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

Gu Hua looked stubbornly at Zhao Luoxuan: "Your Highness, please forgive me. As a new wife, I know that happiness comes from marrying a man who loves you wholeheartedly. Otherwise, not only will you live a life of darkness after marriage, but you may also face death. I deeply sympathize with your sorrow."

Your humble servant feels sorry for you; these words come from the bottom of my heart!

For so many years, the Duke of Yong has steadfastly guarded the southern border, repeatedly refusing the advice of court officials to send the princess in marriage, precisely because he disdained to use a woman's life to bring peace between the two nations. Given the current situation, sending the princess in marriage would be tantamount to sending a lamb to the slaughter, and her life would be in grave danger!

Zhao Luoxuan's face turned pale.

She didn't know that.

But she didn't want to be married off.

But the emperor's decree was hard to disobey, and the empress dowager cried for several days.

She couldn't understand why, when there were two other princesses of marriageable age, and the third princess born to the Imperial Concubine was only sixteen years old, a year older than her, she was chosen to be sent on a political marriage.

She complained that her mother was not favored, which was why her father sent her to marry a foreign ruler.

She knelt before her father and begged him, but he said that as the legitimate princess, she had to bear the responsibility of the people who provided for her.

The Emperor said that after discussions among the court officials, they unanimously agreed that our dynasty had been defeated and, in order to prevent the enemy from attacking, decided to send the legitimate princess to marry the enemy as a sign of sincerity.

They also said that the peace talks in the southern border region were of great importance, and only by having the legitimate princess, under the imperial decree, go to the southern border region and offer herself up for marriage would the sincerity and magnanimity of the Great Liang be demonstrated.

Aunt Mo turned pale upon hearing this and quickly waved her hand at Gu Hua, telling her not to speak.

Zhao Luoxuan's tears fell in a steady stream, and Aunt Mo couldn't bear to watch.

He waved to the two palace maids inside the room, saying, "You may both leave."

Zhou Zhilan glanced at Gu Hua, and seeing her nod, she followed the two palace maids out.

Gu Hua guessed that there might be people monitoring them here.

Aunt Mo walked over to Gu Hua, squatted down, and asked in a voice only the three of them could hear, "Do you really have a way to arrange a marriage without the princess?"

Gu Hua nodded: "If we don't try, we won't have any chance at all. What's wrong with giving it a try?"

Mu Junyan is not dead. He must have some plans. The princess does not need to be married off.

If she can stall the peace negotiations, she might be able to give Mu Junyan time to mediate.

Looking at the tearful little girl, Aunt Mo finally sighed and whispered, "Walls have ears, let's go inside and talk."

Zhao Luoxuan quickly jumped off the chair, went into the inner bedroom, and waved back at Gu Hua.

Gu Hua stood up and followed her inside.

The inner room was small, containing only a bed, a dressing table, and a square wooden stool.

Zhao Luoxuan sat on the edge of the bed and patted the person next to her: "Come sit down."

Gu Huayi sat down next to her.

Aunt Mo asked nervously, "Do you have any way to prevent the princess from being forced into a marriage alliance?"

Gu Hua didn't keep them in suspense: "This humble woman will first explain why a marriage alliance is not possible."

Gu Hua briefly explained the situation as she knew it: "We suspect there was an internal traitor who led to the assassination of the Duke of Yong. Although the Duke of Yong died in battle, their king also fled the capital. Princess, think about it, how can you arrange a marriage alliance when their king's whereabouts are unknown?"

Zhao Luoxuan's eyes widened: "Yes. The capital has fled, why should I go through with a marriage alliance? At worst, we can just fight again."

If Aunt Mo were over thirty, she would naturally not be as naive as the princess.

"We can't control the war either. The Duke of Yongguo died suddenly in battle, and the court didn't send anyone to take over the Mu family army. Who can order the Mu family army to fight again?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Luoxuan looked at Gu Hua anxiously.

"Actually, the Mu family army did not withdraw; they are searching for the fleeing King of Dali. Think about it, if you capture the King of Dali, you really won't need to go through with the marriage alliance."

Zhao Luoxuan and Aunt Mo exchanged a glance, their eyes lighting up.

Then Aunt Mo became worried again.

"But Lord Jiang said he will go to negotiate peace tomorrow."

Gu Hua was surprised: "That's strange. They were routed by the Mu family army, and the capital abandoned the royal city and fled. Where is Lord Jiang going to find someone to negotiate peace? Unless, they have been in contact with the enemy all along. Why does it feel like they really want the Mu family army to lose?"

Upon hearing this, the two men's expressions changed slightly, and they immediately fell silent as if they had realized something.

The princess and Aunt Mo were ignorant of politics, but they were not stupid.

Gu Hua continued, "If that's really the case, then it's terrifying. Also, we've been winning battles all along, and the peace delegation arrived almost as soon as the Mu family army set out. How can they possibly diminish our own prestige on the battlefield? If the Duke of Yong were still alive, he would definitely berate the peace delegation and protect the princess on her way back to the capital."

