"Your brain seems to have been eaten by zombies, it's empty."
"If you could rationally look at Pei Changying's various actions towards you, you'd know whether he's worth loving or not."
"But unfortunately, you're love-brained."
Gu Qingrou's mouth twitched, and for the first time, she didn't argue with Gu Sang, managing to speak calmly with her.
In the past, she would have wanted to strangle Gu Sang on sight, but now, how was it that they could sit together and talk?
And the "love-brained" term Gu Sang used.
It certainly wasn't a flattering word.
But she couldn't help loving Pei Changying. Her circle was small, her world was small, so small that she had only ever interacted with this one man in her lifetime, letting him occupy her entire being.
Gu Qingrou murmured to herself: "Perhaps you're right, we women from secluded backgrounds have seen too few men."
"So we're easily deceived."
"But what does it matter..."
"Yes, what does it matter, I suppose this is fate."
After a pause, Gu Qingrou's eyes flickered, her gaze fixed straight on Gu Sang: "Do you know what happened to my child?"
In Gu Qingrou's reflected pupils, she saw Gu Sang nod without hesitation.
Of course, she knew.
She just didn't care before.
Now, she cared even less.
After all, in Gu Sang's life, there was never any concept of vying for favor: "I know, modern TV dramas are full of these framing plots to the point of nausea."
"I guessed this kind of framing plot from the few words when Pei Changying called me a poisonous woman."
Gu Qingrou took a deep breath and said with a bitter smile: "Then you definitely don't know that I was actually carrying a daughter, but I switched her for the corpse of a recently deceased baby boy."
Her daughter had indeed died, but not on that day.
Half a month earlier, she had miscarried, but she had the imperial physician continue to keep it a secret until she found a recently deceased baby boy from outside, and then orchestrated that framing scene.
That was Pei Changying's first prince, and moreover, the first prince after his ascension to the throne.
Looking at the baby boy in his arms, Pei Changying was overcome with grief and anger, which led to his decision to make her the empress.
"Gu Sang, am I cruel? Not even caring for my own daughter."
"Actually, the imperial physician said that if I took good care of myself during pregnancy, the daughter could have been saved."
"But because she wasn't a prince, I chose to abandon her. Although I didn't kill her with my own hands, I didn't take the medicine, which led to her..."
Gu Qingrou couldn't continue speaking, overcome with regret once again, she covered her face and sobbed out loud.
She didn't know if she was crying because she had gained everything.
Or if she was crying because in the end, it felt like she had gained nothing at all.
Her daughter.
Such a lovely daughter!
Dead because of her struggle for favor.
Was this right?
Gu Sang looked at the suffering Gu Qingrou, her voice calm and detached, like an outsider: "What's done is done. Where was this crying when you were desperately wanting the position of empress?"
"Moreover, in this world where male preference is so severe."
"Even being a princess isn't necessarily happy, unable to leave the palace for a lifetime."
"When they do leave the palace, it's to be married off."
"If a princess is favored, she'll stay in the capital to receive a husband, if not favored, she'll be sent off in a political marriage."
"Rather than living in past pain, why not take this opportunity to pray for your daughter's blessing, do more good deeds."
"For example, changing the mindset of male preference, so that daughters born in the future won't be thrown away or killed outright just because they're girls."
After all, Gu Qingrou was just a pitiful woman in the deep palace. Gu Sang might have disliked Gu Qingrou before, but she didn't hate her.
More than anything, she felt a very bland, stranger-like emotion towards Gu Qingrou.
*Beep—*
Gu Sang had nothing more to say to her, so she closed the connection.
Who knows if Gu Qingrou would take this advice to heart.
What's wrong with having a daughter?
With proper guidance and nurturing from a young age, she wouldn't be inferior to boys.
The commoners on the streets of ancient times saw the heartwarming scenes of little girls from the future in the sky screen, causing many women to burst into tears on the spot, crying their hearts out.
But when these women returned home, they were met with scolding from their in-laws and cold indifference from their husbands.
"Oh, you useless woman who can't bear a son, did you go buy vegetables at the border? If you hadn't come back soon, I was about to report a missing person to the authorities."
"Instead of wasting time, you'd better think about how to continue my son's lineage."
The woman suddenly raised her head to see her father-in-law sitting in the main seat, looking leisurely.
Her mother-in-law sat below on the left, looking at her sideways with her mouth slightly askew.
In the past, the woman would always endure, knowing she had given birth to two girls. For the sake of her children, she endured the mistreatment.
But today, the woman didn't want to endure anymore.
Endure!
How much longer did she have to endure?
Her first child was a girl, and while she was still in confinement after childbirth, her mother-in-law took the baby girl out for a walk and returned saying the child had been lost.
At that time, she had wailed and made a fuss, but after all that commotion, the child still couldn't be found.
She could only give up.
Until she gave birth to her second child, discovering it was also a girl, she barely left her daughter's side. Even when going to the outhouse, she would carry her daughter in a sling, not giving them any opportunity.
Originally, the incident of losing her first daughter had been buried deep in her heart.
But today, seeing that little girl on the screen made her think of her unfortunate first daughter.
"Mother-in-law sure loves to joke, I'm not an infant, how could I go out to buy vegetables and disappear?" The woman took a deep breath before speaking.
Ignoring her in-laws' unsightly expressions, she looked around and called out loudly:
"Niu Niu, Niu Niu."
"Where's Niu Niu?"
When the mother-in-law heard her daughter-in-law's sarcastic tone,
She trembled with anger and shouted: "What do you mean by that? Oh, you're still thinking about that incident from years ago?"
"Oh my, I might as well die! I kindly helped you look after the child, and the child was accidentally lost. Wasn't your big fuss back then enough?"
"It's been years, and you're still blaming me. I might as well just die and consider it repayment for your daughter's life."
Was it really accidental?
Everyone in the family knew the truth!
It was intentional!
The husband went over to pull his mother back, comforting her to sit down, then turned to his wife and said sternly: "Do you still want to continue this life? Wasn't that incident from years ago already cleared up?"
"Mother has already said it wasn't intentional, what more do you want? If you don't want to continue this life, just say it early."
Tears suddenly streamed down the woman's face.
She lowered her head to wipe away her tears, watching Niu Niu run over to hug her leg. The woman gently stroked the child's head, her eyes slowly revealing determination.
She suddenly remembered the livestream from the future world she had seen these past two days.
That gentle and doting man.
That grandmother who knew her boundaries.
That family she envied.
The goddess said!
That was what a true marriage should be like!
And what about her current situation?
The woman suddenly laughed bitterly, closing her eyes and said: "Fine, then let's end it."
