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

Mu Junyan returned to the mansion at night. After dinner, he played with the children in Fulu Hall for a while. Seeing that Gu Hua seemed to have something to say, he took her for a walk in the courtyard.

Gu Hua told him everything about Du Yun, "What do you think we should do to send a message to the Empress?"

"Just let them know whether I'm going back to the manor or not."

Gu Hua was a little worried: "They want to know your whereabouts, are they planning to do something sabotage to you?"

"It's alright, I was worried they wouldn't make a move. Akabane is keeping an eye on things, so there's nothing to worry about. But you, don't leave the manor."

Mu Junyan put his arm around her waist and said with concern, "You must stay safe and sound these next few months. Go see Li Shi and give her a warning. It will spur Qian Junheng to take some action, but what if they can't touch me but they do touch you?"

Gu Hua chuckled: "I'm not the helpless woman I used to be. I can handle most men."

Mu Junyan stared at her soft, boneless hands and chuckled, "Is your wrist strong enough?"

Gu Hua blushed deeply at his sudden question and punched him in the chest.

"you try!"

Mu Junyan immediately caught it with his large hand, and then clenched the small fist in his palm. "Hmm, really impressive, you have a lot of strength."

Gu Hua knew he was teasing her, and snorted, "You're a soldier, a war god, so naturally I'm no match for you. If it were an ordinary man, I could send him flying with one punch."

"Yes, my little princess is amazing."

Mu Junyan laughed heartily.

Gu Hua rolled her eyes at him. How dare he laugh at her? She'd make him suffer.

As the two chatted and laughed, a dark shadow was peeping at them from under the shady artificial hill.

A dark figure sat on the rooftop, higher up, watching the peeping tom.

Mu Junyan pulled Gu Hua into his arms and reached out to tidy her hair. Gu Hua was surprised and thought to herself that there were so many servants, so she should be careful. Then she heard Mu Junyan say in a very low voice that someone was spying on her.

Gu Hua immediately stopped moving, letting Mu Junyan straighten her hairpin.

In the shadows, Yin Tao stared intently at the two intimately close individuals, her eyes filled with jealousy.

After seeing the two people walk away, he quietly returned to the small courtyard.

"The prince has returned today."

Yiyun glanced at her: "Shall we leave the manor tomorrow to deliver the message?"

Yin Tao rolled her eyes at her: "You only came back one night and you're already telling the Empress? How can you be so stupid?"

Suddenly, her eyes lit up: "I want to go out of the manor tomorrow. Find an excuse to talk to the Princess."

Yiyun hummed in agreement.

Yin Tao was excited by the idea she had suddenly come up with, so she turned around and went back to her room to sleep.

Looking at the stars in the sky outside, Yiyun missed her father terribly.

Her father was her only family in the world.

……

After taking a bath, Mu Junyan and Gu Hua changed into their nightgowns and sat on the bed.

Mu Junyan took a cotton cloth and used it to cut her hair.

"Do you know why Qian Junheng will definitely take action after we go back and warn the Li family?"

Gu Hua asked curiously, "Why? I feel that Li Shi is not well received, so I don't think she will have any effect."

"His Majesty issued an imperial edict that the surtaxes of Luzhou, Gongzhou, Bazhou, Jinzhou, Tongzhou and Xiangzhou in the east of Juzhou, which were originally reduced by half, will no longer be reduced starting this year, and all taxes paid in the previous ten years that were reduced by half must be paid in full."

"what?"

Gu Hua turned her head in surprise, her hair was pulled painfully, and she hissed.

Mu Junyan quickly let go of her hand and rubbed her scalp, saying, "Why are you so agitated? Did you hurt yourself?"

"It doesn't matter."

Gu Hua pressed her hand on her scalp, which had been pulled, and quickly turned to face him.

"Weren't these provinces given a permanent 50% reduction in surtax due to the war in the southern border and the severe disasters of the past few years? Why are they going back on their word?"

"Do you believe this imperial edict was issued by the Emperor himself?"

Gu Hua's eyes widened: "Could it be the Crown Prince and Empress?"

Mu Junyan turned her body around and continued to wring out her hair.

“Bianjing is naturally aware of our large-scale actions. They suspect that I intend to use this action to pressure the Empress and the Crown Prince, preventing them from doing anything to us. However, the Empress, for the sake of consolidating the Crown Prince's position, will not stand idly by as we rapidly grow stronger. More than worrying about our military strength, she fears that we will win over these prefectures and counties, which serve as barriers for Bianjing.”

Gu Hua understood: "You mean, the Empress is using increased taxes to force the prefectures to beg for mercy from her, so that she can control them."

"Yes. There's another point. After so many years of war between the north and south of Liang, the national treasury is empty. The Crown Prince has no money. How can he let the Sun family reap the benefits without lifting a finger?"

Gu Hua: "If we really need to make up for it, how much silver would it cost?"

“Take Bazhou as an example. The full tax payment in a year is about 500,000 taels. If it is paid back for ten years, it will be 2.5 million taels. If it is paid on behalf of each person, it will be 125 taels per person.”

Gu Hua exclaimed, "My God! Paying an additional 125 taels, plus the full amount of taxes every year? That's ten years' worth of living expenses for an ordinary family! This... isn't this going to drive someone to their death?"

"Even if the imperial court says that the payment can be made up gradually, based on the past situation in Bazhou, ordinary people cannot afford to pay it."

"correct."

"Now, several state capitals are like ants on a hot pan."

Gu Hua frowned; she had a feeling that something big was about to happen.

When are you planning to make your move?

"After you give birth smoothly."

Upon hearing this, Gu Hua couldn't help but turn her head away again, and her hair was pulled once more.

Mu Junyan looked at her speechlessly as she grinned and grimaced: "You really want to tear off a piece of skin, huh?"

Gu Hua made a face and chuckled.

I had no choice but to sit up straight and let him continue wiping.

"Why wait until I give birth? You go about your important business, I'll give birth to my child. With Mother in charge at home, what's there to be afraid of?"

She worried that if the fighter jets were delayed, the prefectures and counties under the jurisdiction of the Mu family army might be trapped here.

Although Juzhou is doing well now, decades of war have severely damaged its vitality. If another major war breaks out, the people and the Mu family army will likely suffer.

“Nothing is more important than you and the child. I will never allow anything to put you in danger again.”

Gu Hua was deeply moved.

He couldn't help but touch his belly: "There are still three months left. What if something unexpected happens during that time?"

"Don't worry, I'll take care of everything."

Mu Junyan put down the towel, hugged her from behind, and gently pecked her cheek, which was flushed from the bath.

Gu Hua turned around and snuggled into his arms.

"Actually, it's okay to be born prematurely. Look at Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, they're both growing up quite well."

"Nonsense, there can't be any 'what if'. You and the children are my everything."

Gu Hua felt warm and sweet inside.

The next day.

Gu Hua was having breakfast when Yi Yun came to pay her respects and said that Yin Tao wanted to leave the mansion.

"Then you may go. You can ask the bookstore to give you a suitable place to pass messages, on the grounds that it is inconvenient to leave the manor. Otherwise, if you suddenly leave the manor too easily, it will arouse suspicion."

Yiyun replied, "Yes."

Yin Tao was extremely excited when she heard that she could leave the manor.

She changed into her best dress, put on exquisite makeup, and wore her most expensive jewelry.

Yiyun looked at her: "Are you going to see someone?"

While admiring herself in the bronze mirror and applying her floral hairpin, Yin Tao said, "Aren't we going to meet our own people? It's our first meeting, so we should be more formal."

Yiyun ignored her: "Hurry up, we need to come back early to avoid arousing suspicion."