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

The old lady and Zhou Zhilan surrounded Gu Hua's bedside; she had been unconscious for over an hour.

Seeing that the old lady's complexion was not good, Zhou Zhilan advised, "Old Madam, why don't you go back and rest? I'll watch over her."

Yi Niang also advised, "Madam, you must take care of yourself. Otherwise, when Madam wakes up and sees how haggard you look, she will worry again."

The old lady's eyes were red: "It's my fault. I knew she was weak and timid, yet I still allowed her to use herself as bait. They are the vicious and ruthless Yifeng Hall."

Zhou Zhilan knew that Gu Hua hadn't fainted because of this, but she couldn't say it.

All I could do was advise, "Madam is very strong now, and she's become braver. It's just because she's been too tired these past few days. She just needs to rest."

"Yes, Madam. Once Madam wakes up and you've had your rest, we can discuss the next steps properly."

The old lady sighed, "Alright. She'll report as soon as she wakes up."

In her dazed state, Gu Hua had no idea where she was.

“Sister Hua”.

A gentle voice sounded from behind, and Gu Hua turned around abruptly.

Before them lay a dense forest shrouded in mist, and a slender figure could be vaguely seen.

"Brother Ji! Is that you? Brother Ji?"

Gu Hua hurriedly chased after her.

The figure vanished in an instant.

Gu Hua cried out anxiously, "Brother Ji, come out quickly! You're not dead, are you? Why haven't you come to Hua'er for three years?"

“Sister Hua”.

A soft, smiling voice drifted through the mist.

Gu Hua lifted her skirt and quickly chased after her.

The wind whistled in her ears, and tangled branches snagged her skirt, scratching her skin, but she didn't care.

Suddenly, the view opened up, and the misty forest vanished.

On the mountaintop, a man stood with his back to her.

"Brother Ji!" Gu Hua was panting heavily, her heart pounding in her chest.

The man slowly turned around.

That face... was wearing a half-silver mask.

Gu Hua stopped in her tracks as she was about to run over. Her heart skipped a beat, and her hands unconsciously clenched the front of her clothes. Her lips trembled, and she couldn't speak for a long time.

"Sister Hua, you've arrived?" The man's eyes were filled with passion and tenderness.

With a sob escaping her lips, Gu Hua asked in a trembling voice, "Are you Brother Ji?"

"Yes, that's me." The man smiled gently.

He slowly stretched out his hand: "I'll take you away, take you away from the Gu family's hellhole, I'll take you far away."

"Are you willing?"

Gu Hua felt a sharp object pierce her heart, causing excruciating pain, as if her internal organs were being torn apart.

She pressed her hand tightly to her chest, too heartbroken to utter a single word.

Seeing that she didn't move, the man's smile faded, and his voice became plaintive: "Don't you want to anymore? Don't you want me anymore?"

Gu Hua could no longer control herself and burst into tears. Her heart was clenched with pain, and she could not stand up. She bent over and cried out.

"Brother Ji, why are you the young master of Yifeng Hall? Why did you betray your country and become a spy in the Southern Frontier? Brother Ji, what happened to you?"

The man's smile vanished instantly, and his gentle, jade-like eyes turned crimson.

"You betrayed me, didn't you? You've fallen in love with someone else, haven't you?"

He suddenly spread his arms wide: "Then I'll just go die!"

"No, Brother Ji, that's not how it is."

In a panic, Gu Hua straightened up and rushed toward the man.

He was standing on the edge of an abyss, and as she was about to reach him, he turned and leaped into the sky like a bird spreading its wings.

Gu Hua lunged forward frantically, reaching out to grab him, screaming shrilly, "No!"

“Sister Hua”.

Zhou Zhilan was startled when Gu Hua suddenly sat up.

"Go quickly and call the imperial physician."

Donghua took off running.

Zhou Zhilan quickly wiped Gu Hua's sweat with a handkerchief and gently coaxed her, "Don't be afraid, did you have a nightmare? It's okay now."

Gu Hua stared at her blankly for a while before she came to her senses.

My eyes were brimming with tears, and I couldn't see anything clearly.

She bit her lip hard, the dream she had just had kept replaying in her mind, and the scene of Brother Ji jumping off the cliff in front of her made her heart clench with pain.

Zhou Zhilan knew why she was sad, but she didn't dare to touch on her painful memories.

She was also in a difficult position.

Gu Hua's childhood sweetheart has returned. What should the master do?

