I have suffered enough in my previous life, my cousin will never marry me

Chapter 209 Sending Hostages

Mu Qingqing knew her aunt's character well. As a descendant of a military family, she had been influenced by her maternal grandfather since childhood. She and her mother had always been women who were not inferior to men. Now that Yuezhou was in great danger, her aunt would not abandon the people and flee to Qizhou alone.

"Aunt, Grandpa and Cousin are both away right now, so let Qingqing accompany you to Yuzhou," Mu Qingqing pleaded.

Consort Zhang stroked her hair and shook her head, saying, "Qingqing, you are the only daughter of the Marquis of Dingyuan's family. Your mother is currently in a precarious situation in the northern border. I cannot let you take any more risks. You must go to Qizhou."

After saying that, she pushed Fu Yunni in front of her and said in a deep voice, "You must take good care of Ani for your aunt."

Fu Yunni immediately burst into tears, saying, "Mother, I'll go with you."

"Ani, listen to me, set off immediately with your cousin to Qizhou." With a hardened heart, Consort Zhang leaped onto her warhorse and rode away in a cloud of dust.

Mu Qingqing picked up the little one and kept comforting him. Seeing everyone's helpless look, Chu Yin immediately said, "Qingqing, the most urgent thing is for us to rush to Qizhou as soon as possible and ask Chief Secretary Zhao to send troops to aid Yuzhou."

“Yes, Ani, let’s hurry to Qizhou. As long as we get our uncle to send troops out as soon as possible, we will definitely be able to defend Yuzhou.”

As soon as Mu Qingqing finished speaking, Fu Yunni stopped crying immediately. She quickly wiped away her tears and went over to pull Gu Qingmian and Gu Tingji, the siblings, towards the carriage.

"Princess, have Tingji and I caused you any trouble?"

Ever since she learned that her second brother was leading troops to attack Yuezhou, Gu Qingmian had been feeling uneasy.

Sitting upright in the carriage, the siblings stared intently at Fu Yunni and Mu Qingqing.

Fu Yunni quickly shook her head: "Sister Mian, Brother Ji, don't be afraid. Ani will definitely not hand you over to that demon."

Mu Qingqing guessed that Gu Tingchen wanted to use the siblings to threaten Wan's sister, so she comforted her, saying, "Qingmian, Tingji, your cousin went through a lot of trouble to send you out of Lin'an. Now all you need to do is stay in Yuezhou and not think about anything else."

The siblings nodded obediently, but when Gu Tingji thought of his mother and cousin, he couldn't help but cry.

"Sister, I miss my cousin and mother. I wonder how they are doing now," Gu Tingji said, his voice choked with emotion.

"They'll be alright," Mu Qingqing said, wiping away his tears and gently comforting him until he calmed down.

The group rushed to Qizhou without stopping, not daring to rest for a moment, just to arrive in Qizhou as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, at the Qizhou Garrison Commander's Office, Yu Bai had been pestering Fu Yu'e for days, but she remained unmoved. She used the excuse of guarding against pirates to prevent Zhao Yun from leading troops to rescue Fu Yu'e. Yu Bai had no choice but to bring all his generals to plead for permission.

"Please, Princess, immediately send troops to aid Yuzhou." Yu Bai said indignantly, "Your Highness is currently fighting a bloody battle with the Yuezhou army in Lin'an and the northern border. If the Dowager Consort or the Princess were to suffer even the slightest mishap, how could the Princess face the spirit of the old Prince in heaven? And how could she explain this to His Highness in the future?"

"What a joke! Didn't Yan Jin take people back to Yuezhou to pick up his sister-in-law and niece? Why would he need to mobilize troops from Qizhou?"

Fu Yu'e sneered disdainfully: "Yu Bai, don't think I wouldn't dare to kill you. Back then, that damned Ming Chi drove our family to Qizhou, forcing his uncle to sign a military pledge to defend Qizhou to the death. If Qizhou were to fall, could you bear the responsibility?"

Zhao Yun, who was listening nearby, was also getting anxious: "Madam, if the second son of the Gu family really leads his troops into Yuezhou, there are no soldiers left in Yuezhou right now. Yuezhou is a thousand miles away from Qizhou. We should send some people to pick up our sister-in-law."

"What could possibly happen to her?" Fu Yu'e retorted unhappily, "Ming Chi has always been known for his martial prowess. He can't even handle Gu Tingchen? Would he let that scoundrel run rampant in Yuezhou?"

