After time travel, share a space with your modern family.

After a long and arduous journey of more than half a month and valiant fighting, the imposing and unstoppable army of Beisheng, like an invincible sword, advanced with overwhelming force towards the towering city gates of the Western Rong capital.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! The army of Beisheng is at the city gates!" Accompanied by this sharp, piercing cry, as loud as a duck's quack, it rushed in from outside the solemn and majestic hall, and then a figure rushed into the hall.

At this moment, Emperor Zhou Geng of the Western Rong, who was sitting upright in the magnificent Lingxiao Palace, concentrating on reviewing the mountain of memorials, was suddenly interrupted by this shout, and an inexplicable anger welled up in his heart.

His eyes widened in anger, and he shouted angrily, "What's all this fuss about? What kind of behavior is this!"

"Your Majesty, please calm down! Your Majesty, it's extremely urgent! The army of Beisheng Kingdom has already arrived outside our city gates!" Seeing the emperor's fury, Zhang Shun, the personal eunuch of Emperor Zhou Geng, trembled with fear and knelt down with a thud, hurriedly reporting the situation to the emperor.

"What? Those traitors from Beisheng Kingdom have actually attacked my capital city? Have all the elite soldiers and generals that I have painstakingly trained and spent countless amounts of money on have been wiped out?"

How could we allow them to advance so quickly and kill their way to the capital in such a short time! Upon hearing this, Emperor Zhou Geng's face turned ashen, and veins bulged on his forehead.

In a fit of rage, he swung his hand and smashed the exquisite and expensive teacup beside him to the ground. With a loud bang, the teacup shattered into countless fragments that flew everywhere.

"Your Majesty, what should we do now?" Zhang Shun asked Zhou Geng anxiously, his forehead covered in a fine layer of sweat. He wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve.

The eunuch Zhang Shun leaned forward slightly, clasped his hands in a fist, and looked worried and uneasy.

Emperor Zhou Geng sat upright on the dragon throne, his brows furrowed, his eyes piercing, exuding an aura of authority that commanded respect without anger.

Upon hearing Zhang Shun's question, he answered without hesitation, "Quickly summon General Weining to the palace to meet the Emperor immediately! There must be no delay!" His voice was loud and majestic, like a thunderclap in the hall.

However, Zhang Shun was in a very difficult position at this moment.

Although he knew he could not disobey the emperor's orders, at this critical moment, General Weining should be holding his post at the city gate, resisting the invasion of the Beisheng army, and it was really difficult for him to come and see His Majesty the emperor.

However, faced with Emperor Zhou Geng's imposing presence, Zhang Shun hesitated for a long time before finally mustering his courage and saying, "Your Majesty, please calm down. General Wei Ning is probably busy arranging city defenses right now and may not be able to get away to see you for the time being."

"How about we wait and see how things develop before making a decision?" After saying this, Zhang Shun raised his head cautiously and stole a glance at Emperor Zhou Geng's face, afraid that his words would offend the emperor.

Upon hearing Zhang Shun's words, Emperor Zhou Geng's face grew even more gloomy.

But he seemed to realize the gravity of the situation, and after a moment of silence, he ordered again: "In that case, immediately summon the commander of the Imperial Guards to the palace to see me!"

Zhang Shun's heart tightened, and he quickly replied, "This... Your Majesty, this servant will send someone to deliver the message immediately. I just don't know if Commander Lin will be able to arrive in time..."

Before he could finish speaking, he dared not say another word and hurriedly turned and ran out of the hall.

Emperor Zhou Geng was left alone on the dragon throne, his face grave as he pondered a solution.

Just as Zhang Shun walked out of Lingxiao Palace, three figures rushed into the palace.

"Your subjects pay their respects to Your Majesty." The three men bowed to Emperor Zhou Geng, who was still furious.

Emperor Zhou Geng was too busy to deal with them, so he asked in a deep voice, "What brings you here?"

"Father, I have received news that the army of Beisheng Kingdom is now at our gates. What should we do?" Crown Prince Zhou Heng asked anxiously.

"Father, wasn't General Ling leading 200,000 troops to guard the border? How come the Northern Sheng army arrived in the capital so quickly?" the Second Prince Zhou Yi asked in a panic.

"Father, let me go and meet these people from Beisheng, and see how they managed to attack so quickly!" the Third Prince Zhou Kuan shouted angrily.

Emperor Zhou Geng looked at his three sons with a face full of anger.

"Now you all hurry up and go check the city gates. If they easily breach the city, you won't need to come back," Emperor Zhou Geng said gravely.

