The captain understood Old General Yuan’s condition well, and he was certainly not going to let the common people go inside.

“I understand how everyone feels.” He gave a light cough before speaking.

“Actually… Old General Yuan is not at the inn. With the battle imminent, he and General Feng left together.”

“You’re lying!” A commoner pointed at the captain.

“The only one who left was General Feng. There was no Old General Yuan at all.”

“During this whole time, no carriages have gone in or out of the inn. If Old General Yuan had left, there’s no way we wouldn’t know!”

“That’s right.” Another commoner shouted in agreement. “We’ve long heard that Old General Yuan failed to hand over the military tally in time.”

“For General Feng to have such a temper and still hold a banquet to welcome Old General Yuan already seemed strange.”

“Someone saw with their own eyes that Old General Yuan was poisoned, and you still want to argue your way out of it!” Yet another commoner stepped forward.

“We want to see Old General Yuan!”

Someone shouted it out, and the crowd began to stir.

“We want to see Old General Yuan!”

“We want to see Old General Yuan!”

The crowd surged forward again, pressing inward.

Having no choice, the captain drew his sword.

Seeing this, many of the soldiers drew their long swords as well.

“Quiet!” the captain shouted. “Don’t blame us for being ruthless!”

“Today, even if you really intend to strike us down, we will still see Old General Yuan!” someone shouted.

No sooner had the words fallen than everyone pushed forward together.

Eyes red with urgency, the captain said in a deep voice, “All soldiers, heed the order — no one is to be allowed to advance any further.”

“Anyone who defies the order — kill!”

“Yes!” the soldiers answered in unison.

Even Feng Jiu’er hadn’t expected that the unarmed commoners, facing soldiers with drawn swords, would still show no trace of fear.

They didn’t even blink, like warriors ready to face death without regret.

To keep the commoners from getting hurt as much as possible, Feng Jiu’er, Xiao Yingtao, and Jian Yi stayed hidden in the shadows the whole time.

Silver needles, throwing darts, even small pebbles struck the sword-wielding soldiers from time to time.

Soon, the commoners broke through the encirclement and kicked open the door to Old General Yuan’s chamber.

Inside the room, just as several army physicians were falling into despair, the commoners burst through the door.

The guards inside were pushed aside, and the physicians scrambled in fright to get out of the way.

A man dressed as a commoner strode forward and went to help up the person lying on the bed.

No one saw that, just before Xing Zizhou helped Old General Yuan up, he had slipped a pill into his mouth.

“Old General Yuan really has been poisoned — we must get him out of here!” someone behind shouted.

More and more commoners kept pouring in, and by now the corridor was packed with people.

Some among them were injured, but no one paid it any mind.

Seeing their respected general, pale and bloodless, being carried out, everyone’s heart ached.

With this, whatever little respect the commoners still had for Feng Rui was completely worn away.

As a new wave of fighting broke out, chaos reigned both inside and outside Xiyuan City alike.

Old General Yuan’s soldiers arrived in time, along with the men who had been guarding Chen Family Village.

Escorted by the commoners, the two forces successfully withdrew.

Those they took with them included not only Old General Yuan, but also Yuan Xi, the only young master of the Yuan family.

The next day, as the sun rose, on a stretch of grassland outside Xiyuan City, countless neat, uniform army tents appeared.

In one tent at the center, a little boy was wiping the cheeks of a sleeping old man.

“Fairy sister, when will my grandfather wake up? Didn’t you say he would be fine by dawn?”

Not far off, Xiao Yingtao, kneeling by a small table eating her meal, turned to glance back.

“It’s almost time. Do you want to come have some porridge? You need to eat your fill so you’ll have the strength to take care of Grandfather, don’t you think?”