Her heart tightened. In the dead of night, only government officials would dare to bang on the door like this. She jumped up, quietly opened the door, and stood on the dark second-floor corridor, looking down.

The waiter downstairs carried a lamp toward the door and said, "Please knock gently, sir, I'll be right there... Everyone's asleep."

"Open the door! The Northwest Army is searching for traitors!" a rude voice shouted from outside.

The shop assistant opened the door, and outside, the firelight was bright. Dozens of Northwest Army soldiers were holding torches, and the leading soldier held up a token: "By order of the general, and also by order of Magistrate Ge, search a woman who calls herself Da Lan."

The shop assistant asked, "What 'big orchid'?"

The soldier shoved the shop assistant, causing him to stumble: "Our men captured two bandits outside the city. They confessed that a female bandit leader led them into the city, intending to cause trouble. Look carefully, this is an order from your county magistrate."

People resting in the inn were also woken up by the noise downstairs. Lights came on in every room on the second floor, and many people came out to check, wearing their clothes on.

The soldier said, "Don't move. Just wait in your rooms. We're going to search everyone."

Su Wan was taken aback and quickly tiptoed back to her room, closing the door behind her.

She leaned against the door, deep in thought.

The soldier said he had captured two bandits. Could they be the two guards he had just sent out? If so, this is terrible. No one has informed Wei Jingzhuo of what happened here.

Judging from the soldiers' use of the name "Da Lan," the two guards likely didn't reveal her true identity. However, the soldiers didn't need to identify her accurately; once she was brought to Ge Fanghai, he would recognize her, and that would be the end of them.

To cover up this conspiracy, Ge Fanghai even dared to detain the Crown Prince and his wife of Xirong, let alone her.

A sense of panic gripped her. She wanted to find her guards, but soldiers downstairs had already begun searching, and numerous footsteps echoed up to the second floor. Opening the door now would undoubtedly be suicide.

We can't just sit here and wait.

Her room faced the street; all she had to do was open the window and climb over a wall to reach the street.

She pushed open the window, and a blast of cold air hit her, making her shiver.

Su Wan gritted her teeth, gripped the window frame with both hands, and tremblingly stepped onto the windowsill.

The second floor doesn't look very high from below, but looking down from above is absolutely terrifying. I simply don't have the courage to jump.

Looking back, the windows were illuminated by the firelight, and the shouts of soldiers, the sound of kicking down doors, the screams of women, and the cries of children echoed from the second floor.