Gu Jiangli was walking to the entrance of the Cold Palace when she heard Gu Jiangru say those words, which surprised her.
What was unexpected was not Gu Jiangru's confession, but the words spoken by the Empress.
It sounds more like the Empress is using Gu Jiangru's mother's corpse to threaten Gu Jiangru into confessing.
If the false imperial edict was indeed made by Gu Jiangru, why would the Empress go to the trouble of threatening her to confess?
Is it simply a matter of wanting to obtain useful confessions quickly and close the case as soon as possible?
Gu Jiangli subconsciously felt that it wasn't that simple.
She took two steps forward, just as the Empress came out of the room.
The Empress wore a heavy fox fur cloak, which contrasted sharply with Gu Jiangru behind her, who was wearing only a thin undergarment.
The Empress was not surprised at all when she saw her. "Consort Gu has arrived. It seems that you have recovered your health."
"You've come at just the right time. Consort Gu has refused to confess for so many days, but today she finally relented and told the truth about how she caused your mother's suicide."
"Please rest assured, Consort Gu, she has falsely conveyed the imperial edict and will surely be punished with death."
"Given His Majesty's temperament, he will likely sentence her to death by hanging. However, out of consideration for Consort Gu, I will plead with His Majesty to show leniency and spare her life."
The Empress glanced meaningfully behind her and then said:
"However, I had the imperial physician examine Consort Gu's pulse. She has been exposed to the cold for many days without anyone to take care of her. The cold has entered her body. Given Consort Gu's current condition, she probably only has two days left."
"I know that Consort Gu is kind-hearted and that her younger sister doesn't have much time left. She probably has some things she wants to say. Consort Gu, you should go and see her first. I won't disturb you sisters' reunion."
The empress remained calm and composed, showing no sign of guilt whatsoever, and appeared to have a clear conscience.
Gu Jiangli also showed gratitude to the Empress, "Thank you, Your Majesty. I just heard Consort Gu confess her guilt. It is thanks to Your Majesty's wisdom that we were able to obtain Consort Gu's confession so quickly."
The Empress chuckled, seemingly oblivious to the sarcasm in Gu Jiangli's words, and said:
"I don't possess much wisdom; I was merely trying to get His Majesty the answer he wanted. Besides..."
She took a step forward, leaned close to Gu Jiangli's ear, and whispered with a smile, "Isn't this the answer that Consort Gu wanted?"
"Your Majesty is right. I do want an answer, but I want an accurate answer, not an answer that is artificially created."
The Empress straightened her back, dignified and generous: "In any case, it is a good thing that Consort Gu has confessed her crime. I will not reminisce with Consort Gu any longer. I still need to inform His Majesty about this matter. Consort Gu, please do as you see fit."
Gu Jiangli's expression turned cold.
Watching the Empress's departing figure, she had a feeling that the Empress's hostility towards her had increased.
In this harem, the Empress was the person she understood the least.
She never seemed to participate in the competition for the emperor's favor, because she always claimed to be ill and refused to see either the concubines in the harem or the emperor.
After learning he was pregnant, he only gave her a token gift and did nothing else.
After her miscarriage and subsequent demotion, Gu Jiangru's illness suddenly improved, and she began to see the emperor more often.
But if you say that everything she's doing now is to win favor, Gu Jiangli doesn't think it's quite right.
She couldn't explain why, but it was just her intuition that the Empress didn't like the Emperor.
Gu Jiangli pondered for a moment with a cold face, but still decided to go see Gu Jiangru one last time.
Stepping into the room, there was no charcoal fire, and a cold wind was blowing in through the broken windows.
Even though she was wearing a thick cloak and holding a hand warmer, she still felt a bit chilly, let alone Gu Jiangru, who was wearing only thin clothes.
Her face was already purple from the cold, and she huddled in the corner of the table, shivering uncontrollably.
Even after seeing Gu Jiangli, her eyes still held resentment.
"You're satisfied...you've won..."
Gu Jiangli looked down at her, her figure blocking the sunlight and casting a shadow on Gu Jiangru's face.
"Seeing you in such a miserable state makes me feel quite relieved. This is the price you pay for using schemes and tricks to harm people."
Gu Jiangru's teeth chattered from the cold, but she still sneered: "I harm people? So what? In the harem, who doesn't scheme? Who doesn't harm others? Whose hands are completely clean?"
"I'm just using methods to get what I want, what's wrong with that?"
"You think you're so high and mighty, yet you still resort to underhanded tactics to harm me and my aunt! How are you any more noble than me?"
Gu Jiangru's body was extremely weak, and she had to take several deep breaths to say a single sentence. Even so, her hatred for Gu Jiangli did not diminish in the slightest.
Gu Jiangli sneered, "This is reaping what you sowed. You're the one who harmed my mother, so naturally you should go and join her. But there's one thing I don't understand, Gu Jiangru..."
She crouched down to meet Gu Jiangru's gaze, who was huddled in the corner of the table, and asked:
“If you want to win favor, you should target me. Why are you targeting my mother?”
"She has always treated you well since you were little. In terms of food, clothing, and daily necessities, she has never been stingy with you. Now that you have entered the palace as a concubine, she should still address you respectfully as 'Consort Gu'..."
"You already have enough. I really don't know what else you're not satisfied with?"
Gu Jiangli remembered that before she entered the original owner's body, the emperor's favorite in the harem was Gu Jiangru.
In her memory, when they were in Gujia, her mother never treated her badly because she was born out of wedlock.
She would always prepare a copy of anything she had for Gu Jiangru, never showing favoritism.
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