Upon seeing the signal flare rising from the east gate, everyone knew that Lin Yinan and his group had successfully left the city.
"retreat!"
Yun Yi and Lu Changsheng did not linger in battle and immediately directed their soldiers to retreat in an orderly manner.
When He Xiong arrived at the South Gate with a large number of troops, he saw that the dilapidated gate had been completely blown to pieces, and the streets were littered with scattered building debris and burning flames.
The ground was littered with wounded soldiers, who were constantly emitting painful screams and howls.
Upon closer inspection, however, no trace of the soldiers from Longtan could be seen.
Seeing this, He Xiong clenched his fists tightly, veins bulging on his forehead, eyes wide with rage, chest heaving violently, and let out a furious roar.
Where are they?
The soldier guarding the city gate, dragging his wounded body, limped forward and reported, "General, there was a loud bang at the east gate. The people from Longtan retreated. Before leaving, they shamelessly threw a bomb at us, and many of our brothers were injured."
At the same time, another soldier hurriedly stepped forward, clasped his hands together, and knelt on one knee.
"Report! General, the Cangwu County army at the west gate has also retreated."
"Report! General, all the soldiers guarding the dungeon have been killed, and all the prisoners have been rescued!"
"Report! General, the East Gate has fallen! Countless soldiers have been killed or wounded, and the men from Longtan have escaped through the East Gate with prisoners!"
At this moment, another soldier galloped in on horseback, jumped off his horse, and knelt before He Xiong.
"General, all the grain in the granary has been burned!"
"What the hell are you standing there for? Hurry up and put out the fire!" He Xiong was so angry that he wanted to slap the soldier twice.
The soldier lowered his body even further, trembling as he said, "The thieves poured wine in the granary, and the fire got too big... it's too late."
He Xiong raised his foot and kicked the soldier hard.
"Where is Deputy General Yu? Where did he go?"
“On the way, Deputy General Yu encountered bandits attempting to break into the prison. During the pursuit, the bandits used explosives to block his path and even blew up Deputy General Yu’s house.”
With the granaries destroyed, the 100,000-strong army will face the problem of food and clothing. Without food reserves, they will have to quickly take over the various cities in the south.
As for Cangwu County, he can deal with it slowly after he takes over the two prefectures in the south.
After a long while, He Xiong's anger gradually subsided, and he arranged for people to repair the three damaged city gates.
The Yu family's once prosperous mansion is now a scene of devastation, filled with smoke and dust. Among the ruins, many servants and maids are trapped under the rubble.
"Juan'er, open your eyes and look at your mother!"
Yu Qiutao held her soft, cuddly daughter, calling her nickname repeatedly, but no matter how she called, Juan'er did not respond. Her little head drooped on her shoulder, and there was no breath coming from her nose.
The commotion in the city was causing widespread panic, and the children were too frightened to go to sleep. She sat on a low couch and told her two young children a story.
The daughter wanted to drink water, so the maid carried her to the table and poured her some.
The moment the explosion rang out, one of the roof beams in the house collapsed. The maid was so frightened that she lost her balance and dropped the child, who fell headfirst onto the cold floor.
Yu Qiutao touched the large bump on the back of her daughter's head, and a surge of hatred welled up inside her.
Looking at the maid who was in great pain after her leg was broken by the beam.
Yu Qiutao gently placed the child on the soft couch and said to the frightened Zheng Ge'er, "Zheng Ge'er, watch over your sister."
She walked step by step toward the maid.
The maid tried to back away, but her legs were pinned down by the beam and she couldn't move.
"Aunt Tao, I didn't mean it, please forgive me!"
Yu Qiutao forced a chilling smile, "Juan'er is still so young, how could you bear to throw her out!"
Yu Qiutao kicked over a round stool, bent down to pick it up, and her expression turned fierce. Without hesitation, she raised the stool and smashed it down on the maid's forehead.
The maid didn't even utter a sound before collapsing limply to the ground.
Yu Qiutao was still not satisfied and continued to smash the object, her face and body splattered with blood.
On the low couch, Zheng Ge'er almost cried out when the maid was hit. He quickly covered his mouth, dared not look anymore, and obediently lay down next to his sister.
Zheng Ge'er felt that his sister was acting strangely today. The firelight shining through the window shone on her, and he saw that his sister was not moving and was not breathing.
After an unknown amount of time, Yu Qiutao came over and picked up Juan'er, who was gradually getting cold on the bed.
Zheng Ge stared at her with wide eyes.
"Let's go, let's leave this house."
Yu Qiutao left the house without looking back, and Zheng Ge'er hurriedly ran after her.
Yu Xunmei's main yard is close to the front yard, so the explosion did not have much impact on her yard.
Seeing that she was alright, Yu Shida immediately felt relieved.
"What? Are you disappointed to see that I'm still alive?" Yu Xunmei, dressed in a thin gauze, revealed her graceful figure. She leaned lazily against the soft couch, staring at him with a playful look in her eyes.
Yu Shida sat down beside her, reached out and lifted her chin, then pulled her tightly into his arms and kissed her cheek.
"I'm so glad you're alright!"
An unusual fragrance wafted over, and Yu Shida quickly let go of her and stood up. "Stay home and don't go anywhere. I'll be back when I'm done."
Just as he was about to step out of the room, Yu Shida stopped and looked back. His eyes, as deep as a cold pool, appeared incredibly profound, and his face showed an indescribable complexity.
"Tonight we're hosting a banquet for the General. I wonder if the gift I asked you to prepare for our first meeting has been ready?"
As Yu Xunmei's eyes sparkled, a charming smile curved her lips.
"Don't you trust me to handle things? If you need anything, just ask Butler Yu."
"Okay, I'll go get busy now."
Upon hearing this, Yu Shida's brow relaxed and his eyes softened.
Outside the city, at the Longtan camp.
Yun Wu, Doctor Lü, and Guo Xun had been waiting for a long time. Upon seeing them return, they rushed forward to treat the soldiers who had been rescued from the prison.
Lin Yinan took Yun Mo directly back to his own tent.
"Qianwu, bring me a basin of hot water."
Lin Yinan unbuttoned Yun Mo's clothes. In some places, the clothes were still attached to his skin. She carefully used scissors to cut the clothes open and used tweezers to pick out the pieces of cloth little by little.
It took Lin Yinan countless basins of hot water to finally wipe the bloodstains off Yun Mo's body.
"Madam, the son-in-law is..."
Chima, who was helping out, was greatly shocked.
Yun Mo's wounds were crisscrossed and shocking to behold; there wasn't a single patch of uninjured flesh on his body.
Despite giving him the medicine, Lin Yinan still keenly sensed that something seemed wrong with his condition.
"Quickly! Go and call Yun Wu and Doctor Guo over."
At this moment, Yun Wu, who was outside the tent, carried a medicine box and lifted the curtain to enter. He rushed to Yun Mo and took Yun Mo's hand to check his pulse.
"Let me take a look."
Yun Wu frowned, squinted, and carefully listened to the pulse, his expression constantly changing.
A short while later, he slowly opened his eyes.
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