After my luck was stolen, I led my whole family to defy fate and change our destiny.

Along the way, Gu Mingtang thought countless times about what his mother was like.

I might go blind, I might become lame, I might become emaciated, I might become unrecognizable, but I never imagined it would be like this.

The Gu brothers were also shocked and turned pale. He instinctively covered Gu Linglong's eyes to prevent her from seeing.

[Big brother, why are you blocking my view? I need to see, I need to see...]

In the very center of the dark room, a skeleton wrapped in white cloth knelt, its limbs and neck bound by thick iron chains, and a portrait of Gu Chenshi hung in front of it.

What he saw before him was beyond Gu Mingtang's imagination. He stepped forward, tore down Gu Chenshi's portrait, and knelt beside the bones. He tried to break the chains, but they cut his fingers.

A moment later, the drop of blood dissolved into the withered bones, and Gu Mingtang could no longer hold back and burst into tears. It was his mother, his mother!

What has he been doing all these years? If it weren't for Linglong, he would still be mistaking a thief for his mother.

Gu Yu'an and Gu Liyao also knelt down, their eyes reddening. No wonder they had never been able to win their grandmother's favor all these years, no matter how hard they tried.

It turns out she wasn't a blood relative at all; her real grandmother was still in a dark, secluded room.

Gu Mingtang abruptly stood up and drew his guard's sword. "I'm going to kill that poisonous woman and ask her why she did this."

Gu Yu'an and the others quickly followed. Gu Mingtang raised his knife to strike, but Chen was so frightened by his expression and aura that she sat down on the ground.

When has Gu Mingtang ever treated him like this? Does he know everything?

Gu Liyao hugged Gu Mingtang tightly.

"Father, please think it over! She's now a first-rank noblewoman; killing her would land you in jail."

Gu Yu'an also advised, "Think about your mother and little sister. Your little sister is still so young. What will she do without you?"

"Yes, Father, killing her with one blow would be too easy on her, and it wouldn't be worth it to drag yourself down with you. It would be much more satisfying to let her witness the loss of her most precious thing."

Upon hearing this, Gu Mingtang steadied himself and pressed his long sword against Gu Chenshi's neck.

"Tell me, why did you treat my birth mother like this? Why were you so vicious?"

Gu Chenshi burst into laughter as if she had heard a hilarious joke.

"Me, vicious? How could I be as vicious as her? She's just some nobody who dared to give birth to my eldest son, and twins at that!"

"What will others think of me, her legal mother? What face will I have left? I will torment her, even in death I will make her repent before me day and night."

Madam Gu's voice suddenly rose, pointing at Gu Mingtang, "And you, you're just as vicious as your wretched maidservant!"

"You are already the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, a first-rank official, why haven't you petitioned the Emperor to allow my son to inherit the title of Marquis of Beiding?"

"You wanted to leave it to Gu Yu'an, not to my son; you forced me into this."

Gu Mingtang was so angry his lips turned purple. "Ignorant woman!"

Gu Linglong clicked her tongue in amazement.

[Father treats this wicked woman so well, is it because of this? It's truly chilling.]

[Sigh...what an idiot. I can see right through him. Father is already this old and hasn't issued a decree to pass on the title. His attitude is already very clear.]

[My father is a high-ranking official, and my family has a pardon from death left by my grandfather. If we also have a younger brother or son who inherits the title, the emperor will be the first to kill us.]

Gu Mingtang was shocked that Linglong could see so clearly at such a young age; she really was his daughter.

With a swipe of his knife, a lock of Chen's hair fell to the ground.

Ms. Chen stared wide-eyed at her falling hair in disbelief.

Gu Mingtang actually... actually cut her hair?

Gu Chenshi's expression gradually became deranged; she roared, "You might as well kill me!"

In this dynasty, a woman's hair represented life and respect, and was the most important thing besides purity.

Gu Mingtang's actions were undoubtedly a case of killing someone by destroying their spirit!

Gu Mingtang ignored her and ordered, "Drive this poisonous woman out of the manor."

Gu Chenshi's voice faded into the distance.

"Ah...you unfilial son, I am your legal mother, your legal mother! You will be struck by lightning!"

"As expected of a lowly child, just as lowly as your mother."

You will get your comeuppance.

...

