FBC -Chapter 310 Rushing to Dali

Gu Hua forced herself to suppress the grief and fury churning in her chest. Her voice trembled as she asked, “Then… can her leg be cured?”

Shen Li fell silent for a moment. “The chances aren’t great, but it’s possible.”

Gu Hua understood Shen Li’s temperament—she disliked lying and tended toward pessimism. If she said “possible,” then there truly was a possibility.

Gu Hua’s heart loosened a little. She grabbed Shen Li’s arm, trying to speak, but tears spilled down her cheeks before any words came out.

Seeing her like this, Shen Li’s eyes also reddened. In a hoarse voice, she said, “Don’t worry. Zhilan is also my elder sister. I will definitely do everything I can to treat her.”

Doctor Shen’s expression was grim. “Right now the issue isn’t her leg. She… seems unwilling to live. Whether she wakes up or not will be the key.”

Everyone stiffened, speechless.

Shen Li nodded. “She tried to bite her tongue, but someone stuffed something into her mouth to stop her. If she could move, she probably would have killed herself already.”

Zhou Chunyu trembled violently, roaring in agony, “Why should she be the one to die! I’ll tear those beasts into pieces and scatter their ashes!”

A metallic taste surged up Gu Hua’s throat, but she forced it down, clenching her fists hard enough to hurt.

“Shen Li, Doctor Shen, Zhou Chunyu—you must give everything you have to save my sister. I’ll go hunt down those bastards myself and grind them to dust!”

With that, she turned to leave.

“I’m coming too!” Zhou Chunyu rushed toward her like a madman.

Gu Hua suddenly turned back and slapped him hard.

The crisp sound shocked everyone.

Zhou Chunyu froze.

Gu Hua’s bitten lips were bleeding, her tear-filled eyes burning red. She rasped, “Zhou Chunyu, the one who wronged Zhilan most… is you! If not for you, would she have had to wait until today to marry? Would anyone have found the chance to harm her like this? Listen carefully! You are staying right here to guard her! Whether she wants to live depends on you. Do you understand?!”

Zhou Chunyu’s tears fell uncontrollably. He couldn’t speak for a long moment.

Gu Hua pointed at him with trembling fingers. “If Zhilan dies, then you shouldn’t live either! Even if you want to, I’ll be the first to kill you!”

Zhou Chunyu suddenly turned and dropped to his knees with a loud thud in front of the door. “Princess Consort, if Zhilan dies, I will follow her.”

“Nonsense!”

Gu Hua punched him again in fury. “You need to stay with her, coax her, scare her if you must—whatever it takes to keep her alive!”

Zhou Chunyu raised his head and screamed toward the sky, “Zhou Zhilan is my life! She will live!”

Only then did Gu Hua feel slightly relieved. She looked tearfully in the direction of Zhilan’s room before turning to leave.

Mu Junyan caught up in a few steps. Gu Hua tilted her face toward him. “I can do this alone.”

“Of course I’m going with you.”

Gu Hua nodded, eyes glistening. “It’s my fault. I didn’t protect her. I’m the one who deserves to die.”

Mu Junyan took her hand and walked forward with her. “It’s my fault for being careless. The Chiyan scouts will send us updates. We’ll go to the Dali royal court and speak with Duan Yu first. Every debt has a debtor—if someone wants trouble, they can come at me.”

Gu Hua’s heart eased. With him beside her, nothing would go wrong.

But she still couldn’t understand—Zhilan wasn’t a military commander, merely a steward of the prince’s household. Why target her? Harming her would only inflame all of Quzhou and the entire Mu Army.

How would that benefit Dali?

If war really broke out, Dali was still no match for the Mu Army.

So there was only one possibility: someone wanted to provoke the two nations.

If she had realized this, Mu Junyan surely had too.

Bianjing had been in turmoil for a long time, plotting many small schemes over the past year. Though the Mu Army had thwarted them all, the masterminds were relentless—and Wang Heng’s faction in southern Xinjiang was equally unwilling to give up.

This was no longer personal hatred. The final battle between the Mu Army and their enemies was coming.

If they wanted to start a conflict, then the best approach was to confront Duan Yu directly, cut off the power being borrowed from him, catch the beasts who did this, and avenge Zhilan.

Chiyan and Chiyu exchanged a look, and the personal guards immediately followed.

A group of more than ten mounted up and shot out of the southern city gate like arrows.