Aunt Mo and Zhao Luoxuan's eyes immediately reddened.

If the Duke of Yong were still alive, Zhao Luoxuan would naturally not need to be married off.

Zhao Luoxuan grabbed Gu Hua's wrist: "Sister Hua, I believe you. Tell me, what should I do now?"

Aunt Mo originally wanted to tell Zhao Luoxuan to be mindful of hierarchy and not to call Gu Hua "sister," but seeing Zhao Luoxuan's red eyes from crying, she couldn't bear it and remained silent.

"Easy to handle."

Gu Hua said confidently, "The Southern Frontier has just experienced more than two months of fierce fighting, and the Duke of Yongguo has just died in battle. The soldiers and civilians need the court's comfort. The princess has just arrived in the Southern Frontier with the imperial decree. The marriage alliance is also for the protection of the people of Daliang. Why don't you first represent the emperor to inspect Juzhou City and several border cities in the Southern Frontier, and appease and encourage the people and soldiers from all sides?"

Zhao Luoxuan didn't understand: "What's the use of this?"

"Your presence in place of the Emperor is like His Majesty himself. Firstly, it will win the support of the people and the Mu family army. Secondly, you can personally hear their voices and see whether they want war or peace. If the princess can unite the people and soldiers of the Southern Frontier with her own strength and inspire them to hold the Southern Frontier and wait for the Mu family army to find the enemy king's whereabouts, then they will be the ones to bow down and beg for mercy from us. Why would we need to arrange a marriage alliance?"

Aunt Mo's eyes lit up. According to Gu Hua, Zhao Luoxuan could also gain merit.

Zhao Luoxuan was thrilled.

But she has never handled royal affairs outside the palace, which is a little scary to think about.

"Can I really?"

"Don't worry, I'm here with you."

Gu Hua smiled slightly.

"Once you have rendered great service, who will dare to force you to marry a foreign ruler? When you return to the capital, the Emperor will reward you. You will be the first princess of Liang to have rendered meritorious service to the country."

The little girl straightened her back immediately, her previous hesitation and sadness vanished, replaced by a face full of fighting spirit.

"I'll do whatever you say, Sister Hua."

Gu Hua gave a thumbs up: "Princess, you are truly a heroine."

Zhao Luoxuan blushed.

Aunt Mo still had some doubts. Gu Hua was just a concubine. Could she really help the princess overcome her difficulties?

She deliberately asked, "Aunt Gu, why did you suddenly come to Southern Xinjiang?"

Gu Hua knew that she didn't trust her own abilities.

She then recounted how she discovered the winter clothing issue, how she found out about the problem with the military rations, how she personally gathered the rations, and how she delivered them over a thousand miles. She also briefly described how she was captured and taken to Shicheng County, where she fought a decisive battle against the Yifeng Hall.

Zhao Luoxuan and Aunt Mo were stunned and remained silent for a long time.

Gu Hua stood up and gave Zhao Luoxuan a proper curtsy.

She solemnly said, "Princess, I have dared to come to you not only to save you from this predicament, but also because the Great Liang Dynasty has been established for a hundred years and is a great nation. How can we allow others to bully us? The Mu family army has been defending the southern border for three generations, with hundreds of thousands of soldiers, with their blood and flesh. The soldiers and civilians here all share the same sentiment."

Your Majesty does not wish for the death of the Duke of Yong, which would make Great Liang a coward! The princess's marriage is a minor matter, but those who are eyeing us with covetous intent will then think that Great Liang is easy to bully, and the people on the border will be constantly at war.

Are you suggesting that if someone attacks us, we should send a princess away for a political marriage? That's incredibly spineless!

As Zhao Luoxuan listened to Gu Hua's increasingly effusive words, she tensed up with excitement and clenched her fists.

“You’re right! As a princess of Liang, I cannot be weak and easily bullied. Otherwise, even if it’s a marriage alliance for the sake of good relations between the two countries, I will still be inferior to others!”

Gu Hua was thrilled and bowed to Zhao Luoxuan again.

"Princess justice!"

When she came out of the guest room, Min Dongsheng and Zhou Zhilan were still waiting for her in the study.

Gu Hua nodded excitedly: "It's done!"

Min Dongsheng and Zhou Zhilan clenched their fists in excitement.

None of the three wanted to sleep, and they discussed in detail how to deal with the situation the next day.

When Gu Hua returned to her dormitory, it was already past midnight.

She didn't know if Mu Junyan was still in Juzhou City.

Whether he is there or not, she will do everything she can to help him.

"Red Feather. Is there a way to contact Red Flame?"

Gu Hua knew that Chi Yu was unaware of Mu Junyan's plan, but Chi Yan did.

She had to inform Mu Junyan.

"It should work, I'll give it a try."