Forced love, an inescapable fate

Feng Zong didn't know what she was thinking, so he just told her about her question just now.

"Your father was Mu Qi, the ever-victorious general of our Jing State. He and my father were best brothers and the best partners on the battlefield. The year you were born, they were defeated in a battle against the Qi army, and both of them shed blood on the battlefield. When the tragic news reached Shangjing, your mother went into premature labor due to excessive grief. She gave birth to you with all her might, but she didn't survive. Although my mother was heartbroken, she didn't dare to collapse. In her last moments, she entrusted you to my mother and to the Feng family, which is why we got engaged. The news that your father and my father were defeated and died on the battlefield caused panic throughout Shangjing. After all, in the past, your father and my father rarely lost a battle, so how could Qi dare to act so arrogantly at that time? But after they left, the whole situation suddenly changed."

Having said that, Feng Zong paused, his expression slightly heavy.

After a pause, he continued, "Later, you were taken from the Mu family and brought to the Feng family. My mother raised you like her own daughter. After my father died, the Feng family's status in Shangjing plummeted, not to mention the Mu family. When you were prosperous, everyone came to fawn over you, but when you were frustrated, many people came to step on you. So our lives were very difficult at that time, but under my mother's protection, we grew up carefree."

"Later, Qi won countless battles on the battlefield. When you were ten years old, they sent envoys to us, demanding we cede five cities to Qi or they would launch a massive attack. After consulting with Your Majesty, the court officials decided to send the then-six-year-old Sixth Prince to Qi as a hostage to prevent the cession of territory. The people of Qi agreed. After all, this was a more humiliating measure for Qi than ceding cities. But they put forward a condition: one of you and I must accompany the Sixth Prince to Jing. After all, our father had caused their Qi army to suffer countless defeats, and now there was no better way to vent Qi's anger than to send their children as hostages in their own country."

Having said that, Feng Zong looked at Mu Qingli with eyes full of guilt.

His expression made Mu Qingli very puzzled. This was not the first time she saw this expression on Feng Zong's face.

Mu Qingli was puzzled and guessed in his heart: Could it be that the person who went to Qi State as a hostage was supposed to be Feng Zong, but later for some reasons, he was replaced?

But she just had this guess.

"What happened next? What happened next?"

Hearing her question, Sect Leader Feng let out a long sigh, as if he had made up his mind.

"Then, when the Sixth Prince was about to leave, you went to Qi State in my place, Ali. Originally, I was the one who was supposed to go, but my mother was afraid that if I went to Qi State, I would never come back, so she secretly manipulated the Sixth Prince to make you go instead of me. After you left, my mother couldn't sleep day or night. She had treated you as her own daughter since you were a child, but in the end, out of selfish motives, she sent you to Qi State. The inner torment and anxiety made her body unable to bear the strain, and she finally passed away the year after you left. Before we parted, she asked me to bring you home, even if it cost me my life."

"Ali, I hated my mother back then, too. I hated her selfishness. I've felt guilty about this all these years, but it's already happened, and no amount of regret is helpful. I know I owe you, and I secretly vowed to bring you home one day. So after my mother passed away, I joined the army. After all these years of hard work, I've finally brought you back safely. But the suffering and hardships you endured in Qi are something I'll never be able to repay in this lifetime."

"After joining the army at that time, I trained desperately, trying desperately to stand out, because only in this way would I have the capital to bring you home. Perhaps I was lucky enough, and also persistent and persevering enough, and God finally did not let my efforts down. Step by step, I rose to a high position and became a general. I also had the confidence to bring you back, so two years ago, I sent people to negotiate with Qi State and finally reached an agreement. Qi State agreed to send you and the Sixth Prince back. But just before taking you home, you and the Sixth Prince disappeared. At first, I thought Qi State was cheating and didn't want to send you back. But later, the people I secretly sent out to investigate discovered that you were indeed missing. Later, I sent people to search almost the entire Qi State, but couldn't find any trace of you two."

Hearing what he said, Mu Qingli smiled awkwardly.

It turned out that the reason why Qi State suddenly changed its attitude towards her and Jiang Ci was because of Feng Zong. At that time, as long as she and Jiang Ci stayed safely in the Qi State Palace, Feng Zong's people would naturally take them back to Jing State.

But at that time, not only did he escape with Jiang Ci, he also fled to the deep mountains and forests, and finally got out after going through many hardships. Thinking about it this way, it was really too redundant and a bit shocking.

Isn't this a typical case of trying to force yourself to eat something without suffering?

Feng Zong went on to say, “It was not until a year ago that the Sixth Prince secretly sent someone to contact me. Only then did I know that you had actually escaped and were in Dongli Town, not far from the border town between the two countries. When I heard the news, I had planned to take you away immediately, but at that time the people of Qi believed that I had secretly taken you two away to deliberately embarrass them, so there was friction between the two countries. Although there was no war, the situation was dangerous. For a while, both sides were on high alert, especially Qi. I had no chance to bring you two back. Although I was worried, I could do nothing. Fortunately, the Sixth Prince’s secret letter informed me that you two were temporarily safe and had a place to stay, so I let you go. I've been worried a lot. It wasn't until recently that I had the opportunity to cross the border of Qi and bring you back safely. It was dangerous, but thankfully nothing unexpected happened. However, the Sixth Prince and you did surprise me, especially you, Ali. You're so brave and careful, so calm. Despite such a difficult situation, you managed to lead the Sixth Prince through two years safely under the eyes of the Qi people. Not only that, you even started a business. That's truly impressive. But the Sixth Prince is no ordinary person either. The fact that he was able to bring news of you two to me, right under the eyes of the Qi people, is enough to prove he's not who he seems. But it's also thanks to him that I was able to find you."

After hearing what he said, Mu Qingli finally knew the whole story of her original body's life experience. The plot was indeed tortuous, but she was not the original body, and she could not understand such emotions. However, she also sighed in her heart that Feng Zong's mother sent the original owner, who had been raised by her since childhood, to Qi State for the sake of her own child. Although it was a bit unkind, it was also in line with human nature. No matter what, they were all pitiful people.