At the critical moment, Zhu Haotian arrived just in time, grabbed Zhu Wen's hand, twisted his arm forcefully, and successfully shook the knife out of his hand.

"Second brother, let go." Madam Liu quickly stepped forward and gestured for him to release his grip.

Seeing this, Zhu Haotian reluctantly let go of Zhu Wen's hand and glared at him angrily.

Zhu Wen sat on the ground in a disheveled state, letting out a cold laugh, "Kill me or torture me, it's up to you."

"Zhu Wen, if you tell us the truth, we can live to see the next county and give you money."

Liu Shi had no intention of giving up, so she quickly squatted down and looked at Zhu Wen with a sincere expression.

Zhu Wen lowered his head and pondered for a long time. After calming down for a while, he slowly raised his head and spoke.

“We unexpectedly received a letter, a secret letter from the capital. The messenger was seriously injured and resting with the yamen runners, so he handed the secret letter over to our boss.”

"After experiencing abnormalities at several post stations, the eldest brother became uneasy. He happened to have a secret letter on hand, so he opened it to check it."

"The secret letter mainly stated that the border was in dire need of attention, enemy troops had penetrated deep into the city, the national treasury was empty, and it was necessary to reduce the pay of the yamen runners."

"It even implied that the guards escorting prisoners could dispose of the prisoners at their own discretion if they were unable to provide them with food."

Upon hearing this sudden information, everyone tensed up instantly, and even their breathing slowed down.

Even the usually strong Zhu Chenfeng couldn't help but tremble all over, desperately suppressing the anger in his heart, and said through gritted teeth.

"That damned emperor doesn't treat us like human beings at all."

Liu Shi, on the other hand, had a blank expression and stumbled slowly to her feet, muttering to herself.

"Quickly, go back and tell your mother."

Seeing this, Zhu Chenfeng had no choice but to grit his teeth and slowly get up. Before leaving, he patted Zhu Wen on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, we will definitely keep our promise."

Zhu Wen, however, did not believe Zhu Chenfeng's words at all and lowered his head to sneer.

After everyone left the woods and returned to the camp, Old Lady Zhu was anxiously questioning Tao Shi because she couldn't find the group.

"mother."

Hearing the sound, Old Lady Zhu looked over and saw her two sons and two daughters-in-law walking out of the woods.

She rushed forward and angrily scolded, "What's wrong with you? How can you run around like this so late at night?"

"Mother, now is not the time to blame us. We have something to tell you."

Zhu Haotian, looking flustered, pulled Old Lady Zhu towards the fire and called the others to gather around.

Upon seeing this, Tao quickly picked up Zhu Xixi and stepped forward, squatting down beside Zhu Haotian with a puzzled expression.

"What happened?"

Zhu Xixi, who had just emerged from the space, also woke up from her sleep. With her eyes wide with confusion, she looked up at her family members who looked anxious.

What's going on? Do they know that Jiangyang County is about to fall?

[Or do they know the guards are bad guys, in cahoots with Zhu Yanyan, and want to kill us?]

Everyone's expressions are so serious.

After muttering all this, Zhu Xixi started to feel sleepy again, yawned, and drifted off to sleep again.

Several important pieces of information exploded in Tao's mind like thunderbolts. She swallowed hard, bewildered, and looked nervously at everyone.

Zhu Chengfeng looked at Old Madam Zhu with a worried expression, his voice low and weak, "Mother, we just learned this from Zhu Wen."

"The enemy has penetrated deep into the city, and all the post stations are deserted. His Majesty has hinted to the escorts that we can be executed on the spot at any time."

"Was it His Majesty who ordered this? Not Zhu Yanyan?" Tao Shi didn't expect the situation to be even more exaggerated than her niece had described. Her face turned pale instantly, and her legs went weak.

Worried that her second daughter-in-law was not in good condition, Old Mrs. Zhu quickly took the sleeping Zhu Yanyan from her arms and carefully handed her to her eldest daughter-in-law.

Then, he turned around and helped the second son's wife up, gently patting her back to comfort her.

"Don't be afraid, your mother is here, you will be alright."

At this moment, Tao's face was deathly pale, her lips trembled, and she cried helplessly, muttering to herself.

"No, what should we do now? The guards are going to kill us? Jiangyang City is about to fall! Everything is in chaos."

"Second son's wife, what did you say? Jiangyang City is going to fall? Who told you that?"

Upon hearing this, Old Lady Zhu's expression instantly turned serious, and she sternly questioned Tao.

Jiangyang City is the most important waterway transportation hub in the entire Yuan Kingdom. If it falls, it means that the waterways will be unable to operate.

As a result, the military supplies for the border region will have to travel along the official road, which is currently occupied by bandits and is also frequented by displaced people.

If that's the case, countless people will be plunged into misery.

The stern voice brought Tao back to his senses instantly, and he realized he had said the wrong thing. He quickly stammered and pointed behind him.

"I... I was taking Xixi out for a walk just now when I heard some of the local refugees say that enemy troops had infiltrated the city."

"I only talked nonsense in a moment of desperation."

After hearing this, Old Mrs. Zhu's serious face gradually softened. She sighed and gestured for everyone to sit down.

"Alright, let's discuss what we should do now."

Liu stared at Tao with a puzzled look, her brows furrowing slightly. Her expression suddenly turned serious, and she spoke in a low voice.

“Mother, I think my sister-in-law’s words may not be without reason. Now even the secret letter points out that enemy troops have infiltrated Jiangyang City, which means that it is very likely to fall.”

"The problem right now is that we don't know when we'll fall. What should we do if it happens tomorrow, or when everyone has just left?"

Old Mrs. Zhu wholeheartedly agreed with her eldest daughter-in-law's words, but given their current status, they were unable to do anything for the people of Jiangyang City.

"Now let's list out all the bad things and work together to figure out a solution."

Chen Xiang noticed the Zhu family's huddled discussion, chuckled softly, and continued drinking.

After leaving the woods, Zhu Wen went straight to Chen Xiang's side and whispered, "Boss, I've told them everything."

How did you know they would come to me with these questions?

“I heard from Fusheng that you were ambushed because of Old Lady Zhu. Didn’t you think about why no one else noticed, but they did?”

"And they even made bows and arrows and gunpowder in advance. If they weren't helped by a master behind the scenes, then there must be a prophet among them."

"In any case, their recent success is definitely not normal."

Chen Xiang leaned back against the cushion, one hand on his knee, staring at the backs of the Zhu family members, and slowly explained.

This statement left Zhu Wen somewhat confused, and he pressed on with a question, "So you're testing them?"

"I suppose so! Those clansmen making things difficult for them was just a small test. If they can successfully resolve the troubles in Jiangyang City next..."

"I'll risk my life to escort them safely to the border."

Chen Xiang suddenly wiped the smile off his face and replied in a serious tone.

"And what about Zhu Yanyan?" Zhu Wen then asked.

Chen Xiang sneered, "I thought she was a capable person, but it turns out she's just a good-for-nothing. Ignore her."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Wen immediately understood and nodded in understanding, "Boss is wise. If Jiangyang City can be saved, then our Yuan Kingdom is still saved."

"Otherwise, we wouldn't need to go through all this trouble to send them to that desolate place. We could just get rid of them and find a quiet place to hide."