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On the other side, Shangguan Yan also returned to her own bedchamber.

She sat down in front of the dressing table as a young palace maid stepped forward to remove her hair ornaments.

Looking at herself in the bronze mirror, she pressed at her aching temples.

Wu Sixin came forward considerately and asked, “Your Majesty, are you tired?”

Shangguan Yan said with a laugh, “I really am getting older, not like when I was young. I remember back at the imperial mausoleum, Qing’er was always coming up with all sorts of tricks to keep vigil through the night, and before you knew it, it was already the morning of the first day of the New Year.”

Wu Sixin hurriedly replied, “Listen to yourself, Your Majesty, how old could you possibly be?”

Although she was already past forty, Her Majesty was born with excellent bone structure and did not look old at all; on the contrary, she carried a distinctive charm, and although her eyes were sharp, they were also clear and pure.

Shangguan Yan smiled faintly; as a ruler who held the power of life and death in her hands, she did not care much about what she looked like.

Wu Sixin hesitated, clearly wanting to speak but stopping himself.

“What is it now?” She saw the look on Wu Sixin’s face through the bronze mirror.

Wu Sixin gave an awkward smile, glanced at the young palace maid who was removing Shangguan Yan’s makeup and hair ornaments, and raised his hand. “Let this servant do it.”

Shangguan Yan lifted her hand slightly in acknowledgment.

The palace maid immediately understood, withdrew tactfully, and left.

As Wu Sixin removed the beaded hairpin from Shangguan Yan’s hair bun, he chuckled dryly and said, “The Lord Yanshan… has sent someone with New Year gifts again. Would Your Majesty like to take a look?”

In fact, as early as the year Shangguan Yan ascended the throne, Lord Yanshan had formally requested to relinquish his imperial status, and the memorandum had been sitting in the Cabinet for several years, yet Shangguan Yan had never approved it.

As for why it was never approved, outsiders did not know the reason, but Wu Sixin, as Shangguan Yan’s trusted confidant, understood at least part of it.

This Lord Yanshan was not actually a member of the Great Yan imperial clan; he was the child born to the former Empress Dowager and a Turkic man, and the former Empress Dowager herself was not the biological mother of the Retired Emperor, so by this reckoning, he and Her Majesty were not blood relatives at all.

At first, during the first couple of years, Wu Sixin had not fully grasped Lord Yanshan’s intentions and merely assumed that he was cherishing the uncle-and-niece bond formed from growing up alongside Her Majesty, which was why he frequently sent letters and congratulatory gifts.

That was, until one particular incident…

He had accidentally run into Lord Yanshan when the latter came to imperial the palace to visit Her Majesty.

Lord Yanshan had pressed Her Majesty against the desk, gazing deeply at her, and said, “Shangguan Yan, I told you before that the next time we meet, I would no longer be your imperial uncle.”

Good heavens, Wu Sixin had never hated the fact that he could see and hear so much more than at that moment; barging into something like that, he had thought he was surely going to be silenced.

Fortunately, Her Majesty was benevolent and never mentioned killing him.

Later, Her Majesty had pushed Lord Yanshan away, but whether she did so because Wu Sixin had disturbed them, or because she truly had no feelings for Lord Yanshan, he did not know.

“No need, put it in the storeroom.” Shangguan Yan said calmly.

Wu Sixin opened his mouth. “Ah… this…”

Shangguan Yan looked at him coldly through the bronze mirror. “This what? If I tell you to do it, then go do it.”

Just as Wu Sixin was fretting over what to do next, Shangguan Qing arrived.

Wu Sixin felt as though he had been granted a reprieve!

Shangguan Qing strode inside. “I want to talk to my imperial mother for a bit. Go get me a bowl of hangover soup!”

“Yes! Yes!” Wu Sixin hurriedly withdrew.

With no one left to remove her ornaments for her, Shangguan Yan had no choice but to do it herself.

Shangguan Qing hooked a stool over with his foot, sat down beside her, tilted his head, and smiled as he looked at her. “Imperial mother really is beautiful. Those women outside can’t compare at all.”

Shangguan Yan replied indifferently, “As if you needed to say that.”

Shangguan Qing pursed his lips slightly, well then, you really know how to take it.

“Cong’er and the others are asleep?” Shangguan Yan asked as she removed the jeweled flower from her hair.

Shangguan Qing hummed in response.

Shangguan Yan continued, “Then what are you doing coming to my palace in the middle of the night? Did you drink too much and go to the wrong residence?”

Shangguan Qing answered bluntly, “I heard that Lord Yanshan sent you New Year gifts again, so I wanted to take a look.”

Shangguan Yan said calmly, “If you want to look, then go look yourself.”

But Shangguan Qing suddenly changed the subject. “He’s actually a pretty decent person.”

Shangguan Yan paused in the middle of removing her earrings and looked at her son through the bronze mirror, only to see Shangguan Qing lowering his head to admire his newly made official boots.

She did not ask how Shangguan Qing knew about it; he looked unreliable on the surface, but in reality he was extremely sharp, and many things could not be hidden from him.

“You’re worried that if you find me a stepfather, I’ll be unhappy? That’s not the case. I’m already this old, whether I have a stepfather or not doesn’t really affect me. And besides——”

He paused before continuing, “Lord Yanshan has treated me quite well. There are some things he didn’t want me to tell you, but I thought it would still be better to say them. I’m not trying to force you to accept anyone’s feelings, but rather to let you know the full truth first, so you can face your own choices with care.”

“When I was young, I always liked sneaking out of the imperial mausoleum to roam around outside. Even though there were guards following me, I deliberately sought out dangerous places, and the few times I narrowly escaped death were all thanks to Lord Yanshan.”

“He’s often away from the capital, and people always think he just enjoys traveling through mountains and rivers. In reality, many of those times he was actually going to look for me, but he couldn’t say it, for fear that Imperial Grandfather would find out and suspect you of colluding with him.”

As he spoke, he took a wooden dagger out from his robes.

There were several tooth marks on it, left when it was bitten under the ground of Ghost Mountain by that woman who was in labor.

“I was seven that year, and he made it for me.”

“And back when you were dealing with the Crown Prince, quite a few pieces of information from the Crown Prince Estate were passed to the palace servants around you by him.”

“So, if the reason you refused him was because you were worried about me, you can put that concern to rest.”

……

The next day, Xiao Heng paid the price for carrying Jing Kong on his back, waking up with an aching waist and sore back.

That kid was really far too heavy!

When he was little, he was such a tiny thing, always looking as though he were a year younger than children his age, so how did he end up growing this much?

At thirteen, he was already taller than Gu Yan and Gu Xiaoshun had been at fifteen!

Gu Jiao sat up, made a small sound of acknowledgment, and looked at him as she said, “There were so many guards, yet you insisted on carrying him yourself. It hurts now, doesn’t it?”

“It doesn’t hurt!” Xiao Heng instantly dropped the hand he had been using to rub his waist and back and sat up straight with great concern for his dignity.

Gu Jiao pressed down the corner of her lips that had lifted unconsciously, then slowly pulled back the quilt behind her, revealing three small, jet-black little heads.

The three of them blinked up at him in unison.

Xiao Heng froze, and then heard Gu Jiao say teasingly, “Did you hear that? Just now your Father said it doesn’t hurt, so today we can go mountain climbing.”

Xiao Heng: “……!!”

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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, "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…

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