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

The old lady placed Mu An and the women in his backyard under house arrest to prevent them from running away and causing trouble.

Worried that Jiang and Yuan, as well as the remaining criminals, might harm Gu Hua, he ordered her not to leave the Duke's mansion without permission and to take good care of her health.

If you want to go out, you must inform the old lady and take Chi Yan and a group of guards with you.

To put the old lady at ease, Gu Hua had no choice but to obediently practice calligraphy, make snacks, and chat with the old lady every day.

The power struggles within the imperial court were far removed from her, and she couldn't concern herself with such matters.

But she was very worried about Mu Junyan.

Two months before his death in battle, she didn't rest, and had Chi Yan tell her about the situation outside.

Even though the Empress Dowager and the Jiang family tried their best to suppress the news after the incident, and the Emperor turned a blind eye, such a big thing would always leak out eventually.

The court was in an uproar for a time. A group of aristocratic families, led by the Jiang and Yuan families (the Empress Dowager's maternal relatives), and a group of newly noble courtiers, led by the Jingguo Gongsun family (the Empress's maternal relatives), were involved.

Now, in addition to the Empress, the imperial harem has four consorts: Gui, Shu, De, and Xian, each with a son.

The Imperial Concubine was from the Jiang family, while the Virtuous Concubine was from the Yuan family.

The emperor has not yet appointed a crown prince, and the empress has only one legitimate son, the sixth prince.

The struggle over the selection of the crown prince intensified.

As a result of this incident, apart from Yuan Zhongying being exiled and the generals of the Xiaoqi and Longmeng cavalry armies and the Tianwu infantry army being beheaded, the Jiang and Yuan families were unharmed, which shows that the Jiang and Yuan families have a stubborn and huge influence.

Amidst this uproar, the emperor is preparing to select concubines again, which means that the various forces will be reshuffled, fighting to the death and causing bloodshed.

The Pei family was safe and sound. They were even rewarded by the emperor for their bravery in protecting the winter clothing for the army, and were granted the status of imperial merchants. Pei Yi's father was appointed as the Left Assistant Minister.

Zuo Fengtian, Cao Liyu, and Jin Guyong were all rewarded.

The Vice Minister of Revenue was originally Pei Yi's father-in-law. Before the incident, he was transferred to the Ministry of Works as Vice Minister because he was involved with the Pei family. Cao Liyu, the Vice Minister of Revenue, had just taken over when this major event occurred, and he was commended by the Emperor.

He was so pleased that he immediately recommended Pei Yi, who was then directly promoted to Left Assistant Secretary.

Gu Hua was in the mansion, but she was well-informed about what was happening outside.

Akabane returned to the southern border with the 300,000 sets of winter clothing escort troops, and Bianjing (Kaifeng) began to appear peaceful again.

After practicing martial arts with Zhou Zhilan early in the morning, Gu Hua took some pastries she had made herself to pay her respects to the old lady.

Looking at the girl's flushed face and the fine beads of sweat on her forehead, the old lady couldn't help but feel sorry for her: "Can you handle it? Just exercise a little, there's no need to actually learn any martial arts."

“Hua’er can do it.”

After Gu Hua stepped forward and performed the greeting, she smiled and took out the pastries from the food box one by one.

She said in a soft voice, "Everyone in our Duke's mansion knows martial arts and can fight. I can't let the Duke's mansion down. Sister Zhilan taught me close combat, and Ziyuan just happened to give me a dagger, so I'll practice close-quarters self-defense with the dagger."

The old lady looked at the three tea fruits that resembled blooming flowers, and then at the radiant young girl.

He glanced at Yi Niang and gestured for her to take her people out.

Seeing that everyone had left and that Yi Niang had closed the door, Gu Hua knew that the old lady had something to say.

Quickly stop what you're doing and sit upright, waiting for the old lady's instructions.

The old lady felt a warmth in her heart when she saw how well-behaved the child was.

She took out a red lacquered wooden box and handed it to Gu Hua: "This was given to me by Ziyuan before he left. He said he would give it to you when the time was right. I thought I should give it to you sooner so you could make a decision."

Gu Hua opened it out of curiosity.

There were two official document booklets inside, and one booklet whose contents were unknown.

