Forced to be a concubine? I turned around and married the scumbag's father.

"Red Flame, Red Feather!"

Gu Hua was both surprised and anxious to see the two of them.

Chi Yan and Chi Yu dismounted and bowed to her.

Before they could speak, Gu Hua rushed up to Chi Yu: "Why did you come back? Why didn't you stay by his side?"

The young mistress kept approaching, which frightened Akabane so much that he retreated repeatedly, at a loss for what to do.

Helpless, Zhou Zhilan pulled Gu Hua away a bit: "You scared him."

Gu Hua's eyes widened: "I scared him?"

She is so delicate.

Gu Hua looked at Chi Yu again, and sure enough, his face was a little pale.

Realizing that she had spoken in a bad tone, she quickly and gently asked him again.

"Why did you come back? Why didn't you stay with him?"

The young lady had an innocent expression, but her eyes looked like she wanted to devour him.

Akabane: "..."

He wanted to stay, but orders wouldn't allow it.

"Your Majesty's orders are beyond my ability to disobey."

"But……"

Gu Hua wanted to say something more, but she didn't know how. After all, it was a military order, and what was she to them?

Seeing that her eyes were red, Akabane sighed inwardly and carefully chose his words, saying, "Madam, the lord heard that the bandits have not been eliminated, so he ordered me to bring people back to supervise the patrol office's crackdown."

Isn't this all for the safety of the young mistress?

Gu Hua's tone immediately rose: "You brought people back? Isn't there Chi Yan here? Why did you need to come all this way back?"

Is this the point?

Akabane winked at Akane, "Say something!"

The lord sent Chi Yan back because he was worried that Chi Yan would be too busy to protect the young mistress.

Chi Yan remained expressionless, neither speaking nor looking at him.

Gu Hua said in a huff, "Forget it, I have no right to interfere in other people's business."

Zhou Zhilan and Chi Yan Chi Yu exchanged a glance, but didn't say anything.

Chi Yan changed the subject: "Young Madam, the winter clothes that Pei Shi handed over were switched out of the military camp the very night they were put into storage. The hiding place of the switched winter clothes and the people guarding the warehouse have also been apprehended. They can't send out any messages right now, so Prince Jiang and the others don't know anything about it."

Gu Hua was overjoyed: "That's wonderful!"

A commotion arose from afar, and Gu Hua and the others looked over to see several people stumbling and being chased by the elite cavalry from the direction of the military camp.

Gu Hua cried out urgently, "Quickly, save them!"

Chi Yan and Chi Yu leaped onto their horses and charged forward with their men.

This was the first time Gu Hua had witnessed a large-scale battle; the shouts of battle, the screams of agony, and the splattering of blood...

The Mu family soldiers were all battle-hardened veterans. Dealing with the elite cavalry and the fierce dragon cavalry composed of scions of noble families was like a beast fighting a wild rooster.

In less than two or three rounds, the pursuers were routed and fled in all directions, while Chi Yan and his men relentlessly pursued them, capturing as many as they could.

Zhou Zhilan quickly hugged her: "Get in the carriage, don't be scared."

Gu Hua shook her head, her face pale, forcing herself to open her eyes wide and watch.

Mu Junyan's battles must have been ten thousand times more brutal than this.

She had heard Mu Junyan say that he once single-handedly charged into the enemy camp, which was a massive army.

She didn't realize her body was trembling, and kept encouraging herself silently.

A woman who is a war goddess must never be afraid!

As the fleeing people rushed towards them, Gu Hua saw their faces clearly.

Pei Yi helped Cao Liyu, the Vice Minister of Revenue, with several disheveled officials and soldiers who had come with Zuo Fengtian following behind.

Gu Hua lifted her skirt and ran over.

"My lords, are you injured?"

"Don't worry, Sister Hua. Zhu Zhi with the Silver Spear has already entered the military camp. Those fakes will remain."

Pei Yi's clothes were torn, his face was scratched, his hat was lost, and his forehead was bleeding.

Very embarrassed.

Gu Hua stepped forward anxiously: "Brother Pei, you're injured."

"It's alright, all of you gentlemen have suffered some injuries."

"My lords, please get in the carriage and return to the Duke of Yong's residence to treat your injuries."

Cao Li and the others were worried that Prince Jiang would become desperate and continue to pursue them, so they didn't hesitate and helped each other onto the carriage, squeezing together.

The group returned to the Duke of Yong's mansion, where Physician Sun examined their wounds and applied medicine.

Zhou Chunyu arranged lunch for everyone.

Gu Hua, Chi Yan, and Chi Yu walked to the side and spoke in hushed tones.

"Red Flame, what's the story behind you saying you only found a portion of the winter clothing?"

