The emperor's voice was gentle, and even in his questioning tone, she could not detect any threat.
He was genuinely asking her questions; he genuinely wanted to understand what she was thinking.
After Gu Jiangli realized this, she changed her mindset.
She likes to exchange sincerity for sincerity.
"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager is your birth mother. If I can threaten her with the hidden techniques in my words, that would be my skill."
"But if I were to tell you and the Empress Dowager directly that I was using a 'retreat to advance' tactic to scheme against her, wouldn't that be courting death?"
"Although I am brave, I am not so reckless as to disregard my own life."
"Since you asked that, I can only say it's from the bottom of my heart, otherwise wouldn't I be offending the Empress Dowager terribly?"
The emperor lowered his eyes and said calmly, "So even someone as audacious as you is afraid of death."
"Of course, Your Majesty, are you not afraid?"
Gu Jiangli asked the question naturally, but received no answer from the emperor.
She was suddenly startled.
Then it dawned on him that the emperor didn't have many years left to live, so how could he not be afraid of death?
"Your Majesty, I misspoke..."
"It's alright."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
The emperor stared at her for a long time, his burning gaze seemingly trying to see through her outward appearance to reveal what lay hidden beneath. Such scrutinizing eyes made it impossible for anyone to meet his gaze.
"Gu Jieyu used to be taciturn and didn't like to fight with others. She was known in the palace for not competing or grabbing. How come she suddenly became enlightened after coming out of Taiqing Pool?"
Gu Jiangli hadn't expected the emperor to ask her this.
After thinking for a moment, she said, "Consort Lan has gone too far and I really can't stand it anymore."
The emperor did not deny her statement, and asked again, "Do you intend to retaliate?"
"Your Majesty, my revenge has failed."
She really didn't want to say that it was the emperor's appearance that caused her plan to fail, but she believed that the emperor, with his sensibilities, should be able to understand the meaning behind her words.
But whether the emperor genuinely didn't understand or was feigning ignorance, he asked again, "Don't you have any other ideas?"
"Sigh, Consort Lan was promoted one rank in just three days after entering the palace, and now she's already looking down on everyone. With the Empress Dowager and the Prime Minister behind her, she's incredibly powerful. Unless I become a concubine and surpass her in rank, maybe I can curb her arrogance."
"Yes," the emperor said softly.
Gu Jiangli tilted his head, "What can?"
"To bestow the title of Imperial Concubine, is permissible."
The emperor spoke in a flat tone, as if he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him.
The moonlight outside the window seemed to have changed angle, casting a soft glow on the emperor's face from the side.
His cool eyes held a few unusual emotions, making him appear even more aloof and vulnerable.
Gu Jiangli rarely experiences mental lapses, but at that moment, the emperor's words and expression truly took her a long time to process.
Just because of one sentence from her, the emperor wanted to promote her to the rank of concubine, skipping two ranks. Did she hear that right?
Gu Jiangli looked somewhat bewildered as she regained her voice, but the sounds she made only expressed her confusion.
"……ah?"
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