Liu Rumei fell silent for a moment, but upon reflection, what Liu Tie said was certainly not without reason. After all, they were family.
Huang Ying rode her horse like the wind and reached the south gate. Seeing figures faintly in the distance, she couldn't help but shout at the top of her lungs, "Brother Xiaobei, Brother Xiaobei, where are you?"
Upon hearing Huang Ying's commotion, Chen Xiaobei's heart warmed. He immediately ordered the gate to raise the torch. "Huang Ying, I'm here."
While shouting, he urged his horse forward to meet Huang Ying.
Still more than ten feet away, Huang Ying impatiently dismounted and ran towards Chen Xiaobei.
Chen Xiaobei also quickly reined in his warhorse and jumped off.
The distance of over ten feet felt like an eternity to Chen Xiaobei. In three steps, then two, then one, he finally reached her. Without a word, Chen Xiaobei pulled Huang Ying fiercely into his arms. The next moment, their lips met, and they began to kiss passionately, heedless of everything else.
Huang Ying's tears streamed down as she fully indulged in Chen Xiaobei's passionate kisses.
After an unknown amount of time, soldiers nearby began to cheer. Only then did Huang Ying feel a little shy and pull away from Chen Xiaobei's embrace.
"Brother Xiaobei, they're all watching."
Chen Xiaobei, however, was unconcerned. He glanced back and then turned his face back to her.
"They're envious. They don't even have wives..."
"You, how are you? Did you all get out?"
Huang Ying wiped her tears and nodded vigorously. "We got out, we all got out."
"That's good, that's good." Chen Xiaobei was finally relieved.
"Let's hurry back. It's almost dawn. I only brought two thousand men. If the enemy pursues us, it will be troublesome."
Chen Xiaobei then ordered people to send messages to the men at the west and east gates, telling them to retreat quickly.
In reality, Chen Xiaobei's worries were unnecessary.
When Ge Cun heard that the three spies had been rescued, his heart sank.
These were his trump cards. Without these three, his days in Jizhou City would be difficult.
At the same time, Zhu Meng also received the news, given the significant commotion in the city.
Zhu Meng quickly donned his armor and prepared to go out and assess the situation when Zhang Liao also rushed in.
"Great Marshal, please listen to my words."
Zhu Meng reined in his warhorse and looked at Zhang Liao.
Zhang Liao cupped his fist in greeting. "Great Marshal, Shen Qiang entered the city last night, and the three spies were rescued overnight. There is great mystery behind this."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Meng shook his head. "Impossible. Shen Qiang would never betray me."
"Great Marshal, while Shen Qiang himself would not betray you, he brought over a hundred men. Who can guarantee that traitors are not among them?"
Zhu Meng stroked his beard and pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly.
"Hmm, you have a point."
"However, if we were to search them directly, it might make Shen Qiang and his men feel disheartened."
"Great Marshal, you don't need to show yourself. I will lead the men to conduct a routine search. This way, it won't cause them any displeasure."
Zhu Meng nodded.
He immediately urged his horse and headed towards the Jizhou Prefecture Yamen.
Meanwhile, Ge Zhuang was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
At the scene, only the corpse of the plump man was left. Nothing else. Looking at the wine and food on the table, he was so enraged that with a bang, he overturned the table.
"Bastards! Drinking on duty!"
As he was roaring, Zhu Meng arrived. His eyes now held a hint of amusement as he looked at Ge Zhuang.
"General Ge, what is going on?"
Ge Zhuang pointed at the scene and kicked the plump man's corpse again. "Drinking caused trouble, drinking caused trouble! They all escaped."
Zhu Meng, however, was secretly delighted. He was sure the Crown Prince had rescued them.
This would further create animosity between Ge Cun's men and Crown Prince Xiao Jingyun.
"General Ge, it must have been Xiao Jingyun. We will ride out of the city after dawn, and this time I will help you seek justice."
Upon hearing that Zhu Meng was willing to send troops with him, Ge Zhuang was secretly pleased.
What he feared was Zhu Meng remaining a spectator, letting him confront Crown Prince Xiao Jingyun alone. Now that Zhu Meng was joining, the situation would change entirely.
"Thank you, Great Marshal. I will go and prepare now."
At this time, Zhang Liao also led his men to Shen Qiang's camp.
Shen Qiang had not slept much either. He waited until dawn. When Shen Ziyan and the others had not returned, he heard the sound of horns. He knew that Shen Ziyan and her group must have been discovered.
Of course, he also understood that Shen Ziyan and her group would absolutely not return to the military camp if they were exposed, all to avoid implicating him.
At this moment, someone rushed to report that Zhang Liao was leading a team.
Shen Hao, who was beside him, was startled and asked in a hushed voice, "Brother, could we have been exposed?"
Shen Qiang shook his head. "Logically, that shouldn't be the case. By the way, have their tents been arranged?"
"People have been arranged to enter. They are all my trusted subordinates, there will be no mistakes."
Only then did Shen Qiang nod and, with Shen Hao, went to greet them.
Zhang Liao appeared very polite. He cupped his fist in greeting towards Shen Qiang. "Brother Shen Qiang, I apologize for disturbing you so early in the morning."
Although Zhang Liao was a smiling tiger, Shen Qiang had to greet him with a smile at this point.
"Strategist Zhang, you jest."
"May I ask the reason for your esteemed visit?"
"Alas, you must have heard the horns just now. Spies have appeared in the city, and by order of the Great Marshal, we must search house by house. So, we must also come to your place. Brother, please do not overthink it."
Upon hearing this, Shen Qiang's expression was calm. He stepped aside. "Since that is the case, please proceed, Strategist. I will have them all get up now."
Zhang Liao waved his hand. "No need. Let's not disturb everyone. I'll just take a general look."
Saying so, without waiting for Shen Qiang's agreement, Zhang Liao waved his hand.
Several hundred soldiers spread out and checked each tent.
Shen Qiang had brought over a hundred men. Zhu Meng had provided him with twenty tents, with about five or six men per tent.
After checking each tent and counting the numbers, and looking at the sleeping arrangements on the ground, everything matched.
Zhang Liao was quite surprised by the report from his subordinates.
He had a hunch that the person who rescued Tang Lianhua must have entered the city with Shen Qiang.
Since no clues were found from Shen Qiang, the problem was serious. This indicated that Shen Qiang might have defected.
In other words, he had come to serve as an insider for Zhu Meng.
However, Zhang Liao remained unfazed. He simply exchanged a few polite words with Shen Qiang and then left with his men.
Watching Zhang Liao depart, Shen Qiang let out a long sigh of relief. He had no idea that the crisis had just begun.
By the time Zhang Liao returned to Zhu Meng's tent, Zhu Meng had already returned.
After listening to Zhang Liao's analysis, Zhu Meng still shook his head. "Impossible. Shen Qiang would never betray me. Perhaps they entered from somewhere else, or perhaps these people were already lurking in the city."
Seeing that he could not convince Zhu Meng, Zhang Liao had to settle for the next best thing. "Great Marshal, since that is the case, why don't we send people to secretly monitor this Shen Qiang? See if he makes any suspicious moves. If he does..."
Zhu Meng finally agreed to Zhang Liao's request.
"Just now, I also promised Ge Zhuang that I would ride out of the city with him after dawn to fight."