Following Cen Xi's reminder, Jun Xiaoqiao was very careful throughout the journey. However, she didn't encounter any thieves all day, and her trip from the east of the city to Governor Jun's residence went smoothly.

Cen Xi was the same; she was on high alert the whole way, but there wasn't a single sound or movement, which was too strange.

It wasn't until they met Governor Jun that the two women understood everything. It turned out that the treacherous Chen Jinchen had used them as bait, while they walked ahead openly. All the messengers and assassins behind them were wiped out by Chen Jinchen, the oriole that stalked the prey, and he even spread some false information.

Upon hearing this, Cen Xi couldn't help but sigh. As expected of someone who manipulates power, they can always think one step ahead. She only wanted someone to kill them, but they wanted to catch all the fish in the city.

If he didn't have those kinds of feelings for me, perhaps I could still be friends with him openly and honestly.

But let's forget about it for now.

After the city received some medicine, the plague in the city was alleviated considerably.

Shen Jinchen was indeed capable; his prescriptions were all very effective. Initially, the dosage was insufficient, which limited their effectiveness. Now that the dosage was sufficient, the people throughout the city had recovered.

Governor Jun finally breathed a sigh of relief after listening to the reports from various places.

However, these past two days, Shen Jinchen has been plotting something else, or something else entirely. Ever since his argument with Jun Xiaoqiao, he hasn't returned to the governor's mansion.

Just as they finally breathed a sigh of relief in the middle of the night, the guards at the east gate reported that a large, dark army was approaching the east gate and was currently attacking the city.

The head of the East Gate had just finished reporting when the guards at the South Gate delivered the same message.

Governor Jun hurriedly dressed and prepared to respond when the same news came from the west gate, followed a quarter of an hour later by the north gate.

According to the guards' estimates, there were about three thousand soldiers at each city gate.

Upon receiving such an urgent military report, Governor Jun frowned deeply and summoned the relevant generals to his residence that very night for a meeting.

"Does anyone know where Prime Minister Shen has gone?"

After gathering everyone together, Governor Jun asked this question.

"Two days ago, I saw him return to Qingshan Academy. Your Excellency may go to Qingshan Academy to look for him."

After Governor Jun finished asking his question, a general replied.

"Liu Da, go to Qingshan Academy and find Prime Minister Shen. He must have something to say. We only have five thousand soldiers now. You command Xu Yi's five thousand soldiers and see which of the four gates is the main force they really want to attack. Sima Jing, sneak out of the city and take my token to the Lingshan camp to mobilize troops."

"Although the situation is urgent, we are not without the ability to fight back. Everyone, please be on high alert."

Governor Jun glanced at the generals under his command and gave them his orders in an orderly manner.

"Understood!"

Upon receiving the order, Liu Da and Sima Jing left, leaving Xu Yi alone in the study.

"Which city gate does Your Excellency consider to be the enemy's main battlefield?"

Seeing that everyone else had left, Xu Yi asked.

"The south gate of this prefecture is the easiest to breach. What do you think, General Xu?"

Governor Jun expressed his thoughts. Then he asked a question.

"That's also what I think. These scoundrels not only spread the plague, but they really want to wipe us all out before they're satisfied. I will definitely crush them without leaving a single one alive."

Xu Yi was among those who had just recovered from the plague, and he was even more furious when he heard that the city was under siege.

"It's no use saying all this now. I don't know what those people are thinking, attacking when our Wenyu is just recovering. I, the governor, order you to hold on until reinforcements arrive."

Governor Jun's expression turned serious, and then he solemnly gave the order.

"Understood! This general will certainly not fail in his mission."

Xu Yi has always had a high opinion of herself, so she was extremely confident this time as well.

"Then go!"

Governor Jun waved his hand and dismissed Xu Yi.

Alone in his study, Governor Jun's brows remained tightly furrowed, unable to relax. Shangyang City had been peaceful for a century; these soldiers, though constantly training, had never seen actual combat. He feared that Shangyang City was truly about to be plunged into dire straits.

That composure I displayed just now was merely to reassure everyone. Hopefully, Liu Da can bring Prime Minister Shen over as soon as possible.

The day before yesterday, after Cen Xi and Jun Xiaoqiao loaded several carts of medicine for their master, Cen Xi returned to Jun Xiaoqiao's residence to stay. She had originally planned to extort money from Shen Jinchen, but that scoundrel hadn't shown up since his argument with Jun Xiaoqiao that day. Sigh! It really left her with no opportunity to use her skills.

I was feeling down, and tonight they won't even let her sleep well. There's a lot of noise going on around in the middle of the night, like something big is about to happen.

Cen Xi quickly put on her clothes and got up, then found Qingyi and asked:

"What happened?"

"It seems there's been a mutiny. Let's go check on Miss Jun."

Qingyi also looked bewildered. She quickly got dressed and helped Cenxi with her makeup and hair.

"Sigh, no need to say anything more, let's go straight to Jun Xiaoqiao's courtyard first. As the master of the manor, he definitely has more information than we do."

Seeing that she had quickly dressed herself and was about to do her hair and makeup, Cen Xi quickly stopped her.

She quickly braided her hair and, pulling Qingyi along, headed towards Jun Xiaoqiao's courtyard.

They had just arrived at Jun Xiaoqiao's place and were dressed when they went out to look for someone.

"What happened?"

As soon as she stepped outside, she encountered Cen Xi and his maid Qingyi, and Jun Xiaoqiao asked with a blank expression.

"You don't know what happened either? I thought you, as the host, knew more than we did."

Cen Xi asked with a disappointed look.

"I'm just a merchant, not a daughter of an official. Even if I were, it's not my place to know!"

Seeing Cen Xi's impatience, he wanted to retort.

"Okay, let's go! Let's go out and have a look together."

Seeing that she was angry, Cen Xi walked over to her, took her hand, and spoke to her gently.

"That's right! We should speak properly and stop being so arrogant every day."

Jun Xiaoqiao rolled her eyes at her, then suddenly laughed.

"Okay, okay! It's my fault, it's my fault. Let's go, let's get out of here quickly! I feel like something big is about to happen."

Cen Xi coaxed Jun Xiaoqiao to leave quickly with gentle words, and she had a rough idea of ​​who had caused all this trouble.

Since Emperor Taizu couldn't kill her, he planned to destroy Shangyang City and carry out his next plan.

"Let's go! Go out and grab someone to ask."

Hearing Cen Xi say this, Jun Xiaoqiao's expression also became more serious.

The two men, accompanied by their maidservants, quickly reached the door, stopped a soldier, and asked:

"What happened?"

"Shangyang City is surrounded on all sides. We need to go and defend against the enemy. Ladies, you should hurry back to your rooms and hide."

After saying that, the soldier hurriedly led the main force to the city gate.

"There's just been a plague, and now we're attacking the city? Is this urgent or not?"

Cen Xi frowned, her expression a mixture of mockery and doubt.

"Hmph! These scoundrels, they can't even stop causing a plague, they actually went and robbed Shangyang City, damn it, their intentions are sinister."