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After Gu Changqing returned to the bridal chamber, he told Yuan Baolin about Gu Chengfeng’s situation.

When she heard that he already had someone he liked, Yuan Baolin immediately knew that her younger sister’s affections were destined to be misplaced.

She never suspected that the person Gu Chengfeng liked was Yuan Tong, because if it were Yuan Tong, there would have been no reason to keep it a secret.

Her years of reading romance novels told Yuan Baolin that Gu Chengfeng must have fallen for someone he should not have.

She was curious by nature, but she would never pry into her brother-in-law’s private affairs.

That night, Gu Xiaobao came over.

He was still very young and could not bear to be apart from his mother. Since Yao shi had been staying in the estate these few days, she had brought him along with her.

Normally, he would already be asleep by this hour, but he had napped too long during the day and could not fall asleep now, so he came looking for his eldest brother and sister-in-law.

“Sister-in-law, I want to see magic tricks.”

The two-and-a-half-year-old Gu Xiaobao spoke clearly.

On the wedding day, Yuan Baolin had performed a few little tricks for him, which he loved. He thought his sister-in-law possessed divine powers; she was even more amazing than his eldest brother.

“All right.” Yuan Baolin readily agreed. She took out a few small props from her dressing box and began to perform for Gu Xiaobao.

The two of them, one big and one small, sat cross-legged on the bed. She first showed Gu Xiaobao her empty hands. “See? There’s nothing, right?”

“Mm.” Gu Xiaobao nodded.

Then she snapped her fingers behind his ear, and when she brought her hand back in front of him, there was suddenly a copper coin between her fingers.

Gu Xiaobao gasped, “Wow!”

Gu Changqing, having nothing else to do, watched from the side to pass the time.

The scene between his wife and younger brother was harmonious, as warm and natural as that of a real family.

Gu Chenglin lived in the same courtyard as Gu Chengfeng, and the two were always bickering and playing around, their laughter echoing constantly.

He, on the other hand, had always lived alone. His courtyard was quiet inside and out, desolate to the point of loneliness. Only in Bishui Alley could he ever feel a trace of familial warmth.

Yet now, for some reason, he suddenly felt a sense of belonging, of being home.

Yuan Baolin performed another trick, making a flower bloom out of nowhere. Gu Xiaobao was holding an empty box, but when he shook it and opened it again, there was suddenly a bright, dewy flower inside.

Yuan Baolin laughed and said, “This is a flower that Xiaobao conjured with his celestial power!”

Gu Xiaobao was so delighted that he reverted to an old childish habit, spreading his little hands and patting his chest. “Wow! Xiaobao’s amazing!”

He hadn’t done that childish gesture for half a year.

He was having such a great time.

But children get sleepy quickly. After a burst of laughter, Gu Xiaobao suddenly toppled backward and fell fast asleep, limbs sprawled in all directions.

Yuan Baolin, who had never raised a child before, was so startled that she thought she had somehow made Gu Changqing’s younger brother faint!

Gu Changqing couldn’t help but laugh at her thunderstruck expression. “It’s fine, he’s just asleep. I’ll carry him back.”

“Ah, all right.” Yuan Baolin wiped the cold sweat from her palms.

Scared me half to death!

Gu Changqing carried the sleeping Gu Xiaobao back to Yao shi’s courtyard. When he returned, Yuan Baolin had not yet gone to bed. She was sitting at the table, holding a document and looking quite troubled.

He walked over and saw that it was their prenuptial agreement.

As his gaze fell on the document, his brows furrowed slightly.

Yuan Baolin noticed his shadow on the floor and turned to him. “You’re back. Do you have a moment? There’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”

“I do.” Gu Changqing sat down across from her.

Yuan Baolin glanced at the document on the table and said, “It’s about this agreement. I just read it carefully again and realized we drafted it too hastily. There are many things we didn’t take into consideration. Of course, that’s not your fault, nor mine. Neither of us had ever been married before, so we couldn’t have foreseen all the possible situations that might arise afterward.”

The moment she mentioned “unexpected situations,” Gu Changqing immediately thought of that indescribable wedding night.

The memory of that intimate scene flashed across his mind, and his blood stirred restlessly through his veins.

He must not think about it.

They were only a couple in name. If he entertained such thoughts, it would be tantamount to defiling Yuan Baolin in his mind.

Forcing himself to calm down, Gu Changqing looked at her and asked, “So what you mean is——”

Could she be asking for a divorce?

Because he had been too much of a beast and failed to uphold their agreement, was their cooperation to end here?

Yuan Baolin, still staring at the contract, said, “I was thinking… perhaps we should draft a new agreement, one that’s more specific and less vague in certain areas.”