Soon after, the black-armored guards, having received the secret order, also mobilized. Over a hundred men followed behind.

---

Duan Yu was having lunch with Zhao Luoxuan.

Zhao Luoxuan had barely eaten before setting down her chopsticks, preoccupied. “Your Majesty, do you think what happened to Sister Zhilan was done by our people?”

Duan Yu placed a slice of egg onto her plate. “No. I’ve already sent people to investigate. We should get results soon.”

“But… why did those beasts flee toward Dali then?”

Duan Yu smiled. “What if they wanted to frame us?”

Zhao Luoxuan’s eyes widened. “You mean the smaller kingdoms did it on purpose?”

Just as Duan Yu was about to speak, an attendant rushed in. “Your Majesty, Your Highness—the Prince of Yong and Princess Consort Yong have arrived.”

Zhao Luoxuan stood quickly, then froze, heart tightening. She anxiously looked at Duan Yu. “Elder Sister must be here to find the culprits.”

Duan Yu rose, accepted the mouth rinse from a maid, swished slowly, wiped his mouth, and said, “Treat them well.”

The attendant hurried away.

Zhao Luoxuan lifted her skirt to follow, but Duan Yu grabbed her hand.

“Don’t rush.”

Her eyes were red with worry. “Sister Zhilan and Sister Hua are closer than real sisters. Zhilan suffered so terribly—Sister Hua must be furious. If we don’t explain clearly, she’ll resent us.”

Duan Yu patted her hand. “Calm down. I’ll go check whether there are results yet. Otherwise, what can we say when we meet them? They probably haven’t eaten—go prepare a proper meal for them. Make sure their guards are treated well too. After everything is arranged, we’ll go see them.”

Zhao Luoxuan felt it made sense.

She also feared misunderstandings.

“Alright, I’ll arrange it now.”

---

Gu Hua paced anxiously around the hall.

Mu Junyan watched, unable to comfort her, knowing her heart was in agony.

Chiyu lowered his voice. “My lord, the princess consort has arranged a table for us. The attendant said Princess Shuhe will dine with you and the princess consort.”

Mu Junyan nodded. “Go.”

Chiyu hesitated. “Allow us to leave a few guards with you.”

“No need.”

Mu Junyan shook his head. “If they mean us harm, you won’t be able to stop anything from happening anyway. Go.”

Chiyu bowed and left.

Mu Junyan pulled Gu Hua into his arms, rubbing her arm comfortingly. “Calm down. Trust Princess Shuhe.”

Gu Hua’s voice was choked. “I trust her. But I don’t trust Duan Yu. Now that Xuanxuan is pregnant, as a wife and a future mother, she’ll be caught between sides. I can’t predict what choice she’ll make.”

Just then, Zhao Luoxuan reached the doorway and paused, hearing those words. Her chest tightened painfully.

She took a deep breath, suppressing her complicated feelings, lifted her skirt, and hurried inside.

Gu Hua spotted her immediately and rushed over to grab her hand. “You’re pregnant—why are you running so fast?”

Zhao Luoxuan’s tears burst forth. She hadn’t expected the first thing Sister Hua said to be concern for her.

“Elder Sister… Sister Zhilan…”

She couldn’t hold back and threw herself into Gu Hua’s arms, sobbing.

The three of them had lived closely for over a year—Zhao Luoxuan, Zhou Zhilan, and Gu Hua were like real sisters. Zhilan’s tragedy hurt her no less than it hurt Gu Hua.

Gu Hua stroked her back gently, tears falling uncontrollably. Neither could speak as they cried together.

Mu Junyan sighed. “Princess Shuhe, don’t upset Hua’er. Her eyes are already swollen from crying—and she rode five hours straight. She’s exhausted.”

Hearing this, Zhao Luoxuan quickly forced herself to stop crying. She clung to Gu Hua’s arm and said hoarsely, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry… come, let’s eat first. His Majesty already sent people to investigate. He didn’t come to receive you because he went to check on the results himself. We should know soon.”

Gu Hua was drained—her legs were shaking.

She didn’t refuse and followed Zhao Luoxuan to eat.

Halfway through the meal, Duan Yu arrived.

Gu Hua immediately stood and strode forward, eyes sharp. “What happened?”

Duan Yu still looked gentle as he said, “Eat first. I’ll explain slowly afterward.”

Gu Hua ignored him. “Just tell me—was it your people?!”

Duan Yu’s smile vanished. He answered solemnly, “No.”