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

Meng Zhan felt a buzzing in his head, and he glared angrily at Bai Wanqing and Lin Yunche.

These two have never taken him seriously, and now they're clearly playing him for a fool!

"You...you planned this all along!"

"Are you just waiting to see me make a fool of myself?" Meng Zhan's expression gradually twisted as he roared hysterically.

Bai Wanqing retrieved the token and letter, and glanced at Meng Zhan, saying, "Meng Zhan, if you hadn't insisted on stopping us, when would we have ever seen you make a fool of yourself!"

You should stop now!

"Enough is enough? Bai Wanqing, who do you think you are! You're just a woman I divorced and don't want anymore. When did you get the right to tell me what to do?" Meng Zhan roared.

Meng Zhan's words shocked all the soldiers around him.

They had no idea that their Madam Lin had actually had a relationship with Meng Zhan! Could this really be true?
Why would Madam Lin take a fancy to the Meng family?
Not only that, Lord Lin is a top scholar in the imperial examination! How could he marry a woman who has been divorced?

When Wushuang saw that Meng Zhan had directly insulted Wanqing, she was so angry that she wanted to rush up and hit him.

Bai Wanqing knew that this was not the time to discuss this matter.
"Meng Zhan, you're a smart man. You should know now what's in the best interest of the Meng family!"

"If you still want to argue with me here!"

"Then I don't mind helping you out again! Let you clear your head, and we'll make a judgment after everything is settled!"

Meng Zhan was surprised that even after he had gone through all that, Bai Wanqing could still respond to him so calmly.
However, it must be said that Bai Wanqing's calmness brought Meng Zhan back to his senses.

His mind raced as he pondered what would be most beneficial for the Meng family.

If they waste time here with Bai Wanqing and the Prince of Huai misunderstand that they conspired to do all this, not only will they lose the Prince of Huai's support, but they might also end up in jail with Bai Wanqing and the others.

Even if he had ten mouths, he wouldn't be able to explain himself then.
But if the Prince of Huai really is plotting a rebellion... Meng Zhan gasped. Now, he was openly obstructing Bai Wanqing and the others from defending the city. If they failed, so be it, but if they succeeded, wouldn't he become the Prince of Huai's inside man?

When the time comes, Lin Yunche will definitely seize on this weakness and kill him.

What should he do?! What should he do?!
Meng Zhan suddenly regretted coming to this city gate to seek justice. He should have followed Lord Feng's example and simply fainted somewhere, waiting for the outcome.
Meng Zhan's expression shifted rapidly in that instant.
Just then, the Prince of Huai's elite troops appeared in the distance, their mighty force filling the air.

"Lord Lin and his entourage have arrived!"

Everyone turned around and saw the Prince of Huai's elite troops.
Meng Zhan, in particular, was afraid he was seeing things and rubbed his eyes several times, but the banner of the Prince of Huai was clearly flying between heaven and earth, leaving him no choice but to believe it!

The Prince of Huai has actually rebelled! Good heavens! He almost got on a pirate ship and was doomed!

"Prepare for battle!" Lin Yunche shouted.

All the soldiers returned to their positions. Bai Wanqing took a few steps back and went to the place where the gun carts were transported.

Meng Zhan glanced around at Lin Yunche and Bai Wanqing, cursing them inwardly as madmen!

This is insane! Absolutely insane!

Their Huaizhou city had a total of no more than a thousand soldiers, but the army sent by the King of Huai seemed to number ten thousand.
With so many people, Bai Wanqing and her group were simply like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, or an egg trying to break a rock.

While everyone's attention was focused on the Prince of Huai's army, Meng Zhan secretly ran down the city wall and slipped back to the teahouse, intending to take Fang Shi and Yang Peiran with him.

But as soon as they entered the teahouse, they were stunned by the scene before them.

Fang and Yang Peiran were seen fighting. Fang's hair and clothes were torn, and Yang Peiran was in no better shape. One side of his face was swollen, obviously from being slapped.

"Stop! Stop right now!" Meng Zhan gritted his teeth angrily and separated the two.

Although Fang was poor, she had always held her head high because of her son. She had never suffered such humiliation. When she saw Meng Zhan arrive, she was even more unwilling to stop. Even when Meng Zhan pulled her away, she still reached out to hit Yang Peiran!
Similarly, although Yang Peiran was a cousin whom the Yang family disliked, the Yang family was a prominent family in the capital. Her willingness to condescend to marry into the Meng family, a small family with no roots, as a concubine was already a huge sacrifice.

This old woman actually dared to teach her a lesson, so she naturally couldn't let herself be taken advantage of!
"Mother, Peiran, stop!" Meng Zhan's roar finally made the two of them stop what they were doing.

When Fang saw her son, large tears of grievance slid down her wrinkled face. "My son! I can't live like this now."

"Whether it's a maid or your concubine, they can all bully your mother."

"I might as well just smash my head against a wall and die."

When Meng Zhan heard that his mother had been bullied like this, he glared angrily at Yang Peiran.

Yang Peiran was no pushover either. "Meng Lang, why are you looking at me like that?"

"It was Mother who struck first!"

"What a critical moment our Meng family is in now, and Mother is still arguing with a maid."

