All eyes turned to Gu Jiangli, some with surprise, some with indifference, some with sympathy, and some with amusement.
The expressions on everyone's faces varied, but they all shared the same thought—
Gu Jiangli is doomed.
Gu Jiangli was also a little flustered. She didn't know the emperor's true temperament yet, but according to rumors, he was unpredictable and might take her life over something as trivial as a mishap during today's dance.
In any case, dealing with this matter is the most important thing.
She knelt on the ground, eager to stand up, but as soon as her right foot touched the ground, excruciating pain instantly spread from her foot throughout her body.
Gu Jiangli gritted his teeth but couldn't get up.
Lotus, standing by the door, stamped her feet anxiously. She wanted to go forward to help her, but was stopped by the guards.
Gu Jiangli could also see her urgency, and kept thinking of ways to save herself.
The maids around him moved in unison and had already knelt on the ground.
They had also heard of the temperament of the Emperor of Tianyuan Kingdom, and feared that a mistake in the dance might endanger their lives.
Gu Jiangli gritted her teeth and raised her head. The emperor had already stood up from his seat and slowly walked down from the seat of honor.
He walked those few steps very lazily, not forgetting to put down his wine glass, his steps slightly unsteady, probably because he was a little drunk.
"Your Majesty, please forgive us! We did not mean to delay your birthday celebration gifts. Please forgive us!"
Several maids pressed their heads to the ground, trembling.
Only Gu Jiangli kept his head up, looking at the emperor standing directly in front of him.
As he approached, his fierce aura diminished, and Gu Jiangli stared at him in a daze, even the pain in the soles of her feet lessening.
It must be said that the emperor was very beautiful, with an androgynous beauty.
Gu Jiangli rarely used the word "beautiful" to describe men, but the emperor's appearance truly deserved that word.
How could someone so beautiful be a tyrant?
As Gu Jiangli was thinking this, the emperor grabbed her chin the next moment.
He wasn't gripping her tightly, so Gu Jiangli didn't feel any pain. However, she couldn't control her head anymore and could only maintain an upward posture, meeting his eyes.
The emperor raised an eyebrow and a smile suddenly appeared on his lips. His casually disheveled hair added a touch of madness to his expression.
"Are you Gu Jiangli?" The emperor's voice was cold, yet tinged with amusement.
With his chin held in place, Gu Jiangli was unable to nod and said, "Gu Jiangli of Yunjiang Kingdom pays respects to... Your Majesty."
The emperor's smile deepened, and he asked again, "The dance just now was flawed. Whose fault was it?"
Gu Jiangli's heart sank; this meant he was about to be held accountable.
A sharp pain shot through the soles of her feet, which brought her to her senses.
The pain was clearly caused by external force; the stinging sensation came from a sharp object piercing the sole of her foot.
It's possible that someone put silver needles in the soles of her shoes. The needles were hidden deep inside the insoles, and she didn't notice them when she first put them on. But as she started dancing and walking, and her movements became more and more exaggerated, the needles gradually emerged until they pierced her skin.
She hasn't taken off her shoes to check yet, but that's the only explanation she can come up with.
Someone is plotting to harm him, but who could it be?
Her dance costumes and shoes were prepared by her own maids; nothing she wore ever passed through the hands of anyone else.
So, does this mean it's one of her own people who wants to get back at her?
If she were to reveal to the emperor that someone had ill intentions towards her and was deliberately disrupting the dance celebrating the emperor's birthday, wouldn't that let outsiders know that there was discord within Yunjiang and make them a laughingstock?
In the blink of an eye, Gu Jiangli's mind raced with a thousand thoughts.
She gritted her teeth, not expecting such a thing to happen so soon after arriving; it was really troublesome.
She lowered her eyes and admitted her mistake: "Your Majesty, I haven't mastered this dance yet. I twisted my ankle by my own mistake and ruined this dance to celebrate Your Majesty's birthday. Please punish me, Your Majesty."
Gu Jiangli took all the blame.
Logically speaking, she was a princess sent for a political marriage, so she shouldn't have been beheaded on her very first day meeting the emperor. The emperor should have at least considered her reputation.
As she thought this, the emperor slowly released her chin. "Is that so? You think it's all your fault?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, please punish me."
"But I think the princess is not at fault."
"Hmm?" Gu Jiangli raised his head again, his eyes filled with doubt.
She felt a chill run down her spine; the emperor's smiling eyes seemed to grow increasingly unsettling.
The emperor withdrew his gaze, ignored her, and walked towards the door.
Gu Jiangli couldn't resist any longer, so he followed the emperor's gaze, wanting to see what was going on.
What exactly does he want to do?
What exactly does he mean?
But the next second, Gu Jiangli's puzzled expression gradually turned into horror.
The emperor walked to the door not to leave, but because there was a guard standing by the door with a knife at his waist.
He drew the blade from the guard's waist and strolled back leisurely.
Many of the concubines around him shrank back and remained silent, as if they were already used to the emperor wielding a knife, and no one stepped forward to stop him.
The emperor walked back to the center of the banquet, where Gu Jiangli and several other dancing maids were kneeling.
This time, instead of facing Gu Jiangli, he gently lifted a maid's chin with the tip of his knife, forcing her to meet his gaze.
The maid was trembling like a leaf, and she managed to stammer out "Your Majesty" before falling silent.
The emperor raised an eyebrow and smiled at Gu Jiangli: "Princess, I don't think you've done anything wrong. I think this maid can't even dance properly, and she's not proactive in admitting her mistakes. No matter how you look at it, she's more at fault. What do you think?"
He asked Gu Jiangli a question, and Gu Jiangli swallowed hard and shook his head: "Your Majesty... there may be a misunderstanding..."
"Is there?"
He smiled wickedly, and the next second, he raised his long sword and then brought it down heavily.
Instantly, blood splattered, and Gu Jiangli's vision turned completely red.
Blood splattered as high as the roof beams, and her blue and white clothes were covered with countless blood spots.
Gu Jiangli didn't hear the woman's screams, but saw a round head roll to her feet.
The woman was already dead.
Her eyes were still open, revealing fear and pleading, as if she had no idea that her head would be chopped off before she was decapitated.
"Ah—!!" The scream came from the maid beside the woman. She uncontrollably shed tears, covered her mouth, and moved backward.
The maid was terrified.
Gu Jiangli wasn't much better off; she plopped down on the ground.
She had seen many prop heads on stage, but this was the first time she had ever seen a real, bloody human head.
Her legs went weak, they really went weak.
His stiff head, as if rusted, turned toward the emperor.
Without a doubt, he was a tyrant, the most cruel and bloodthirsty tyrant.
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