Everyone waited at the exit of the tunnel at the gate of the small courtyard next door. They waited until dawn, but they still hadn't received a signal to evacuate. Granny Lu was getting anxious, but looking at the others who hadn't slept all night like herself, she noticed that Xu Zhi's face was pale and her bright almond eyes were filled with fear. Qing Miao and Qing Sui seemed relatively calm, but their faces also showed fear. Granny Zhao stood at the tunnel exit, her hands clasped together, muttering to herself, probably praying to the gods to protect everyone and her husband.

Granny Lu said to everyone, "It's almost dawn, and everything will be alright when it's light."

Qingmiao said, "Granny, why haven't we received any signals to evacuate? Is that it?"

Granny Lu said, "The Northern Di people must have been driven away. We've been preparing for defense every day. It's not a large army attacking, just a small group, so there shouldn't be any problems."

Qinghui was a fairly optimistic person. Hearing what Granny Lu said, she said, "I wonder when Sister He will come over. Granny, let's go upstairs and have a bowl of hot soup noodles first, and add some chili sauce. I'm so tired and hungry all night, it's really tough."

Granny Zhao had experienced many similar things when she was young. Thinking about it, she must have been living in peace for too long and had forgotten the days when she herself had climbed the city wall. She said, "I'll help knead the dough and roll out more noodles so that when Third Master and Third Madam come back later, they can have a hot bowl of noodles."

Qing Sui said, "Great! The garlic sprouts in my room have grown quite tall. I'll cut them off and make a green head."

As they talked, the atmosphere became much more relaxed, and Xu Zhi also felt herself gradually relaxing. She stayed in the tunnel until dawn. A guard from the manor came and told Granny Lu that the invaders had been completely wiped out and there was no danger left. Granny Lu could take her people back to the manor.

Hearing that it was safe, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. After being tense all night, they felt exhausted as soon as they relaxed.

Once inside the courtyard, Granny Zhao rubbed her lower back and said, "A few years ago, when I had just gotten married, we often did this. We would bang a gong in the middle of the night to warn everyone, and we would run up the mountain as soon as we heard it. Later, I even went up the city wall a few times. Alas, I'm old and useless now."