"Your subjects obey the decree!" After bowing to Emperor Zhou Geng, the three princes hurriedly left Lingxiao Palace and headed straight out of the palace.

After leaving the palace gates, Zhou Heng and Zhou Yi prepared to head to their residences, but Zhou Kuan grabbed them, saying, "Big brother, second brother, where are you going? Didn't Father tell us to go to the city gates to check the situation?"

Seeing Zhou Kuan about to head straight for the city gate, Zhou Heng quickly reminded him, "Third brother, aren't you going home to explain something? Who knows if you'll ever have the chance to come home again."

Hearing Zhou Heng say such discouraging things, Zhou Kuan roared, "Brother, are you cursing us to lose the capital?"

Zhou Yi patted Zhou Kuan's shoulder heavily and said, "Third brother, don't be angry. What your elder brother said isn't entirely unreasonable. Let's go back and explain things to each other, just in case."

Zhou Kuan, who was not usually short-tempered, was furious when he heard his two brothers saying such discouraging things. He pointed at them and said, "If you go back, you will delay important matters. How will you explain this to Father?"

After saying that, he angrily rode his horse toward the city gate.

When Zhou Kuan arrived at the city gate and climbed the city tower, he saw a dense crowd of people outside the city gate.

General Yu Da of Weining was directing the archers and swordsmen to their positions when he heard that the Third Prince had already ascended the city wall, so he went to where Zhou Kuan was.

After bowing to Zhou Kuan, he said obsequiously, "Third Prince, you've arrived? Did the Emperor send you to watch the battle? Don't worry, just watch how I utterly defeat them."

Looking at Yu Da's obsequious manner, Zhou Kuan said with some annoyance, "General Weining, shouldn't you be thinking about how to meet the enemy right now? What are you doing here?"

"Your Highness, please rest assured, this humble general guarantees that we will not allow them to breach the capital. This humble general will now go and continue preparations," Yu Da said to Zhou Kuan with a smile once again.

After speaking, he bowed to the Third Prince and left.

"Pah! I've given you face, and you still dare to give me attitude." Yu Da spat and cursed in a low voice.

Looking at the large army of Chu Yuan Bei Sheng, Zhou Kuan could vaguely see several strange objects placed in front of them.

Suddenly a strange voice came: "Soldiers of the Western Rong, you are surrounded. If you open the city gates and surrender now, you will be spared. If you do not surrender, you will be met with merciless artillery fire."

These words were clearly heard by every one of the Western Rong soldiers stationed at the city gate, and they all dismissed them with disdain.

These people stationed here are all proud. Among them are more or less the sons of officials in the capital, or relatives of some powerful people.

They were used to being carefree and had no idea how fierce the Northern Sheng army they were facing was.

The strange voice from the Beisheng army kept repeating itself, and Zhou Kuan felt it was very strange when he heard it for the second time.

"Someone, send someone to invite General Weining over," Zhou Kuan ordered loudly.

One of the soldiers beside him replied, "I'll go right away," and hurried off to find Yu Da.

Soon Yu Da arrived in front of Zhou Kuan and asked, "What business does the Third Prince have with me?"

"Did you hear that strange sound from Beisheng?" Zhou Kuan asked.

"This humble general heard you, Third Prince, please don't be misled by their words. Look how high the city walls are, there's no way they can break through," Yu Da said confidently.

"Are you sure? Do you recognize what those strange things they put at the front are?" Zhou Kuan asked incredulously.

"Your Highness, please rest assured. Although I have never seen those things before, how could something so small possibly break through our sturdy city gates?" Yu Da said confidently.

Although Yu Da spoke with such certainty, Zhou Kuan felt increasingly uneasy.

After returning to the manor, Zhou Heng immediately summoned the steward and instructed him to quickly pack some valuables and silver, and then, along with the manor's guards, escort the Crown Prince's wife and his two children out of the city.

Then he found his eldest princess and told her that the Northern Sheng army had already attacked the gates of the capital. He told her and the children to change into ordinary old clothes and escape from the city through the underground passage as soon as possible.

He didn't even inform his concubines, because they had no children of their own, and in this life-or-death situation, they were just a burden to him.

"Husband, aren't you coming with us?" The Crown Princess hugged Zhou Heng's waist, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Father has ordered my second and third brothers and me to guard the city gate. I can't get away, so you should take the children and leave quickly. If I am lucky enough to escape this calamity, I will come to find you."