"Have they... caught them?" Gu Hua looked at Zhou Zhilan with teary eyes.

She was there just now; she knows Ji Xuanyu.

"We caught a few people, but unfortunately they all committed suicide on the spot." Zhou Zhilan looked at the nervous Gu Hua and hesitated for a moment.

"The young master was not captured."

Gu Hua felt a slight relief, but the thought that he was Brother Ji made her heart clench again.

Zhou Zhilan tried to comfort her: "Hua-mei, you've been apart for so many years, people change."

Gu Hua wanted to speak, but her heart ached as if something was blocking it, and she couldn't say a word.

After Gu Hua calmed down, she thought about it carefully and said, "Actually, I'm not sure if Yao Yao is lying to me. Because Brother Ji's face doesn't look quite right anymore."

Zhou Zhilan thought for a moment: "It's possible that Yaoyao is trying to sow discord."

"But how did she know?"

"Could it be that Gu Wanru told her?"

As Gu Hua was thinking, she heard footsteps outside.

"I have urgent business to discuss with Madam, why won't you let me see her?"

Donghua's voice: "Madam is not feeling well. Please come again tomorrow."

Gu Hua wiped away her tears: "It's jade."

Zhou Zhilan peeked out and said, "It's jade."

Biyu wouldn't come looking for her unless it was something important.

Gu Hua and the old lady kept their plan to lure the snake out of its hole a complete secret, and those who weren't involved knew nothing about it.

When Biyu rushed over, she immediately noticed something was wrong. There were many guards outside, and Donghua, Dongqing, and several maids were standing at the door with serious expressions.

Biyu's face turned pale, and she asked in a low voice, "What happened? Is Madam alright?"

Without the lady's instructions, Donghua and the others would not utter a single word.

"Biyu, come in." Zhou Zhilan walked to the window.

Donghua then pushed the door open to let her in.

When Biyu entered, she was shocked to see Gu Hua's swollen eyes.

"What's going on? What happened?"

Gu Hua steadied herself and said in a hoarse voice, "It's nothing. What is it? Tell me quickly."

Biyu walked to the bedside and lowered her voice, saying, "This morning I heard Young Master and Yaoyao talking about intercepting the Mu family army's military supplies halfway."

Gu Hua grabbed Bi Yu's hand, her hand trembling with nervousness: "Mu An said it!"

That heartless bastard dared to harm Mu Junyan, who raised him.

Biyu scoffed.

"It was Yaoyao who said that the young master was going to do something important, that the young master hadn't done a good job with the winter clothing, so he had to make amends. Then Mu An gave her a route map for transporting military rations and such."

Gu Hua turned pale with anger.

Making winter clothing wasn't enough; they also had to work on military rations.

This is going to destroy the Mu family army.

No wonder...

Gu Hua's eyes widened suddenly.

Could it be that Mu Junyan's death in battle was related to the lack of winter clothing and food supplies?

Winter is coming soon, and it's colder in southern Xinjiang than here.

The soldiers are hungry and cold, which will surely weaken their fighting ability!

Zhou Zhilan was extremely shocked: "Then why didn't you say so sooner?"

"I can't leave. Yaoyao angered the young master and was kicked out of the room. Then the young master kept dragging me around and tormenting me. He only let me go just now."

Biyu's eyes reddened.

Gu Hua suddenly noticed bruises on the back of her hand, so she quickly let go and rolled up her sleeve.

My entire arm was either burned or bruised.

She hurt Biyu when she grabbed her.

Gu Hua cursed angrily, "You beast!"

Zhou Zhilan felt sorry for him and quickly instructed Donghua to call the royal physician.

Biyu hurriedly cried out, "Don't shout, the young master will find out. I'll just go back and apply some medicine."

She quickly stood up: "It's okay, I have to go back so I don't get discovered."

"Biyu!" Gu Hua hurriedly called out, "Don't go back."

Biyu glanced at her: "It's alright. Military rations are a very important matter, I'll keep an eye on it."

Gu Hua watched her slender figure stagger into the night and disappear, clenching her fists in anger.

"Sister Zhilan, is there any way to protect her and prevent her from getting hurt again?"

Zhou Zhilan patted her on the shoulder: "Don't worry, I'll take care of it."

Gu Hua lifted the covers to get out of bed, but Zhou Zhilan stopped her.

"Why are you going?"

"I need to talk to my mother about this; it's a very serious matter!"