After the Substitute Marriage, She Takes Command of the Army and Sets the World in Order

(1v1) (Mutually devoted) (Marriage first, love later) (No palace or household intrigue) (No abuse of the protagonist) (A little angst)

Shen Yan, once a servant in the Shen household, is sent to marry in someone else's place at the marquis's manor because of rumors.

She thinks she will spend the rest of her life that way, but then someone exposes the substitute marriage.

With no choice, she flees with Lu Xu. After enduring all kinds of hardships, she suppresses bandits, repels foreign invaders, frees slaves, unifies the country, and fights her way into becoming a renowned general of her age.

(This story has no household or palace intrigue. The female lead kills her way through everything, growing stronger along the way.)