Chi Yan said, "Reporting to Madam, three days ago, when Chi Yu returned to the capital, he happened to encounter a group of strange merchants who were using the name of Prince Jiang. However, he noticed that the packaging had the mark of official goods from the imperial court, so he stopped them for questioning and discovered that it was actually this batch of winter clothes that had been switched. They were planning to send them to the Yuan family's military camp in the northern border. We have detained both the people and the goods."

"The Yuan family of the Northern Frontier? You mean the Yuan family of Prince Jiang's mother?"

Gu Hua was not very familiar with the court officials and various factions.

But everyone knows that the Jiang and Yuan families are both relatives of the Empress Dowager, and they act tyrannically every day.

“Yes. Both armies’ winter uniforms are paid for by the imperial court. If the Yuan family’s army is using the Mu family’s army’s winter uniforms, then the whereabouts of the money used to purchase winter clothes for the Yuan family’s army becomes suspicious.”

Gu Hua was greatly surprised.

How could this have led to such a big incident?

"No, we must explain this to the three lords immediately."

Cao Liyu, Zuo Fengtian, and Jin Guyong looked at each other in bewilderment upon hearing this.

Zuo Fengtian slammed his fist on the table: "How dare they!"

Cao Liyu frowned: "Do you think they've done this kind of thing before?"

Jin Guyong slapped his thigh: "I remember now, just two years ago, a shipment of one million arrows and fifty thousand bows destined for the southern border was intercepted by bandits and was about to be stolen. Most of the escorting soldiers were killed or wounded. Such a large quantity of weapons has never been found. Could it have been transported to the northern border as well?"

Zuo Fengtian glared angrily: "Very likely! We'll find out by sending someone to the northern frontier to secretly check the batch and seal of the arrows."

Gu Hua's eyes widened in surprise.

What about Mu Junyan?

With so many things missing, can the imperial court really make up for them quickly?

"No, we must go to the palace to see the Emperor immediately. Hurry, hurry, hurry!" Jin Guyong hurriedly lifted his robe and ran out.

Cao Liyu also stood up: "Yes, we'll go to the palace immediately. We don't know if the Silver Spear Imperial Dragon Guards can snatch the fake winter clothes. If they're all burned, then there will be no evidence."

Zuo Feng waved to Gu Hua, who was about to follow him out.

“Madam Mu, it is no small matter that Prince Jiang dared to kill an official of the imperial court. You should not leave the manor. It must be very chaotic outside, so you may get caught in the crossfire.”

Zhou Chunyu rushed over: "It's surrounded outside."

Zuo Fengtian's expression changed drastically: "Who dares to surround the Duke of Yong's mansion?"

Gu Hua was startled: "So bold?"

Cao Liyu sneered: "Not surprising. They dared to kill us in broad daylight. What do they have to be afraid of? They'll just say they're arresting a suspect, then kill us. There will be no evidence against them. What can anyone do to them?"

Gu Hua was completely puzzled: "Could it be that they would even dare to kill people from the Duke of Yong's mansion?"

Cao Liyu explained, "They only need to find us, take us outside, and kill us. After all, the Duke of Yong is not in the mansion, so they think you wouldn't dare to do anything. But if you dare to stop them, they will dare to take action."

Gu Hua opened her mouth in surprise.

So arrogant.

Zuo Fengtian: "Who came to surround us?"

"Judging from their attire, they are members of the palace guards."

All three of them looked extremely grim.

The palace guards were the highest-ranking imperial guards, and even the Duke of Yong's mansion couldn't stop them.

"Madam." Zhou Chunyu gestured for Gu Hua to come out.

He whispered, "I can lead them out through the secret passage. As long as the palace guards can't find them, they won't dare to move. What do you think?"

Gu Hua was surprised and lowered her voice: "A secret passage?"

Zhou Chunyu nodded.

Gu Hua pondered for a moment.

The secret passage of the Duke's mansion should not be known to outsiders, but Pei Yi is the key figure, and the other three ministers were sent by Mu Junyan to find them, so they should be trustworthy.

Now their lives are in danger, and they've all been dragged into this because of her.

The important point is that if people are trapped inside the Duke of Yong's mansion, not only will they not be able to be saved, but it will also give Jiang an excuse to drag the Duke of Yong's mansion into the mess.

Now that things have come to this, she must win, otherwise things could get very bad. She absolutely cannot let this affect Mu Junyan and the old lady in the Southern Frontier.

Gu Hua steeled her resolve: "Fine, you take them with you."

"Madam!" The gatekeeper rushed over, shouting, "They're banging on the door, trying to break in and search for people!"

Gu Hua's face paled slightly, and she gritted her teeth: "I'll go stop them, you take the people and leave quickly."

Zhou Chunyu worried, "Madam! They are determined to get it, and they might make things difficult for you."

"I'm not afraid. I don't believe they would actually dare to kill the Duke of Yong's woman!"

Gu Hua said no more and resolutely walked towards the front yard.