"As expected of you. Even though I'm the legitimate daughter, you always manage to outshine me," she said bitterly. "Even when you're distracted, I can't get close to you at all."
"You're so selfish. No wonder after leaving the Emperor, you could shamelessly be with other men in the future without any guilt."
Gu Sang looked down at Gu Qingrou with a lofty gaze.
Indeed.
She saw no courage for mutual destruction in Gu Qingrou's eyes. This time, Gu Qingrou had other motives.
Gu Sang spoke, "Enough with the nonsense. You didn't risk coming here just to kill me, did you?"
Gu Sang believed that while Gu Qingrou might be blinded by love, she wasn't foolish enough to think she could easily kill Gu Sang.
Gu Qingrou touched the wedding dress, her face showing a nostalgic expression.
She had worn this wedding dress too!
It should have been hers.
Suddenly, Gu Qingrou let out a bitter laugh. She stared into Gu Sang's eyes and finally revealed her true intention: "Indeed, nothing escapes you. You're still the same as before."
"I know I can't kill you, and I don't intend to. After all, the living can never compete with the dead."
"Gu Sang, I won't allow Pei Changying to have any wife other than me."
"He can only be mine."
"You should leave. I'm here to replace you."
Gu Sang was utterly stunned.
Was this... was this a stroke of incredible luck falling from the sky?
Could such a good thing really happen?
This was too significant for Gu Sang to easily believe based on Gu Qingrou's few words.
Was it really just because of Gu Qingrou's possessiveness and love-addled brain?
Gu Sang took a deep breath, trying to calm herself to analyze the situation. She asked rationally, "What's your reason? Why are you willing to take my place?"
A flash of resentment passed through Gu Qingrou's eyes, as if she was fiercely protecting something that belonged to her: "Because the position of Empress is mine! He promised it to me!"
"I exchanged it with my daughter's blood. No one else can take it away."
At this point, Gu Qingrou gave a self-mocking smile.
She tilted her head, staring at Gu Sang as she slowly continued:
"Actually, I don't want to help you, but only if you flee far away, back to the world you belong to, will the Emperor truly belong to me alone."
"I know you don't trust me. I was able to come here with Madam Li's help."
"You might not know Madam Li, but you surely know of Consort Li. She's Consort Li's mother."
"Madam Li wants me to tell you that she deeply regrets not helping her daughter send you out of the capital city back then."
"She thought that by following Lord Li's instructions and handing you over to the Emperor, she could save her daughter from a sea of suffering."
"It wasn't until news of her daughter's death arrived that she was overcome with regret. So now she wants to make amends."
"She wants to fulfill what her daughter couldn't accomplish in life."
Gu Sang's heart was severely shaken.
She recalled the scene of Consort Li dying in her arms. This woman had always been quiet and well-behaved in the palace.
She and Gu Sang weren't close, barely exchanging a few words.
Yet she had sacrificed her life to help Gu Sang, and now her mother was trying her best to fulfill her daughter's unfulfilled wish, indirectly helping Gu Sang.
Gu Sang felt she owed Consort Li far too much.
The only thing she could do for Consort Li now was to make Pei Changying kneel and apologize at her grave, hoping it would bring a smile to Consort Li in the afterlife.
This was the only thing Gu Sang could do for Consort Li.
"Alright!" she agreed.
"Gu Qingrou, I must warn you, Pei Changying is cruel and unpredictable. If he finds out you've come to replace me, you know what the consequences will be."
Although Gu Sang agreed readily, she couldn't help but warn Gu Qingrou.
Gu Qingrou's expression remained determined, her eyes carrying a tragic smile.
She tilted her head back, forcing back her tears: "I believe he won't kill me."
"I've always believed that he still has a place for me in his heart, that those vows we once made were sincere."
"Even if he gets angry and kills me, I'll accept it willingly."
"I've dedicated my life to him. If he no longer loves me, how am I any different from being dead?"
"I'd rather die by his hand."
Hearing Gu Qingrou's words, Gu Sang was at a loss for words.
It was confirmed – severe love-sickness, beyond cure!
Since Gu Qingrou had already anticipated the outcome, Gu Sang said no more. She looked deeply at Gu Qingrou and said:
"Very well, I hope things turn out as you wish, and that Pei Changying shows you mercy."
Time was of the essence. Gu Sang and Gu Qingrou quickly exchanged clothes. After leaving Xuyang Palace, palace servants bribed by Madam Li were waiting to assist them.
With Madam Li's financial arrangements and the Prime Minister's secret protection, Gu Sang finally managed to leave the palace safely.
A carriage was waiting on a street just one block away from the palace.
After Gu Sang boarded the carriage, the driver immediately set off towards the city gate.
Looking at the woman before her, dressed in plain clothes, her once plump face now gaunt from the sudden turn of events, Gu Sang felt a pang in her heart.
Gu Sang opened her mouth, her voice hoarse: "Thank you."
Madam Li's dim eyes looked towards Gu Sang, the faintest smile on her lips.
"No need to thank me. I'm just completing what my daughter couldn't finish."
"I hope this will allow her to rest in peace."
Gu Sang shook her head: "Madam Li, when I arrived, Consort Li was already deeply poisoned. I couldn't save her."
"She told me she hated Pei Changying."
"She hoped to see Pei Changying lose everything."
"I think her last wish will be fulfilled tomorrow."
"Madam Li, could you tell me where Consort Li is buried? I promised her on her deathbed that I would make Pei Changying kneel and apologize at her grave."
Madam Li's body trembled, tears falling like broken strings of pearls.
"She was always so submissive and never fought back since she was little. I had no idea she harbored such hatred for the Emperor."
"She must have been tormented day and night, countless times wishing for death to escape, to want to see the Emperor fall even in her dying moments."
"I'm a failure as a mother. I had no idea what kind of life she was living in the palace."
"Miss Gu, is there anything else I can help with?"
"As long as it's my daughter's last wish, I'll do everything in my power to fulfill it."
"It's the only thing I can do for her now."
Gu Sang instinctively reached for her pocket to get a tissue, but suddenly remembered she didn't have any with her.
She could only offer words of comfort:
"Madam Li, now is not the time for tears."
"I need to hurry to where the army is stationed to arrange everything."
"Please go to the Prime Minister's Mansion and request a private audience with him. When you see him, let him know I'm safe."
Madam Li took out her own handkerchief to wipe her tears. She looked at Gu Sang in surprise.
Then, she turned her gaze towards the palace: "You even managed to convince the Prime Minister?"
"Heh... It seems Pei Changying's fate is truly sealed."
