She, ah, cannot return anymore...
Cannot return anymore...
These words were like a spell that ignited Pei Changying's fury.
He suddenly changed his expression, slapped Consort Zhao to the ground, grabbed her hair, and viciously stomped on her chest with his foot.
"You vile woman! It seems I have been too lenient with you!"
"Gu Sang is in my heart, she is just venting her anger at me. I say she will come back, and she will definitely come back."
"Ah—"
Immediately after.
From the depths of the Palace of Exile, Consort Zhao's incessant, piercing screams echoed.
Each one was shrill, each one heart-wrenching.
The consorts residing nearby were terrified, their hearts pounding in fear upon hearing these horrific cries.
Fortunately, Pei Changying still had a shred of rationality left, knowing that he could not kill Consort Zhao yet! First, because he could not go too far and turn the populace against him, and second, because he wanted to threaten Gu Sang into returning.
"Summon the imperial physician, treat her well!"
"I want her to beg for life but be unable to die, and to beg for death but be unable to!"
Pei Changying coldly glared at the wounded Consort Zhao, gave his orders, and left the Palace of Exile without looking back.
The imperial physician arrived swiftly and departed just as quickly, leaving the Palace of Exile in disarray, with blood stains from Consort Zhao still on the ground.
The moonlight streamed through the windows, eerily illuminating the cold palace, as if one had stumbled upon a murder scene.
Gu Sang waited until deep into the night before initiating a connection with Consort Zhao.
The next second, her worried eyes were met with a horrifying sight!
The room was unlit, with only the faint moonlight filtering in, revealing Consort Zhao half-lying on the bed, her once radiant and unrestrained face now ravaged beyond recognition.
Gu Sang's heart shook violently, and her voice trembled as she said, "Consort Zhao?"
"Pei Changying is truly a beast!"
"He has certainly not disappointed me in his cruelty and heartlessness. Don't be afraid, I will rescue you from here."
Hearing the commotion, Consort Zhao weakly opened her eyes and looked towards the woman reflected on the screen.
Clean, radiant, free - qualities she envied.
When Consort Zhao spoke, she coughed up blood, "Sister Sang, you've come."
"I'm not afraid, I'm very happy, truly. Don't look at me with pity, I am actually very great, am I not?"
The once delicate and fragile Consort Zhao, who had only known to regard men as heaven, had been reduced to this state, yet she did not cry out for Gu Sang to rescue her.
Instead.
She felt she was great.
She no longer needed anyone's pity.
The more Gu Sang saw Consort Zhao's strong and joyful demeanor, the more heartbroken she became. "Good, I won't look at you that way, for you are the hero who saved the lives of an entire city's populace."
"I have already contacted the Elder Princess, she is arranging for you to escape the palace. In a few days, assassins will help you flee from here!"
"Isn't freedom what you've wanted the most?"
"Hold on for a few more days, endure this once, and you will never again have to live by the whims of men."
"Once you leave the imperial palace, the Elder Princess will arrange a new identity for you. Then, you can find the young man you love and live a good life."
The young man she loves...
These few words made Consort Zhao's eyes daze for a few seconds.
She lowered her eyelashes, her body slightly trembling as she let out a soft laugh, as if tears were escaping from her eyes, but there was no one left to wipe them for her.
"I can no longer wait for the young man I love."
"Sister Sang, I can't wait for him anymore..."
"My heart aches so much, you tell me, for a cowardly person like me, who did not even dare to defy my father's command and elope with him from the capital back then."
"Now, now that I have done such a great deed, he would definitely be proud of me, wouldn't he?"
Yes.
Her beloved, who loved her so much that he was willing to sacrifice his life for her, would naturally feel proud of her.
Consort Zhao held back her tears and looked up at Gu Sang.
At this moment!
Gu Sang saw in her eyes a courage and resilience that few could match.
She forced a bitter smile, her voice feeble yet brimming with unwavering resolve, "Sister Sang, I don't want to leave anymore, let it be this way."
"I have fled so many times, this time, I don't want to flee anymore."
"If I leave, the Emperor will only take it out on my clansmen, and vent his rage upon you and the Elder Princess. I don't want to be a burden."
Gu Sang quickly shook her head, "No, you are not a burden!"
"Do you know what fate awaits you if you remain in the imperial palace? Pei Changying will beat you to death! Listen to me, escape! I will protect your family."
Consort Zhao gazed at the panic and urgency in Gu Sang's eyes.
Suddenly, she felt even less inclined to leave.
Now.
The people of the imperial city were discussing how Pei Changying had beaten her and exiled her to the Palace of Exile. Some were calling her wronged, some believed she was unchaste, and the vast majority of public opinion had been suppressed, leaving only suspicion.
If she were to flee at this moment.
Pei Changying would brand her as unchaste and disgraced, and might even turn his arrows towards the Elder Princess, using this to quell the people's doubts.
"Sister Sang, I am prepared."
"You and the Elder Princess are people who need to accomplish great deeds. The Emperor has already lost the hearts of the hundreds of thousands of people in the plague-stricken city. Rumors are spreading outside, and at this critical juncture, whether for my family or for the future, I cannot flee."
"I must die an unjust death here."
"The supreme ruler, the Emperor himself, kills the consort who saved an entire city's populace. This way, it will solidify that he disregards the lives of his people, won't it?"
As she spoke, Consort Zhao smiled.
Gu Sang saw the resolve to face death in her expression, and the great righteousness beneath her smile.
Consort Zhao utterly hated this era!
She utterly hated Pei Changying's cold-blooded cruelty!
Before Gu Sang could persuade her further, a glimmer of light shone in Consort Zhao's dark eyes, and she said, "Don't try to save me, you should be rejoicing for me. I have been a coward my whole life, but finally, I get to do something great."
"Sister Sang, sacrificing me will further the greater cause. Let me be the final straw that breaks the officials' faith."
"Don't persuade me anymore, okay?"
"If my beloved knew, he would be proud of me, and you should be too! Respect my choice, I am not afraid at all, I am truly happy, I am really happy."
Gu Sang stared at the woman before her, her eyes reddening.
She knew that she could not persuade Consort Zhao anymore.
The era of gender equality would not come overnight, it required one woman after another to make sacrifices, shed blood, and even give their lives.
Consort Zhao wanted to sacrifice her own life to pin Pei Changying's shame of disregarding the lives of the common people! To make those ministers completely lose heart towards Pei Changying!
Because if she escaped with the rebel soldiers, Pei Changying would have a legitimate excuse to whitewash himself, and he would use this as a pretext to hunt down the Elder Princess.
"Very well, if this is your decision, I admire you for it. I respect you. But if you wish to leave the palace, come find me anytime." Gu Sang dared not look into Consort Zhao's eyes again, for he saw the determination to die in them.
The woman who once racked her brains every day to vie for the Emperor's favor;
The woman who would call for the imperial physician at the slightest scratch;
The woman who meticulously adorned herself solely for the bedchamber:
Now, she did not even fear death.
It was not long after Gu Sang closed the direct line with a heavy heart that
The system's prompt tone rang out again.
*Ding!*
"Please prepare, Host. The connection is restarting!"
Suddenly,
A heroic face was reflected in Gu Sang's eyes.
The man, clad in brocaded robes, seemed to be scrutinizing the screen before him.
Then, this face gradually retreated, revealing Zhou Qichen with a look of curiosity.
He gazed at Gu Sang excitedly, his face full of joy and excitement: "Sang Sang... It really is you. Now that I see you are safe and sound, I am at ease."
Gu Sang restrained his emotions, his voice calm: "Brother Qichen, long time no see."
