The Grand Secretary’s Pampered Wife

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Also, many thanks to everyone who bought me coffee (*≧∀≦*)

Duke An Estate.

After quite a long charcoal pencil session, so long that Gu Jiao hand was sore, she lay on her side, face down on the table, exhaling in utter exhaustion.

Long Yi was taking a break.

He had gone off to find more charcoal pencils.

Xiao Heng walked in carrying a plate of freshly sliced fruit. Seeing Gu Jiao sprawled across the table, her cheek squished into the surface, he walked over and pinched her face. "Tired?"

Gu Jiao mumbled, "Mmm, no."

Just sore hands.

"Have some." Xiao Heng said. "Not too cold, and the sweetness is just right."

Gu Jiao sat up straight, picked up a skewer, and stabbed a piece of sweet melon. But instead of eating it immediately, she paused.

Xiao Heng asked, "What’s wrong?"

Gu Jiao said, "I was thinking about a dream I had a few days ago."

Xiao Heng looked at her with curiosity. "Oh? What did you dream about?"

Gu Jiao thought for a moment and decided not to keep it from him. "I dreamed that Han shi used the fake Emperor to start an internal conflict. The ten great noble families turned on one another, and even the Han Family and Nangong Family, who were both originally on the Crown Prince’s side, ended up at war with one another."

Xiao Heng gazed at her deeply, realizing that she had foreseen another piece of the future in her dreams.

No wonder she had known the Emperor had been switched.

Back when she had predicted the torrential storm in Pingle Prefecture, he had still been half-skeptical.

After a moment of silence, Xiao Heng said, "The Crown Prince needs both the Han Family and the Nangong Family; he wants to maintain a balance between them. But Han shi and the Han Family crave sole dominance. In that sense, the Han Family and the Nangong Family were bound to become enemies."

Gu Jiao nodded. "So it's not surprising that they ended up fighting."

"Then who won in the end?" Xiao Heng asked.

Gu Jiao shook her head. "No one won."

In that civil war, there were no true victors. Han shi thought she could control the entire situation, but she severely underestimated how ruthless the noble families could be when they retaliated.

All the noble families suffered heavy losses, and the Han Family and the Nangong Family, these two most powerful military clans, fought the fiercest battle. Taking advantage of the chaos, the States of Jin and Liang seized the opportunity to invade.

Gu Jiao glanced at the two largest pieces of melon on the plate. "But now, the situation might be about to change."

With both the Han Family and the Nangong Family facing charges, they now had a common enemy. Unable to afford internal strife, they were highly likely to temporarily join forces and turn their efforts outward.

Gu Jiao’s prediction was confirmed in the middle of the night.

Steward Zheng rushed back with urgent news—members of the Han Family had refused to surrender their military authority. Instead, they led an elite force and broke out of the western city gate.

Half an hour later, the Nangong Family also led their troops and escaped from Shengdu.

Over the years, the noble families had secretly placed many of their own trusted men within the military camps.

As a result, a significant portion of the forces stationed there were actually loyal to them rather than the court.

Once outside Shengdu, the two great families rallied the troops stationed in various military camps beyond the capital and marched through the night toward the border defenses.

They had already stationed a substantial force at the borders.

At this point, whether the Crown Prince and Han shi had fallen into the Emperor’s hands no longer mattered.

For the Han Family to survive, rebellion was the only option. If the Xuanyuan Family had failed to seize the throne back then, then now, the Han Family would simply take over that unfinished ambition!

Coincidentally, the Nangong Family was thinking the exact same thing.

Gu Jiao gazed at the twinkling stars in the night sky. "So in the end, is civil war truly unavoidable?"

And as for the impending invasion from Jin and Liang——

In the dream, the eleven noble families had fought among themselves.

But now, it would be the nine remaining noble families, acting under imperial decree, that would unite to suppress the Han Family and the Nangong Family.

Gu Jiao murmured, "Cornered with no way out, what will the Nangong Family and the Han Family do?"

Xiao Heng lifted his gaze toward the endless night sky. "They will open the gates at the border… and invite the tigers to devour the wolves."

Xiao Heng’s prediction was soon confirmed in the following days.

By the middle of the eight month, news arrived from Tianshan Pass: the arm of the State of Jin was marching eastward.

Two days later, Yanmen Pass also reported that the army of the State of Liang was advancing eastward.

The members of the Han Family and the Nangong Family were still on their way and had not yet reached the border. They must have communicated with the border generals through their trusted subordinates.

Tianshan Pass was guarded by forces loyal to the Han Family, while Yanmen Pass was under the control of the Nangong Family’s troops.

Although other generals were stationed there, the commanding officers were the confidants of these two families.

Almost as soon as the urgent reports arrived, their forces swiftly eliminated any obstacles and took full control of the border defenses.

By the time the intelligence reached Shengdu, the Emperor was so enraged that he smashed the inkstone in the imperial study!

The eunuchs and palace maids in the room were so terrified that they all dropped to their knees in unison.

Zhang Dequan didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly.

Who could have foreseen that after capturing Han shi and imprisoning the Crown Prince, such an unprecedented act of rebellion, where two of the most powerful noble families joined forces, would still occur?

Compared to them, the Xuanyuan Family’s rebellion in the past seemed almost restrained.

At the very least, the Xuanyuan Family had not revolted simply out of fear of being arrested for their crimes.

Their rebellion had been triggered after discovering the secret agreement between the Emperor and the States of Jin and Liang. Only then did they decide to take up arms against the throne.

At that time, there had been only three people in the imperial study: His Majesty, Xuanyuan Li, and Zhang Dequan, who had been serving tea.

Even now, Zhang Dequan could still recall Xuanyuan Li’s impassioned words, his voice like a thunderclap that shook the very walls of the imperial palace.

Xuanyuan Li had declared, “Shangguan Jingyang, do you really think the Xuanyuan Family is your greatest threat? In order to destroy us, you are willing to conspire with tigers and wolves! One day, you will regret this!”

And now, sixteen years later, Xuanyuan Li’s prophecy had finally come true.

The ambitions of Jin and Liang were now laid bare, with no pretense left to conceal them. But now, Great Yan no longer had the Xuanyuan Family’s mighty army of a million soldiers. How could it possibly stand against the military might of these two powerful nations?

Not to mention that the Han Family and the Nangong Family had just taken nearly half of Great Yan’s forces with them!

How could this war possibly be fought?

What chance did they have of winning?

If Xuanyuan Li were still alive, if the warriors of the Xuanyuan Family had not perished, perhaps there would still be hope for a miraculous victory despite the overwhelming odds.

But they were all dead. Every single one of them had perished on the battlefield.

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…