I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 258 Scored twice
Consort Han felt a lump in her throat from the scolding, unable to utter a sound.

Her biggest regret in her life was not being able to marry King Xuan and become his principal wife.

What woman is born wanting to be a concubine? It's just that her family was of low status. Back then, when Emperor Gaozu had just conquered the country, he urgently needed the support of noble families to stabilize the court. In order to stabilize the northwest, he bestowed Meng's wife upon Prince Xuan as his principal wife.

She was deeply in love with King Xuan, but after hearing that the marriage was arranged, she was forced to give up her feelings. Unexpectedly, her parents forced her to become King Xuan's concubine for the sake of the family.

Not only herself, but also her other half-sisters were all sent to the royal palace or various noble families as concubines.

Only daughters born of the principal wife can become the legal wife!

Consort Han harbored a deep resentment and tried her best to win Prince Xuan's favor, but in the end she discovered that Prince Xuan respected Lady Meng the most and loved Lady Qin the most. Only she was nothing.

Having seen through King Xuan's heart, Consort Han devoted all her attention to her children, and did her best to raise her two sons to be successful.

Although both sons are equally dear to her, Gu An is her first child. He is both promising and outstanding, and highly valued by Prince Xuan. Naturally, she dotes on her eldest son more than her younger son.

After Gu An lost his wife, he was devastated and vowed to find a better wife for his son. That's why she let Gu An observe mourning all these years. But who would have thought that His Majesty would bestow a marriage upon him!
He will bestow Bai Rouyin upon An'er as his wife!

If she had known this would happen, she would have just closed her eyes and randomly picked a daughter, who would have been several times better than Bai Rouyin!
Consort Han grew increasingly resentful. "Fine, since the young lady of the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion is so eager to marry, then let her marry! Once she marries into the Prince's mansion, I will take good care of her!"

After speaking, Consort Han turned and strode away.

"My lord, what should we do?"

Madam Zhao was very worried. There were too many ways to torment people in the inner quarters. Consort Han was, after all, Gu An's biological mother. If she wanted to torture Bai Rouyin and make her suffer unbearably, it would be easy for her.

Bai Wei looked at his daughter and said, "After you marry into the royal family, if anyone dares to bully you, feel free to fight back. If anything happens, your father will support you!"

Bai Rouyin obediently agreed, "Daughter understands."

Since both Gu An and Bai Rouyin were remarried, even if it was a marriage decreed by His Majesty, the wedding could not be too grand. Therefore, Princess Xuan directly set the wedding venue at the Xuan Prince's villa.

Half a month later, Bai Rouyin married with her dowry. Amidst joyous music and celebration, Gu An and Bai Rouyin bowed three times and officially became husband and wife.

The next day, Bai Rouyin, dressed as a bride, respectfully served tea to Princess Xuan. Princess Xuan rewarded her with a large red envelope and made up for the share that Gu An had not received when the family property was divided.

"This is a restaurant. Although the location is a bit out of the way, it is elegantly decorated. Take good care of it and live a good life."

Bai Rouyin accepted the house deed obediently.

After the family had a reunion dinner, they went their separate ways.

"Fifth brother, fifth brother and sister!"

Tang Zhao turned around, and Bai Rouyin, dressed in red, walked gracefully towards him.

"I thought I would never be able to be a family with you two again in this life, but I never expected that fate would be so unpredictable, and that this is how things have turned out."

Bai Rouyin looked at Tang Zhao with a defiant gaze, "Speaking of which, I've never heard my fifth sister-in-law call me second sister-in-law before."

Qiu Yu mimicked Bai Rouyin's tone, "Speaking of which, the Second Young Mistress hasn't yet paid her respects to the Princess and the Prince."

Bai Rouyin's smile froze. "We're all family, why bother at home?"

Qiu Yu interrupted, “Only with a country can there be a family. The ruler and his subjects come first, then the father and son. If the Second Young Mistress wants the Princess to perform the family etiquette, she must first perform the national etiquette to the Princess.”

State etiquette is not like family etiquette, where a light touch is sufficient. When facing a princess of a nation, one must kneel in reverence!

Bai Rouyin was now in a difficult situation.

Gu An walked over, stood in front of Bai Rouyin, and bowed, saying, "Fifth brother, fifth sister-in-law, please forgive me."

"Second Brother, no need for such formalities," Tang Zhao said. "We have other matters to attend to, so we'll be leaving now." "Fifth Brother, Fifth Sister-in-law, please take care."

After Tang Zhao and Gu Ci had walked away, Gu An turned to Bai Rouyin, who had her head down, and said, "Now that you have married into the Prince's Mansion, you must abide by the rules of the Prince's Mansion."

“I didn’t care about your past grudges with others, but from now on, if you are bullied, I will definitely stand up for you. Similarly, if you cause trouble, I will not protect you.”

Bai Rouyin gently bit her lower lip. "I understand, my husband."

Gu An's expression softened. "You were busy all day yesterday, go home and rest early."

"Where is my husband?" Bai Rouyin looked up at him.

"I'm going to the military base; don't wait for me tonight."

Bai Rouyin watched Gu Anyuan's departing figure, then angrily turned around and went back to the courtyard.

Inside the Luoyang Imperial Palace, Emperor Pingyuan was listening to a report from the Flying Dragon Guards.

"The Ministry of War's Weaponry Workshop has already tested the weapons that their subordinates brought back and confirmed that the materials used in those weapons are not ordinary iron, but a material that has never been seen before. I heard that it is called steel."

"Steel?" Emperor Pingyuan picked up the long sword placed on his desk.

"According to Marquis Zhongyong, the steel was forged by craftsmen from the Northwest Army's weapons workshop, and its hardness and toughness far exceed those of ordinary iron."

Emperor Pingyuan, curious, said, "Let me try."

Wan Qian stood up, drew his sword, and held it horizontally in front of him.

Emperor Pingyuan stepped down from his throne and with a single stroke, cleaved thousands of swords in two.

"Truly a divine weapon," Emperor Pingyuan said without a hint of joy, "It's just a pity it won't recognize its master."

"Is it possible to bring the craftsmen to the capital?"

Wan Qian shook his head. "Lord Zhongyong said that King Xuan has very strict control over the weapons workshop. Only close relatives are allowed to approach it, and the craftsmen in the weapons workshop are guarded around the clock. It's as difficult as climbing to heaven to get a craftsman."

"It seems the only option is to have Prince Xuan offer the craftsmen up with both hands," Emperor Pingyuan frowned. "Is the Duke of Wei in good health?"

“It’s much better than before; he can walk now,” Wan Qian honestly said. “In my estimation, the Duke of Wei will be able to return to the army in about a month.”

Emperor Pingyuan instructed, "Tell Tang Zheng to hurry up."

Northwest, Renxintang.

Nearly three months later, Tang Zheng finally left the clinic that was permeated with the smell of medicine and was able to walk on the street and breathe fresh air.

The imperial physician advised, "Your Excellency, your injury has just healed, so it's best not to move around too much to avoid further injury."

Tang Zheng ignored him, his eyes fixed on the cement road beneath his feet.

"Get out of the way, get out of the way!"

The noise from not far away brought Tang Zheng back to his senses. "What's that sound?"

The imperial physician looked in the direction of the sound and saw a carriage rushing toward where they were standing.

The coachman shouted, "Get out of the way! This horse has gone mad!"

The carriage arrived in an instant. The imperial physician's eyes widened. Remembering His Majesty's instructions before he left, he grabbed Tang Zheng and lunged towards the roadside, landing as a human cushion for Tang Zheng.

With two sharp cracks, Tang Zheng and the imperial physician cried out in pain at the same time.