Stop the car, let me tidy up a bit

The entire city of Pukou was in a boiling uproar.

Both the military camp and the Pukou City Love and Mutual Aid Alliance had already drawn their swords and strung their bows… so naturally, Song Shaoyi wasn’t about to sit idly by.

In fact, Song Shaoyi was even more proactive than the others.

At that moment, the letter he held in his hand was also a message sent by Nanny Sun through a household guard of the Zhou residence.

And the instant he read the letter, Song Shaoyi was stirred with excitement.

Not because Nanny Sun was one of Ren Tianye’s people.

But because… Nanny Sun was a former member of the Demon-Suppression Bureau!

“So she’s a senior from the former Demon-Suppression Bureau!”

“Who would have thought that even without the leader’s direct orders, someone from our old bureau would still step forward to lend the Lord Duke a hand!”

“This proves that the Lord Duke is truly the man of destiny!”

“From now on, clearing away the obstacles and restoring peace to the realm can only be achieved by the Lord Duke!”

As Song Shaoyi thought this, his blood ran hot with fervor.

He naturally chose to trust Nanny Sun without hesitation, prepared to take action and deliver Pukou City into the Lord Duke’s hands.

Thus, he quickly gathered countless citizens of Pukou City.

Standing alone on a high platform, below him was a dense sea of Pukou’s townsfolk.

“Fellow countrymen and women, first, let me give you some good news.”

“The Lord Duke has sent men to take control of all the outposts around Pukou City. The sweet potatoes originally meant to supply Pukou have also been seized by the Lord Duke.”

“Now, Pukou City stands isolated, a lone fortress!”

“A single tree cannot withstand the wind!”

“The fall of Pukou City is not far off!”

No sooner had he finished speaking than the Pukou citizens erupted in excitement.

Did they know how long they had been waiting for this moment?

And Song Shaoyi immediately continued: “But even with things at this point, Zhou Xiong still stubbornly resists, foolishly hoping for reinforcements from the capital. Humph…”

“Zhou Xiong is unwilling to follow the path of Heaven and harmony, and he wants to place us in opposition to the Lord Duke. How can we accept that?”

“Fellow townsfolk, do you dare—do you dare to join me, Song Shaoyi, this very night to seize Zhou Xiong and offer this vast city of Pukou to the Lord Duke?”

Was there anyone who dared not?

Instantly, the shouts grew louder than the next!

“Shaoyi, we’re with you!”

“Damn it, that bastard Zhou Xiong stuffs himself with fine food and drinks while forcing us to oppose the Lord Duke? Tonight, we’ll go kill him!”

“Right, let’s go kill Zhou Xiong. This city belongs to the Lord Duke—no one can stop that, I swear it!”

“Fellow folks, raise your torches, grab your hoes. Tonight, we’ll carve out a path for ourselves!”

…

Seeing the crowd’s fervor, Song Shaoyi knew there was no issue. Now, it was time to wait.

Wait for word from Nanny Sun.

If Nanny Sun managed to persuade Zhou Xiong to surrender, then naturally there would be no need for needless conflict or sacrifice. But if Zhou Xiong was obstinate…

Then they would not hold back their blades!

Still…

Understanding the larger picture, Song Shaoyi couldn’t help but let a faint smile curl at the corner of his mouth.

“Nearly half of Pukou City has already pledged allegiance to the Lord Duke. Zhou Xiong, do you have three heads and six arms? In this situation, you still dare to resist?”

“I’m certain you wouldn’t dare!”

All plans were in place.

Only nightfall awaited.

And so they waited.

Until deep in the night, when the crowd could barely contain themselves, guards from the Zhou residence split into several groups, galloping on horseback to three locations within Pukou City.

“Report! Zhou Xiong has been locked up in the city jail!”

The soldiers erupted in jubilation.

“It’s done! It’s done! Finally done!”

“Hahaha, Zhou Xiong is imprisoned—now we can surrender to the Lord Duke!”

