Su Wan still clearly remembers the first time she met Wei Jingzhuo.

At that time, she even used stocks as an analogy. A stock that has reached its lowest point will eventually rise no matter what it does.

Now she finally understands a truth: what she perceives as the absolute bottom is merely her own perception of it. Below that bottom, there is an even lower bottom, and below that, an even lower bottom…

She doesn't trade stocks, but at this moment she can deeply empathize with the suffering of retail investors.

Wei Jingzhuo's stock... it's going down again.

As she left Xiping Pass, she saw unwavering determination and hope in the eyes of every soldier. The soldiers moved swiftly through the empty streets, like a busy swarm of bees. Many were wounded, but everyone firmly believed they could defeat Wei Shao's army.

And indeed, Wei Shao's army suffered far greater casualties than the defenders of Xiping Pass. If the fighting continued, Wei Shao was destined to lose.

Today, carriages travel on the same streets in the city, which are now filled with rubble and extremely crowded. Sometimes, large piles of rubble completely block the road, forcing carriages to take detours.

Many houses were demolished, and the soldiers removed beams and tiles to use for defense on the city walls. Everywhere they went, there was debris and fragmentation, making it feel like walking through a construction site.

The soldiers all had dark circles under their eyes, looked exhausted, and walked with difficulty. Some soldiers collapsed as they walked and were supported by their comrades and carried into the courtyard.

Meng Ruliu couldn't help but jump off the carriage and stop a passing general to ask what was wrong. She learned that the soldiers weren't suffering from hunger, but rather from the exhaustion of the past few days of fighting. Those who had fallen weren't dead, but simply asleep.

Meng Kuan led 20,000 troops to defend Xiping Pass against the Southern Chu army, leaving behind half of the wounded soldiers. The remaining men had no choice but to fight tirelessly on the city walls to bolster the defense.

Su Wan didn't say anything and let Lin Qingfeng continue driving towards the General's Mansion.

She was not heartless. On the contrary, she deeply pitied these brave generals and soldiers.

At this critical moment of life and death, anything she said would be pointless. Could she really tell the soldiers, "You're all exhausted, go to sleep!"? If she did that, who would defend the city?

From the moment they entered the city, Su Yuze pressed his face against the car window, timidly watching everything on the road. It was the first time he had ever seen a scene of war.

Halfway through the journey, he turned around and asked, "Sister, everyone is exhausted. Can brother-in-law hold this place?"

Su Wan said, "Let's talk about it when we meet your brother-in-law."

When she let Su Yuze leave, she never expected that he would meet Wei Jingzhuo under these circumstances.

This is neither the right time nor the right place.

The carriage stopped in front of the General's Mansion, and Meng Ruliu was the first to jump down. The guards at the entrance were all Meng Kuan's former subordinates, and they rushed forward to greet her, saying, "Miss, you're back. The General also just returned not long ago."

"My father is back?" Meng Ruliu exclaimed in surprise, and without even greeting Su Wan and her brother, she ran straight into the gate.

Su Wan got out of the car and squatted down to help Su Yuze straighten his clothes: "We're going to meet your brother-in-law soon."

Su Yuze was a little embarrassed, his face flushed, and he clutched his clothes, saying, "Sister. I haven't changed my clothes, and I smell bad and my hair is dirty... I want to take a shower and change my clothes before seeing brother-in-law."

Su Wan smiled and nodded, then said to Lin Qingfeng, "Take him to take a bath, change his clothes, and get something to eat. I'm going to see A Jin."

It's better that Su Yuze doesn't go. Meng Kuan has returned defeated, and who knows how Wei Jingzhuo will treat him. It's really not a good time to do personal things.

Lin Qingfeng led Su Yuze to the side courtyard, while she walked around the screen wall and then to the main hall.

Outside the hall, three generals were huddled together discussing something. Inside the hall, Meng Kuan stood with his back to her, shirtless, kneeling on the ground, his hair disheveled. Two crisscrossing wounds marked his back, seemingly from weapons.

Meng Ruliu and Meng Kuan knelt side by side on the ground, sobbing softly. The father and daughter seemed to be talking in hushed tones.

Wei Jingzhuo was the only one I didn't see.

When the generals saw her arrive, they quickly stepped forward and said, "Greetings, Madam."

Su Wan said, "Generals, there's no need for such formalities. Where is your lord?"

“My lord…” a general said with a wry smile, “My lord… he is sleeping.”

Another general, seemingly afraid of upsetting Su Wan, quickly added, "Madam, our lord hasn't slept a wink for the past three days; he's probably exhausted."

"I understand. Do you need to see him?" Su Wan asked. "I'll go in and find him. I can relay your message."

The three generals looked at each other, their faces showing reluctance. Finally, one of them said, "Our lord ordered us to gather five thousand soldiers who were not injured, but we searched the entire city and only managed to gather two thousand..."

Su Wan was taken aback. Only two thousand soldiers in the entire Xiping Pass were uninjured?

"What does Ah Jin need these soldiers for?"

"Ah! Madam, my stomach hurts a bit, I think I ate something bad." A general hurriedly bowed and ran away as if fleeing.

The other one, clutching his head, said, "Madam, my head is starting to hurt too... I'm going to take some medicine."

Seeing that the two had run away, before the last one could even speak, Su Wan interrupted him, saying, "Alright, I know you have your reasons. But even now, are you still going to keep it from me?"

The general said, "Well... actually..."

“We are all here to defend Xiping Pass and defeat the Fifth Prince,” Su Wan said. “I am one of you. Tell me the truth, what does your lord need five thousand soldiers for?”

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