Today, Gu Chaoxi is dressed in a specially made, elaborate palace dress, layer upon layer, with a reddish-brown skirt spread out on the bed, perfectly showcasing her exquisite figure.
The hairpins and jewelry had already been removed when Lu Zhao took her to the other courtyard. Now, her fair face, adorned with makeup, was framed by her dark, lustrous hair, making her appear even more exquisite.
Her eyes, usually bright and clear, were filled with tears. A patch of the soft pillow was wet. After being forcibly turned around, she kept her head down and wouldn't look at Lu Zhao.
The thought that she was dressed up so beautifully today for another man made him realize that if he hadn't taken her away today, she would be nestled in the emperor's arms right now.
Lu Zhao felt both bitter and angry, but the thought of those sachets and handkerchiefs eased his resentment a little.
Why are you crying?
Gu Chaoxi raised her hand to wipe away her tears, choking back sobs, "Today is the day I enter the palace, which is also my wedding day. How dare you snatch me here! Aren't you afraid that the emperor will find out that you did it and have you imprisoned?"
Lu Zhao laughed arrogantly, "What wouldn't I dare to do? Even if the emperor knew it was me, he wouldn't dare to openly touch me!"
"But I've already made it clear to you, I never agreed to marry you, I entered the palace voluntarily. Now you've forcibly brought me here, are you going to imprison me here for the rest of my life as a mistress who can't see the light of day?!"
Gu Chaoxi became more and more upset as she spoke, and grabbed a soft pillow from the ground and threw it at Lu Zhao.
The pillow hit Lu Zhao's shoulder and then fell to the ground.
Lu Zhao clutched the spot where he had been hit, his brows furrowed. "The injury from last time hasn't healed yet. If you hit me again, it'll probably reopen and the blood will seep out again."
Gu Chaoxi hurriedly raised her misty eyes to look at his shoulder, only to find it clean and dry, with no signs of a wound reopening or bleeding.
Lu Zhao is just playing with her!
Gu Chaoxi glared at Lu Zhao and tried to get up, but the man's strong hand grabbed her waist, causing her to lose her balance and fall into Lu Zhao's arms.
Lu Zhao's voice rang out from above.
"You clearly care about me, yet you insist on deceiving yourself, telling me that you entered the palace voluntarily. Is it because the emperor forced you, or do you have some other reason? Why can't you be honest with me?"
"And what about that mistress you mentioned? I never intended to imprison you here. You will always be the mistress of my palace."
As if remembering something, Lu Zhao paused, his voice hardening, "If you refuse, I will truly imprison you here and marry you right here until you accept me! If you refuse for life, then I'll imprison you for life!"
Hearing the first two sentences, Gu Chaoxi's emotions calmed down slightly, but upon hearing the last sentence, her eyes reddened with anger. "You shameless bastard! Who said I care about you? I'm just worried that if I hurt you, the guards in your palace won't let me off the hook!"
Seeing that she was still being stubborn, Lu Zhao smiled helplessly, lowered his head and kissed the top of her head, then took out a bunch of sachets and handkerchiefs from his bosom.
The mud and sand on it have been completely cleaned up.
"Didn't you make these things? Why are my name embroidered on them?"
Lu Zhao looked at her with a calm and composed expression.
Since seeing the things Lu Zhao took out, Gu Chaoxi held back all the tears that were welling up in her eyes, leaving only her wet, still-damp eyelashes blinking, filled with helplessness.
"You, how did you get these? Didn't I ask Qiu Shuang to bury them?!"
Lu Zhao said, "My men dug them out."
"It's fortunate that these things were unearthed. If they weren't for these things, I would have really thought that you had no feelings for me at all, and that it was all just wishful thinking on my part."
“A month ago, when you resolutely cut ties with me and said you were in love with the Emperor, I decided to let go and just want to see you happy. But just yesterday, I learned that you love me. Do you know how overjoyed I was?”
Lu Zhao stared intently at Gu Chaoxi, his joy overflowing without restraint, like a young man who had received a response from his beloved, quite unlike the composed regent who commanded the court.
"Therefore, I will not let you leave again, and you can forget about marrying the emperor again."
Having her thoughts discovered, Gu Chaoxi blushed and didn't know how to respond, "I..."
She had only uttered one word when she stopped, her fingers unconsciously twisting and turning Lu Zhao's clothes.
"Why did you agree to marry the emperor?" Lu Zhao asked, seizing the opportunity.
Upon hearing this, Gu Chaoxi's tears fell in large drops again. "It was the emperor who forced me to marry him. If I didn't marry him, he would have targeted my family. My grandmother dotes on me like the apple of her eye, and I can't let her down."
Lu Zhao quickly patted her back gently to comfort her, "Don't cry, don't cry. I'm here, he won't dare to touch your family."
At the same time, Lu Zhao felt a growing aversion to the emperor.
The emperor is seventeen years old this year. After his wedding and the appointment of his empress, he will assume personal rule. The current emperor has already begun to be wary of his uncle, who raised him. Once he assumes personal rule, he will continue to eliminate dissidents and promote his own people. Once he becomes powerful, the first person he will eliminate is Lu Zhao.
Originally, he only thought that once the emperor took over the reins of power, he would relinquish his responsibilities and become a carefree prince, traveling around and enjoying life, so as not to arouse the emperor's suspicion.
Therefore, the emperor had sent people to intercept and kill him several times in the past, but he did not intend to retaliate because of their blood ties.
But now that he has forcibly taken Gu Chaoxi from the wedding ceremony, he cannot allow her to live a life of anonymity and shame for the rest of her life. If Gu Chaoxi is to stand openly by his side, she will inevitably have to stand against the emperor.
Even if he relinquishes his power, the emperor will not let him go. At that time, not only will he be in danger, but he will also implicate Gu Chaoxi.
The best solution is to depose the emperor and then support a child from among the imperial relatives.
Lu Zhao had already made up his mind.
“The emperor is no match for me right now. Stay here for a while, and believe me, I will let you return to the capital openly and legitimately, and I will give you a proper title,” Lu Zhao assured the person in his arms.
Gu Chaoxi nodded obediently. He had already kidnapped her here, so what else could she do but agree?
Seeing her unusually well-behaved, nestled softly in his arms, Lu Zhao felt an overwhelming surge of love and kissed her several times, prompting Gu Chaoxi to push him away in disgust.
Lu Zhao picked up the sachets and handkerchiefs again, studying the patterns on them with great interest. "I really like all these sachets and handkerchiefs, especially this one. The embroidered insects on it are so lifelike, and they even have a lot of legs."
? ? ?
Insects? When did she embroider insects?
She glanced at the pattern and flew into a rage, "That's a willow tree!!!"
The tenderness and affection from just moments ago vanished instantly. Gu Chaoxi angrily snatched the "insect" sachet from his hand, pushed him away, and was about to leave.
Standing too suddenly, coupled with being dragged out of bed by the nannies before dawn and being tormented all day without eating anything, caused Gu Chaoxi to fall back onto Lu Zhao's lap, feeling dizzy and unconscious.
Lu Zhao was shocked and shouted outside, "Jin Yang! Come in!"
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