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

King Cheng's expression changed slightly, but he immediately reverted to his usual gentle demeanor: "Your Majesty, it is wonderful that you are alive. Your humble servant pays his respects to Your Majesty."

He knelt down with a thud, and only then did the court officials come to their senses. They all knelt down and shouted, "May Your Majesty be well!"

Empress Sun was left standing there alone.

The emperor stared coldly at her, and for the first time, the true face of his virtuous empress was revealed to him.

Seeing that the Empress was standing still, Prince Cheng said anxiously, "Your Majesty is so happy that you've gone mad. When we thought His Majesty had died in the fire, Your Majesty had even fainted from crying."

Empress Sun also came to her senses at this moment. The Imperial Guards were not obeying their orders, and the Yuan family army was nowhere to be seen. This was not the time to be stubborn.

She gritted her teeth and knelt down: "Your Majesty, I am overjoyed to see that Your Majesty is still alive."

The emperor scoffed: "Whether my joy is genuine or feigned is no longer important. What matters is that the crown prince is the foundation of the nation. Zhao Yuxuan is unworthy of the position. I hereby announce his removal from the crown prince position and bestow upon him the title of..."

Empress Sun suddenly stood up, interrupting the emperor, her face full of rage as she pointed at him: "Zhao Rong! Have you forgotten how you got your throne? If it weren't for my Sun family, would you have had the chance to sit on that supreme position? You dare to depose my Xuan'er from his position as crown prince? Don't even think about it!"

"Father, I did nothing wrong. My Qing'e is pregnant..."

Zhao Yuxuan knelt on the ground, crying.

"You don't need to kneel before him!"

Empress Sun angrily pulled Zhao Yuxuan away: "That woman is from outside the palace, and she's a stain on your reputation. This is all a trap set by them! Maybe even by your own father. He's wanted to eliminate the Sun family for a long time, how could he let someone with Sun family blood inherit the throne?"

Zhao Yuxuan was stunned. "Mother...why?"

The emperor looked at them with a chill in his heart.

Even the King of Cheng couldn't keep his composure, but he remained rational and quickly pulled the Empress aside: "Your Majesty, please be careful what you say."

Empress Sun flung his hand away and angrily rebuked him: "Back then, you forced me to enter the palace, even at the cost of separating me from Yuan's eldest son. Now that my Xuan'er is useless, I've become your discarded pawn, haven't I?"

Empress Sun pointed at the Emperor and Prince Cheng with a cold face: "I lost today, but it doesn't matter. Yuan Dalang has already led his troops to besiege the city. I'll see what you can do then. Do you think the Mu family army can save you? Mu Junyan's beloved wife and son are in my hands. What good is being the emperor if you're just an emperor? This throne belongs to whoever it is!"

"Yuan's army is not coming."

A clear, resonant voice rang out.

As everyone looked over, Mu Junyan strode in, clad in black armor and a black fur coat.

Two beautiful figures followed behind him.

They are Gu Hua and Zhao Luoxuan.

With tears in her eyes, Zhao Luoxuan stepped forward and knelt before Empress Sun: "Mother, ambition will blind you, and hatred will ruin your judgment. Mother, turn back before it's too late."

Empress Sun stared at her blankly: "You...you're on their side? Yesterday in the palace you said you couldn't bear to part with me and your brothers, were you lying to us? You knew he wasn't dead, and that Mu Junyan had brought troops to Bianjing, didn't you? Do you want your own mother and brothers to die?"

Zhao Luoxuan shook her head, crying: "Mother, I was unaware of the situation, but I know that an emperor should have a benevolent heart and care for the people. You forced the disaster-stricken southern states to pay back taxes and increase their taxes. Have you ever thought about how they will survive? You have never seen people starving, even selling their children for a bite to eat. You do not know that in your eyes, a mere two taels of tax is the entire livelihood of their family for a year."

Empress Sun was so enraged by Zhao Luoxuan's words that she pushed away Zhao Luoxuan, who was grabbing her sleeve.

Caught off guard, Zhao Luoxuan was pushed to the ground.

She was too anxious after giving birth and didn't recover properly. She rushed here, feeling anxious and uncomfortable, and fell ill with a fever as soon as she arrived in Beijing.

However, in order to get his mother and the crown prince to stop, he has been shuttling back and forth between the palace and the farm where Gu Hua lives. He also knows that the empress has secretly sent people to monitor Gu Hua.

She became increasingly anxious, but there were some things she couldn't say outright. If she revealed what she knew, tens of thousands of people could die.

She hadn't received proper treatment for her illness and had only come here by sheer willpower. When her most beloved mother pushed her, her heart was utterly chilled.

Gu Hua quickly stepped forward, helped Zhao Luoxuan up, and said softly, "Xuanxuan, get up quickly, the ground is too cold. You only gave birth two months ago, and your body hasn't recovered well yet."

"Get out of here! I don't have an unfilial daughter like you!"

Empress Sun roared in anger.

Zhao Luoxuan raised her tearful eyes and looked at her sadly: "Mother, do you also regard your daughter as a pawn? From the moment you arranged for me to marry into a foreign land, have you been preparing to discard me as a pawn? You have never regarded me as your daughter. In your heart and eyes, there is only the Crown Prince as your son, and everyone around you is just a stepping stone for him."

