Hearing Xu Nian's words, Su Mu finally perked up and pondered, "I have indeed heard rumors recently that thieves are appearing in the city late at night, causing widespread panic."

"Can't we strengthen the guards?" Su Wanting asked.

Hearing this, Su Mu shook his head with a wry smile, "There aren't many soldiers in the city to begin with, and they're paid to do their jobs. If we ask them to guard the city all night long, it might cause discontent."

Su Wanting sighed almost imperceptibly and nodded in understanding.

Xu Nianze stared intently at the document in his hand, lost in thought.

Liu, the deputy, has been controlling the city for some time now, and it's unlikely that his position will be shaken.

"In that case, I'll send someone to investigate."

After thinking for a long time, Su Mu said something and struggled to get up.

But Xu Nian pressed him back down, her expression serious. "You only have two things to do right now: one is to take good care of yourself."

Upon hearing this, Su Mu paused for a moment, then relaxed. "Another one?"

Xu Nian suddenly smiled and pointed to the rows of small print on the document, "Take back your city from Deputy Liu."

She put down the paper, her tone slow and earnest.

"The city has been gradually eroded over time, and its interior is probably rotten to the core. What you need to do now is to solve these problems."

Upon hearing Xu Nian's words, Su Mu's expression suddenly darkened for a moment, and a bitter smile appeared on his lips.

"Now, it's probably too late."

He stared blankly at the water glass on the table. "Liu is decisive and efficient, and I've been bedridden for a long time. The entire city is probably already under his control..."

"Enough!"

Before Su Mu could continue, Xu Nian interrupted him coldly.

"You are the young master of the Prime Minister's family. Is this little setback going to kill you?"

She shouted angrily, pointing at Su Wanting beside her, "Your father entrusted your sister to you, not to see you in this pathetic state. What are you pretending to be pitiful for? Nobody wants to hear it!"

“Xu Nian…” Su Wanting bit her lip, trying to stop her.

Su Mu's face was ashen, and he remained silent for a long time.

"I see."

Just as Su Wanting was about to speak up to dissuade him, Su Mu suddenly looked up and said with unusual determination.

Seeing this, Xu Nian nodded in satisfaction, "That's more like it."

"As for the illnesses you two siblings have, there's no need to worry. I will develop the final treatment as soon as possible."

Xu Nian put the bottle of the effective medicine in her pocket, pondered for a moment, and then pulled Gu Zhan out the door.

Seeing this, Su Mu stared intently at their movements, his heart filled with doubt.

"Why is General Gu here?" He looked at Su Wanting, trying to get some information.

But Su Wanting simply shook her head at this, "I don't know. It's said that General Gu is a close friend of Miss Xu."

"confidant……"

Su Mu's gaze was deep and unfathomable, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

A moment later, he slowly got up, took the pain-suppressing medicine that Xu Nian had left behind, and smiled gently, "I'm sorry to have worried you, little sister."

Seeing that Su Mu's expression was no longer frivolous, Su Wanting burst into tears of joy and threw herself into Su Mu's arms while sobbing.

God knows how desperate she felt when she saw her usually tall and strong brother bedridden!

Su Mu embraced her, his eyes filled with deep meaning and determination.

He will definitely live up to the expectations of his family and Xu Nian!

Stepping out of the room, Xu Nian was studying the drug formula in her mind, but the matter of Gu Zhan's engagement with Su Wanting lingered in her thoughts, refusing to leave.

She hissed and stopped in her tracks.

Seeing this, Gu Zhan hesitated for a moment, then paused.

Unable to hide her feelings, Xu Nian hesitated for a moment before revealing everything, "When did you get engaged to Su Wanting?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Zhan's expression became somewhat unnatural. "About two years ago."

[Why is the host still asking so many questions, hahaha.]

[I guess someone's jealous~]

[You say you don't like generals? Pshaw, who would believe that!]

As soon as Xu Nian asked that question, the live stream chat exploded.

Xu Nian's forehead creased with a black line as she suppressed the urge to remotely assassinate the viewers in the live stream, and instead made a universally recognized friendly gesture.

Seeing Xu Nian raise her middle finger, Gu Zhan's expression showed some hesitation. "About two years ago, I returned to the capital after winning a battle. His Majesty promoted me and made a marriage agreement with me at the same time."

Hearing Gu Zhan's explanation, Xu Nian nodded in understanding, and then continued to ask, "Then why did you break off the engagement?"

"Wan Ting is beautiful and kind-hearted, and her social background is a good match for yours. Shouldn't this be a beautiful story?"

Seeing Xu Nian's puzzled expression, Gu Zhan raised his hand and tapped her forehead.

"Ouch, that hurts!" Xu Nian cried out, clutching her forehead in pain and looking indignant. "What are you doing?"

"Have you forgotten about the Crown Prince?"

Gu Zhan strode forward and slowly explained, "You didn't see how ugly the princes' faces were when the marriage was bestowed. I almost thought I had committed some unforgivable crime."

"Pfft."

Xu Nian couldn't help but laugh out loud; she had already imagined it in her mind—

The princes couldn't wait to see Gu Zhan's corpse whipped on the spot!

I'm going to tell the general in secret!

Haha, it's really funny!

It seems even generals have a tough time; not only do they have to fight battles, but they also have to deal with such complicated relationships.

Looking at Xu Nian, who was happily enjoying herself, Gu Zhan clicked his tongue lightly, "After court, the Crown Prince took the initiative to ask me to have tea, and said a lot of things in a roundabout way."

Xu Nian followed up, "So it all boils down to you giving up on Wanting?"

Gu Zhan nodded and shrugged helplessly. "But I have no choice. Anyone with eyes can see that the Emperor doesn't want any prince to be associated with the Prime Minister's residence. I was forced into this situation."

As he spoke, his gaze lingered, “That’s why I volunteered to be transferred two years ago, taking on a job that no one else wanted when the famine suddenly broke out.”

Xu Nian listened patiently and finally understood that Gu Zhan was actually running away, afraid that the emperor would get excited and arrange their marriage.

"Don't you like someone like Wanting?" Xu Nian teased, deliberately drawing out her words, finding it particularly amusing.

"Let's not talk about this anymore."

Gu Zhan quickly changed the subject, his eyes darkening, "My subordinates have noticed that Deputy Liu has been making moves since he returned."

Upon hearing this, Xu Nian's attention was immediately drawn to it, and she frowned and pondered for a moment.

"It must be to deliver a message to the Third Prince."

She clapped her hands suddenly and said with unusual determination, "Your appearance has deviated from his original plan. The next step will definitely be to discuss it with the Third Prince."

Gu Zhan nodded slightly; his guess was pretty much the same as what Xu Nian had said.

"So what should we do now?"

Sensing that Gu Zhan was thinking something, Xu Nian didn't say much, but raised an eyebrow and asked in return.

Without saying a word, Gu Zhan pulled Xu Nian to the outside of a house, where the two huddled in a corner, concealing themselves.

"Waiting for a rabbit to run into a tree stump."