"What's wrong? Consort Gu, do you think I'm too heartless and cruel?"
The emperor's pupils trembled slightly, as if he was waiting for Gu Jiangli's answer.
Gu Jiangli was actually just a little surprised. The emperor was a decisive and ruthless person, and he had the right to deal with servants who displeased him.
So she smiled and shook her head, "No, Your Majesty just thinks that if Your Majesty wants to execute Manxiang, you can simply give her a cup of poisoned wine or a white silk ribbon."
"If they were beaten to death with sticks, they would surely make a lot of ear-piercing screams, which would be bad if they disturbed His Majesty."
The emperor frowned. "If I want to kill someone, I will do it directly. Giving them a white silk noose or poisoned wine is just letting them choose their own way to die. How is that any different from giving them a release?"
He scoffed and said, "Those who are executed by my order should feel the fear of death before they die, and regret the mistakes they have made."
"If you've already figured out that you can commit suicide, why would you fear death? Why would you die with hatred for me?"
Gu Jiangli was stunned.
It wasn't because they sensed the cruelty in the emperor's words, but because they perceived something else.
"Your Majesty, as you say, have you never given an order for someone to die on their own?"
A hint of disdain appeared on the emperor's cold face. "Of course not. It would be too boring for me to hold the power of life and death and let people die on their own."
As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Jiangli fell into deep thought.
She thought of her mother.
The day after it was discovered that the mother had used witchcraft, the emperor sent an imperial edict to the Gu family, ordering the mother to commit suicide as an act of atonement.
However, according to what the emperor said today, if he really wanted to execute Gu's mother, he would definitely issue an order to behead her, or use some other method to kill Gu's mother directly.
It was impossible for them to send an imperial edict ordering Gu's mother to commit suicide at home.
If her speculation is true, then there is something else going on with Gu's mother's death!
It was merely a verbal order; anyone in the palace could simply deliver it to the Gu family, instructing Gu's mother to atone with her death.
Fearing that her daughter would be implicated, the mother would inevitably choose to sacrifice herself to protect her daughter.
In the emperor's eyes, the fact that Gu's mother committed suicide without him issuing an oral edict showed that she was afraid of being punished, which further confirmed her crime!
Gu Jiangli gritted her teeth inwardly; she knew the system wouldn't reduce the difficulty of her mission so easily!
They said they would give her all of the original owner Gu Jiangli's memories, and she thought that they would learn about the original owner's past to make things easier for her.
But she overlooked the fact that memories are just memories and do not necessarily represent the truth!
In the original owner's memory, she heard that it was an imperial edict that ordered her mother to commit suicide, so she believed it to be true.
So, was it Gu Jiangru who fabricated the imperial edict?
Gu Jiangli frowned and fell into deep thought for a long time. Her absent-minded appearance made the emperor think that she was afraid.
"What? Is Consort Gu afraid of me because she doesn't speak?"
His gaze was fixed on Gu Jiangli's face, as if he didn't want to miss a single change in her expression.
Gu Jiangli snapped out of her thoughts and met the emperor's pure black pupils, which were like a huge vortex that was about to suck her in.
He was waiting for his answer.
It's less about waiting and more about anticipation.
A faint light shone in his eyes, but it would quickly dim as soon as he uttered the word "fear".
"Of course not, Your Majesty is not that cowardly."
He stared into Gu Jiangli's eyes, as if trying to discern whether what she was saying was true.
Gu Jiangli remained calm, showing no sign of fear towards him whatsoever.
"It's good that you're not afraid."
The emperor turned around again and led her into the sleeping quarters of Guangming Palace.
The night passed, and the emperor was quite gentle. Gu Jiangli didn't sense any violence from him; on the contrary, he took good care of her.
The emperor only went to sleep after she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
But in reality, she had been pretending to be asleep with her eyes closed for a long time because she was constantly thinking about her mother.
Even with her eyes closed, she could feel a burning gaze fixed on her face.
A warm, large hand would gently tuck her exposed arm back into the blankets.
She seemed to hear a sigh beside her, like a breath exhaled after a deep breath, very light, but very heavy.
When she woke up the next day, she sat by the bed for a long time until Lotus came in and she came back to her senses.
Lotus was overjoyed and walked to Gu Jiangli's side to bow to her.
"This servant greets Your Highness. His Majesty has shown you favor and said that we get along well, so he sent me to serve you. From now on, I will stay with you and will not return to Lanfang Palace."
Gu Jiangli stared blankly in one direction, and when Hehua spoke, she only nodded subconsciously.
Lotus, seeing Gu Jiangli lost in thought, waved her hand in front of her, "Young Mistress? Young Mistress?"
When Lotus called out to her, she realized that she had been lost in thought for a long time.
Seeing Hehua's familiar face, she belatedly realized what Hehua had just said.
In her eyes, Lotus is already a friend from her third world, but in the eyes of this Lotus now, she is still just a master who has slept in the same room with her for a few days.
"Lotus, you've arrived."
Lotus secretly smiled, her face beaming with joy.
"What were you thinking about, Your Highness? I've been here for quite a while now. Could it be... that Your Highness was thinking about His Majesty?"
Gu Jiangli stretched his chin, not denying it.
Recalling the events of last night, she seemed to strangely sense... vulnerability in the emperor?
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