"Ah... glug glug... Help... glug... life... glug..."

Lan Jieyu struggled desperately in the water, unable to utter a complete cry for help.

The people on the shore were completely terrified. No one could have imagined that Gu Jiangli would be so audacious as to do such an inhumane thing in front of His Majesty!

Eunuch Liu was the first to recover from his shock. "What are you all standing there for! Save them!"

As soon as he spoke, several eunuchs rushed from behind the sedan chair to the edge of the pond.

"Thump," "thump," they rushed towards Lan Huier like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

Gu Jiangli knelt to the side, finally feeling relieved of his pent-up emotions.

She knelt down and wrung out the water from her skirt with her hands.

Lotus was so startled that her jaw almost dropped to the ground.

"My lord...you..."

Why does my lady look completely different after she comes out of the water?

If this had happened before, he might have swallowed his anger in silence, and there would have been no way he would have taken revenge in front of the emperor!

This is absolutely suicidal!

When did you become so vengeful?

Gu Jiangli gave her a reassuring smile, "Lotus, it's alright, it's not a big problem."

The scene became somewhat chaotic for a moment.

Eunuch Liu directed the young eunuchs to rescue the people from a distance.

The sounds of splashing water and intermittent cries for help came from the pool.

The emperor watched all of this with indifference.

Finally, their gaze fell on Gu Jiangli.

"Gu Jieyu..." His voice was very clear, as if he were talking to himself, but Gu Jiangli still heard it.

"Your Majesty, I am here."

"What's your name?"

Gu Jiangli met his eyes and said:

"Your Majesty, I am Gu Jiangli, and I currently reside in the Delan Palace."

“Gu Jiangli…” He repeated her name again, as if talking to himself, and then said, “You are very bold.”

"Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty. It's not that I'm brave; I just felt that since I was going to be whipped anyway and couldn't avoid being confined, I might as well vent my anger first."

"Oh? You think so?"

"Isn't that so? Your Majesty, you've forgotten that this is the rule you set: when two concubines fight, no matter who harms whom, both will be punished. In other words, even if I didn't push Consort Lan into the water today, if I fought with her, we should both be punished."

Gu Jiangli spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly, a satisfied smile on his lips, "Since that's the case, punishment is unavoidable, so let Lan Jieyu also taste the bitter cold."

"Heh..." The emperor chuckled softly, the smile on his pale face revealing a bewitching, ghostly quality.

But Gu Jiangli noticed that the smile didn't reach the emperor's eyes; his eyes remained cold and indifferent.

"Gu Jiangli, have you always been so vindictive?"

"Your Majesty, I do not like to be wronged."

"If, as you say, you were tricked into falling into the water by Consort Lan today, yet I still punish you with whipping and confinement, wouldn't you also be wronged by me?"

“Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven. Any ‘grievance’ suffered under your command is not called a ‘grievance’,” Gu Jiangli said solemnly. “It is called an ‘injustice’.”

In other words, if the emperor were to confine her to her quarters and whip her today because of the palace's rule of "giving each side equal punishment," then she would be truly wronged!

The palace maids and eunuchs nearby couldn't help but gasp.

They had served in the palace for many years, and this was the first time they had ever encountered someone speaking to the emperor like that.

Isn't this Gu Jieyu rumored to be the most melancholy, the least eloquent, and the least competitive?

Why do you look like this today?

Rumors are indeed unreliable!

Everyone lowered their heads timidly, not daring to look at the emperor's face.

Gu Jiangli stood out from the crowd, boldly exchanging a silent glance with the emperor.

She looked at the emperor's face, watching his expression intently, not wanting to miss the slightest change in his expression.

She has always liked to judge a person's mood by their facial expressions.

But she couldn't tell whether the emperor was angry or not.

The only thing that could be seen through was the faint sadness emanating from the emperor.

But he was clearly sitting in a palanquin of superior status, clearly enjoying the supreme throne, so where did this sorrow come from?

For a moment, she even wondered if she had seen wrong.

The emperor did not look away.

It was unclear how much time had passed, but the quiet atmosphere finally became lively when Consort Lan was rescued from the water and began to complain to the emperor.

But the emperor no longer wanted to get involved.

He glanced at Lan Jieyu to make sure she was still alive, then called out, "Liu Feng, let's go."

Liu Gonggong glanced at the emperor, then at Gu Jiangli and Lan Huier, who was clamoring for justice, and asked, "Your Majesty, how should this servant handle this matter?"

The emperor closed his eyes, rubbing his forehead. "If they want to be punished, let them go to the Censorate. I'm leaving."

“...Yes.” Eunuch Liu was surprised, but said nothing more.

With a wave of his hand, the sedan chair headed in another direction, leaving only Gu Jiangli and the others with its back turned.

Lan Hui'er coughed and called out to the emperor, but the emperor didn't even turn his head.

She turned her head and blamed all the mistakes on Gu Jiangli.

"You lunatic! You dare push me? You just wait!"

"What are you waiting for? Before Consort Lan deals with me, let's go to the Department of Cautious Punishment and get the whipping punishment first."

Lan Huier's ferocious expression changed drastically. "What...what kind of whipping?"

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!