Empress Sun's eyes were bloodshot, and she gritted her teeth: "Yes, yes. Only Xuan'er can give me what I want!"

"what."

Zhao Luoxuan laughed through her tears, and then fainted.

Gu Hua quickly hugged her: "Someone come quick!"

The maids quickly helped Zhao Luoxuan up and sent her away.

Gu Hua looked at Empress Sun: "Your Majesty, do you know how Qing'e's parents died? Do you know that even without today's events, the Sun family would be finished?"

Empress Sun glared angrily: "You vile woman, it was you who bewitched Xuanxuan and used her."

Mu Junyan's face turned cold: "Empress, please watch your words."

Gu Hua smiled and said, "I've heard the word 'lowly person' since I was old enough to understand. At first, I was very bothered by it and tried my best to get rid of it, almost losing my life in the process. But since I met my prince, he has never looked down on me because of my background. At first, I thought it was because my prince pitied me, but when I saw how the Mu family army treated the people of the Southern Frontier as their own family, not only risking their lives for them but also helping them rebuild their homes, I realized that there is no inherent distinction between noble and lowly people in the world. We are all born naked and die naked. Who is more noble than anyone else, and who is more lowly?"

Gu Hua turned to the assembled court officials: "Prince Cheng bought and sold official positions for personal gain, did not hesitate to frame meritorious officials, and disregarded the suffering of the people. The heinous crimes he committed were all accompanied by bloody murder cases. And he dared to do such things because he had Empress Sun and the Crown Prince as his backers."

"cheap……"

Snapped!

Empress Sun was slapped hard across the face by the scabbard end. The force was so great that she was instantly thrown to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood mixed with a broken tooth.

Mu Junyan put his sword away and straightened it: "If the Empress doesn't know how to speak, I can have someone teach her."

Empress Sun and Prince Cheng looked on with fear in their eyes.

The Emperor sighed: "The Empress is to be banished to the Cold Palace. The Sun family shall be handed over to the Three Judicial Offices for trial. Zhao Yufeng is virtuous and accomplished in both literature and martial arts; he is worthy of being the Crown Prince. The Ministry of Rites shall handle the matter according to the rules."

After saying a long string of words, he coughed, and then coughed up a mouthful of blood.

The court officials and imperial physicians were terrified.

Gu Hua breathed a sigh of relief as she watched Empress Sun and Prince Cheng being taken away.

What happened after that was no longer her concern.

She returned to the farm, where Shen Li was giving Zhao Luoxuan acupuncture.

Zhao Luoxuan's eyes were glazed over. When she saw Gu Hua come in, she immediately sat up. The needle in her arm hurt terribly with the slightest movement, but she didn't care.

"Sister, my mother..."

Gu Hua walked over quickly, sat down by her bedside, and said softly, "It's alright. His Majesty did not depose the Empress; he simply gave the position of Crown Prince to Zhao Yufeng."

Zhao Luoxuan's tears fell: "It's their own karma that caused this."

……

The following day, Zhao Yufeng became the crown prince, and Zhao Yuxuan moved out of the East Palace and was imprisoned.

Ten days later, the emperor abdicated, and Zhao Yufeng ascended the throne.

The Sun family's property was confiscated, their entire clan was implicated, and the imperial court was subjected to a major purge.

Mu Junyan was granted the title of Regent, and his wife, Gu Hua, was granted the title of First-Rank Imperial Lady.

The new emperor merged the original Prince Cheng's Mansion and Prince Ping'an's Mansion, and the Ministry of Works accelerated their renovation, bestowing upon them the title of Regent's Mansion.

Two months later, Mu Junyan and Gu Hua moved into the Regent's Palace with Tuantuan.

Gu Hua looked around the magnificent palace and couldn't help but sigh.

"Such a large palace, I don't want to go to Dali, it's exhausting."

Mu Junyan smiled and stretched out his long arm to hug the person: "You don't need to worry about that, just focus on having babies."

Gu Hua kept a straight face and nudged his chest with her elbow: "I'm not a sow that just keeps giving birth."

"Hahaha, very good, very good. My wife can have children whenever she wants, and she can not have children when she doesn't want to. You don't need to worry about the Prince's mansion, because she may often be unable to get out of bed."

Gu Hua glared at him, her pretty face flushed, and said in a low, fierce voice, "What nonsense are you spouting in front of the child and so many people?"

"Oh, shall we go inside and talk? We can also take a look at the carved bed in the bedroom and see if it suits us?"

As he spoke, Mu Junyan picked the child up in his arms and said to the grinning Tuantuan, "Son, shall I take your mother and go ahead? Why don't you go and check on your own courtyard?"

Tuantuan raised his little head: "Okay, Father. Son will take Qiqi to see the new courtyard."

"Good son!"

Mu Junyan was extremely satisfied.

Gu Hua was so embarrassed that she didn't dare to lift her face.

I have a feeling that things won't be easy from now on.

It will be exhausting.

——————End of main text————

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