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

Gu Hua instantly straightened up.

With a determined look, she spoke at an extremely fast pace: "I have often heard people praising the Empress Dowager and have the utmost respect for her. But today, having seen Your Majesty's face, I find it to be completely different from the rumors."

"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, without even asking what happened, has already concluded that it was my fault. It's a small matter that I was beaten and wronged; what about the reputation of my father, the Duke of Yong, and the justice of the world? Does Your Majesty disregard all that?"

In her early years, the Empress Dowager supported the emperor, who was not her biological son, to ascend the throne and controlled the court by ruling from behind the curtain. Later, when the emperor took power, the two continued to secretly compete for real power, a fact known to everyone in Bianjing.

Even in its decline, the Marquis of Wenchang's mansion was once the head of the civil service.

The Duke of Yong was the head of the five officials.

The Empress Dowager could punish a powerless young woman because of Jiang Ruoxi, but she could not ignore the impact on the court officials.

The Empress Dowager raised an eyebrow and looked at Jiang Ruoxi: "So you're quite sharp-tongued, no wonder you can't win against her."

Jiang Ruoxi said aggrievedly, "Ruoxi is only concerned about the face of the royal family. How can I argue with a common merchant's daughter?"

Gu Hua slammed her head heavily on the ground, and when she looked up, a large, red bump had appeared on her forehead.

She didn't care about that anymore.

Fifty slaps would knock her unconscious on the spot, and with any fabricated excuse, she could die again.

"Your Majesty, there was a reason for my argument with the county princess that day. Please allow me to explain, otherwise, it is a small matter if I am wrongly accused and beaten to death, but it is a big matter if Your Majesty's virtuous reputation is tarnished."

The Empress Dowager glanced at her, then at Jiang Ruoxi, whose eyes darted away.

"No, it's just that Xi'er accidentally broke one of her jade hairpins that day..."

Gu Hua immediately interrupted her: "What the county princess said is not true. That piece was originally given to my cousin-in-law by me. Who knew that the county princess would snatch it and smash it for no reason? I asked the county princess to compensate me for the cost, but she refused and has not made any compensation to this day. Everyone who was there at the time can testify to this."

"You're spouting nonsense! You vile woman, you're slandering this county magistrate with your lies!"

Jiang Ruoxi jumped up in anger and pointed at Gu Hua's nose, cursing.

Gu Hua's lower abdomen was in unbearable pain. She pressed one hand against her lower abdomen and supported herself on the ground with the other, continuing to argue with all her might.

"As a county princess, you have received the Emperor's grace and guidance. Yet you speak so rudely and tarnish the Empress Dowager's reputation. How can you face the Empress Dowager's painstaking teachings?"

"you!"

Jiang Ruoxi's face turned bright red with anger.

Having held power for many years, how could the Empress Dowager not know the gravity of the situation?

The Empress Dowager looked at the swaying girl who was trying to hold on, and her tone softened: "It seems I misunderstood you. Quickly help Miss Gu up and offer her a seat."

Gu Hua's blood energy dissipated instantly, and she almost collapsed to the ground.

A palace maid stepped forward to help her up. Her legs were trembling and she felt dizzy. She quickly sat down on the embroidered stool that the maid handed her.

"Grandmother..."

Jiang Ruoxi was so anxious that she stomped her feet when she saw that the Empress Dowager let Gu Hua go so easily.

The Empress Dowager glared at her: "Calm down."

"The Duke of Yong has arrived," the palace attendant announced.

Jiang Ruoxi was overjoyed: "So my great-aunt had already..."

The Empress Dowager interrupted her with a look, unable to contain herself any longer.

Then look at that seemingly delicate girl, she is extremely shrewd and courageous, and in comparison, she surpasses Jiang Ruoxi, whom she has carefully taught.

She was somewhat worried about whether Jiang Ruoxi could control Mu Junyan.

Gu Hua looked up and saw a tall, familiar figure walking in from the opposite corridor.

For no reason, her heart calmed down. With him there, she should be able to survive.

The two exchanged a glance, but before they could even make eye contact, Jiang Ruoxi jumped up excitedly and ran over.

"Brother-in-law, you're here."

Mu Junyan subtly avoided her hand and quickly glanced at Gu Hua.

I noticed that the color had drained from her face and her clothes were soaked with sweat.

Chi Yan reported that she had fainted in the carriage. He was about to go and see her when the Emperor summoned him to the palace. They had only talked for a quarter of an hour when the Empress Dowager sent someone to summon him, saying that there was something important to discuss.

The Emperor naturally wouldn't stop him, so he let him come over.

He didn't expect that Gu Hua would also be summoned to the palace.

It seems she can't hold on any longer.

Mu Junyan withdrew his gaze, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty the Empress Dowager."

"We're all family, no need for formalities, please sit down." The Empress Dowager said with a kind smile.

Mu Junyan remained standing, neither humble nor arrogant, and said, "This humble subject has important matters to report to His Majesty. I wonder what Her Majesty the Empress Dowager's instructions are in summoning me?"

The Empress Dowager was used to his attitude and didn't mind. She smiled and said, "Ruoxi told us about your brave and skillful deeds in battle, and we were all very excited. When we heard that you had entered the palace, we summoned you to tell me about them."

