Upon seeing the situation, Madam Li hurriedly wiped her husband's mouth with a handkerchief.
"My lord, will our daughter be alright?"
Lord Li reassuringly patted Madam Li.
"Don't worry. Finding Noble Consort Gu's grandmother is a great achievement. The emperor will reward us."
Madam Li, who had been listening to the conversation, immediately pleaded with Grandma Gu after hearing her husband's words.
"Grandma Gu, every time Noble Consort Gu mentioned you during her live broadcasts, she always smiled with loving nostalgia."
"I believe you truly love Noble Consort Gu from the bottom of your heart."
"Therefore, I beg you to believe me, too. Help me. I cannot bear to see my daughter - who I carried for ten months - suffer."
"My daughter risks her life to escort you out. This matter will inevitably be exposed in the future. Once the emperor finds out about it, it will spell death for our Li family and involve nine generations."
"We cannot change our destiny or live in the future, so we must survive here, under the shadow of the imperial power."
"Given a choice, I would prefer my daughter to be confined in the palace for her entire life rather than suffer a gruesome death."
"Grandma Gu, can you understand my feelings?"
Grandma Gu wanted to refute, but she knew the harsh realities of ancient times.
She could feel that this lady truly loved her daughter.
Her only wish was to protect her daughter!
She did not wish death upon her daughter, rather, she longed for her to stay alive.
Life is but a few short decades, it's better to scrape through than to die. At least, this gives us the parents some hope.
Seeing that Grandma Gu remained silent, Madam Li pled passionately with reason and emotion.
"Grandma Gu, given the emperor's affection for Noble Consort Gu, he will not mistreat you. On the contrary, if he discovers my daughter, he will definitely torture her mercilessly."
"As long as you are by the emperor's side, he will find a way to get in touch with Noble Consort Gu, and then you can meet her again!"
"I beg you, just help me this one time. If you or Noble Consort Gu ever encounter difficulties, I will certainly help you!"
Considering how Consort Li cared for her wholeheartedly over the past few days, Grandma Gu eventually couldn't bear to be so unfeeling.
It wasn't that she was too maternal, but she had been tied up and she couldn't escape.
Since it was destined that she would be presented before Pei Changying, then she might as well help the Li family – to repay Consort Li's kindness.
"Alright, I promise you."
Grandma Gu agreed to keep the secret about Consort Li's escape from the palace.
"Thank you! If you or Noble Consort Gu ever need help, I will do everything I can to assist!"
Madam Li solemnly promised.
Soon after, Lord Li personally escorted Grandma Gu to meet the Emperor in South City. He brought dozens of servants and surrounded the carriage to prevent any chance of escape.
They hadn't been on the road for long when they crossed paths with the palace guards who were rushing back to the palace.
Seeing this, Lord Li promptly shouted:
"Emperor, Emperor!"
"I have brought Noble Consort Gu's grandmother to you!"
Whoosh!
The carriage immediately came to a halt.
As Emperor Pei Changying's carriage came to a halt, Lord Li quickly alighted his own and went over.
When he got within two meters to the carriage, the wary gaze of the royal guards stopped him in his tracks, and he respectfully called out:
"Your Majesty, after tireless searching and inquiries, I found her at last – Grandma Gu!"
Pei Changying pulled back the curtain, his face expressionless.
Clearly.
Pei Changying wasn’t hopeful: "Bring her here."
Lord Li quickly signaled his servants to bring Grandma Gu in.
Upon seeing the woman who bore a resemblance to Grandma Gu, Pei Changying furrowed his brows.
Before he had a chance to get angry, he heard Lord Li stating:
"Your Majesty, she's disguised with makeup. It took a great effort to find her."
"I stake my life on it. This old woman is indeed Grandma Gu!"
Having said that, Lord Li instructed his servants to fetch a pot of water, wet a handkerchief and wiped Grandma Gu’s face.
The makeup on Grandma Gu's face, applied by Consort Li to help her sneak out of the palace, disguised her a bit. However, upon careful examination, she still resembled the way she looked without makeup on.
Now, with all the cosmetics wiped clean, Grandma Gu's original appearance was revealed in full.
Pei Changying's eyes narrowed in shock.
She was identical!
Her lookalike that he had seen previously required makeup to resemble Grandma Gu by just ninety percent. Yet, this one didn’t need any makeup and still looked exactly like her.
Could it be......Could this be the real one?
"Are you really Grandma Gu?"
Pei Changying, unable to believe, fixed his gaze on the old woman, seeking more proof from her face.
Grandma Gu, in return, stared back at Pei Changeying for a moment before responding defiantly:
"Isn't that question obvious? If I deny it, will you let me go?"
Lord Li drew a sharp breath in surprise as he stared at Grandma Gu.
She was speaking to the Emperor, who held power over life and death! How dare she speak to him in such a manner?
However, to his surprise, Pei Changying didn't get angry but continued in a mild tone:
"She does capture some aspects of Gu Sang's character."
"Where have you been all this while? Gu Sang has been looking for you everywhere."
Hearing this, Lord Li’s heart skipped a beat.
Praying under his breath, he wished she wouldn’t let slip anything regarding the Li family.
If Emperor Pei Changying were to find out that Grandma Gu had been kept hidden in the palace by his daughter, it would be regarded as treason.
Thankfully, Grandma Gu wasn't one to be baited and ignored Pei Changying completely.
But the more she ignored Pei Changying, the more he was certain that indeed, this was Gu Sang's grandma!
It was real, not fake!
Hahaha!
So, all those words from Pei Weiqi were untrue.
As expected, fate was on his side. He did find Grandma Gu!
"Back to South City!"
Pei Changying instantly ordered a return to South City.
South City was going to be saved this time!
At the moment, at South City,
Imperial forces were in retreat, with Elder Princess leading the charge, spearheading the invasion into the city.
Elder Princess, bow and arrow in hand, surveying all directions, killed off anyone who aimed a hidden arrow at her kin.
"Drop your weapons!"
"Spare those who surrender!"
The armies led by Zhou Qichen and General Qin were almost in control of the entire battlefield, and they started to call out to those soldiers who were still resisting.
Some of the soldiers began to waver.
They gradually began to lay down their weapons.
However, at that moment, an unexpected incident took place—
From the far-off distance, dust clouds were billowing as a horse carriage sped onto the battlefield at an incredible pace.
Seeing palace guards driving ahead of the carriage, there was no doubt about the identity of the person inside the carriage—Pei Changying!
The Elder Princess had her arrow on the string, just waiting for Pei Changying to reveal himself and then she will shoot and kill him.
"Rebels! Lay down your weapons and retreat!"
The guard stopped the carriage about fifty meters away, and yelled towards the ongoing battle.
After the carriage came to a halt, the person inside didn't come out, but continued to shout through his guards, “Pei Weiqi, Heaven has always been on my side.”
