Gu Jiangli sat on the edge of the bed, not closing her eyes to sleep, because she knew that the emperor would definitely come looking for her again.
However, she did not expect that when the emperor arrived, he was in an even more disheveled state than she had imagined.
He was soaked to the bone, standing in the main hall, water droplets dripping from his body onto the ground.
"Your Majesty? What happened to you? How did you get so soaked? Where is Eunuch Wen? Didn't he hold an umbrella for you to shield you from the rain?"
Gu Jiangli quickly got out of bed, walked up to the emperor, and asked him with great concern.
The emperor didn't answer her, but instead pulled her into his arms.
The cool, damp air sent a chill down Gu Jiangli's spine.
His heavy breathing hit the back of her neck, making Gu Jiangli hesitate as she had originally intended to push him away.
"Your Majesty, what's wrong? Has something happened to Consort Shu?" she asked softly.
Asking questions she already knows the answer to is one of her specialties.
The emperor's voice was low and hoarse, "She's dead."
Gu Jiangli was stunned again.
She was somewhat surprised that Consort Shu's death happened so quickly.
I originally thought that the emperor would order Consort Shu to commit suicide the next day after he returned.
But now it seems that he was the one who took Consort Shu's life on the spot.
Although she had somewhat anticipated it, she outwardly feigned surprise, "What? What happened? How could Consort Shu suddenly..."
The emperor leaned on her shoulder and made no attempt to hide anything about Consort Shu's affairs.
"When I arrived at Chengen Hall, I found Shu Ziming and Liu Bufan engaging in illicit affairs, and I caught them red-handed."
"My beloved consort, I only realized today that for the past two years, I have been completely fooled by them."
"Shu Ziming has long been having an affair with Liu Bufan, and I was so foolish as to let Liu Bufan come to the palace to perform rituals to facilitate their relationship."
"Ha, the child who was miscarried was not even mine, yet I still cherished her for several years because of it."
"If I hadn't witnessed their vile deeds today, I'm afraid... I would still be kept in the dark."
"This time, she even tried to deceive me by faking a pregnancy. She was clearly not pregnant, but in order to escape confinement and regain my favor, she fabricated the lie that she was pregnant."
"I have been fooled time and time again, deceived by her schemes and tricks. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes today, I probably wouldn't have believed that such a wicked heart could be hidden under such an innocent face."
Gu Jiangli patted his back with her palm.
"Your Majesty, I know the bitterness in your heart. Now that Consort Shu has passed away, let this matter pass."
The emperor suddenly pulled away from Gu Jiangli's shoulder and asked in confusion:
"My beloved concubine, aren't you... at all surprised?" As soon as he asked this question, he immediately followed up with, "Or did you actually know all along?"
Gu Jiangli did not look directly into the emperor's questioning eyes. She lowered her head, slowly took a step back, and knelt down on both knees.
"Please forgive me, Your Majesty, for failing to report what I knew."
In a panic, the emperor helped her up, saying, "You are pregnant; do not perform such a grand ceremony. What do you mean by 'knowing but not reporting'? What do you know?"
Gu Jiangli said, "Your Majesty, two years ago, I accidentally learned that the child in Consort Shu's womb was not Your Majesty's, but I do not know who the child's father is."
"This matter concerns the face of the royal family and your own reputation, so I dare not speak plainly to you."
"Moreover, you were in the midst of the excitement of having your first child at the time, so I'm afraid you wouldn't believe me if I brought it up."
The emperor was taken aback, as if he had suddenly realized something.
"So you? The child is gone, and it wasn't an accident, you really did it on purpose?"
Gu Jiangli frowned, her face showing grievance and pain.
"Yes... I thought that the child was not your offspring. If he were born safely, he would be raised as a member of the royal family. If he grows up and recognizes his biological father, it would be a huge hidden danger for the Great Xia Dynasty."
"So I... so I had no choice but to harden my heart and take away the child from Consort Shu's womb."
The emperor was stunned for a long time, frozen in place, Gu Jiangli's words echoing in his mind.
After a long silence, his voice became even hoarser: "You... not only preserved my dignity, but also preserved the purity of the Great Xia royal bloodline, and in the end, you took all the blame and infamy alone."
"My beloved concubine...you are so foolish. If you had told me these things in private, why would I have made things difficult for you? Why would you have to suffer so much in Yilan Palace?"
The thought of his beloved concubine going hungry and cold during the two years of confinement, enduring loneliness and humiliation from palace maids, caused him unbearable heartache.
Like a fishbone, it was stuck deep in his throat, making every breath painful.
Gu Jiangli smiled gently:
"Your Majesty, if Your Majesty hadn't found out about all this yourself, I would have kept this matter to myself and never spoken of it for the rest of my life. After all, it has indeed damaged Your Majesty's reputation."
"Moreover, even if the child in Consort Shu's belly is not your child, it is still a living life."
"I have personally taken a life, and I deserve to be punished. Therefore, I have not resented Your Majesty at all during these two years of confinement. On the contrary, I am very grateful to Your Majesty for giving me this opportunity to atone for my sins."
"These past two years have not been difficult for me at all. And now, you are right beside me, right in front of me, and I am carrying our child. I am already very content."
Gu Jiangli's words were so moving that she herself almost burst into tears, let alone the emperor.
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