The Grand Secretary’s Pampered Wife

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T H E S U N

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A shiver ran down Shangguan Qing’s spine.

He cleared his throat and quickly straightened his expression. “Alright, alright, I’ll come clean. I don’t befriend just anyone, you know. That old guy’s not even qualified to be my friend!”

Gu Jiao took a deep breath. Xiao Heng’s biological brother. Can’t hit him. Can’t hit him...

After stripping away all the posturing from Shangguan Qing’s words, the distilled truth was basically: “I’ve only met him once or twice, and I’m not cool enough for him to be friends with me.”

“Tell me more about what kind of person he is.” Gu Jiao suddenly became interested in this so-called Ghost King.

“Person?” Shangguan Qing scoffed, then walked over to a rock by the creek, sat down, and yanked up a handful of foxtail grass.

Behind them, the sounds of laughter and chatter gave a fleeting sense of peace and warmth, a moment of calm in the chaos of the world.

Having spent many days at the border, Gu Jiao hadn’t felt this kind of tranquil comfort in a long time.

She went over and sat down beside him.

The distance between them wasn’t too close or too far, just enough to avoid overstepping, yet not so far as to seem unfamiliar.

Shangguan Qing pursed his lips, looking like he wanted to say something, but in the end, he just gave a light snort.

“Go on.” Gu Jiao urged.

“Well…” Shangguan Qing furrowed his brow, as if carefully choosing his words. “I don’t think he’s a human being. He’s already dead. At least, that’s the feeling I get from him. His whole body is shrouded in deathly aura, and his eyes don’t look like they belong to the living.”

Gu Jiao asked, “Can he move? Talk? Does he have a heartbeat and breathing?”

“He can. He does.” Shangguan Qing replied concisely.

Then he’s not a dead man. He’s very much alive.

Gu Jiao remarked, “Sounds like a pretty weird fellow.”

Shangguan Qing toyed with the foxtail grass in his hand and said, “Weird, yeah. But he doesn’t harm innocent people. There were some commoners who accidentally wandered into the back mountain, and he didn’t hurt them. On the other hand, a group of mountain bandits trespassed onto his turf, and they nearly all ended up dead by his hand. Lucky for them, this little Ghost King stepped in and saved the day!”

Ah, and now we’re back to calling yourself Ghost King, but a little version this time. You really do have a wide variety of self-titles, don’t you?

Gu Jiao continued, “So those bandits, was it because of this that you managed to subdue them and turn them into your ghost soldiers?”

Shangguan Qing straightened his back proudly. “More or less. I rescued them from that guy’s hands, and they were so grateful to me for saving their lives——”

Gu Jiao cast him a sidelong glance. “And also because you intimidated and threatened them, right? Like maybe you said the Ghost King was your backer, and if they didn’t obey, you’d have the Ghost King kill them?”

Shangguan Qing looked at her like she was some kind of otherworldly creature, his face full of disbelief. “No way. How do you know everything?”

Because I’m just an ordinary, unremarkable little genius at solving cases!

Gu Jiao said, “So there’s a big Ghost King on the back mountain, and you’re the little Ghost King. Both titles are self-appointed, am I right?”

Shangguan Qing didn’t deny it. He simply lay back on a long stone slab, one arm behind his head like a pillow, and a stem of foxtail grass hanging from his lips as he stared up at the starry sky.

“He’s an old Ghost King. Been around a long time.”

He said.

“Old Ghost King…” Gu Jiao touched her chin thoughtfully, her mind already turning.

“Hey.” Shangguan Qing poked Gu Jiao with a long, slender finger like carved jade. “I finally figured out what’s strange about you.”

“What?” Gu Jiao turned her head toward the man lying flat on the stone. He still wore that mask which covered most of his face, concealing his full appearance, but his eyes were strikingly beautiful, resembling the almond-shaped eyes of Princess Xinyang.

His lips, inherited from Marquis Xuanping, naturally curved slightly upward even when he wasn’t smiling.

Shangguan Qing said, “All this time on the road, I kept thinking there was something off about you. It wasn’t until just now that I figured it out. Since you recognized me as the eldest imperial grandson, how could you still dare to call me by my name so directly? Has the Black Wind Cavalry become so unruly nowadays?”

Gu Jiao replied, “That’s not called being unruly.”

Giving you a beating would be.

Gu Jiao grabbed his wrist.

Shangguan Qing instinctively frowned. “What are you doing? Even if you’re a man, this imperial grandson doesn’t swing that way.”

He disliked being touched and wasn’t used to people getting physically close to him. In that regard, both he and his brother were a lot like Princess Xinyang.

After checking his pulse, Gu Jiao let go of his wrist and placed his hand back where it had been.

Shangguan Qing gave her a strange look. “You know medicine?”

“A little.” Gu Jiao said calmly. “Unfortunately, not enough to cure the poison in your body.”

Upon hearing that, Shangguan Qing showed no sign of disappointment. After all, the poison in his system was incurable. Not even the Imperial Advisor had been able to treat it. He had long since stopped hoping for a miracle.

He only had about three months left to live.

Possibly even less.

“Does it hurt?” Gu Jiao looked at him and asked.

Shangguan Qing paused slightly, as if he had mentally prepared for every reaction Gu Jiao might have, either pity, sympathy, encouragement, maybe even some idealistic promises.

But he never expected such a simple and direct question such as “Does it hurt?”

It felt… like a kind of concern only a family member would show.

Shangguan Qing suddenly felt his nose sting with emotion. Not wanting Gu Jiao to notice, he turned his back to her and hid his slightly reddened eyes in the darkness of night. “It’s not too bad. The Imperial Advisor’s medicine can suppress the poison. It only flares up three to five days a month, and if I make it through those, I feel just like this.”

“Shangguan Qing.” Gu Jiao called his name quietly.

“What now?” He subtly wiped at the corners of his reddened eyes, his voice as calm and indifferent as ever.

Gu Jiao pretended not to notice the change in his expression and said seriously, “I know a woman called Lady Nan. She’s an expert in poison techniques from the Tang Sect. She was originally planning to return to the State of Zhao, but because of some personal matters, she stayed behind in Shengdu. Once the war is over, I’ll take you to see her. Maybe she can find a cure for your condition.”

“Oh.”

He had long since given up hope, but he was also too tired to keep refusing again and again. Otherwise, people would just start trying to persuade him with all kinds of well-meaning words.

So he agreed casually. After all, there was a real chance he wouldn’t live long enough to return to Shengdu anyway.

Gu Jiao asked, “Are you going back to Quyang with me tomorrow?”

Shangguan Qing replied coolly, “You go on ahead.”

Gu Jiao turned to glance at the peaceful corner of Pucheng behind them, the one part of town untouched by the flames of war. Children were laughing and running back and forth, villagers busied themselves with work while chatting happily, and ghost soldiers were wrestling and practicing martial arts in the clearing outside the gate.

This place… probably wasn’t something he could leave behind so easily.

Shangguan Qing had already composed himself by then, and the redness around his eyes had faded completely.

He turned back over and laid flat once again, a piece of foxtail grass between his teeth, speaking in his usual lazy and irreverent tone. “Don’t tell my mother… about what I’ve been doing in Ghost Mountain. I’ll go see her myself in a few days.”

“Alright.” Gu Jiao agreed without hesitation.

I won’t tell your mother. I’ll just tell your father.

Raz P.'s 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, "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…