Su Wan climbed onto the city wall and, seeing that Su Yuze, Zhao Xiyue, and the others were all safe, hugged Wei Jingzhuo tightly. She then said to the soldiers beside her, "Go down quickly and bring Guard Lin up."

Several soldiers went down the ladder to help Lin Qingfeng. Wei Jingzhuo laughed and said, "Was this your idea?"

Su Wan felt uneasy listening to this and slammed her fist on Wei Jingzhuo's armor: "Isn't this supposed to be a precaution? Who knew the other side would have thought of this too?"

Madam Meng Kuan walked over from the side, her face still showing signs of panic. She bowed to the two of them and said, "Thanks to Guard Lin for his selfless act of blocking those people, I thank Your Highness and Madam on behalf of the Meng family."

Su Wan failed to save Meng Kuan and dared not face Meng Kuan's wife. She pushed Wei Jingzhuo away and said, "A Jin, I'm leaving this to you. I... I'm going to Dongcheng."

“Go ahead,” Wei Jingzhuo said from behind her. “The situation in Dongcheng is fine now.”

Wei Jingzhuo stayed there to talk, while Su Wan went down the city wall and walked to the east side of the city.

The battle on the east city wall was over, and the ground was littered with the bodies of fallen soldiers, both from Wei Shao's army and the garrison of Xiping Pass. Some soldiers were moving through the piles of corpses, searching for weapons suitable for further combat. Others were clearing the battlefield.

Meng Ruliu sat there with her back against the battlements, covered in blood and grime, one hand resting on a long sword with a chipped blade, as if she were asleep.

Su Wan's heart tightened.

Having seen Zhao Xian, then Meng Kuan, and finally Meng Ruliu with her eyes closed, she was filled with dread. She stepped over the corpses lying haphazardly on the ground, knelt down in front of Meng Ruliu, and tentatively placed her finger under Meng Ruliu's nostrils.

Meng Ruliu opened her eyes and looked at her, then laughed and said, "Sister, what are you doing? I'm still angry."

Su Wan finally breathed a sigh of relief. Ignoring Meng Ruliu's blood-stained body, she held her shoulders and examined her from head to toe, asking, "Are you injured?"

Meng Ruliu said, "No, I'm just exhausted and sitting down to rest. Where's my father?"

Su Wan didn't speak and lowered her head.

Meng Ruliu paused for a moment, then said, "If it's gone, it's gone. The arrow was already in his neck... My sworn sister isn't a god. The state of Xiping Pass today is all because my father was arrogant and didn't listen to the general's advice. When he was defeated by Chu Yi, he fled back..."

“No, General Meng told me himself that he is not afraid of death,” Su Wan said. “He just can’t let you go.”

Meng Ruliu's body trembled slightly as she looked up at the large banner bearing the character "Meng" fluttering in the air. After a long while, she sighed and whispered, "If only he could have defeated the Southern Chu army back then... how wonderful that would have been."

Su Wan fell silent.

Meng Ruliu is right. If Meng Kuan had listened to Zhao Xian's advice and hadn't been so hasty, the Southern Chu army would have been forced to fight a war of attrition against a defense of 25,000 men.

The Southern Chu army abandoned all its supplies when crossing the southern mountains of Youzhou. If this drags on for a few days, the Southern Chu army will run out of food and morale will collapse. How can an army without food possibly win? With no worries about its rear, Wei Jingzhuo can completely rout Wei Shao.

Chu Yi probably took this into consideration, and deliberately suffered two defeats in a row to make Meng Kuan underestimate his opponent.

Meng Kuan was tricked and his entire army was wiped out. The Southern Chu army seized his camp, which led to the subsequent siege of the Northwest Camp. In the end, he joined forces with Wei Shao's army to encircle Xiping Pass from the east and west.

Both Wei Jingzhuo and Meng Kuan launched night raids on enemy camps, but Wei Jingzhuo's strategy led Wei Shao's army to believe that Xiping Pass was on its last legs and completely unprepared, resulting in a resounding victory. Meng Kuan's only fault was facing Chu Yi; he was no match for Chu Yi. Even if he had faced Wei Shao, Meng Kuan might not have suffered such a crushing defeat.

Meng Ruliu asked, "Have my mother and the others found out?"

"not yet."

“Sister, go back first,” Meng Ruliu said. “Wei Shaojun will attack again later. You can’t help if you stay here, and I’ll have to take care of you.”

Su Wan released Meng Ruliu and took out a handkerchief to gently wipe away the blood and tears from Meng Ruliu's face.

"My grandfather said before he died that it is a good thing for a general to die on the battlefield, wrapped in a horse's hide. General Meng led the charge, fought bravely against the enemy, and died here. Whatever mistakes he made in the past are in the past."

She paused, then added, "This is what Ah Jin asked me to tell you."

Wei Jingzhuo hadn't told her these things yet, but she made the decision for him.

"Sister-in-law!" Meng Ruliu cried out, threw down her longsword, hugged her, and burst into tears.

...

Xiping Pass was under attack by the enemy. Although Meng Kuan's family was extremely grieved, they could only make hasty arrangements for Meng Kuan's funeral.

Wei Shaojun and Chu Yijun may have suffered heavy losses in their daytime offensive, as they did not launch any further attacks throughout the afternoon.

Su Wan treated the injured and was busy until dinner time. Despite her fatigue, she visited all her close relatives one by one.

Traces of Southern Chu warriors were also discovered in the south of the city. These were the same people who kidnapped Su Yuze, attacked the outposts in Youzhou, and concealed the Southern Chu army's movements.

These warriors were skilled with curved swords and possessed high martial arts prowess. With them guarding the outside, Su Yuze and his men had no chance of escape. Wei Jingzhuo, on the other hand, only had three thousand soldiers left and couldn't spare any to protect them.

Unable to think of a way to protect Su Yuze and Zhao Xiyue, she went to Lin Qingfeng's residence with a heavy heart.

Lin Qingfeng suffered several knife wounds. Apart from the deep wound on his back, the others were not too serious. After resting for an afternoon, he was able to sit up and eat.

After checking the injuries, Su Wan asked, "Were the warriors from Southern Chu... sent by Chu Yi?"

Lin Qingfeng said, "Mistress, I asked them when I encountered them. They said they were acting on the orders of the goddess."

Su Wan was surprised and asked, "They are clearly royal warriors of Southern Chu, so why are they obeying Bai Zhiyi?"

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!