The reborn girl always wants to escape, but the abstinent marquis hugs her and coaxes her!

Chapter 1: Death and Life Never See Each Other Again

The twenty-third year of Jingyuan.

The Great Zhou Dynasty experienced a seven-year struggle among five dragons for the throne, which eventually ended with the abdication of Emperor Xianzong of Zhou, Wu Yang.

In this year, Wu Yang was honored as the Supreme Emperor, and his fourth son Wu Tianqi ascended the throne as emperor and changed the country's name to Qingli.

The year after the new emperor ascended the throne, that is, on the seventh day of the seventh month of the second year of the Qingli calendar, the emperor and empress held a Qixi banquet to entertain couples of the third rank and above in the Zhou Dynasty and their children who were getting married.

At the banquet, the new emperor appointed the most beautiful woman in the Great Zhou Dynasty, Princess Qingyang Lin Jiaoyue, as his imperial concubine and gave her the title Qing.

On that day, Weiyuan Marquis Mu Rong returned from border defense to attend a banquet. After getting drunk, he attempted to commit adultery with the newly appointed Concubine Qing. Fortunately, Concubine Qing cleverly escaped, and the imperial guards, upon hearing the news, restrained the disheveled Weiyuan Marquis Mu Rong.

Emperor Wu Tianqi was furious and stripped Mu Rong of his title and imprisoned him on the spot.

At this point, the title of Marquis Weiyuan, which had lasted for four dynasties during the Zhou Dynasty, ended in the hands of Mu Rong.

……

The next morning, a group of fully armed imperial guards rushed into the Weiyuan Marquis Mansion, but only the concubine Xu Rongrong was left in the huge mansion.

In the morning light, Xu Rongrong stood gracefully in a goose yellow long dress. Her skin looked even paler against the backdrop of the rising sun, and there was no trace of emotion on her face, which had once been the most beautiful woman in the capital but had quickly disappeared.

She stood gracefully under the laurel tree in front of the study, a blazing fire burning in the study behind her. Facing hundreds of fully armed imperial guards, swords drawn, her face showed no fear.

The leader of the Imperial Guards, Chu He, frowned. "Madam, why is this happening?"

Xu Rongrong smiled faintly, her face dazzling and captivating: "As General Chu can see, it was my carelessness that caused the fire in the study."

Chu He looked around: "Then why didn't the servants come to put out the fire?"

Xu Rongrong sighed softly, "Alas, it was also because I was not careful for a moment, and the servants took advantage of the opportunity. They stole my indenture overnight and took away all the money in the mansion and ran away."

After she finished speaking, she turned sideways and looked at the study room that had been reduced to ashes, and said quietly, "General Chu, come and help put out the fire."

Chu He: "..."

Two days later at dusk, Mu Rong, covered in blood, was dragged back to the front yard of Weiyuan Marquis's mansion and tied to the room with a fine iron chain. He was guarded by imperial guards all around, awaiting the emperor's final order.

Xu Rongrong, wearing a long green cloth dress, came out of the yard carrying a mahogany food box.

The guard checked the food box and did not stop him.

The room, once spotlessly clean, now smelled strongly of blood. Xu Rongrong sat down at the table and wordlessly took the dishes out of the lunch boxes one by one and placed them on the table.

"It's dirty here, you shouldn't come here." The man in the corner said in a hoarse voice.

"Some things must come to an end."

After saying that, Xu Rongrong took out a divorce certificate from the interlayer of the food box and spread it out in the middle of the table.

The man walked over from the corner, his handcuffs and anklets clanking. His once handsome face was covered in blood, and there was hardly a single piece of healthy flesh on his body, covered in marks from whips and branding irons. The bloodstains had long since blended into the crimson robe he wore.

Seeing the words "divorce letter", he couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, then laughed at himself and said: "Alright, alright!"

After saying that, he dipped his finger in the blood oozing from his body and pressed his fingerprint on the divorce agreement.

When he raised his hand, it trembled slightly.

Xu Rongrong quietly folded the divorce letter, put it away and hid it in her sleeve.

She looked up at the bruised man before her and said, "Just now, the Emperor has announced to the world that he is promoting Consort Qing, Lin Jiaoyue, to the rank of Imperial Noble Consort. The woman you cherish has become the first woman in the two hundred years since the founding of the Great Zhou to be canonized as Imperial Noble Consort while the Empress is still alive. You risked your life and the honor of the Marquisate to help her ascend to the throne, and now this result is what you have desired."

Mu Rong clenched his fists. Her words were like silver needles, piercing his heart.

There was no trace of blood on his tightly pursed thin lips. He tried hard to open his mouth, but no sound came out.

Xu Rongrong saw this, sneered, and stood up to leave. However, after stepping out of the door, her thin body was trembling slightly.

Mu Rong watched her go. He knew tomorrow would be his death, and now, spread on the table were his favorite dishes: crab roe eggs, eight-treasure duck soup, stir-fried lotus root shreds, and crispy jade soup. He raised his blood-stained hands and devoured the food without savoring it. Suddenly, a sweet sensation filled his throat, and blood spurted from his mouth as he collapsed.

……

When he opened his eyes again, what came into view was Mu Yi, the chief secretary of Weiyuan Marquis' Mansion, and the five personal guards of the mansion.

"This...what's going on?" Mu Rong found that half of his body was still buried in the soil.

