Li Rong's heart skipped a beat at his mother's words. He immediately knelt down and kowtowed to the Empress, saying, "Your Majesty, please calm down. I beg you, please don't let Gu Sang suffer. Otherwise, I won't be able to live either."
"You should think about your own life first. Your Gu Sang girl won't let you suffer," the Empress said calmly.
"Your Majesty, please don't force me. If you continue like this, I can't guarantee I won't do something crazy," Li Rong said through gritted teeth, glaring at the Empress with resentment.
"Haha..." Upon hearing Li Rong's threatening words, the Empress couldn't help but burst into laughter. She sneered, "Didn't you always disdain threatening anyone? What? Today, for the sake of a woman, you actually want to threaten me? Humph! You really disappoint me."
"Li Rong, get up! You are not allowed to kneel before her!" Gu Sang shouted angrily at Li Rong when she saw him bow his head to the Empress.
“Miss Gu Sang, please don’t blame Li Rong. My mother has a fiery temper. She didn’t mean any harm. She just wanted to help us,” Li Rong explained to Gu Sang.
"Miss Gu Sang, you'd better come with us obediently," the Empress said coldly, looking at Gu Sang.
"I won't go with you. Don't even think about making me go see that old hag," Gu Sang said coldly, looking like she was determined to die rather than submit.
"Hehe... Miss Gu Sang, I'll remind you one more time, you'd better not anger me, otherwise, I can't guarantee what might happen." The Empress threatened with a cold expression.
"Your Majesty, I know you will not let me go, but I still advise you not to act rashly. I am not an ordinary person. I am a princess appointed by the Emperor of the Great Qi Dynasty. If you dare to touch me, it will be tantamount to challenging the entire Great Qi Dynasty," Gu Sang said, her tone extremely firm. She was not afraid of anything.
Gu Sang's words surprised both Li's mother and the Empress. They had never imagined that the daughter of a mere county magistrate was actually a princess of the Great Qi Dynasty.
Gu Sang's words were hard for the Empress to believe, so her eyes were filled with disbelief and even a hint of doubt.
The Empress stared into Gu Sang's eyes and asked, "Miss Gu Sang, are you sure you are a princess?"
“If Your Majesty doesn’t believe me, you can send someone to investigate my background. You should know that I am a princess of a country, and I can’t just impersonate anyone,” Gu Sang said loudly.
Upon hearing Gu Sang's words, the Empress frowned. After a moment of contemplation, she said to the palace maid behind her, "Go and find out the woman's background and see if she is indeed a princess."
The palace maid agreed and then quickly ran towards Gu Sang.
After the palace maid left, Li Rong stood up and looked at Gu Sang, saying, "Sister-in-law, are you alright? You scared me to death."
"You don't need to worry about me. I just didn't expect that the Empress would be so despicable and shameless. Knowing full well that I am a doctor, she still tried to poison me with medicine," Gu Sang said angrily.
"Don't be angry. I'll handle this. You just need to rest and recover. I won't let that bitch touch you," Li Rong said.
Gu Sang nodded, then turned around with her back to Li Rong and said, "Young Master Li Rong, you should leave now. I don't need you to save me or protect me. I can handle it myself."
“Miss Gu Sang, isn’t that a bit irresponsible of you to say? Do you want me to watch something happen to you?” Li Rong said, frowning.
Hearing Li Rong's words, Gu Sang felt a mix of emotions. Her gaze fell on Li Rong, and seeing his tense expression, she couldn't help but sigh and say, "Alright, since Young Master Li insists, then you will accompany me to the palace."
Li Rong nodded and said, "Mm."
Then, Gu Sang followed Li Rong into the Phoenix Palace.
Throughout the journey, Gu Sang was extremely excited, because she never imagined that she would see the emperor here.
Li Rong's expression remained grim. He hadn't expected things to turn out this way. He was conflicted. On one hand, he was happy to have met His Majesty the Emperor, and His Majesty had been quite kind to Gu Sang. He genuinely hoped that His Majesty would take Gu Sang in. On the other hand, he was also afraid that His Majesty would actually keep Gu Sang in the palace just because she was a doctor.
He didn't want Gu Sang to be taken advantage of.
"Your Majesty, your humble brother pays his respects to Your Majesty," Li Rong said respectfully, bowing to the emperor.
"Young Master Li, there's no need to be so polite, please get up." The emperor smiled when he saw Li Rong arrive, and said with a kind and benevolent expression.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Li Rong said, then stood up, though a deep fear still lingered in his heart.
"Young Master Li, please sit." The emperor gestured to the chair beside him, waved to Li Rong, and said with a smile.
Li Rong sat down. Gu Sang glanced at Li Rong, then at the Emperor. Her brows furrowed slightly. Wasn't the Emperor supposed to dislike her? Why was he suddenly being so nice to Li Rong?
"Your Majesty, why are you so kind to me? You know I am a physician of the Great Qi Dynasty, yet you treat me so well." Gu Sang looked into the emperor's eyes and questioned him coldly, her tone full of vigilance.
"Miss Gu Sang, you're overthinking it. Actually, I don't have a bad impression of you. You're a doctor, and I admire you very much." The emperor looked at Gu Sang with a glint of admiration in his eyes and said with a smile.
Upon hearing His Majesty the Emperor's words, Gu Sang thought to herself: You wouldn't have taken a fancy to me, would you? No way, this is too cliché.
Li's mother looked at His Majesty the Emperor with suspicion in her eyes.
His Majesty's words made Li's mother even more suspicious. She looked at Gu Sang and said, "Miss Gu Sang, do you know His Majesty?"
Although Li's mother found it strange, she didn't say anything.
“We’re old acquaintances,” Gu Sang said calmly. She didn’t want to tell Li’s mother that she was the girl from back then. She didn’t want to reveal her identity; she just wanted to find a chance to escape.
"An old acquaintance? Then why have I never heard you mention it?" the Empress said, her brows furrowed, her tone full of doubt.
Gu Sang shook her head slightly without saying anything; she didn't want to explain anything.
Mother Li glanced at Gu Sang. She could tell that Gu Sang was unwilling to tell her about her past with His Majesty the Emperor, so she said no more.
Her gaze fell on His Majesty the Emperor. She was becoming more and more interested in him. She had never actually met him before. What kind of person was he? Why did he seem so approachable?
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