying to snatch someone in broad daylight?

Both of them simultaneously snapped their gaze toward Gu Jiao, clearly waiting for her to make her choice.

Gu Jiao blinked innocently. “Well, the thing is… I need to make a quick trip to the Imperial Advisor’s Hall; I have some matters to attend to.”

Since she had given neither side preferential treatment, both sides were appeased. Shangguan Yan stepped into the carriage bound for the palace, while Duke An boarded his own carriage heading back to the Duke Estate.

Gu Jiao swung onto her horse, bade farewell to Xuanyuan Qi and Liao Chen, and rode off into the boundless night, her figure swiftly swallowed by the darkness.

Watching her receding silhouette, Liao Chen said with a strange expression, “This girl’s fate with the Xuanyuan Family is truly bizarre.”

Just how bizarre it was was hard to put into words; he found it unbelievable even when he thought about it himself.

The husband she had casually picked up turned out to be the grandson of Empress Xuanyuan; the little monk she had brought down from the mountain was the last bloodline of the Xuanyuan War God; and even the red-tasseled spear she had acquired by pure accident was a divine weapon of the Xuanyuan Family.

She had even been adopted by Duke An as his foster son, though since she was actually a girl in disguise, she was technically a foster daughter.

Her ties to the Xuanyuan Family seemed to have been predestined long ago, forming bonds so profound that he sometimes felt an illusion, that as if no matter how the wheel of fate turned, she would inevitably find her way to the Xuanyuan Family.

“It’s not about coming to the Xuanyuan Family.” Xuanyuan Qi corrected quietly. “It’s about returning to the Xuanyuan Family.”

“What?” Liao Chen froze, puzzled by the meaning behind his father’s words.

Xuanyuan Qi simply stared at the small figure galloping into the night, but he said nothing further.

……

Gu Jiao made her way to the Imperial Advisor’s Hall. She was practically the Imperial Advisor’s favorite, a familiar face to everyone there. The entire hall knew that this new commander of the Black Wind Cavalry was highly valued by the Imperial Advisor himself, free to come and go from the purple bamboo grove at will, with a status nearly equal to that of their senior disciple.

Tonight, it was Yu He who was on duty in the purple bamboo grove.

Seeing Gu Jiao approach, he was visibly surprised. “Liulang, what brings you here at this hour?”

“Has your master gone to rest?” Gu Jiao asked. It was rather late, and she had only come to try her luck; if the Imperial Advisor was already asleep, she would simply come back tomorrow.

Yu He shook his head. “No, Master has been sleeping very late recently.” He paused, then lowered his voice. “I feel like his condition isn’t too good these days. His body seems to be deteriorating faster than before. I suspect he forced himself to perform divination again.”

Divination and revealing the secrets of heaven always came with a price.

The last time he had divined for the future of Great Yan, the Imperial Advisor had aged ten years in an instant. Now, who knew for whom he had performed another reading, but it seemed even harsher than the last.

Gu Jiao thought for a moment. “I understand.”

She tossed the reins to Yu He. “The big guy hasn’t eaten yet. I’ll trouble you with that.”

“Alright.” Yu He replied, taking the reins to feed the horse.

Gu Jiao had come with a small bamboo basket on her back, bringing some items she wanted the Imperial Advisor to examine.

The Imperial Advisor was kneeling on a cushion in the main hall, a half-finished chessboard placed before him.

“Lord Imperial Advisor!” Gu Jiao greeted him and seated herself across from him.

The curtain at the doorway had been rolled up, and the back door stood wide open. A breeze drifted through the hall, carrying a faint chill.

“You are here.” the Imperial Advisor said.

“I want to show you something.” Gu Jiao set down her small bamboo basket and took out a brocade box. Inside were a few dried purple herb flowers and two dried stalks of purple herb. “The fruits are gone; I sent them all to Shangguan Qing.”

Originally, she had kept a little for research, but later a letter arrived from the State of Zhao saying that the fruits of the purple herb were effective but needed to be taken over a long period. So, she sent back the remaining half bottle of fruits to the State of Zhao as well.

The Imperial Advisor’s gaze fell on the dried plants, and he let out a soft, curious hum. “These flowers are…”

“Purple herb flowers,” Gu Jiao explained. “You didn’t expect the purple herb to bloom, did you? I didn’t know either. It was Shangguan Qing’s father who went to Hidden Night Island and discovered that purple herb not only blooms but also bears fruit. Its fruits can neutralize the poison of purple herb and can also counteract the strange poison in Shangguan Qing’s body. As for how many other poisons it can counteract, I am not sure as I have never tested it.”

“Ah, so that’s how it is.” the Imperial Advisor said in sudden understanding.

Gu Jiao’s knowledge of purple herb all came from the notes of Marquis Xuanping, which was truly remarkable considering the man had once been illiterate but could now write quite a lot.

She continued, “The roots and stems of purple herb are the most toxic, while the flowers are less so. The purple herb is extremely resilient and can grow almost anywhere, but it only blooms and bears fruit in extremely cold places.”

The Imperial Advisor asked, “So the purple herb was found on Hidden Night Island?”

Gu Jiao nodded. “Yes, the very island where the Hidden Night Sect resides. There is a great abundance of it there, covering entire hillsides! According to the young sect master of the Hidden Night Sect, purple herb originally belonged to Hidden Night Island, and all the purple herb found in the six states was stolen from the island. Unfortunately, the stolen purple herb never bears fruit and turns into pure poison.”

“This is a major discovery.” the Imperial Advisor said as he picked up a dried purple herb flower and studied it carefully.

“Did you perform divination again?” Gu Jiao asked, looking at his face, which seemed to have aged more than ten years, voicing the suspicion in her heart.

“I only divined a little, nothing serious.” he said lightly, unwilling to elaborate further, and then returned to the topic of purple herb. “I have also made a discovery of my own.”

“Oh?” Gu Jiao tilted her head at him.

The Imperial Advisor placed the dried flower back into the box and spoke with a solemn expression. “When Yinyin’s mother was pregnant, she was poisoned. I now suspect that it was purple herb poison. However, the poison was absorbed by the fetus, so it appeared as though the mother’s poison had been neutralized.”

“Why do you say ‘suspect’?” Gu Jiao asked.

Raz P.ʼs Thoughts

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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 succumb 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, ”Donʼt abandon me, alri—”

Shi Dai responded, ”Alright, alright, I’ll only have you. Mwah.”

Jiang Baiyan: ...?

He hasnʼt finished his lines yet though…