He actually told the old lady not to leave, and the old lady said they wanted to watch the lanterns together... This...

Why do they find it a little strange?

Mo Yan looked up at the sky and pointed to the night sky, "It's about to begin."

Soon, starting from the city, many lanterns slowly flew into the sky.

It looks incredibly beautiful, with lanterns illuminating the sky – absolutely gorgeous.

Everyone looked up at the sky.

They then felt a little dizzy.

The lanterns slowly descended, bringing with them a fragrance, so fragrant, so very fragrant.

It made them feel extremely weak, and some of them collapsed.

Mo Yan looked around at the people, who seemed to number around five thousand.

It seems that Prince An came here with his own people; he's quite confident.

"I think you're the confident one, young man."

Prince An also sensed that something was wrong, but what exactly was wrong?

"You poisoned it? How did you do that?"

He looked at Mo Yan in disbelief, wondering how this old lady had managed to do that.

"A lantern, of course. Otherwise, do you think I'm showing you this lantern for nothing?"

The reason she ran down was to create a diversion.

Then, once the lantern is placed down, the medicinal powder inside takes effect, and it begins, right?

Soon, Mo Yan grabbed handfuls of stones and threw them into the sky. The lanterns fell down, and they were even more exhausted.

"We've been given a muscle-softening powder."

Prince An could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground.

Mo Yan clapped her hands, indicating that they could now take the person back.

As for the remaining lanterns, they'll definitely end up in their camp; hopefully, they'll like them.

Some lanterns are weak and prone to attracting insects; after all, they have a limited supply, so we can only make good use of them.

Naturally, it's different with medicinal powder. Who knows what they might encounter?

"Open the city gates and take the hostages!"

Mo Yan called upstairs, and soon everyone came out, taking ropes and starting to tie people up. Those were thorny vines that had been brought down from the mountain.

They tied them up and dragged them back.

Five thousand elite soldiers and Prince An were thus dragged back.

As for Kang Tinglan, she was also taken back, but she had already fainted due to her injuries.

Mo Yan simply threw her into jail, without ever considering treating her.

After doing all this, Mo Yan returned to the city tower and looked through her binoculars at a distance of thirty miles. Lanterns began to fall from the opposite camp, followed by a chaotic scene of chickens and dogs running amok.

Some people fainted, some were catching bugs, and some were crying; they were incredibly busy.

Mo Yan turned around and saw the burning gazes of her two sons. "Mother, you are amazing."

"What's so impressive about that? It's just a survival instinct. What you need to think about is what to do next. Tomorrow, half of the people will go up the mountain to find food, and the rest will continue to defend the city."

Oh, and remember to bring that Prince An over. If someone attacks the city, you'll have to send him down to shield you from arrows.

"Yes." The two naturally obeyed obediently. At this moment, they even wanted to shout, "Mother is mighty!"

"Weiguo, if I lock Kang Tinglan up and leave her alone, won't you think I'm heartless?"

Mo Yan felt she should ask him. If he thought so, then she would throw them in together so that the father and daughter could keep each other company.

“Mother, what are you saying? I have said that I have no daughter. After she said those words, I have no daughter.”

She actually wanted him to surrender, she really... doesn't deserve to be his daughter.

"And what about your wife?"

In fact, Kang Weiguo and Kang Weimin's wife, as well as their other children, were all in the capital. In the original storyline, because Kang Weiguo surrendered, it was equivalent to treason and he was directly sentenced to exile.

There was no further news of them, so the question is, why didn't the female protagonist go to find her mother?

Perhaps it's because they're afraid of being exposed as not being the real person.

Or perhaps they simply don't remember that she has a mother who was exiled.

"However, I don't care what you think." Mo Yan looked at Kang Weiguo's hesitant expression. "No matter who it is, anyone who wants to betray their country deserves to die. Understand?"

Kang Weiguo was terrified and immediately said, "Mother, it can't be that serious, can it?"

How could she be accused of treason? Kang Tinglan didn't have that ability; she was just a bit dim-witted and overly kind.

It's not that far-fetched to be associated with treason, really not.

"How could it not be? She's telling you to abandon the defense of the city. Wanting to open the gates and let them in—isn't that treason?"

She said the methods I used were vicious, not treasonous?

She said the person on the other side definitely wouldn't hurt anyone, it wasn't treason? Kang Weiguo, wake up! Don't act like you have no brains, understand?

If someone can grasp this point, they can easily crush their family.

If they dare to actually do that, even if the Prince An really does not harm the people or commit any murder or arson as Kang Tinglan said, their whole family will be considered traitors.

Even if it's not happening now, it's because Mo Yan has nipped everything in the bud and has Kang Tinglan in her hands. Otherwise, if someone were to report her, it would be a sure thing.

Kang Weimin broke out in a cold sweat after hearing this, and immediately realized what his mother meant.

That's right. If they are discovered and reported, their whole family will be killed. Not only their family, but their entire extended family will be exiled!

“Brother, Mother is right. You absolutely cannot go to see Kang Tinglan just because you feel sorry for him. Otherwise, we cannot bear the crime of treason. We are family, that’s true, but what crime have our relatives and clansmen committed? Why should we die for such an ungrateful wretch?”

Mo Yan was very satisfied. As expected, Kang Weimin was smarter and immediately understood the problem.

"Mother, your son understands." Kang Weiguo was also drenched in a cold sweat.

"If you don't understand, immediately write a letter of apology, and when reinforcements arrive, you can plead guilty and go home."

Mo Yan looked at the two of them and spoke seriously.

“Yes,” Kang Weimin immediately agreed, “I’ll go write it right away.”

Kang Weiguo: "????"

"Follow your brother's lead."

Mo Yan rubbed her head. How did her eldest son manage to pass the imperial examination? He's not very bright.

...

When Kang Tinglan woke up, she felt pain all over her body, and any movement caused her excruciating pain.

She barely opened her eyes before realizing that she was in a prison.

The person opposite is Prince An; Mo Yan kindly arranged for them to be together.

She slowly crawled over, and when she looked at Prince An, her heart ached as if it were being torn apart.

She didn't know why, but she just felt a pang of heartache, a dull ache in her heart.

Prince Ning also woke up. The moment he woke up, he found himself tied up and stripped of his clothes, leaving him only in his undergarments. The barbs on the ropes pierced his flesh, causing him excruciating pain. There were even chili peppers in those barbs, and every time he moved, the chili peppers would follow the barbs into his flesh, doubling the pain.

"Prince An, you promised you wouldn't attack our border city, why are you going back on your word?"