Amid the exclamations of the ancients and the moderns, this dance performance came to a magnificent close.
"Clap! Clap! Clap!"
Thunderous applause filled the hall, the ovation never-ending.
"In my opinion, this dance is unbearable to the ear, and it is no better than that of barbarians. How can a man dance with a woman? It is simply undignified!" Pei Changying gritted his teeth as he spoke. He had noticed that there were too many men around Gu Sang.
He didn't know whether Gu Sang was too easily captivated, or if she had actively sought their attention.
Regardless, each time he watched the live stream, his sense of unease increased.
He could only continually provoke and mock Gu Sang in order to make her remember him.
Only in this way could he always hold onto Gu Sang!
In comparison, Gu's father and mother were extremely excited. They had prepared themselves for Gu Sang to embarrass herself by falling.
Yet they never imagined that Gu Sang's performance tonight would be so astounding.
They had just been about to go over and speak with Gu Sang...
A figure appeared, moving faster than they did: "You danced wonderfully. I noticed you when you were playing the guqin earlier. May I ask which family's young miss you are?"
"This is my son. You two have already danced together, so you can exchange WeChat contacts."
Gu's mother's face bore a strange expression.
This Lady Li had looked down on her before, as she had married into a wealthy Beijing family and moved to Jianghai City.
Now, seeing Lady Li lavishly praising Gu Sang and wanting to introduce her to her son, Gu's mother felt immensely proud.
She thought, if Lady Li knew that Gu Sang was her own daughter, the reaction would surely be quite comical.
Although Gu Sang refused to exchange contact information, Lady Li continued to speak to her warmly, seeming very satisfied with Gu Sang and eager for her son to take Gu Sang as his wife.
"Lady Li, this is my eldest daughter, Gu Sang. You must have seen her before."
Gu's mother deliberately wanted to embarrass Lady Li. After all, when Gu Sang was first brought back home, Lady Li had privately mocked her as being 'country bumpkin' during the welcoming banquet.
Gu's mother had harbored resentment over this for years.
And now, the grudge had been settled!
Haha, how satisfying!
Seeing Lady Li's smile instantly freeze, and then her awkward response, "This, this is Gu Sang? She has undergone such a transformation, I truly didn't recognize her. She has become so refined now."
"Hmm... it seems Madam Gu has put in a lot of effort these past few years."
After a brief exchange, Lady Li left with her son.
Having regained face at Lady Li's expense, Gu's mother looked at Gu Sang with increasing satisfaction.
Her voice even grew softer: "Sang, you performed wonderfully today, bringing great honor to your father and me."
"How are you feeling about the matter of returning home?"
"If you truly dislike following those rules, your father and I can discuss allowing you to pursue something you enjoy instead."
Gu Sang's response remained cold: "I stand by what I said before. I'm an adult now, and have the right to choose my own path. I appreciate your good intentions, but I don't need them."
With that, she left the banquet hall with Lu Mufly.
Gu's father watched their retreating figures, feeling quite unsettled.
He sighed, "Well, let her be. In time, she'll realize how much a wealthy family can help her in life."
"When she left home, she had nothing. Her living situation is probably quite tight. You should take the opportunity to give her some money, so she doesn't have to worry about tuition."
Gu Sang did not care about her parents' thoughts and actions.
Her current goal was simply to get her grandmother back home!
Everything else was inconsequential.
-
After leaving the banquet hall, Gu Sang closed the live stream.
She had added Tao's WeChat today, and after politely greeting him, Gu Sang lay back on her bed, staring at the ceiling.
She wondered how the Elder Princess was faring...
Since she couldn't travel to the ancient era, she had no way to personally dethrone Pei Changying. She could only try to gradually change the mindsets of the ancients.
Just then—
The system made a sound, initiating a video call: "Connection established, shall I proceed?"
Gu Sang quickly sat up, her heart pounding. She spoke in a solemn tone, "Connect immediately."
The words fell.
A projection screen instantly appeared in the room.
Gu Sang looked at the crimson figure on the other side of the screen, its innate aura and majesty. Just by sitting there, it made one's heart tremble.
It was her!
It was the Elder Princess connecting!
Gu Sang stared fixedly at the ravishingly beautiful face, and smiled: "Long time no see, Elder Princess."
The woman on the other side, who appeared to be around twenty years old, had a powerful yet serene gaze.
She first surveyed Gu Sang's surroundings, then replied, "Congratulations, it seems you are doing well now."
"When Consort Zhao first told me, I was skeptical. But it appears her words were true."
"Gu Sang, are you truly from the prosperous world two thousand years in the future?"
Gu Sang nodded sincerely, "Yes."
"There are rumors that you do not love Pei Changying, and that you only used him to return to your own time period?"
At the mention of that name, a chill entered Gu Sang's eyes. "I've never loved him. Men only ever love themselves."
"I schemed to win the position of Empress, as that was the task I had set out to accomplish. Pei Changying promised me that if I helped him ascend the throne, he would make me his Empress for life. But once his goal was achieved, the first thing he wanted to do was get rid of me!"
"If not for his betrayal... never mind, it's already happened. I should have known he was that kind of person."
Hearing Gu Sang's deep disappointment and hatred towards Pei Changying, the Elder Princess suddenly laughed out loud.
"I told you that a love-struck fool would lead to ruin. But you managed to deceive everyone."
"Gu Sang, you've truly fooled them all."
Before this video call, the Elder Princess had held complex feelings towards Gu Sang.
She had long seen through Pei Changying's selfish and self-serving nature, but he had skillfully deceived even the Emperor and Empress.
If not for Gu Sang's strategic planning and step-by-step maneuvering, guiding Pei Changying through the power struggle against the other princes, how could he have secured the throne?
The Elder Princess had always felt that Gu Sang was intelligent, but unfortunately, she was just another love-struck fool.
So when she learned of Gu Sang's demise in the Cold Palace, she felt no pity, only that the foolish woman got what she deserved - betrayed by a man.
The Elder Princess greatly despised women who sacrificed everything for the sake of a man.
But now...
After her laughter subsided, the Elder Princess straightened up gracefully and majestically, asking, "Alright, let's not talk about that useless Pei Changying anymore."
"The world that could produce a woman like you must be extraordinary. Tell me more about the world two thousand years in the future..."
