The emperor stood ten steps away from the Guangming Hall, but did not approach it.
Some palace servants stood by the door, but even though they saw the emperor covered in snow, none of them dared to step forward to hold an umbrella for him.
Suddenly, a woman stood behind him with an umbrella in her hand, without saying a word, just standing there quietly.
The emperor felt a shadow fall upon him, and when he turned around, he saw a familiar face.
He glanced at the woman briefly before immediately looking away.
"Go back, I don't need an umbrella."
"Your Majesty, I know that when you see Consort Gu now, you will think of that deceased child, but it is meaningless for you to torture yourself like this."
"Why don't you come to my place and have a bowl of ginger soup to warm yourself up?"
“If you fall ill, Consort Gu will be heartbroken for you. She just had a miscarriage, and if she cries too much, it will be bad for her health.”
The emperor curled his lips into a self-deprecating smile, "Would she also grieve for me?"
The woman paused in her umbrella-holding hand, then said, "Your Majesty, what are you saying? You are the Emperor. If you are unwell, everyone in the world should be sad for you, and Consort Gu is no exception."
The emperor turned his head and looked at that gentle, dignified face with its lowered eyebrows.
"Hasn't the Empress always disliked me resting in your palace? What's wrong today?"
The empress smiled, but in the emperor's eyes, the smile seemed somewhat forced.
"I never imagined that Your Majesty would misunderstand me like this all along. I have never been unwilling to let Your Majesty come to me, it's just that I have been unwell and unable to serve you in bed."
"So, the Empress is now healthy and available to serve you in bed?" The Emperor's voice was as cold as ever, revealing neither joy nor anger.
The Empress said gently, "Your Majesty should not be troubled by worries. Come and have some hot tea with me."
The emperor lowered his eyes and stared at her for a long time without saying a word.
Then he looked at Guangming Hall, and the sorrowful expression finally disappeared.
He moved his feet and walked in another direction from Guangming Hall.
The empress followed behind him, wanting to hold an umbrella for him, but found that the emperor was walking very fast and had no intention of getting close to her.
Her fist, hidden beneath her sleeve, gradually clenched. A gentle smile graced her face as she followed the emperor with small steps.
————
"My lady, it's late. You're not feeling well, so please rest."
Lotus Flower changed the lamp inside the hall.
Since His Majesty left, the young lady has been sitting on the bed, secretly grieving, and has not recovered even after so long.
Gu Jiangli sighed and asked, "What time is it now?"
Lotus replied, "My lady, it's already midnight. It's time to rest."
Gu Jiangli lowered his eyes and sighed.
"It's past midnight, and he still hasn't come back."
This was the first night after she entered Guangming Palace that the emperor did not come.
If they don't come to Guangming Palace, then they'll go to another concubine's palace.
It's clear he was truly heartbroken.
"Your Highness, please rest. His Majesty... has gone to see the Empress."
Gu Jiangli remained expressionless.
So it was the Empress.
Women who seem unassuming and unassuming can be surprisingly assertive when they do fight for something.
Hearing Gu Jiangli sigh again, almost imperceptibly, Lotus comforted him:
"My lady, this child came at an inopportune time. If you want to use it for revenge, there's nothing you can do about it. So please don't be sad."
"Given His Majesty's love for you, you will soon be able to have another child."
"Before that, you must take good care of your health and not be so upset."
Lotus looked worried and tried to comfort Gu Jiangli.
She knew about the plan from beginning to end. Although she felt it was somewhat risky, the mistress said that only this method could bring Zhang Yiniang and Gu Cairen to their due punishment.
Therefore, she obeyed all the orders given to her by the mistress and completed them one by one.
Now that the great revenge has finally been achieved, my lady should be thinking about what comes next.
“I’m not sad for the child,” Gu Jiangli said.
In everyone's eyes, she had lost a child.
But only she knew that the child was fake from the very beginning, that it didn't exist.
She wasn't sad about the child that didn't exist.
She was a worried emperor.
Seeing that she still looked worried, Lotus guessed that she was thinking of His Majesty, so she advised her again:
"His Majesty certainly didn't refuse to see you. He walked around the palace all day in the snow and didn't let anyone follow him. It must be that the loss of this child is a great loss to His Majesty."
"It is precisely because His Majesty loves you and this child that he is in such pain."
"He's not going back to Guangming Palace, probably because he's still heartbroken. Please don't take it to heart."
Gu Jiangli shook his head sadly.
The lotus flower had no idea why this was happening.
The emperor had already seen through her scheme. Even though she used her unborn child as a tool for revenge, the emperor did not expose her on the spot. Instead, he dealt with her enemies one by one according to her plan.
She didn't dare to think about what he was thinking as he accompanied her through this scene.
She could empathize with the emperor's initial feelings and anticipation for this child.
The icy cold of the snow could not compare to even a fraction of the pain in his heart.
Gu Jiangli shrank into the bed, his back to the lotus flowers, and asked:
"Lotus, if someone very important to you uses methods that harm what is most important to you to achieve their own goals, would you still forgive them after you find out?"
Lotus lowered her head and thought for a moment, "If it's for Your Highness, I will forgive you."
Gu Jiangli frowned. "Why? If I hurt what's most important to you, just to achieve my selfish goals, you'll forgive me?"
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