My reborn husband and son are thinking about how to kill me every day.

Beiguan.

Su Zimu put one hand behind his back and looked at the sand table.

He had learned from the soldiers sent by King Jing of Qi that Ji Yunshuang had occupied Qiongdu, declared himself emperor in Qiongdu, and renamed the Qi Kingdom as Daqi.

When he first heard the news, he was shocked and didn't believe it.

How could the State of Qi have been destroyed overnight?

So fast, so fast that he didn't even have time to react.

But when he thought about what the soldiers sent by King Qi Jing had said, and the riots that had broken out in nearby towns a few days earlier, he slowly accepted the fact.

A few days ago, a strange creature that looked like a snake but wasn't quite one did appear in town. That creature caused chaos in the city and killed many people.

When some common people came to the border to plead for help, he sent out a troop of soldiers.

As a result, 16 people died and 33 were injured before the strange creature, which resembled a snake but was not quite a snake, was finally killed.

This is just one example, yet it has already caused such great losses to the enemy army.

If there were thousands upon thousands of them, then the Imperial Guards of Qiongdu would indeed be no match for them.

Now, if they drive that monster to attack Beiguan, how can he defend Beiguan?

He now has to prevent them from bringing monsters to attack Beiguang, and also prevent Canglan Kingdom from taking advantage of the chaos.

For the past few years, the Canglan Kingdom has been eyeing the Qi Kingdom covetously. However, because the Qi Kingdom has always acted very strongly, the Canglan Kingdom has not dared to take action despite its desire for Qi's territory.

But now that Qi has suffered such a calamity, Canglan Kingdom is very likely to take advantage of the situation and attack. If they are attacked from both sides, how will he protect Beiguan?

He frowned, unable to come up with a solution for a long time.

It is too difficult.

Just then, a guard rushed in and reported, "General, General Yao and Lord Zhu have arrived."

"What?" Su Zimu turned around abruptly, looked at the guard, and repeated, "Who did you say?"

The guard thought he hadn't heard him clearly, so he repeated what he had just said.

Actually, he wasn't that he didn't hear clearly, but rather that he was so surprised that he subconsciously asked again.

He thought that after the Zhou army arrived, they would deal with the monsters first and then launch an attack on Beiguan, but he did not expect that Yao Guangji and Zhu Qi would arrive first.

He spoke again, "Just the two of them?"

The guard confirmed, "Yes! Just the two of them, there's no one else!"

Su Zimu was a little confused. Had the two really betrayed their country and defected to the Zhou Kingdom, or was there some other reason? But in any case, he decided to meet them and find out the truth first.

Things have developed too quickly, and there are still many things he doesn't understand.

Su Zimu had his guards bring the two of them in.

Seeing their strange attire, he sneered, "It seems the king was right; you really have colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country."

As he spoke, he suddenly stood up, drew his long sword, pointed it at General Yao, and said sternly, "You have colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country, yet you dare to come to my army. Are you sure that I, the general, will not dare to kill you?"

As Su Zimu made his move, all the soldiers in the room drew their swords and aimed them at the two of them.

The two were surrounded by soldiers, but they remained completely calm.

General Yao said unhurriedly, "It seems that the people sent by King Qi Jing have met you before us, and you have believed their words."

Su Zimu sneered, "What? Has the King wronged you? You haven't colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country?"

General Yao said, "It's not entirely unjust now! We have indeed decided to pledge allegiance to His Majesty the Divine Lord and to the Great Qi!"

Su Zimu's pupils constricted, and without hesitation, he slashed at General Yao with his sword. General Yao neither dodged nor evaded, letting the sword fall upon him.

But Su Zimu didn't hurt him at all in the end. Instead, the sword in Su Zimu's hand made a crisp sound and broke in two.

All his soldiers were stunned by this sudden turn of events. None of them had expected that their general's sword would break in two.

That's a priceless sword!

Not only were the soldiers astonished, but Su Zimu was also extremely surprised.

He sneered a few times and said angrily, "No wonder you dared to break into the military camp alone. It turns out you were prepared all along. But just because you're wearing armor, you think I can't do anything to you? You're underestimating me too much."

As he spoke, he was about to call someone else.

General Yao spoke up at the opportune moment: "We wear protective suits not to be fearless in front of you, but actually to avoid being harmed by the monsters. If it weren't for the protection of these suits, we would have died at the hands of the monsters on the way here. We wouldn't have had the chance to reach you."

Zhu Qi also cupped his hands towards Su Zimu and said, "General Su, please calm down and listen to what we have to say. If you want to make a move, you can do so after we finish speaking."

"The State of Zhou sent you here as envoys to persuade me to defect to the State of Zhou and betray the King!"

Su Zimu looked at Zhu Qi with a pained expression and said, "It's not surprising that others betray the king, but Zhu Qi, why did you also betray the king?"

Zhu Qi was also feeling bad.

King Jing of Qi had shown him great favor. As the son of a farmer, his position in the court was entirely due to King Jing's cultivation and promotion.

King Qi Jing had shown him great favor, but Ji Yunshuang had saved his life. She not only saved his life, but also the lives of his family and countless other people.

If he had to choose one thing to apologize for, he could only choose to apologize to King Jing of Qi.

Zhu Qi said, "I betrayed the King and chose to serve His Majesty the Divine Lord. I have wronged the King. But I do not regret doing so. If I could do it all over again, I would do the same. General Su, if you were in my position, I believe you would make the same choice as me."

"General Su comes from a distinguished family, yet he is willing to guard this harsh and desolate land. I know you are a good general who truly cares for the people. You want to protect your country and your people, and you want them to live a peaceful life—"

Su Zimu interrupted him, saying, "You don't need to flatter me. It won't do any good. I, Su Zimu, will never betray my country."

He raised his hand again, signaling for the soldiers to take action.

"General Su, don't you want to know what really happened?" Zhu Qi said, "After hearing what the people sent by King Qi Jing said, don't you want to hear our side of the story?"

Zhu Qi's words made him pause, and he temporarily swallowed the order he was about to give.

He said, "I'd like to see how you're going to clear your name."

Zhu Qi said, "I won't try to whitewash myself. I admit that I have now pledged allegiance to His Majesty the Divine Lord and betrayed the King. But once you hear me out, you will understand my decision."

General Yao spoke first, starting with the plague that broke out in the army, and continuing until King Qi Jing abandoned Qiongdu and fled. Finally, Ji Yunshuang led them back to Qiongdu, killed the monster, and saved the people. The people were grateful to Ji Yunshuang and resented King Qi Jing for abandoning them and fleeing, so they wanted Ji Yunshuang to be their emperor.

Su Zimu sneered, "Are you sure those monsters have nothing to do with her?"