Gu Changqing replied, “Whatever you think best.”

Yuan Baolin shot him a look. “Don’t agree so quickly. Listen to the details first.”

Gu Changqing’s expression remained calm. “Go ahead.”

“The first clause originally stated that either party could request a divorce at any time… but that day, you said you would no longer bring it up.”

“Yes. That clause now applies only to you.” He had broken their agreement by touching her, and naturally, he should forfeit that right.

Yuan Baolin picked up the brush, dipped it into the inkstone, and said, “Then I’ll write that down.”

“All right.” Gu Changqing said.

After writing, Yuan Baolin continued reading down the list. “The second and third clauses are fine. But the fourth——‘Both parties shall cooperate to the best of their ability to maintain the appearance of a harmonious marriage, but may not make unreasonable demands of each other.’ We never defined what exactly counts as an unreasonable demand.”

“Anything within my ability, you may ask for it.” Gu Changqing said, then paused before adding, “As long as it doesn’t violate the laws of the state or family rules.”

Yuan Baolin’s eyes rolled mischievously. “What if it’s something you’re capable of, but unwilling to do? For example, you’ve just come back from the barracks, utterly exhausted, and I ask you to coax me, would you agree?”

Gu Changqing thought for a moment. “I would.”

“You’d even agree to that…” Yuan Baolin muttered softly, pursing her lips before clearing her throat and asking seriously, “Then what if I ask that you never take a concubine?”

“Sure.” He had no intention of taking one anyway.

Yuan Baolin was stunned, staring at him without blinking. “Don’t agree so quickly. Think about it again. Once I write it down, there’s no taking it back.”

Meeting her wide, deer-like eyes, Gu Changqing said firmly, “I won’t go back on it.”

In a small voice, Yuan Baolin murmured, “Then that means… I can do whatever I want with you?”

“As long as it doesn’t violate state law or family rules.” Gu Changqing reiterated.

Yuan Baolin said, “I know, I know. You’re a court official, I’m not going to ask you to kill or burn anything down. But really… anything?”

“Yes.” Gu Changqing nodded.

Yuan Baolin’s eyes gleamed again. “Including… not allowing you to sleep in the study?”

“Why?” Gu Changqing asked, surprised.

Yuan Baolin blinked and said matter-of-factly, “What do you mean, why? If you sleep in the study, people will think our relationship is bad. The servants will gossip about me and make things difficult!”

“They wouldn’t dare.” Gu Changqing replied.

“Will you agree or not?” Yuan Baolin pressed.

To be honest, sharing a bed with her was a real test of his restraint as a man. It wasn’t as if he had any problems in that regard.

Taking a deep breath, Gu Changqing said seriously, “I’ll be staying in the military camp most of the time from now on, only coming home for holidays. But if you insist, I can rest in your room when I’m here. And don’t worry, what happened before will never happen again.”

Yuan Baolin sulked silently.

Gu Changqing noticed her reaction but couldn’t tell what he had said wrong. “You’re upset? Do you think I can’t keep my word? I said I’d move into the camp, and I will. I said I wouldn’t offend you again, and I won’t.”

In a small voice, Yuan Baolin muttered, “And what if I want you to offend me?”

Gu Changqing stared at her in shock.

Yuan Baolin cleared her throat, her tone turning aggrieved. “I-I-I mean… you already did that. Now it’ll be hard for me to remarry later… but if I have to be your fake wife forever, that’s a bit pitiful, isn’t it? You say you won’t cast me aside, but men’s words can’t be trusted! What if one day you change your mind, and by then I’m old and faded. What am I supposed to do then?”

Gu Changqing was a man of sharp intellect and quick adaptability on the battlefield, his strategic mind exceptional. Yet when it came to matters like this, he could be even more rigid than his grandfather.

For instance, once he had believed himself to be a death warrior, he had never questioned it again, until Gu Chengfeng cruelly shattered that belief.

Now that Gu Changqing was convinced that Yuan Baolin harbored no romantic feelings for him, no matter how strange her requests or how peculiar her words might be, he regarded them only as necessities for their cooperation, things done out of circumstance, not sentiment.

Besides, he had been the one in the wrong first, so he had no right to bargain with her.

He looked at Yuan Baolin and asked, “What do you want me to do?”

Yuan Baolin shyly lowered her head, clutching her handkerchief. Her cheeks flushed as she murmured, “At the very least, I want to have a child of my own… so that I’ll have someone to rely on in the latter half of my life…”

Gu Changqing was completely stunned.

……

Future Little Changqing: “Father, what’s the longest road in the world?”

Gu Changqing: “Your mother’s scheme.”

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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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