For some reason, her heart skipped a beat, and she hesitated to open it.

She asked with a smile, "Mother, what is this?"

"See for yourself."

Gu Hua took a breath and flipped the book to the top.

Upon seeing the words above, he exclaimed in shock: "A divorce agreement!"

Gu Hua looked at the old lady blankly: "Ziyuan wants to divorce me? But... I'm just a concubine. Concubines can only be divorced, not divorced."

Mu Junyan actually wanted to let her go?

Although this was what she had always thought, or rather, what she had always wanted, she would leave the Duke's mansion one day and stay with the old lady for as long as she could.

But when she actually saw the divorce papers, her heart skipped a beat, and she felt like crying.

He actually considered this step for her.

With tears welling up in her eyes, Gu Hua closed the booklet and resolutely shook her head: "Mother, I will not leave you and Ziyuan."

They treated her so well; she couldn't selfishly leave the Wenchang Marquis's mansion and fly away.

Unless Mu Junyan dies in battle or the old lady dies of old age.

The old lady's eyes were slightly red, and she thought to herself, "What a good child."

She quickly said, "Take a look at the second book."

Gu Hua steadied herself, opened the second red brocade-covered booklet, and her eyes widened in surprise.

This is... the document that elevates her to the status of a principal wife, and it even bears the official seal of the government office.

The old lady choked back tears, saying, "Ziyuan means that if you are divorced as a concubine, it will be difficult for you to remarry. If you wish to leave, I will ask the elders of both clans to present the edict of marriage to you in person. After the formal rites for a legal wife are performed, I will give you the divorce papers in person. After that, when you remarry, no one will dare to look down on you."

"He also prepared a divorce settlement list for you, saying it was to leave you some things to rely on. He asked me to arrange it for you and protect you so you can live out the rest of your life in peace."

Gu Hua felt as if a hole had been dug in her heart. Her heart ached with bitterness and sorrow, and she could no longer hold back. She hugged the two booklets and cried.

Mu Junyan was prepared to die!

She shook her head as she cried, "No, I don't want anything."

All she wants is for him to come back safely.

The old lady smiled through her tears, tucking her stray hair behind her ear, and said kindly, "Good child, don't cry, don't cry. Ziyuan married you for your own good. Letting you go was even better for you. He's a military general, his life hangs in the balance, he could die in battle at any moment."

Gu Hua threw the booklet aside and threw herself into the old lady's arms, bursting into tears.

"Waaah, no, I won't leave, no one can drive me away. Waaah, I want to stay with my mother, I want to stay with him. I don't want to be your goddaughter, I want to be his wife."

The old lady, holding the soft little baby in her arms, couldn't help but shed tears.

She and Mu Junyan were used to life and death, and they were afraid to face the death of their loved ones again.

Furthermore, not wanting to get involved in the struggle for the crown prince, they had already decided to focus solely on training the soldiers of the Southern Frontier, thus ending the direct line of the Mu family.

Who knew that a girl as beautiful as a flower bud would suddenly appear, like a ray of light igniting a ray of light in the hearts of the mother and son.

Both of them felt a softening in their hearts, thinking that it would be good if things could continue.

However, Gu Hua was young and had suffered for seventeen years, so it was unbearable to let her face a power struggle that was even more cruel than the torment she endured from her family.

The old lady patted her gently, waiting for her to slowly recover.

"Good boy, this is just the worst-case scenario. Maybe he will come back."

Gu Hua had just stopped crying when she heard this and felt like crying again.

He... might not be coming back!

But she couldn't just enjoy the kindness of Mu Junyan and the old lady; she also had to give back and try her best to be filial to the old lady.

Gu Hua tried to compose herself and looked up to wipe away the tears from the old lady's eyes with a handkerchief.

"You're right, he will definitely come back."

Gu Hua spoke softly and gently, her eyes clear and exceptionally considerate.

The old lady liked the girl even more.

Whether it's a daughter-in-law or a goddaughter, she treats the child as her own.

“Good child, my son and I will guard the Duke’s mansion for him and wait for his return.”

Gu Hua nodded vigorously, thought for a moment, and said with a serious expression, "Mother, there is something I need to tell you."