Huang Ying's words flowed naturally, without any hesitation or pretense.
Shen Ziyan was inwardly surprised that in such a short time, Huang Ying had adapted so well to her new identity.
They were all family, and she had become the outsider.
At this moment, Chen Xiaobei spoke, "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's eat quickly. I have to go up the mountain after eating. There are still a lot of supplies at the Mountain God Temple."
"Brother Xiaobei, you should rest. Hearing you say that, you haven't had much rest for days and nights," Cui Hongyu said with concern.
Chen Xiaobei waved his hand, "It's nothing, it's nothing."
"I'm always worried about things being left on the mountain. Let's move them down quickly so I can feel at ease."
Hearing this, Cui Hongyu nodded, "Yes, let's move them down quickly. Don't go up the mountain anymore. It's truly nerve-wracking."
Yes, Chen Xiaobei also realized the problem. He didn't know how many remnants of Zhu Meng's troops were still on the mountain, so it was better not to go into the mountain again until everything was completely cleared out after moving the supplies down.
It was completely dark when Princess Zhaoning finally woke up, having slept the entire afternoon.
As soon as she opened her eyes, she cried out, "Oh my, how long have I slept? Why is it already dark?"
The little maidservant beside her quickly stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, you have slept for three hours. It is dark now. Would you like to have something to eat?"
Princess Zhaoning shook her head, "I'm full, so I won't eat. Let's go down the mountain quickly."
Liu Rumei and the others had already quietly eaten their dry rations. Since Princess Zhaoning said she wouldn't eat, they would leave the mountain quickly.
As they walked down the mountain, Princess Zhaoning said happily, "Rumei, when we return, I will request a reward for you from my imperial brother."
This remark made Liu Rumei almost want to laugh and cry.
But she still patiently replied, "Your Highness, all the credit is yours. I was just running errands."
"Alas, you can't say that. Without you, this matter wouldn't have been accomplished."
Well, with that said, Liu Rumei had nothing more to say.
In the blink of an eye, it was the second watch. Qingniu County had become quiet. After all, a curfew had been in effect since dark, so there were few people on the streets.
After hearing the sound of the second watch drum.
Wang Heng began to act quietly, gathering his men to prepare to leave the city.
At this moment, someone was more anxious than him. The guards at the south gate had already quietly escaped using ropes, leaving the huge city gate empty.
Wang Heng was obviously unaware of all this, as the guard change was still an hour away.
Xiao Jingyun was about to go to sleep when he suddenly heard a report that the city guards had surrendered. This made him overjoyed.
"Pass down the order, anyone who comes to surrender will be rewarded with ten taels of silver and then incorporated into the various units."
Xiao Jingyun's reasoning was sound. By dispersing the surrendered troops and integrating them into his own units, he could avoid any potential disloyalty, which would be troublesome.
Just then, he heard several cannon shots in the distance, followed by faint sounds of activity.
He immediately became alert and said to the guard beside him, "Quickly go and investigate what's happening."
After about a quarter of an hour, a swift horse galloped over. "Reporting to His Highness the Crown Prince, someone has broken out of the city and has already charged into the camp outside the north gate."
Hearing this, Xiao Jingyun frowned.
"Quickly find two old officials to discuss countermeasures."
Soon, two old princes arrived.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince, what has happened?" asked Old Prince Liu urgently.
Xiao Jingyun briefly explained the current situation.
"I suspect they came to surrender just to attract our attention."
Hearing this, Old Marquis Zhao shook his head, "No, I don't think so. Most likely, the soldiers in the city took the opportunity to come down."
As they were speaking, another report came in, stating that several more groups of soldiers had fled and surrendered.
Old Marquis Zhao pondered for a moment and came up with an idea.
"Why don't we try a 'Black Tiger Steals the Heart' maneuver?"
"Your Highness, the first to arrive were the guards from the south gate. Let them go back and open the city gate to let us in. They go out, we go in. Let's see who wins."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingyun couldn't help but give him a thumbs-up.
"Excellent, this plan is great. Let's do it."
"Quickly issue the order to the guards at the north gate to hold back the enemy who broke out, and don't let them escape. Once we occupy Qingniu County, we will surround them."
Xiao Jingyun selected his troops and silently approached the south gate.
On the south gate tower, although there were torches, it was already empty.
Soon, soldiers climbed up again using ropes and opened the city gate.
Xia Jingyun waved his hand, and Zhou Quan was the first to lead a team inside.
After entering, they split up and headed for the other three city gates to secure them first.
Once the city gates were secured, it would be much easier to enter and exit as they pleased.
Since there was fighting outside the north gate, the movement of soldiers on the streets was not unusual.
Zhou Quan acted decisively, killing any patrolling teams they encountered on the way, leaving them no chance.
Soon, the west, north, and east gates were all controlled by Crown Prince Xiao Jingyun's soldiers.
With the east and west gates opened, more soldiers poured in from outside.
At this point, the city guards finally realized something was wrong, but Wang Heng was gone, and with no leader, they naturally fell into chaos.
Furthermore, the north gate was also controlled by Xiao Jingyun's men, so no news could be sent out of the city. At this time, Wang Heng was also entangled by the outside guards, as he had only brought five thousand men.
The surprise attack had lost its element of surprise, and it was not easy to break out of the encirclement of tens of thousands of troops.
After fighting for a full hour, Wang Heng saw that breaking out was impossible, and he was very annoyed. He hastily ordered a retreat.
Seeing Wang Heng retreat, the guards outside the north gate did not pursue, as Wang Heng could not escape anyway.
Wang Heng urged his horse to the north gate of Qingniu County and shouted loudly towards the top, "Quickly open the gate! It's Wang Heng!"
He shouted more than a dozen times, and finally, there was a response from above, and a few torches were lit.
However, the torchlight illuminated an unfamiliar face.
Zhou Quan stood on the city wall with his hands behind his back. "Wang Heng, do you recognize me, Zhou Quan?"
"It's you." Wang Heng was shocked. Even if he didn't recognize Zhou Quan, he had heard of Zhou Quan's name. Seeing Zhou Quan on the city wall, he immediately realized that Qingniu County had fallen.
Looking back and seeing only three thousand soldiers behind him, Wang Heng sighed.
Now, he couldn't fight, and he couldn't retreat. Where should he go?
After a brief deliberation, Wang Heng drew his sword with a clang.
"Zhou Quan, I was careless and fell into your hands this time. I know Xiao Jingyun will not let me off. I have only one request."
"Please take my head to claim merit and exchange it for the safety of my brothers."
"General Wang, please don't!" Some people were still moved by Wang Heng and shouted loudly.
Wang Heng turned to look at them again, "Alright, don't say any more. Listen to me and follow the Crown Prince's arrangements."
Seeing Wang Heng like this, Zhou Quan still respected him.