After being forced to leave the marriage, I became the wife of a top scholar.

The old people took Bai Wanqing's words as the words of the Goddess Mother!

The Goddess Goddess said they could live, so they still had a chance to live!

Bai Wanqing led the elderly people who couldn't walk to the government office, where she arranged for more than a dozen soldiers to guard them.

The elderly people immediately felt much more at ease!
After settling everyone in, Bai Wanqing led a few people to gather all the grain in Huaizhou City in one place and assigned two people to guard the granary.

She warned the two that if Huaizhou City were to be breached by the Prince of Huai, the grain must not be left to him!
The two nodded and accepted the order.

After arranging the provisions, Bai Wanqing prepared to meet Wushuang at the east gate of the city.

At this moment, the rising sun cast a hazy, fiery glow over the entire city of Huaizhou.

Calculating the time, the Prince of Huai's army would be at the city gates in about half a day, so Bai Wanqing dared not delay any longer.

She untied the horse from the prison cart and rode it galloping towards the east gate of the city.

Meanwhile, the roar of soldiers could be heard from afar on the eastern city wall.

"One or two!"

"One or two!"

The soldiers set up makeshift artillery pieces on the city walls!
"Miss." Ruixin, her face covered in smeared graffiti, ran excitedly toward her. "You've finally arrived!"

"Lord Lin asked you this question several times just now!"

Ruixin said this mysteriously. In her opinion, it was always a good thing for the son-in-law to care about the young lady, no matter when.

Bai Wanqing envied Ruixin's carefree nature. She took out a handkerchief to wipe the dust off Ruixin's face, but Ruixin refused to let Bai Wanqing do it.

"Miss, this handkerchief was given to you by the second young lady."

"I can't use it, I'll just wipe it with my sleeve!"

Bai Wanqing nodded gently, "By the way, how are the preparations here?"

When this was mentioned, Ruixin's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Miss, all the timber we prepared earlier has been used!"

"The young master is very capable. He only looked at the blueprints you gave him, and he already knew how to assemble it with these pieces of wood!"

"The soldiers here originally thought we didn't have much of a chance of winning!"

"But with these, the soldiers' eyes lit up!"

"They kept praising our son-in-law as a genius!"

As Ruixin said this, she raised her little head proudly.

Wushuang, who had rushed over from not far away, blushed to the roots of his ears when he heard Ruixin praising him like that.

"Ruixin, I'm not as amazing as you say!"

Wushuang walked over slowly and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Bai Wanqing was alright.

Afterwards, Wushuang led Bai Wanqing and Ruixin to the city wall to see the current layout.

Bai Wanqing had never been on the battlefield, and although she had these powerful weapons, she didn't really have much confidence in herself.

"Well? Is there anything else you'd like to add?" Wushuang asked.

Wushuang now looked at Bai Wanqing with nothing but reverence. If his admiration for Bai Wanqing before stemmed from what he had heard about Madam Lin from others, then the person he admired now was the one truly standing before him.

He couldn't believe that a woman could plan things to such an extent.

He had never even seen those blueprints before, but he was deeply impressed by the ingenuity of these weapons when he was deciphering them.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed that it was made by a woman.

Lord Lin is truly blessed!
The peerless young master stared at Bai Wanqing, thinking to himself.

Bai Wanqing carefully inspected every corner of the city wall. The soldiers of Huaizhou City already knew that Madam Lin had faked her death and was now using so many powerful weapons to defend the city. Therefore, they had no complaints about Bai Wanqing's actions on the city wall. On the contrary, like Wushuang, they looked at the woman in front of them with sparkling eyes.

"That's fine! Perhaps we can hold out for a while!" Bai Wanqing said calmly.

For a time, perhaps this moment is enough.
Seeing that Bai Wanqing was exhausted after a long night, Wushuang suggested that she go to the teahouse below the city wall to rest first.

Bai Wanqing nodded and followed Wushuang downstairs. Before they even reached the teahouse, they saw three menacing figures walking towards them from a distance.

"Bai Wanqing, you are truly audacious!"

"Not only did he fake his death to deceive the Prince of Huai, but he even dared to kidnap an official of the imperial court!"

"I think you're not planning to keep your head!"

"Oh right! Not just your head, but the Bai family's head, the Lin family's head, and even the Du family's head—you don't want any of them!"

At this moment, Meng Zhan, supporting Fang Shi, and Yang Shi behind him, had already walked up to Bai Wanqing.

Meng Zhan angrily pointed at Bai Wanqing and berated her.

Fang's expression was somewhat dazed, perhaps because the effects of the medicine hadn't completely worn off.

Yang looked at Bai Wanqing with a sidelong glance, as if she were watching a good show.

Bai Wanqing had no intention of arguing with Meng Zhan. She tugged at Wushuang's sleeve slightly, and Wushuang stepped aside to separate Wanqing from Meng Zhan.

Meng Zhan looked at Lin Yunche with even greater anger, and asked coldly, "Lin Yunche, you are no longer the prefect of Huaizhou City!"

"Do you know what crime you should be punished for mobilizing the city's soldiers without authorization!"

"You...you Lin family, are you trying to rebel?" Meng Zhan roared.

Wushuang turned around and met Meng Zhan's eyes, and Meng Zhan was slightly taken aback!

Lin Yunche had seen him angry many times, but never like the man before him, whose eyes were like a still, lifeless pool, as if a tranquil whirlpool was about to swallow him whole.

"Lin Yunche, what are you looking at!" Meng Zhan unconsciously took a small step back, almost bumping into Fang Shi and Yang Shi behind him.

Bai Wanqing knew Meng Zhan's temperament; if she didn't give him an explanation, he would definitely make trouble and keep asking until he got to the bottom of it.

She slightly regretted that she hadn't used enough of the drug.

"Lord Meng, you've just woken up, so it's understandable that you don't know some things!"

"Why don't we sit down and have a proper talk?"

Bai Wanqing's voice was calm, but Meng Zhan's anger only intensified.

He had been heartbroken and saddened by this woman's departure just a few days ago, but now he realized that he had been played by her!

Not only her, but also Lin Yunche.
Judging from Lin Yunche's behavior back then, he probably already knew that this woman had faked her death.
Those damned bastards, I'll never let you get away with this!
"Alright! Bai Wanqing, if you're willing to humble yourself and beg me properly this time, perhaps I can spare your life."

As he spoke, Meng Zhan led Fang Shi and Yang Shi to squeeze inside first.

Wushuang clenched her fists, her entire body tense.
Bai Wanqing knew that Wushuang was worried about her, so she gently tugged at Wushuang's sleeve.

"It's alright, let's get down to business first!"

"We must not let Meng Zhan affect the overall situation."

Wushuang nodded, and the three of them followed.

The five people sat around a table, with Ruixin standing behind Bai Wanqing.

As soon as Meng Zhan sat down, he questioned Bai Wanqing without any politeness: "Speak, let me see what excuse you have this time to avoid the death penalty!"

Bai Wanqing calmly raised her eyes, meeting Meng Zhan's gaze without the slightest panic. "Lord Meng, the Prince of Huai's rebellion is now a fact."

"I mobilized the entire city to resist the rebel army; what crime have I committed?" (End of Chapter)