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

Cui Jingcheng sheathed his sword and smiled brightly at Bai Wanqing, "Of course! I can't be left out at a time like this!"

Bai Wanqing's eyes were slightly red; she still thought he had really betrayed her.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that Bai Wanqing was alright.

Zhuang Er led the remaining 5,000 elite troops of the Prince of Huai to retreat 50 li!
Bai Wanqing and Lin Feiyun both felt that Zhuang Er was unlikely to have any intention of attacking Huaizhou City in the short term, at least not until the reasons were clear.

Upon hearing this news, the soldiers defending the city erupted in a thunderous roar.
"We held on!"

"We really held on!"

They reveled, they cried and laughed; yes, this unequal battle was far from easy.

If it weren't for Madam Lin's blasting stone cannon, if it weren't for the fire-barrel arrows they fired, if it weren't for their illusionary formation...
How could a mere thousand men possibly withstand tens of thousands of elite troops?
Even so, they suffered heavy losses. Of the original eight hundred defenders, only three hundred remain, and the black iron bricks of the city gate still exude a scorching aura of blood.

"Wanqing!" Lin Feiyun and more than ten people behind him quickly surrounded Bai Wanqing.

Bai Wanqing stared blankly at the crowd before her, "Father, Mother, Susu, Lord Cheng, Madam Du, Du Huan, Furong."

Moreover, standing behind them were Wei Qian, Doctor Zheng, Doctor Wang, Lord Bi, Master Liu, and Liu Feifei.
"You...you all came!"

"This is a battlefield! Not a game!"

Cheng Susu walked past the crowd and said, "Of course we know this is a battlefield!"

"But without us, where would the tens of thousands of Lin family soldiers come from!"

"Without us Lin family soldiers, how could we scare away those rebels!"

"Since we're here to protect Huaizhou City, we should work together!"

Bai Wanqing then realized that, apart from the few dozen people from Linjia Village at the head, the tens of thousands of people behind Lin Feiyun were all ordinary citizens from Huaizhou City.

They are looking at me with concern.
"You... really are..." Bai Wanqing was so excited she was speechless. If she had saved Huaizhou City before, then today, it was Huaizhou City who saved her.

Cheng Susu knew that Bai Wanqing had too many questions in her mind, after all, this was very different from what they had agreed on before.

"Wanqing, a lot has happened in Beifeng City. I'll tell you the details later!"

"Now."

Following Cheng Susu's gaze, Bai Wanqing turned around. The city gate was littered with broken arms and corpses, and blood flowed like a river. For the first time, she truly witnessed the cruelty of war.

"Save them first!" Bai Wanqing said.

Only then did the others react quickly. Subsequently, two rescue teams were formed, led by Doctor Zheng and Doctor Wang, and all the doctors in Huaizhou City Medical Hall who could make house calls began to take stock of the wounded.
Those seriously injured were sent directly to the century-old medical clinic, while those with minor injuries were first sent to the Lin family for unified treatment.

Lin Feiyun and Lord Bi led their men to begin surveying the battlefield, confiscating all weapons they could and stripping away all usable armor.
Lord Cheng and Wu Huan then went up to the city wall to rearrange the defenses.

Bai Wanqing and Wushuang were so exhausted that Cui Jingcheng arranged for them to be carried back to the Du family. Ruixin, who was waiting foolishly in the teahouse, had inhaled too much poisonous gas, so Fengniang brought her back.

In the backyard of the Du family home, Madam Du was busy taking care of the soldiers' food and lodging.

Bai Wanqing leaned against the bed, as if the sword fight had never happened, and everything had returned to calm.

"Big sister, your shoulder is injured, take off your armor first!" Bai Furong came in carrying a basin of hot water. Looking at the somewhat weak Bai Wanqing, tears welled up in her eyes.

Shouldn't she be happy?

Her older sister didn't die, her older sister is still alive! But... but now her older sister is seriously injured again!

Bai Furong was somewhat resentful of herself. Why couldn't she get rid of this bad habit of crying? She always made her older sister worry, which was why her older sister kept her from doing such a dangerous thing.

Seeing Furong's haggard face, Bai Wanqing looked at Furong with some guilt. She hadn't told Furong about her faked death, which had made Furong sad and upset for a long time. She had even heard from Madam Du that Furong had been seriously ill for a while.

Looking back now, it seems she made a mistake!

"Furong, I'm sorry, big sister lied to you!"

Furong shook her head. "Big sister, I heard it from aunt. I know you have something you can't say. I understand."

Bai Wanqing suddenly felt that Furong seemed to have grown up overnight, and perhaps she should no longer treat her as a child.

Furong watched as Bai Wanqing removed her armor, revealing her blood-stained shoulders.