"Isn't this going to destroy the Meng family?"

"I just wanted to grab my mother and leave quickly, but she actually slapped me."

"Peiran is also wronged!"

After saying that, Yang Peiran also started to sob.

At this point, Meng Zhan naturally didn't want to distinguish who was right and who was wrong. He simply grabbed one of them in each hand and dragged them out of the teahouse.

Fang and Yang Peiran were startled by Meng Zhan's rude behavior. "My son!"

"Meng Lang!"

"What are you doing!"

Meng Zhan gritted his teeth and said, "What are you doing? The Prince of Huai's army has already attacked. If you two don't want to die, you'd better come with me right now!"

"If you want to die, that's easy, just stay here!"

As he spoke, Meng Zhan loosened his grip, and both Fang Shi and Yang Peiran sat down on the ground.

Yang Peiran was a master of opportunism. Upon learning that the Prince of Huai's men were attacking, she immediately stood up, grabbed Meng Zhan's hand, and said, "Meng Lang, I'll go with you!"

Fang originally wanted to wait for Meng Zhan to say a few conciliatory words to give her a way out!
After all, she is Meng Zhan's biological mother! No matter what, Meng Zhan would never abandon his own mother!
But then the footsteps of the army outside the city grew closer and closer, and even though they were just standing inside the city, they could feel the earth trembling violently.

The Prince of Huai's army is probably about to reach the city. If he doesn't leave soon, he will be buried with Bai Wanqing and the others!

Meng Zhan ignored Fang Shi and grabbed Yang Peiran, then ran off.

Fang could hardly believe her eyes.
That was her son, whom she had raised and cherished since he was a child! And he just ran away on his own?
They've abandoned their own mother?

Fang was so angry that her eyes were blurry, but the roars from outside the city were getting closer and closer, and Fang was truly afraid!

She scrambled to her feet and chased after Meng Zhan and the others in the direction they had run.

Ruixin witnessed everything from the entrance of the teahouse.

"Hmph! As expected, this family is no good; they deserve it!"

After saying that, Ruixin, worried about Bai Wanqing, turned around and went to the city wall.

At this moment, the King of Huai's elite troops had already arrived at the city gates. The leading general, seeing that the city gates of Huaizhou were tightly closed, did not take them seriously at all and rode his steed forward at small steps.

"This general is under the command of the Prince of Huai!"

"By order of the Prince of Huai, we are to protect Huaizhou City!"

"Open the city gate!"

At this moment, Lin Yunche stood on the city wall, staring intently at the people below, and said, "May I ask, General, I have never received any imperial decree stating that Huaizhou City should be protected by the Prince of Huai? I wonder where this order came from?"

The leading general, upon hearing that someone dared to question him, angrily looked towards the city wall.

A thin man stood in the middle of the city wall, looking down on the world with an air of arrogance, which really made people angry.

"Who is this person!" the general asked his adjutant.

The lieutenant whispered, "General, it's probably the prefect of Huaizhou City!"

"A prefect?" The general snorted coldly. "A mere prefect, yet he dares to be so arrogant!"

The general raised his voice again, saying, "My lord, you naturally know nothing of military affairs. Now, all you need to do is open the city gates and let us in!"

"Don't worry, we are all under the Prince of Huai's command, and we will not harm you!"

This time, Lin Yunche replied even more decisively, "I'm sorry, General, without a warrant, not only the Prince of Huai's army, but even the Emperor's army cannot enter the city today!"

Upon hearing this, the leading general's expression immediately fell.

His adjutant, naturally unwilling to swallow his anger, said, "General, it seems this kid has no idea how powerful we are!"

"Now we probably don't need to waste words with this kid!"

"Let's storm in, capture him alive, and see if he can still act so arrogantly here."

The leading general was named Zhu Shuan, one of the generals under the Prince of Huai. He was originally supposed to go with the Prince of Huai to fight in Youzhou.

But who knew that they hadn't gone far before they were sent to attack Huaizhou City!

To be honest, Zhu Shuan didn't want to come to Huaizhou City, a small city in the north! After all, when it comes to merit, the merit of conquering Youzhou City was much greater.

However, when he shared this idea with the Prince of Huai, the Prince insisted that he hold the rear.

Zhu Shuan was unwilling, so from the beginning he planned to directly occupy Huaizhou City by falsely conveying the imperial decree. In this way, he could complete the mission without losing a single soldier and make the Prince of Huai see his strength.

Moreover, he doesn't need to spend too much time in this place.

Perhaps, I can even snatch the top credit alongside the Prince of Huai!
But who would have thought that such a small town would now dare to go against them!
He really didn't know if that kid on the city wall had gone mad!
Can't he see the army of ten thousand behind him!
"Hmph! Since they're the ones who won't listen to reason, then we don't need to be polite anymore."

"Tell the soldiers behind you! Prepare to attack the city!"

"Yes!" The lieutenant clasped his hands in acceptance of the order.

The army of the Prince of Huai was well-trained. As soon as the order was given, the troops changed formation and brought out siege ladders and siege engines from the rear.
The lieutenant waved his hand and shouted, "Take them down! Charge!" (End of Chapter)