Upon hearing this, Su Mu, who was sitting by the bed, stiffened for a moment, and his expression suddenly changed.

"The city treasury?"

Deputy Liu scoffed dismissively, "Lord City Lord, the city treasury exists solely for the sake of the city. The people are currently suffering terribly; are you really going to stand idly by?"

He spoke with an air of grandeur and composure.

Su Mu clenched his fingers and gritted his teeth, saying, "I think it's not for the people, but for your own benefit!"

Upon hearing this, Deputy Liu gave an "oh" and said with unusual arrogance, "What are you talking about? Here on Su Causeway, as the deputy, my prestige is even higher than yours, Lord City Lord!"

"I made this suggestion for the sake of the people I love. Do you have any complaints?"

He smiled slyly, his face full of schadenfreude.

[What do you mean by "for the people"? I think he's just doing it for himself!]

[That's right. Su Mu mentioned before that this was something left behind by Prime Minister Su. This Deputy Liu is really going too far.]

The comments section was buzzing with discussion, and Xu Nian couldn't help but narrow her eyes.

It seems that this Deputy Liu did a lot of work while Su Mu was gradually being sidelined, otherwise he would never have been so confident.

"In short, hand it over, or else..."

Deputy Liu stretched out his palm, his expression gradually turning fierce. "Don't blame me for using force!"

As he spoke, the door behind him suddenly opened, and a group of soldiers in armor squeezed in, all of them full of fighting spirit.

Su Wanting's face turned pale instantly. She looked at Su Mu, who was still not fully recovered, with worry in her heart.

Upon seeing this, a fine layer of sweat appeared on Su Mu's forehead, and a faint fire of anger burned in his chest.

It's a shame he trusted Deputy Liu so much before, giving her so much authority; now all of this has benefited Deputy Liu!

Seeing Su Mu's regret and remorse, Deputy Liu's smile widened even more. "Now you should have learned to be wary of others, young master Su. I've truly given you a life lesson. Prime Minister Su might even have to thank me, hahaha!"

He laughed wildly, his face turning vicious again. "If you don't hand it over, everyone in this house will be buried with you today!"

In fact, Deputy Liu had been eyeing the city's treasury for a long time, but he could only endure it because the time was not right.

A few days ago, the Third Prince personally wrote a letter saying that it was time to take action. Deputy Liu was extremely excited and immediately began planning the matter.

Just as things were deteriorating, Gu Zhan curled his lips in contempt, his voice indifferent.

"To be buried with him, what a boastful tone."

"Hmm?" Deputy Liu looked over with immediate displeasure. "It's about being buried alive with the dead. Do you have any objections?"

However, when he met Gu Zhan's calm eyes, his movements instantly slowed down, and he screamed in disbelief, "General Gu?!"

Deputy Liu took several steps back, a forced smile on his face. "You, what are you doing here?"

Seeing Gu Zhan's imposing presence, Xu Nian glanced at him a few times in surprise, clicking her tongue in admiration, "Quite the imposing manner of an official, young general~"

Gu Zhan was amused by her and slightly curled the corners of his lips, then fell silent.

However, this caused a huge uproar in Liu's mind.

Why would the legendary General Gu visit this small Su Causeway? Shouldn't he be guarding the northwest?

And he seems to be friends with the city lord?

This sudden turn of events made Liu, the deputy, feel somewhat guilty, and he couldn't help but cough lightly, "I wonder what brings the general to the Su Causeway? Could it be His Majesty's decree...?"

"What does this have to do with you?"

Before Gu Zhan could answer, Xu Nian easily interrupted him, her face full of mockery, "Even if there's something to say, you should talk to Su Mu, the city lord. What kind of answer is it for you, his deputy?"

Upon hearing this, Su Mu and Su Wanting both looked over with gratitude in their eyes, their hearts filled with warmth.

"You, me!"

Deputy Liu was speechless for a moment, stammering for a while before roaring as if he had just realized something, "Heh, what business is it of yours if I talk to the general?"

As he spoke, he looked at Gu Zhan arrogantly, "Right, General?"

To his surprise, Gu Zhan chuckled, pulled Xu Nian close by the waist, and said calmly, "She can naturally speak on my behalf. And this, the deputy? Do you have any objections?"

He was tall and imposing, and although his words were calm, they were extremely intimidating. Just a few sentences were enough to make Deputy Liu break out in a cold sweat.

"No, no objection!"

He answered in a flustered manner, but inwardly he was becoming anxious.

If it were just Su Mu, he could slowly exert pressure to achieve his goal, but this is Gu Zhan!

General Gu Zhan, who struck fear into the hearts of even the royal family!

Seeing that the time was right, Xu Nian patted Gu Zhan on the shoulder with a smile, "Well, Deputy Liu, have you changed your mind now?"

She glanced at the soldiers standing by, ready to receive orders, and feigned thought, "Hmm, I wonder if these soldiers have ever been trained by the First General?"

The soldiers looked at each other in bewilderment and unconsciously shrank back several steps.

Seeing this, Deputy Liu was practically grinding his teeth to powder, but he could only glare at Du Nian with resentment.

"Even if you don't hand over the city treasury, shouldn't the problems in this city be resolved?"

Faced with Gu Zhan, Deputy Liu had no choice but to compromise and resort to a threat as a second-best option.

Upon hearing this, before Xu Nian could even question him, Su Mu's face broke into a mocking smile. "Didn't Deputy Liu say that his prestige has surpassed mine? Why doesn't he handle it himself?"

These words made Deputy Liu blush with embarrassment, and he then slammed the prepared documents onto the table.

"These are the issues that people have been reporting recently. I've already started to resolve a lot of them. As for the rest, well..."

Deputy Liu regained his composure and said sarcastically, "If the city lord can't even handle such a small matter, I think he should relinquish his position."

Su Wanting frowned and rebuked angrily, "Do you know what you're saying?"

Deputy Liu shrugged, looking completely unconcerned. "Anyway, you've already exposed us, so there's nothing left to hide."

As he spoke, he glanced at Gu Zhan subtly.

Although he didn't know why Gu Zhan was here, he had to report all of this to His Highness the Third Prince as soon as possible.

Thinking of this, Deputy Liu immediately snorted and turned around, "The people will only give you half a month. If there are no results in these half a month, they will revolt and then elect me as the new city lord!"

After saying this, Deputy Liu confidently turned and left.

He believed that even Gu Zhan could not change the almost certain situation within half a month!

After Deputy Liu left, the atmosphere in the room became noticeably colder, completely lacking the excitement that had been felt when the antidote was discovered.

Xu Nian keenly sensed the loneliness between Su Mu and Su Wanting, sighed almost imperceptibly, and picked up the documents that Deputy Liu had put down beside her.

"In short, the most urgent task is to solve these problems."