Bai Wanqing was afraid of frightening Furong, so she tried to cover the wound with her undergarments first.

Furong stopped Bai Wanqing's actions, "Big sister, have you forgotten! I am also a grand-disciple of Master Luo!"

“These days, I’ve spent more time than you have at the clinic!”

"Furong has seen all kinds of injuries! Furong isn't afraid!"

Seeing that Furong showed no fear at all, Bai Wanqing smiled and let go of her hand, allowing Furong to treat the wound on her shoulder.

To Bai Wanqing's surprise, Furong's movements were very nimble, and her wound-suturing technique was even better than her embroidery skills.

Perhaps Furong really has the potential to become a trauma surgeon!

Soon, Furong treated Bai Wanqing's wounds, wiped the blood off her body, and changed her into clean clothes. Seeing that Bai Wanqing had returned to her calm and indifferent demeanor, Furong was finally relieved.

"Big sister, are you hungry? I'll go get you something to eat?" Furong asked softly.

Bai Wanqing smiled slightly and said, "Okay!"

After Furong got up and left, Bai Wanqing hugged herself tightly, her body trembling uncontrollably, and one image after another flashed through her mind.

"Sister, sister, didn't we promise that I would protect you from now on?"

"Why are you practicing archery while I can only use a slingshot!"

Xiao Chengdong shook the slingshot in his hand with dissatisfaction and ran towards Bai Wanqing, trying to snatch the longbow from her.

Bai Wanqing bent down and patted Cheng Dong's head, saying, "Silly boy! You're still too young to handle a bow and arrow!"

"However, if you master the slingshot now, you might become a master archer without a teacher in the future!"

Bai Chengdong looked at the toy-like slingshot in his hand and asked with some skepticism, "Really?"

Bai Wanqing smiled and said, "Really!"

"If Cheng Dong doesn't shoot arrows accurately in the future, your older sister will teach you how!"

Bai Chengdong, fearing that Bai Wanqing might change her mind, immediately replied, "Elder sister, then it's a deal!"

Thinking of this, Bai Wanqing was already in tears. Furong brought in the food and was terrified to see her older sister crying so sadly!
"Big sister, what's wrong? Does something hurt?"

When Bai Wanqing saw Furong return, she immediately wiped away her tears and shook her head, saying, "No, I was just thinking about some things and I'm not sure about them right now!"

Furong rarely saw her older sister looking so distressed.
Perhaps the eldest sister is currently facing some real difficulties!
"Big sister, how can Hibiscus help you?"

Bai Wanqing hadn't intended to speak, but considering that she had already decided to treat Furong as an adult, she said, "Furong, what do you suggest we do if your older sister discovers that someone might be your younger brother?"

"Big brother?" Bai Furong was slightly dazed when she first heard it. But she quickly realized what was happening and screamed, "Big sister, who are you talking about?"

"Little brother, Bai Chengdong!"

Bai Furong was so surprised she couldn't close her mouth. Wasn't her younger brother Bai Chengdong drowned a long time ago?
Back then, Madam Kou fell seriously ill after the death of her younger brother.
"Big sister, you can't have mistaken me for someone else?"

Bai Wanqing shook her head blankly, "I don't know!"

"But I seemed to hear that long-lost voice calling me 'Sister, Furong.' I was afraid. I was afraid that when I stood in front of him to ask for confirmation, I would find that he wasn't him."

"If he isn't."

Bai Wanqing felt a sharp pain in her heart.
Bai Furong initially couldn't quite understand this fear, but when she thought about how if her lost and found older sister was a fake, she would probably cry herself to death in front of that fake person.

However, if someone told her that her older sister had come back to life, even if it was a lie, she would not hesitate to go see her.

"Big sister, let's go see our little brother!"

"Even if it's fake, even if he isn't, we still need to get the truth!"

"After all, it can't get any worse than the current situation, can it?"

Bai Wanqing was slightly taken aback, then suddenly stood up. "Furong, you're right! It can't get any worse than it is now!"

After saying that, Wanqing took Furong's hand and they left the courtyard.

"Big sister, where are we going?"

"Where is Young Master Wushuang? Furong, take me there quickly!"

Furong didn't know who Wushuang was and stood there stunned until Wanqing said, "Oh, he's your brother-in-law. Where is he? I want to go see him."

Even if Furong was stupid, she was so shocked that she couldn't speak!
Brother-in-law? Younger brother?
At Wanqing's repeated urging, Bai Furong led Bai Wanqing to Wushuang's courtyard.

At this moment, Wushuang had removed Lin Yunche's mask and returned to his original appearance. Wuhuan was feeding him, but Wushuang was clearly not grateful and looked very awkward.

