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

Zhu Shuan slunk back to his tent, and Zhuang Er followed closely behind.

"General, what happened?" Zhuang Er asked.

Zhu Shuan was still a little shaken, but he knew that everyone else could act recklessly, but he couldn't!
"Zhuang Er, I'm asking you, are you really sure that woman is dead?" Zhu Shuan asked.

Zhuang Er nodded and said, "General, it's absolutely true!"

"Many people witnessed Bai Wanqing's death."

"Could it be that the person on the city gate really is her?"

Zhu Shuan shook his head and said, "I don't know that woman, I don't know if it's her!"

"But I just shot an arrow at her!"

"That woman seemed to have no physical form; I just watched as the arrow pierced right through her body!"

"This is bizarre! It's really bizarre!" Zhu Shuan said dejectedly.

As Zhu Shuan spoke, he felt a chill run down his spine and immediately ordered someone to bring him a jug of strong liquor.

Zhu Shuan picked up the strong liquor, took a big gulp from the bottle, and only then did he feel the chill on his back gradually dissipate!

"Damn it! What bad luck!" Zhu Shuan said.

Zhuang Er sat quietly to one side, his brows slightly furrowed, unable to understand what had just happened!
Could it really be as the soldiers said, that this is all the woman's sorcery!

In all the world he had ever heard of such a technique!

"General, our soldiers saw what happened just now, and it might shake morale!" Zhuang Er warned.

Zhu Shuan narrowed his eyes, looking thoughtfully at Zhuang Er, "Zhuang Er, do you also believe that woman has turned into a ghost and is protecting Huaizhou City?"

Zhuang Er shook his head firmly and said, "I don't believe it!"

"But everyone is watching, it's absolutely impossible for there to be no impact whatsoever!"

Zhu Shuan was horrified. If Zhuang Er hadn't firmly shaken his head just now, he probably would have already believed in the existence of ghosts.

After all, he sees things more clearly than anyone else!

Fortunately, Zhuang Er's words reminded him, and now, emboldened by the alcohol, he said, "You're right!"

"How could there be ghosts in this world? I've killed so many people over the years!"

"If they all turn into ghosts and demons, wouldn't I be swamped with work!"

"But as you said, everyone saw everything that just happened!"

"Zhuang Er, do you have any good ideas?"

Zhuang Er thought for a moment and said, "Bai Wanqing's purpose in doing this is to disrupt our morale."

"After all, no one is afraid of ghosts, demons, gods, or Buddhas, and no one disrespects them!"

"If we send our soldiers to attack Huaizhou City now, it will likely be a waste of effort and do more harm than good."

"To solve this problem, we probably need to do something within the military!"

"We must dispel everyone's fear!"

Zhu Shuan thought Zhuang Er's words made sense, and then asked, "Then how can this fear be dispelled?"

Zhuang Er was slightly taken aback, and for the moment he didn't have a good idea.

Zhu Shuan felt humiliated. "How about I shoot two more arrows?"

"At that time, all the soldiers will see that the women on the city gate are nothing more than scarecrows swaying in the wind!"

"Besides bluffing, she can't do anything else, so naturally I'm no longer afraid of her!"

Zhuang Er thought for a moment and shook his head, saying, "General, I'm afraid this is not appropriate!"

"Why? Are you worried I won't dare to shoot?!"

"I don't think so, but Bai Wanqing has always been cunning. If we happen to fall into her trap, it would be terrible!"

"General, we must be even more careful in everything we do!"

Zhu Shuan was initially unconvinced, but when he thought about the strange things they had experienced over the past two days, he had no choice but to suppress his temper.

"Then what do you think we should do?"

"His Highness said that we must take Huaizhou as soon as possible!"

"We've been here for two days already! If we drag this out any longer, the Prince will have already completed his great undertaking, and we won't even have captured a small city like Huaizhou!"

Even if I have a thousand or ten thousand reasons to explain myself, I can't afford to lose face like that!

Zhuang Er nodded; he was just as anxious as Zhu Shuan.

"General, give me one night, and I'm sure I can come up with a solution!"

"We will definitely take Huaizhou City tomorrow!"

Zhu Shuan could only nod helplessly. Zhuang Er then left the tent to calm the panicked soldiers.

As the sun sets, golden light gleams.

Seeing that Zhu Shuan's army had already started to build up smoke, Bai Wanqing knew that they would not attack the city gate again, so she ordered everyone to remove the bronze mirrors and water basins.

After the soldiers put away the bronze mirror and the basin of water, the phantom that had been standing on the city wall just moments before disappeared.

Everyone was shocked by what they had just witnessed.

Good heavens! Did they just create a truly realistic illusion?

They would never have believed it if they hadn't seen it with their own eyes.

"Wanqing, this is amazing!" Wushuang exclaimed from the bottom of her heart.

Bai Wanqing chuckled and said, "I saw this method in my mother's notes!"

"The specific method was something I had to try with Fengniang and Ruixin for a long time before we found it."

"Fortunately, this has temporarily knocked Zhu Shuan and the others out of their fighting mind."

They probably won't be coming tonight!

Wushuang nodded upon hearing this, and the soldiers on the city gate breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"But..." Bai Wanqing looked at the distant firelight, her face showing worry.

"But what?" Wushuang asked. "If they dare to come again tomorrow, we'll use the same method as today to scare them again, and maybe they'll be scared away just like they were today."

"It might not be that easy!"

Bai Wanqing said, "From what I've observed, the general sent by the Prince of Huai this time is not the reckless brute I thought! They are probing our strength and weakness today."

"Now they can't understand it and think it's the work of ghosts!"