“Waited so long for today, dreamed so long of this dream coming true—finally, I can surrender to the Lord Duke! Hahaha!”

“This is great! We’ve helped the Lord Duke take Pukou City without bloodshed. We’ve earned our merit, and good times… are here!”

…

Amid the excitement and chaos, some sharp-minded individuals caught on.

“Something’s off. This doesn’t add up!”

“Zhou Xiong is the garrison commander of Pukou. If he were to surrender to the Lord Duke, it should be because Nanny Sun persuaded him to submit willingly. So how…”

“How was he thrown into the city jail?”

“Who imprisoned Zhou Xiong?”

…

This doubt wasn’t limited to the camp.

Even at the Welcome Summer Tower, Chen Liang was utterly baffled.

“Zhou Xiong’s prestige in Pukou City is extremely high. Otherwise, the soldiers wouldn’t have waited until utter despair to finally make up their minds to rebel against him.”

“But even when those soldiers rebelled, they didn’t dare take Zhou Xiong’s head themselves…”

“And now Zhou Xiong is in jail?!”

“This doesn’t make sense!”

…

Song Shaoyi was also plagued by this confusion.

He had already anticipated Zhou Xiong’s possible fates.

In his mind, Zhou Xiong would either surrender obediently and willingly.

Or be forced into surrender by the soldiers and the crowd.

Or be killed by the mob.

But…

He had never imagined Zhou Xiong being thrown into a dungeon!

That simply defied logic.

“Something must have gone wrong in the middle, some link in the chain has broken…”

“But what exactly?”

Song Shaoyi racked his brains but couldn’t figure it out.

…

Half a day earlier!

On the official road leading from the direction of Yunjiang to Pukou City.

A carriage ambled along slowly.

The driver was clearly a hired coachman, shabbily dressed in ragged clothes, obviously poor, but his face betrayed an irrepressible joy.

After all, this was a big job.

With such a long journey, the pay from this trip would be considerable.

But…

The coachman was quite curious about the passenger inside.

From the first glance, he knew this wasn’t an ordinary person.

—After all, who else would carry armor and weapons with them?!

—And that long spear! Exquisite beyond belief, and so heavy it felt like a thousand pounds, making his horses struggle to walk.

At first, the coachman assumed the man was a military officer.

A general coming to Pukou.

But after a closer look, he felt something was off.

Because…

This man didn’t match the image of a general he had in mind.

In his experience, generals were burly, muscular figures in armor, radiating killer intent.

Of course, there were scholarly generals,

Elegant and refined—

But none of them were quite like the man seated inside the carriage.

This passenger was far too clean.

Too impeccably dressed.

As if he were heading to a romantic rendezvous.

The coachman muttered these thoughts inwardly without daring to voice them, curiosity running through his mind.

Until a voice came from inside the carriage.

“Driver, are we almost there?”

The coachman quickly replied: “Yes indeed, sir. Just a few more miles to Pukou City.”

“Stop the carriage.”

Squeaking steadily, the carriage came to a halt.

The door curtain was pushed aside, revealing an extraordinarily handsome face.

Skin like ancient jade, features sharp as if carved by a knife, the very picture of a refined, worldly young gentleman.

What drew the most attention were his two strikingly long, jet-black eyebrows that nearly merged into his temples.

Even the carriage driver, who was well-traveled and used to seeing all kinds of people, couldn’t help but exclaim, “What a handsome gentleman!”

Then he added, “Sir, ahead lies Pukou City.”

“That wall you see is the city’s defense rampart!”

The man looked up, gave a nod, and said,

“Since we’re about to enter the city, I can’t go in looking so unkempt.”

“Driver, stop the carriage here. Let me tidy myself up a bit before we proceed.”

The driver was taken aback.

Tidy himself up?

Wait—sir, you’re already this handsome, dressed so neatly and cleanly—what’s left to tidy?

What exactly is there to fix?

...