"Oh no, oh no, oh no, I overslept."

Su Wan hurriedly ran out of the house, her white coat half-worn, hanging on her body, her hands fidgeting behind her back looking for the cuffs.

Lin Qingfeng, who was guarding the door, quickly helped her pull up her clothes and put on the sleeves.

She wore the white coat not to show off, but to stand out.

Wearing this, even if she were among hundreds or thousands of wounded, soldiers carrying the seriously wounded could spot her at a glance. For these wounded who were on the verge of death, even a moment's delay could mean certain death.

The doctors in the army had limited medical skills and could only treat simple wounds. Complex injuries required her to make the judgment, and sometimes she even had to perform surgery herself.

She ran towards the courtyard gate, followed by Lin Qingfeng and his guards.

Just as she reached the door, a person came towards her, carrying a steaming bowl in one hand. She couldn't stop herself and bumped headfirst into the person's arms.

It felt like I'd bumped into an impenetrable wall.

She was bounced back solidly, but the man didn't move an inch, not even the large bowl in his hand shook.

"Sister-in-law, are you alright?" Meng Ruliu reached out to support her. "Why were you running so fast?"

Su Wan was seeing stars from the impact. She put her hands on Meng Ruliu's shoulders, lowered her head for a while, and then looked up to ask, "Has the enemy attacked the city yet?"

Breakfast time had already passed. Based on her past experience, the enemy usually launched an attack around this time. She had slept for so long; there should be at least several hundred more wounded soldiers in the city. Many were critically injured, waiting for her to treat them.

“No, they’re probably preparing for the Lantern Festival. There are no new injuries in the city right now, so you don’t need to rush,” Meng Ruliu said with a smile, handing her the large bowl in her hand. “I’ve made you some fried dough sticks.”

Su Wan took the large bowl and recognized it as Yuanxiao (sweet rice balls). Only then did she remember that today was the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

She smelled the aroma and said, "It contains hawthorn, sesame seeds, and brown sugar..."

Meng Ruliu pushed her back: "Stop smelling it, go back inside and eat. It'll get cold if you leave it any longer."

Although Su Wan didn't plan to eat yet, she wanted to first check on the wounded soldiers to see if anyone showed symptoms of bacterial infection. Even with timely cleaning and sterilization, wounds punctured by sharp objects often don't reach deep within the wound, making them particularly prone to secondary infections.

"Sister Yi, wait a minute. I'll go check on everyone's injuries first. We'll eat after I've checked."

“Everyone is doing well,” Meng Ruliu continued to push.

"Wait a minute, where did everyone go?" Su Wan couldn't stop herself and peeked out the door from Meng Ruliu's shoulder, exclaiming in surprise, "There were several hundred injured people in this courtyard last night."

No wonder I couldn't hear any noise from the courtyard when I went out. The entire courtyard was empty, with only the embers of the campfire scattered on the ground and the bedding around the fire. Several soldiers were sweeping the ground.

Seeing that she could no longer hide it, Meng Ruliu had no choice but to stop and say, "Everyone has recovered quite well, and His Highness has sent them back to their military camps in the city."

“How could that be?” Su Wan shoved the bowl into Meng Ruliu’s hands. “They’ve just been wounded, and now they’re going to the military camp? Do you expect them to fight on the city walls?”

Meng Ruliu said, "That's probably it."

Su Wan walked past her and said, "Why would A Jin arrange it like this? Even if they are all only slightly injured, they can't all go back to the military camp after just one night."

That's too heartless.

She stormed out onto the street, walked past the soldiers, and headed straight for the general's mansion.

In her view, the wounded should not be sent back to fight on the city walls. Xiping Pass originally had 50,000 defenders; even with 20,000 dead or wounded, there were still 30,000 healthy soldiers. Why was Wei Jingzhuo in such a hurry to reinstate the wounded to the camp?

Meng Ruliu handed the bowl to Lin Qingfeng and caught up from behind, saying, "Sister-in-law, His Highness is in the General's Mansion now. If you want to find him, I'll go with you."

The two entered the general's mansion, walked around the artificial hill facing the main gate, and saw Wei Jingzhuo sitting in the hall.

Upon seeing this, Su Wan became even angrier.

I had assumed that Wei Jingzhuo, who had been commanding the battle from the city wall for over a month, must be in a miserable state. But to my surprise, he was clean-shaven, his hair was neatly combed, jet black and shiny, and he was sitting there enjoying tea in a plain cotton robe.

Even his boots were spotless.

"Ah Jin!" She strode up the steps, grabbed Wei Jingzhuo by the ear, and pulled him up. "How dare you sit here drinking tea!"

Wei Jingzhuo exclaimed "Ouch!", put down his teacup, tilted his head, and stood up, saying, "Ah Wan, don't pull my ear right away. Miss Meng is here."

Meng Ruliu and Lin Qingfeng followed behind Su Wan. When they saw Su Wan pulling Wei Jingzhuo's ear, neither of them made a sound and turned to look elsewhere.

“Tell me, why did you send the wounded soldiers back to the camp?” Su Wan glanced back and released her hand. “They were all wounded. How could you bear to let them continue fighting?”

Wei Jingzhuo rubbed his ears and said, "Awan, you don't understand military matters, so it's better if I make the arrangements. I have something important that I need you to do."

Su Wan realized that she had indeed been a bit too hasty, pulling Wei Jingzhuo's ear without asking for the reason.

She reached out apologetically and gently rubbed Wei Jingzhuo's ear, saying, "I just woke up and I'm still a little groggy. Since you have plans, I won't interfere. Is there anything you need me to do?"

Wei Jingzhuo turned his head and said, "Lu Lin, come here."

Lu Lin walked out from the side door and said to Su Wan, "Mistress, Xiao Zhao sent word last night that there is something that requires your personal return to Suiyang County to handle..."

Upon hearing the words "Suiyang County," Su Wan immediately shook her head and said, "What urgent matter could there possibly require me to go back? I need to treat the wounded here; I don't have time to go back."

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