Angry cries gradually arose from the crowd, demanding the imperial court provide an explanation.
Pei Changying stood grimly on the high city wall.
He watched the increasingly unruly citizens, hearing their ignorant and selfish insults word by word, the veins on the back of his hand protruding as he trembled with rage.
Meanwhile, Gu Sang, who had witnessed Consort Zhao's leap from the city walls, felt her throat go dry, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face.
Consort Zhao.
You succeeded.
We succeeded too.
But why does my chest ache so much?
"Sang Sang, what happened? Tell me, don't scare me." Lu Mufei turned to see Gu Sang's face suddenly streaked with tears.
He could not hear Gu Sang's conversation with the ancients, as the system automatically blocked outsiders' sight and hearing.
So Lu Mufei had no idea what Gu Sang had experienced.
He crouched beside her in confusion and alarm, gazing at her carefully.
"I'm fine, I'm just too moved."
"The butterfly that was once caged for the emperor's amusement."
"Has now transformed...burned its life away, dazzling for a moment, filling me with pride." Gu Sang had the system turn off the live broadcast, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and forced a strained smile.
The people's hearts were in turmoil.
The citizens were crying out in grievance.
For now, Pei Changying would not send troops to attack the Elder Princess again.
As time passed, the imperial court would wait for the storm to settle, then find a reasonable excuse to pacify the people's hearts, but the shattered cup could never be made whole again.
Consort Zhao's death was like a stone dropped into a lake.
At first, it would cause a hundred-foot splash, earth-shattering.
But soon, it would sink to the bottom, unable to even create a ripple.
Though small, this stone would become an immovable, inextricable foundation, and in the future, countless sacrificial stones would fill the entire lake!
*Ding!*
"Consort Zhao sacrificed her life righteously, earning 810,000+ merit points, awakening over one million people."
"Special condition unlocked! According to the Host's wish, 100,000 merit points can be deducted to grant Consort Zhao a chance at reincarnation in a future life. Deduct merit points?"
In other words...
She could be reborn in the future world she had longed for?
As soon as Gu Sang spoke, her throat felt parched: "Deduct!"
The moment those words fell.
Gu Sang felt something invisible, intangible yet perceptible, disappear from her being.
Perhaps it was that unseen, untouchable merit.
"Sister Sang, don't cry."
Consort Zhao's gentle voice suddenly rang out.
Gu Sang looked up to see a virtual screen reflected before her, the connection line having opened at some point.
At the city walls.
Consort Zhao still wore that magnificent outfit, lightly suspended in the air above the ramparts, her slender, semi-transparent figure like a butterfly about to take flight.
She reached out a hand, wanting to caress Gu Sang's brow and eyes, to keep her from grieving over her death.
Her fingers passed through the screen as she smiled and said, "Sister Sang, when you were confined in the inner palace, you once said something that I remembered for a long time."
"You said that if your life was destined to be confined in the inner palace, vying for a man's favor, then you would be a mere walking corpse, no different from death. At the time, I didn't understand why you yearned for freedom so deeply."
"But now, I understand."
"I've seen freedom, seen the world of equality you spoke of, seen the vast rivers and mountains, the hazy white clouds, the towering skyscrapers. I no longer wish to spend this life fretting over a man."
"Two thousand years later, gender equality is no mere empty dream, but surely the result of sacrifices by generations of women."
"If my death can awaken these people, even if it only plants a single seed, then it is enough! I have no regrets, no fears!"
Hearing this, Gu Sang's tears welled up once more, uncontrollable.
Gu Sang forced a smile, gazing up at the sky.
How many withered bones must line the long river of history to achieve such prosperity?
In times of war, men charged into battle to protect their homes and nations, while women unhesitatingly sacrificed their lives for peace, to heal the wounded, to rise up and defend their country!
No one is born great.
It was they who made this world greater, cutting a bloody path for those who followed.
"Yes, our prosperity was built upon a foundation of life upon life."
"Consort Zhao, the you who once only saw the emperor's favor has changed, changed in a way that makes me proud of you. Your beloved would be proud too."
"And..."
Gu Sang gazed at Consort Zhao earnestly. "If you were given a chance to reincarnate in the future world, would you want that?"
"I would! I would!"
"Sister Sang, I want to, but can someone like me really go to the future world?"
Gu Sang gave her an affirmative answer: "Of course."
"Thank you, Sister Sang, I'm so happy! With gender equality, I'll never again have to depend on a man's favor to survive. I can rely on myself!"
"Can I stay a little longer before I go? I want to see my family one last time before I leave."
Consort Zhao gazed at Gu Sang eagerly, her eyes filled with hope and light.
She would finally, finally go to that wonderful world, even if she was born into an ordinary family. She would be content!
She would rely on her own hands to support herself!
After receiving the system's reply, Gu Sang nodded in agreement.
It wasn't until the connection closed that Consort Zhao looked down from the city walls at the citizens stirred into unrest by her death.
And at the emperor, whose face had darkened when the outcome slipped from his control.
"Consort Zhao, you wretched woman!"
"How dare you defy me again and again, daring to speak such seditious words before the entire city? I shall have you torn apart by five horses!"
Pei Changying glared viciously at the mangled corpse.
Not a shred of pity filled his heart, only malice.
He turned and ordered the cowering soldiers, "Take Consort Zhao's corpse back. I will not let her find peace even in death!"
"I shall place her body beneath a Buddha statue every day, never allowing her to be reborn!"
"And you, you vile woman, if not for your incorrect message that led to Consort Zhao's... I could kill you now to vent my rage!" *Slap!*
The sound of a heavy slap rang out.
Consort Li, struck with all of Pei Changying's force, fell to the ground, her expression blank as she cradled her reddened, swollen cheek, everything going dark before her eyes.
Indeed.
If it weren't for the wavering of the people's hearts and the commoners' cries of injustice, perhaps Consort Li would have already been ordered by Pei Changying to be beaten to death?
A woman who could only rely on her husband, would she ultimately not meet a good end?
Gu Sang, who had supported him in ascending to the throne, died a tragic death in the deep palace, while Consort Zhao, who obeyed her every word, threw herself down from the city walls!
Suddenly!
A thought that she could not suppress flashed through Consort Li's mind, and she suddenly felt unwilling to be confined in the deep palace, wasting her life away...
