"What do you mean by this!" Although Wang Jinmei was afraid of the guards' serious expressions, she would never accept being called a country bumpkin.

"How precious is this capital city? We came here for no reason, how did we become trespassers?" Wang Jinmei shouted at the top of her lungs, "And who is the country bumpkin with such a foul mouth?"

The guards already looked down on these ragged country folk, and now that Wang Jinmei had scolded them, they were even more displeased.

After exchanging a glance, one of them stepped forward and shoved Wang Jinmei forcefully.

Wang Jinmei lost her balance and fell to the ground with a thud. She was stunned for a moment, then burst into tears and screams, "There's no justice or law under the emperor! If they won't let me into the city, they won't let me in! Why are they pushing and shoving me like this?!"

Wang Jinmei is usually unreasonable and annoying, but now she has finally stood up for the villagers.

Although in Xu Nian's eyes, this was just her own inability to bear the injustice.

However, at least they did something good.

Xu Nian emerged from the crowd, walked up to Wang Jinmei, and squatted down, saying, "Auntie, get up quickly. It's so uncomfortable on the ground. Is it that you can't stand up?"

Wang Jinmei was puzzled as to why this girl had suddenly become helpful to her today, but she ultimately didn't voice her doubts. Instead, she cooperated by saying, "Ouch, my leg hurts so much! It's one thing for a soldier like you not to protect the people, but why are you chasing people away!"

The guards exchanged glances, their faces showing anger. He stepped forward, lifted Wang Jinmei's clothes, and said indignantly, "Do you really think I can't see through the tricks of you country bumpkins? You want to teach me a lesson? Today I'll show you what it means to be arrogant and ignorant."

As he spoke, he raised his hand to slap Wang Jinmei across the face.

Xu Nian saw that the slap was accompanied by a sharp, fierce wind. If it really landed on Wang Jinmei's face, she would probably lose several teeth.

She raised her hand and lightly touched the guard's wrist with her fingertips. His strength instantly dissipated, and he turned to the side, spinning around for no apparent reason.

With many people passing by, they couldn't help but whisper among themselves.

"Look what that soldier is doing, it's really strange."

"Stop looking. Can't you see they're bullying someone? Going over there will only cause trouble."

"Just laugh it off, don't get involved."

The common people dared not act recklessly, but the viewers in Xu Nian's live stream room could no longer contain themselves.

[This is hilarious! Is he hitting thin air?]

It has a bit of a silent film feel to it.

I hate people who look down on others.

[But the streamer went too far, won't that person retaliate against the streamer...?]

"Are you... are you playing me?"

The guard knew perfectly well that Xu Nian was behind his embarrassing situation. Enraged, he grabbed Xu Nian's collar and lifted her up.

Xu Nian frowned slightly, her fingers twitching, almost forming a magic seal.

Just as she was hesitating whether to burn the guard's clothes or let her hair suffer, a shout came from above.

"stop!"

A familiar voice reached Xu Nian's ears. She turned her head in surprise and froze when she saw Gu Zhan.

Gu Zhan frowned and walked to the center of the farce. The guards who had been so arrogant just moments before were now cowering and releasing Xu Nian.

He bowed his head and saluted timidly, "General... why did you suddenly come here?"

Gu Zhan was not unaware of Xu Nian's actions. He guessed that Xu Nian would travel day and night after receiving the news, so he waited here for her to come.

Fortunately, he was lucky; it was only the first day, and he had already met his Xu Nian.

"How dare you! Who gave you the right to keep my people outside the city and even throw punches at them?"

The guard knelt on the ground in terror, "General, spare my life! They came in a whole group, and I really dared not decide to let them into the city on my own. Otherwise, if something went wrong..."

"Go down and receive your punishment." Gu Zhan's voice was icy, as if the King of Hell had descended upon the world. "One hundred strokes of the military rod."

A hundred lashes would nearly cripple a man, but the guards dared not voice any objection.

"Come in."

After dealing with the guards, Gu Zhan had the villagers follow him into the capital.

They were completely captivated by the sight before them as soon as they entered the city.

Whether you read about the capital city in books or hear about it from people, nothing compares to seeing it with your own eyes.

Even Xu Nian, who did not belong to this world, could not help but show a look of surprise when she saw the prosperous capital city.

It really is this lively.

"Where do you plan to live?" Gu Zhan's voice pulled Xu Nian back to reality. "I have several residences for raising troops. If you can't find a place to stay for a while, you can..."

"No need!" Xu Nian refused Gu Zhan decisively. "I'll go and ask about the mansion myself."

"I'm waiting for you."

Xu Nian knew that Gu Zhan had something to say to her, so she understood and let the villagers wander around freely. Then she skipped over to Gu Zhan's side.

After walking for a while, Gu Zhan broke the silence first.

"You really didn't keep me waiting too long."

"I will do what I promised you."

Gu Zhan glanced sideways. After the girl's lively movements, a few beads of sweat remained on her face, and strands of hair stuck to her face. He reached out, wanting to brush her hair aside.

But before his hand could even touch Xu Nian's face, he curled his fingers back.

The current atmosphere should not be disrupted in the slightest.

Xu Nian seemed unaware of what was happening, looking around as if searching for someone.

"Are you going to pick up the two children now?" Gu Zhan asked. "I can take you there."

“There’s no rush now.” Xu Nian shook her head and stopped walking. “They’re living in a stable place now, but we haven’t settled down yet. It wouldn’t be convenient to take them over now.”

"Okay, let me know when you need it another day."

Gu Zhan felt a strange sense of joy, perhaps because he knew that Xu Nian would come looking for him again in the future.

[Am I seeing things? The general seems to be... smiling?]

[The person upstairs must have misread it; the general's lips clearly didn't move at all from beginning to end.]

[I'm so excited that the general has finally logged on after all this time!]

[It would be too much not to send the general a gift!]

Xu Nian was stunned for a moment when she saw the gifts that suddenly lined up in the live stream room.

The gift... can be exchanged for silver coins while I'm in the capital!

So, don't I have a large sum of money now?

Xu Nian looked at her rapidly increasing silver taels with great excitement, and couldn't help but smile.

Gu Zhan, puzzled as to why Xu Nian was so happy, asked, "What on earth are you thinking about?"