"If I didn't come looking for you, it means something bad has happened to me. You can go live your lives in anonymity!" Zhou Heng pushed the Crown Princess away forcefully, then turned and walked out of the mansion.

Like Zhou Heng, after returning to the manor, Zhou Yi first went to the steward and told him that in the current situation, it was very likely that none of them could escape. Therefore, he was told to pack his valuables and find an opportunity to escape the city with the Second Prince's wife and his three children.

Zhou Yi anxiously sought out his Second Prince's wife, his face filled with a grave expression.

He took a deep breath and explained the current dire situation to her in the simplest and clearest terms possible.

“My dear consort, the situation is extremely critical. The Northern Sheng army is advancing rapidly and is about to breach the gates of the capital. You must leave this place as soon as possible to ensure your safety,” Zhou Yi said in a heavy tone.

The Second Prince's wife stared wide-eyed, her face filled with terror, but she quickly calmed down and listened attentively to Zhou Yi's arrangements.

"Take our children and my three concubines, and follow the steward out of the city through the underground passage."

"Remember, be extremely careful and don't let yourself be discovered." Zhou Yi held the Second Prince's wife's hands tightly, his gaze firm yet filled with worry.

"No, my husband, you must come with us. My children and I cannot live without you!" The Second Prince's wife burst into tears, clutching Zhou Yi's hand tightly, her face full of pleading, as if Zhou Yi would disappear if she let go.

However, Zhou Yi cruelly broke free from her hand, turned his head away, and dared not look directly into his wife's grief-stricken eyes.

"You must hurry! Time is of the essence, and you cannot afford to delay any longer. I will do everything in my power to reunite with you as soon as possible. But if I am unable to come to you, you must raise our child well..." Zhou Yi's voice choked with emotion as he said this.

"Husband, why don't you just come with us and escape the city? Since the Beisheng army was able to advance so quickly and reach our capital, do you really think that we Xirong can escape this calamity?" The Second Prince's wife shook her head in despair, and once again grabbed Zhou Yi's hand tightly, refusing to let go.

Zhou Yi felt a sharp pain in his heart. He knew all too well the situation; if he went to defend the city, his chances of survival were slim. But as a prince, he had no choice; he had to do it, it was his responsibility.

Unable to choose to protect the lives of his wife, children, and elderly parents himself, he could only entrust them to the housekeeper.

"My beloved consort, stop talking. Now, we can only leave it to fate. You should leave quickly! It will be too late if you wait any longer." Zhou Yi gritted his teeth, forcefully pushed away the Second Prince's wife's hand, and turned to walk towards the door.

Watching the Second Prince's resolute departure, the Second Prince's wife collapsed to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

But she knew this was not the time to cry; she had to be strong and lead the children to escape the city that was about to fall.

After composing herself, she quickly sent someone to summon a few concubines to pack their belongings, and then went to the underground passage with the steward.

The palace was in complete chaos.

The palace maids and eunuchs hurried between the various palaces, each with a look of fear and unease on their face.

"Your Majesty! I have heard that the army of Beisheng has already attacked the outskirts of the capital, which is an extremely dangerous place! How can you let Heng'er guard the city gate?" After learning that the emperor had ordered Zhou Heng to guard the city gate, the empress was extremely anxious. She ran all the way to the Lingxiao Palace where Emperor Zhou Geng was and cried out to him.

At this moment, Emperor Zhou Geng was extremely worried and anxious about the fact that the Northern Sheng army was advancing directly towards the capital.

The empress's crying and fussing only made him more irritated, and anger surged into his heart instantly.

He slammed his hand on the dragon table, stood up, his eyes wide with anger, and sternly rebuked the Empress: "What are you doing here making such a scene? What kind of behavior is this, crying and wailing? With a formidable enemy at hand, if he doesn't go to defend the city, who else can be sent? Besides him, the second and third princes have also been sent."

"Get back to your Phoenix Palace right now and stop disturbing my peace!"

"You...you actually dare to yell at me like that?" The Empress's eyes widened, her face filled with disbelief.

She stretched out a trembling finger and pointed it straight at Emperor Zhou Geng, her cries growing increasingly shrill.

Over the years, thanks to her family's powerful background, the emperor had always treated her with great courtesy and had never uttered a single harsh word to her.

Now, facing such an ungrateful and unreasonable empress, Emperor Zhou Geng felt nothing but disgust.

"I'll say it again, get back! Don't make me repeat myself a third time!" Emperor Zhou Geng could no longer contain his anger and roared again.

The entire Lingxiao Palace seemed to tremble slightly from his roar.