"Wushuang, you've been Lord Lin for two days, do you really think you've become Lord Lin?"

"If you want to see Madam Lin now, you should at least eat something first!"

"Besides, the battle has just ended, and Madam Lin is injured. How could she possibly see you now!"

Wushuang pursed her lips, her eyes red-rimmed, and remained silent!

Wu Huan was somewhat helpless. Ever since he met Wu Shuang, the boy had always been gentle and humble. This was the first time he had ever thrown a tantrum like this.

Seeing that Wushuang remained unmoved, Wuhuan was ultimately defeated.

"Alright, alright! If you don't want to eat, wait for Madam Lin to feed you!" Wu Huan put a bowl of congee back on the table.

Unexpectedly, Bai Wanqing took it from him. Just as Wu Huan was about to speak, Bai Wanqing shook her head at him.

Wu Huan saw Bai Furong following behind and smiled at her, to which Furong returned the smile.

Bai Wanqing blew on the porridge before handing it to Wushuang. Wushuang glanced at it out of the corner of her eye, then snuggled closer to the bed and said, "I don't want to eat!"

"I'm not hungry!"

Bai Wanqing said gently, "You haven't eaten all day, do you really want to roast suckling pig?"

Wushuang's body stiffened visibly for a moment. He slowly turned around, and all the things he had long forgotten surged into his mind again, making him forget his past situation for a moment.

"You promised to roast suckling pig for my birthday banquet!"

"So many years have passed! I still haven't had a roast suckling pig."

Bai Wanqing lost her grip on the bowl and knocked it to the ground.

Seeing this, Wu Huan was about to tidy up when Fu Rong stopped him.
She might not know about other things, but everyone in the Bai family knew that they were going to hold a birthday banquet for Cheng Dong roast suckling pig.

"Cheng Dong, is it really you?" Bai Wanqing asked.

Wushuang's body tensed. Suddenly, he realized something, shook his head violently, and muttered in a low voice, "I'm not! You've mistaken me! I'm not!"

Bai Wanqing didn't know why Wushuang was so agitated, and she wanted to pull Wushuang up to face her.

Wushuang struggled frantically, and her wildly swinging arm struck Bai Wanqing's shoulder, quickly soaking the white gauze and green dress with blood.

"Big sister, your injury," Furong asked worriedly.

Upon learning that she had injured Bai Wanqing, Wushuang suddenly jumped out of bed, anxiously wanting to check on Bai Wanqing's injuries.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Wushuang apologized again and again, tears streaming down her face.

Wu Huan looked thoughtfully at the bewildered Wu Shuang.
Bai Wanqing reached out and touched Wushuang's face. The next second, a human skin mask appeared in Bai Wanqing's hand.
This time, not only Wushuang, but even Wuhuan and Bai Furong were stunned.
No mistake! Bai Wanqing looked at the familiar face and burst into tears.

Wushuang touched his face in horror, wishing he could disappear into a crack in the ground right now.
He was no longer the eldest son of the Bai family! The things he had experienced in the Northern Dynasty had turned him into a monster, neither human nor ghost!

"Don't look! Don't look!"

"Mrs. Lin, please! I'm not the person you're looking for!"

But now, no matter what Wushuang says, Bai Wanqing can no longer listen!

Every rejection from Wushuang felt like a knife cutting into Bai Wanqing's heart!
Bai Wanqing hugged Wushuang tightly as she curled up in a ball, and whispered, "Chengdong, don't be afraid!"

"With your big sister here, no one will bully you anymore!"

Bai Wanqing repeated herself to Bai Chengdong, who denied it again and again.

Wu Huan couldn't bear to watch any longer. He helped Bai Wanqing up and slapped Wu Shuang across the cheek. Wu Shuang covered her face and stared at him blankly.

"Wushuang! What are you complaining about?"

Wushuang stopped struggling and looked at Wuhuan, who was in tears, and could no longer speak!

"Are you still complaining about our time at the Snow Fairy Palace?"

"Just because of those embarrassing moments, do you think we're inferior to everyone else?"

"Or perhaps we shouldn't have come out of the Snow Palace alive in the first place, thus defiling this world?"

"No!" Wushuang replied painfully.

"Nothing?" Wu Huan angrily grabbed Wu Shuang's collar and scolded, "If you don't have anything, what are you being coy about?"

"If you don't have them, you should cherish the family you've now regained!"

"Live a proper and upright life!"

After saying that, Wu Huan tossed Wu Shuang back onto the bed. Wu Shuang quietly reached out her hands and gently stroked the face that even she herself had forgotten.
Finally, he spoke: "I am Bai Chengdong, the eldest son of the Bai family!" (End of Chapter)