As everyone was frantically trying to pull him out of the dirt, Mu Yi replied, "This was Madam Consort's idea. She drugged the food she brought to me last night, creating the illusion that I had committed suicide. Four imperial physicians were dispatched from the palace overnight, and they all confirmed that I was dead. Wu Tianqi ordered me to be thrown into a mass grave. We followed all the way here and will come to rescue you after the imperial guards leave."

"Xu Rongrong?" Mu Rong was shocked: "Then she is very dangerous!"

Mu Yi hurriedly said, "Don't worry, Master. Yesterday, the concubine left the mansion after coming out of the front yard. Before the imperial guards found her, she had already left the city in disguise."

Mu Rong asked again: "What about the list of the Mu family army?"

The Mu Family Army was the Weiyuan Marquis's guard, specially granted by the late Emperor. During the late Emperor's reign, the Great Zhou Dynasty was plagued by numerous riots and rebellions. The old Weiyuan Marquis had repeatedly saved the late Emperor from danger. As a token of his trust, the late Emperor ordered the Weiyuan Marquis's mansion to secretly cultivate the Mu Family Army. This would allow for flexible deployment to respond to emergencies and also allow for monitoring military forces to prevent any unscrupulous plots.

Wasn't this palace drama designed by Wu Tianqi to get rid of him and seize the Mu Family Army? He was tortured severely in the inner court to force him to reveal the list of 1,000 people in the Mu Family Army.

Mu Yi replied, "Madam Ce set fire to the study, and the imperial guards didn't find the list."

Mu Rong clenched his fists; it turned out she had already arranged everything before leaving. Thinking of the divorce agreement...never mind, just let her go. Now that Xu Rongrong was safe and sound, he felt a little relieved and walked out of the mass grave with the help of Mu Yi and the guards.

However, when they walked out of the woods, they found themselves surrounded by the Imperial Guards.

"Protect me!" Mu Yi shouted.

The guards immediately surrounded Mu Rong.

"Brother Rong is truly amazing. He actually came back to life!" A sharp male voice came, "Jiaojiao was right. It's impossible for you to commit suicide."

"I didn't expect Your Majesty to come in person." Mu Rong accepted the longsword handed to him by the guard. "The birds have all flown away, so Your Majesty will break the fine bow yourself?"

Wu Tianqi smiled and said, "I know that you and your guards can fight a hundred people alone, Rong'er, but I have tens of thousands of imperial guards. I will not let you leave today! Besides... I only want the team you have. As for the one who wants your life, it is not me." After saying this, his face suddenly changed: "Go!"

For a moment, there were flashes of light and bloody shadows inside and outside the woods, and screams came one after another.

Mu Rong was indeed the most powerful general of the Zhou Dynasty. Despite being tortured, he showed no hesitation with the sword in his hand. His moves were ruthless and deadly.

Wu Tianqi watched the imperial guards fall one by one, and Mu Rong's eyes were red with killing intent. He couldn't help but feel timid. As he retreated, he ordered Chu He, who was guarding him, "Don't let him live!"

"Yes!" Chu He snatched the divine arm bow from the archer, strung five arrows, and shot them whizzing away.

He knew that Mu Rong was brave, so he shot the five arrows at the guards around Mu Rong.

"Ah!" A guard was shot by an arrow and fell to the ground.

"Mu Lu!" Mu Rong broke out of the siege and rescued Mu Lu. His body was inevitably affected by the distraction.

It was this small flaw that allowed Chu He's long arrow to fly through the forest and head straight for Mu Rong's face.

In a flash, a thin figure rushed over and pushed Mu Rong away.

The long arrow hit her back and went through her chest.

"Xu Rongrong!" Mu Rong said harshly, his eyes bloodshot.

"Madam!" Mu Yi exclaimed.

At this moment, the momentum of the battle changed. Everyone in Weiyuan Marquis's Mansion was furious, fighting their way through the battlefield. Their desperate aura forced the imperial guards to retreat repeatedly.

"Protect His Majesty!" Chu He roared, and the imperial guards dared not pursue.

Mu Rong ran wildly in the mountains holding Xu Rongrong: "Xu Rongrong, hold on."

"Don't... hug me." Her voice was trembling.

"Don't be stubborn! I'll take you to the clinic!"

Xu Rongrong took a deep breath and said again: "Don't hug me." After that, she struggled out of his arms tremblingly: "It's too late..." She felt her body temperature was rapidly dissipating.

"Why..." Mu Rong looked at her, wanting to reach out but not daring to touch her.

"Why did I save you?" Xu Rongrong said self-deprecatingly: "...Maybe...it's instinct."

She herself didn't know why she ran to the mass grave involuntarily even though she had already left the city; when she saw the imperial guards besieging the city, she didn't turn around and leave, but sneaked in; she didn't even think about why she rushed over regardless of everything when she saw the arrow shadow.

Perhaps, everything is destined.

With trembling hands, she pulled out the blood-stained "divorce letter" from her bosom and looked at Mu Rong: "There is no relationship between you and me anymore... Everything I did... was my own choice... It has nothing to do with you..."

"No! No!" Mu Rong panicked. "I signed this divorce agreement to get the emperor to let you go, not on my own!" Xu Rongrong was shivering with cold. Her consciousness began to blur, but her tone was remarkably firm: "But, this is my original intention... Trapped by you... I'm too tired... Now this... can be considered a kind of relief... I only hope that we will never see each other again... in this life or death..."

Her breath stopped at this moment.

"No!" Mu Rong's desperate roar echoed in the valley.