Gu Mingtang ordered his men to carefully collect his birth mother's remains and bury them in peace.

I'm so hungry, so hungry!

Gu Yu'an smiled and said, "Little sister has been out for quite a while, she must be hungry. I'll take her back first."

Hehe, big brother, we siblings are truly on the same wavelength!

Inside the room, Gu Linglong was drinking milk in large gulps when Lin Xiaoxiao stepped in. She twirled her handkerchief and whispered...

"Can I hold the baby?"

Su Xiuran smiled and nodded. Lin Xiaoxiao took the child and the gift handed to her by the maid.

Do you like the pure gold safety buckle?

Gold? Gu Linglong grinned.

Su Xiuran: "Thank you so much, Xiaoxiao."

[Oh my god, it's Lin Xiaoxiao! She's the one who coveted her uncle's status as a royal merchant, framed him, and even released dead rats so he would die of the plague.]

[What a vicious female supporting character...]

Gu Mingtang: At this moment, I really want to shut my daughter's mouth.

Su Xiuran's heart skipped a beat. Her father and elder brother had been killed by the very people she had saved?

Su Xiuran suppressed her fear and anger, gave Chunhe a look, and Chunhe immediately went to pick up the child, staring at Lin Xiaoxiao with a probing gaze.

Lin Xiaoxiao was completely confused. "What's wrong, sister-in-law?"

Su Xiuran was pulled back to her senses, and spoke in a calm tone.

"You are neither the principal wife nor a concubine, and you have no betrothal or marriage agreement, so it's inappropriate for you to call me 'sister-in-law.' Please call me 'Madam.'"

Lin Xiaoxiao twisted the handkerchief in her hands. "Yes, Madam, then I shall take my leave."

At this moment, a semi-transparent screen appeared in front of Lin Xiaoxiao.

"Gu Linglong smiled at the host, successfully winning over the system. System reward: extract the other party's luck. Do you want to extract?"

"Yes"

"Yes, host, luck extraction successful."

Gu Linglong felt completely drained and dizzy. She heard Lin Xiaoxiao's conversation with the system.

He was so angry he gritted his teeth, but unfortunately he had no teeth.

[Damn it, when did I smile at her? I smiled at the gold, okay?]

When will Lin Xiaoxiao have something to draw luck from?

Could our family's destruction have been caused by her stealing our luck...?

Everyone was terrified: there were things in this world that could steal a person's luck.

Ding! Congratulations, host, the binding has been successful.

What was that sound? It startled me!

A system that looked like a bear and had wings flew up in front of Gu Linglong.

"Host, Wang Fugui, ID 07356, is happy to serve you."

Gu Linglong frowned. "What are you?"

"I am nothing."

Wang Fugui shook his head. "I am an object... wait... no, that's not right."

"Oh well, I'm a system sprite anyway."

Everyone has accepted the terrifying and unbelievable thing that can hear Gu Linglong's thoughts and has the power to drain people's luck.

Seeing a little bear fly out now is strange, but thankfully its acting is on point.

Only the youngest, Gu Ziming, stared wide-eyed.

"That…"

Gu Yu'an quickly covered Gu Zimo's mouth, and Gu Mingtang glared at him, so he immediately shut up.

[System? What is a system?]

[Hehe, the Time and Space Bureau has run into some problems and sent me down to help the host survive, etc.]

[My luck was just drained, why didn't you come?]

Wang Fugui lowered his head, his index finger pointing at his index finger.

"I'm lost..."

Gu Linglong "..."

[Is it your fault that Lin Xiaoxiao has a system? Are there others like that? You can also absorb luck? Quickly absorb my luck back!]

Wang Fugui said aggrievedly, "I don't know how. I'm not a strategy system; only her system has that."

[A system for good waste]

Wang Fugui: "..."

Can you not say this in front of the bear?

Gu Linglong thought of something: "Don't call me host, call me Lord White Tiger. Also, come down quickly! What if my parents see you flying around like that?"

Wang Fugui patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, Lord White Tiger, no one else can see me."

I only saw it when it first appeared, so could you say I didn't see it?

Su Xiuran buried her head in her soup.

Gu Mingtang pretended to tidy his clothes.

Gu Yu'an was engrossed in reading a book that had been turned over.

Gu Liyao covered Gu Ziming's mouth and counted ants on the ground.