"But by tomorrow, given enough time, they will figure out our little trick!"

"It will be difficult to scare them off again using the same method."

Upon hearing this, Wushuang's expression also became serious.

In fact, Wushuang knew that the situation in Huaizhou City was probably worse than they had imagined!

Putting everything else aside, the artillery vehicles that Wanqing had prepared before are no longer usable!

The bows and arrows stockpiled in the city have been almost used up today.
If it weren't for Wanqing's quick thinking and this idea, Zhu Shuan would probably have led his team up tonight.

What will happen to them, even if there are only a few hundred or a thousand of them?
But as Wanqing said, such a method of feigning reality can only delay things for a while, not forever.

What's meant to happen will happen eventually!
Wushuang was worried about Bai Wanqing's safety, "Wanqing, you've been guarding here for two days now!"

"You've done everything you could!"

"Tomorrow, take Ruixin and go find Lord Bi and the others!"

Bai Wanqing looked at the young man standing beside her and smiled slightly, "Peerless Young Master!"

Wushuang turned her head to look at her, only to see Bai Wanqing continue, "I promised my husband that I would protect the Lin family."

"But... this is no longer the Lin family."

Bai Wanqing shook her head and said, "My husband is the magistrate of Huaizhou City!"

“This Huaizhou City is my husband’s home!”

"I can't leave! I can't back down!"

"But Wanqing, tomorrow will be a tough battle! Close combat, hand-to-hand fighting, you don't know martial arts, isn't that just throwing your life away?"

Bai Wanqing slowly lifted her sleeve, revealing a variety of medicine bottles hidden beneath it!

"I'm definitely not good at physical combat!"

"But I can use poison!"

"Medication can also be used!"

"It'll always come in handy here!"

Wushuang wanted to persuade her, but seeing the radiant light in Bai Wanqing's eyes, he suddenly realized that he had been too attached to appearances!

Some things, some people, are meant to be where they are meant to be, and to accomplish them personally!

Another day has passed in the blink of an eye; today is the third day that Wanqing and her comrades have been defending the city.

Zhu Shuan got up early and summoned Zhuang Er to his tent to ask if he had come up with any good ideas!

Zhuang Er was indeed a clever man. Yesterday, when he returned from the soldiers, he came up with a good idea.

"General, I have a good idea!"

"It will not only help our soldiers forget their fear, but also make them more fearless and brave!"

"Charge into battle with all your might!"

Zhu Shuan was overjoyed to hear that Zhuang Er had come up with a solution. "Tell me about it!"

Zhuang Er whispered his idea in Zhu Shuan's ear, and Zhu Shuan nodded repeatedly after hearing it. He immediately ordered Zhuang Er to do it.

At this moment, Wushuang and the soldiers guarding the city gate saw that Zhu Shuan's tent was busy again, which they found strange.

"Madam Lin, why are they starting the cooking fire again!"

"Does this mean they're not planning to attack the city today either?" a soldier asked.

Bai Wanqing pursed her lips and shook her head, saying, "Given Zhu Shuan's personality, he shouldn't just waste his time like this!"

"I'm afraid they've already found a way to deal with the ghosts!"

"What?" The soldiers couldn't believe it. "There really is a way to deal with ghosts?"

"That's not right! Even if there were, our Madam Lin isn't a ghost, so their efforts would be in vain!"

Bai Wanqing smiled slightly, and Wushuang immediately understood what Wanqing meant.

"The ghost that Madam Lin is talking about is not the same ghostly shadow that we could see but couldn't touch yesterday!"

"Not that ghostly figure?"

"Could there be other ghosts or spirits?" The soldiers didn't understand what Wushuang was talking about!
Bai Wanqing and Wushuang both nodded in unison and said, "Yes!"

The soldiers were terrified. They looked around and asked, "May I ask, Lord Lin, where are they, Madam Lin?"

Wushuang pointed to her chest, "In my heart!"

Some soldiers seemed to understand. "Lord Lin, are you saying that they have found a way to overcome their inner fear?"

Wushuang nodded, "I'm afraid so! This Zhu Shuan is indeed no ordinary person!"

The soldiers on the city gate were somewhat disheartened upon hearing this. If those elite soldiers had truly overcome their fear, what would they have left to contend with?
Seeing her soldiers hanging their heads and losing their morale, Bai Wanqing walked up to them.

"Did you ever imagine we could make it this far on the first day?"

The soldiers were stunned when they heard Bai Wanqing's voice. They dared not imagine that there were 10,000 elite soldiers!

"But we held out for two days without a single casualty."

The soldiers thought about it and realized it was true, but that was because they had used Bai Wanqing's strange arts!
But now that their supernatural abilities are clearly exhausted, what else do they have left?
Bai Wanqing, seeing everyone staring intently at her, smiled and shook her head, "We have nothing left!"

Everyone gasped in shock!
Bai Wanqing continued, "Now we only have two choices: retreat or not retreat!"

"Retreat, and you'll become a prisoner of the Prince of Huai, a discarded pawn of the court!"

"We will not retreat. We will defend our homes and await reinforcements!"

"Everyone, look at the people behind you, what do you choose?"

The soldiers slowly turned around and looked at the elderly, women, and children behind them who were staring at them expectantly. Among them were their mothers and family members!
Being captured by the Prince of Huai is probably even more unbearable than when the Fang family was alive!

Rather than rebelling later, we might as well take a gamble now!
"Don't retreat!"

"I will never give up!"

Instantly, the city gate was filled with an overwhelming momentum and deafening shouts!

This caused Zhu Shuan, who was slaughtering a chicken, to involuntarily tremble. (End of Chapter)