“But Mingchi only brought three thousand men with him when he entered Lin’an. It was already difficult enough that he was able to successfully defend the king. How can he withstand the southward advance of the Gu family’s army?” Zhao Yun pleaded. “Even if that girl from the Ye family is worrying unnecessarily, this matter concerns the safety of hundreds of thousands of people in Yuezhou. We cannot afford to be complacent.”

“Zhao Yun, I think you’ve been bewitched by that wretched girl too.” Fu Yu’e became increasingly furious as she listened: “Just because she says Gu Tingchen will lead troops to attack Yuezhou, we have to listen to her? I think she has ulterior motives. She knows it’s not easy for us to defend Qizhou, so she deliberately let you lead troops away from Qizhou to give the pirates an opportunity. When Qizhou is lost, she can have Mingchi punish our whole family, and then Yingying will be completely rejected by Mingchi.”

“How could Miss Ye have such deep scheming thoughts?” Yu Bai was speechless. “The Princess is only focused on scheming for the marriage between Miss Ye and His Highness. Has she ever truly considered His Highness’s feelings? On the other hand, Miss Ye has always put herself in His Highness’s shoes.”

Zhao Yingying felt a little embarrassed upon hearing this.

I thought Ye Wanshu had completely abandoned her cousin this time, but I never expected that she would risk her life to help her cousin serve the king.

Thinking back on all these years, aside from being willful and demanding, she really hadn't helped her cousin much.

"mother."

She wanted to persuade her mother, but before she could even open her mouth, Fu Yu'e shut her up with a look: "Are you going to make a foolish mistake too? Do you still want to marry your cousin?"

Just as everyone in the room was feeling awkward, Mu Qingqing and Yan Jin barged in with their entourage.

Upon hearing what the Princess had just said, Mu Qingqing patiently pleaded, "Aunt, Sister Wan is not lying. Prince Dao'an has already occupied Huizhou and is leading 20,000 elite cavalry straight toward Yuzhou. My aunt has already gone to defend the city herself. Please send troops immediately."

"What? Sister Wang led her own men to resist the Gu family army?"

Zhao Yun was so frightened that cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He hurriedly stepped forward to confirm, "Qingqing, you can't talk nonsense. There are no garrison troops in Yuzhou right now. Your aunt is not confused. She really went to Yuzhou?"

"It is precisely because Yuzhou is vulnerable that Aunt had no choice but to go there in person," Mu Qingqing said. "Uncle has governed Yuezhou for many years. Can he bear to watch the people suffer?"

Zhao Yun breathed a sigh of relief and secretly glanced at Fu Yu'e.

Fu Yu'e then felt a sense of urgency.

"Gu Tingchen occupies Huizhou, which is full of Gu family confidants and hundreds of thousands of imperial troops are stationed there. How can our small force resist the Gu family army?"

Fu Yu'e considered the matter carefully. Ming Chi was acting recklessly for that wretched girl from the Ye family, disregarding the entire Yuezhou. If he were to lose this battle, she would have to make some plans for her family.

After silently observing Gu Qingmian and Gu Tingji beside Fu Yunni, Fu Yu'e said softly, "Now that things have come to this, even if we mobilize all our forces, we will find it difficult to resist the Gu family army. Why not send these two children to exchange for my sister-in-law?"

"No!" Fu Yunni immediately stepped in front of the siblings: "How can our aunt be so despicable and shameless? My sister-in-law would rather give up her own life to help the Yongning Prince's Mansion escape its predicament. Now that she has sent Sister Mian and Brother Ji to Yuezhou, how can we repay kindness with enmity? If our aunt wants to harm Sister Mian and Brother Ji today, she should kill Ani first."

"Mother," Zhao Yingying said anxiously, and was slapped to the ground by Fu Yu'e.

"Shut up."

Fu Yu'e glanced at her daughter with heartache, then immediately turned her gaze to Gu Qingmian and Gu Tingji, and said fiercely, "The disaster in Yuezhou was caused by that wretched girl from the Ye family. What do you mean by repaying kindness with enmity? Guards, seize these two siblings."

Soldiers rushed in from outside the door, ready to arrest the man, when a loud shout suddenly came from outside: "Let's see who dares!"

Everyone looked over at the sound and saw a handsome young man being led by a servant at a brisk pace.

"Ji Yunze, you stinking scholar," Fu Yu'e cursed irritably.