Mu Junyan frowned: "Your Majesty and I discussed the national crisis and important military matters. We had no time to entertain the Empress Dowager."

The Empress Dowager's face fell.

But it just won't take effect.

"I wonder why the Empress Dowager has summoned Gu Hua to the palace?"

The Empress Dowager smiled and said, "Xi'er mentioned that your daughter-in-law has a younger sister who is temporarily staying at the Duke's mansion. She praised her to the skies. I was so curious that I summoned her to the palace to take a look."

Mu Junyan didn't want to waste time arguing with her: "Gu Hua fainted in the manor today. After all, she is my daughter-in-law's younger sister. If anything happens to her, I will not be able to explain it to the Marquis of Wenchang's manor. Please allow me to take her back, Your Majesty."

The Empress Dowager's expression changed slightly, but she quickly regained her composure. "I noticed the little girl's complexion wasn't good, and I was just about to order someone to send her back."

Mu Junyan immediately strode towards Gu Hua.

Gu Hua was so excited that she struggled to stand up. Suddenly, there were several screams and a thud.

Gu Hua turned around and saw Jiang Ruoxi had fallen into the pond and was struggling to stay afloat.

The palace maids around were in a panic, frantically searching for sticks to try and lift the person up.

The Empress Dowager stood up in shock: "Junyan, quickly save Xi'er! None of the people here can swim!"

Mu Junyan frowned.

Gu Hua suddenly lifted her skirt and rushed over, but when she saw the bottomless lake, she felt a little scared.

Every time she sees water, she subconsciously recalls the suffocating fear she felt before she died.

Early autumn has brought cool weather, and the water is even colder.

However, if Mu Junyan were to go into the water to save someone, he would fall into the Empress Dowager's trap and would have no choice but to marry Jiang Ruoxi.

Her body is worthless. If she saves Jiang Ruoxi, the Empress Dowager will be too embarrassed to make things difficult for her again, and at the same time, she will help Mu Junyan out of his predicament.

An adventure that resulted in guilt from both sides—it was worth it.

Everyone was stunned. Before they could react, with a "plop," Gu Hua jumped down and quickly grabbed Jiang Ruoxi's hand.

Mu Junyan's eyes darkened, and he leaped down, following closely behind.

Jiang Ruoxi was pushed down. In her panic, she grabbed a hand and frantically tried to climb over the person.

The Empress Dowager and everyone on the shore were stunned.

"Help! Someone, come quick and save him!" the Empress Dowager cried out in a panic.

Gu Hua was already shivering from the cold when she was instantly entangled by the drowning person like an octopus. Jiang Ruoxi kicked her hard around the waist, and the pain almost made her lose consciousness.

Unable to hold on any longer, she sank into the water, but at the last moment she held onto Jiang Ruoxi's feet and pushed her up with all her might.

This push, however, actually pushed her deeper into the lake.

People who could swim rushed over and hurriedly grabbed Jiang Ruoxi, who had been pushed to the edge of the waterside pavilion. The calm lake surface seemed to have exploded.

The icy lake water surrounded Gu Hua from all sides, chilling her to the bone. Her hands and feet were stiff and she couldn't move. Her ears and mouth were filled with lake water, making it impossible for her to breathe.

Whether it was her body, her senses, or the memories of her near-death experience, she had lost all strength to support herself, her limbs limp and slowly sinking.

Mu Junyan was a skilled swimmer. He leaped up and found that Gu Hua's shadow had disappeared from the lake. He felt as if his heart had been hollowed out, and panic and anger filled his chest.

Suddenly, he saw ripples spreading across the lake not far ahead. He quickly plunged into the water and spotted a person waving their arms vigorously.

In the last moment before losing consciousness, Gu Hua was overwhelmed by the bitterness of her two lifetimes of humble struggle to survive. Having finally been reborn, she was unwilling to give up just like that.

She bit her lip hard, the pain bringing her back to her senses, and struggled to reach her hand towards the water.

Suddenly, I felt a strong arm around my waist, and soon my head was above water. I didn't care that I was choking and I struggled to open my mouth to breathe.

Her cold body was held tightly in a warm embrace, and she groggily opened her eyes.

Mu Junyan.

It's him……

Mu Junyan carried the person ashore. A palace maid handed him a blanket, intending to take the person from his arms. However, he pulled the blanket over himself, wrapped the person in his arms, turned her over, and gently patted her back.

Gu Hua spat out a mouthful of saliva and felt as if she had finally come back to life.

"Bring another dry blanket," Mu Junyan said in a deep voice.

At this moment, no one dared to make things difficult, and soon, a palace maid brought over a dry blanket.

Mu Junyan quickly untied the wet blanket, grabbed a dry blanket and wrapped her up like a dumpling. Ignoring the Empress Dowager's expression and not even glancing at Jiang Ruoxi who had been rescued, he simply picked her up and carried her away.

The Empress Dowager was stunned for a moment, then looked at the sobbing Jiang Ruoxi and sighed deeply.

"Useless things!"

In the end, all their efforts were in vain!