The people and soldiers held hostage on the city wall were immediately blinded by the pungent smell of the smoke bomb.
Si Fengwu announced in a loud voice, "All people in Guihua City, listen. I, Si Fengwu, have led troops to attack over a hundred cities of the Yunqiang, Xiliang, and Beiwu three kingdoms. I have never troubled ordinary citizens.
If anyone doesn't believe me, they can look. Did the Xuanjia Army kill any ordinary citizens when they entered the city? Did they break into any private homes? Did they rob any ordinary citizens of their property?
Those with the ability can contact all the places where the Xuanjia Army of the three kingdoms have been to investigate and see for themselves.
In the future, you can also observe the discipline of the Xuanjia Army at any time."
At this point, she looked around and deliberately addressed the soldiers inside and outside the palace city, "Now, remember this, in front of the Xuanjia Army, you are safe.
You don't need anyone to save you in any way, nor do you need to owe them gratitude or remember their heroic deeds."
It was not yet dawn.
However, due to the great commotion of the siege, many people in the city had rushed out.
The brave ones watched the scene live outside the palace gate.
The timid ones hid in their homes and observed secretly.
Thanks to Si Fengwu's eighth-level inner strength, most of Guihua City heard his words.
As Si Fengwu's voice fell, he ordered in front of everyone, "Send the women and children on the palace city back to their homes. All the men are to be imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice, together with Murong Tao.
After they wake up and give their statements, those who are problematic will be kept, and those who are not will be released, along with their family's property."
The smoke bomb deployed by Si Fengwu was just right, enough to make those people feel weak but not completely lose consciousness.
The people tied to the palace city by Murong Tao actually heard everything Si Fengwu said.
Although they were unsure if Si Fengwu was telling the truth, it was enough to make them hate Murong Tao to the bone.
Lu Qingwan silently gave Si Fengwu a thumbs-up, "Good heavens, I thought you were planning some conspiracy, but you're actually planning an open scheme?"
Murong Tao's series of maneuvers made the unsuspecting Beiwu people think that Si Fengwu and his Xuanjia Army were cruel and bloodthirsty, but it made the Beiwu people feel grateful to him.
How could Si Fengwu allow him to seek fame and reputation like this?
Regardless of whether the Beiwu people believed it or not, he would expose him first.
Then he threw Murong Tao and those Beiwu officials who were harmed by him together. If he wasn't beaten to death for seeking fame and reputation, it would be a miracle.
This was clearly an open scheme by Si Fengwu, but it was met with great satisfaction by both his own side and the group of unfortunate ministers abandoned by the Beiwu Emperor!
Si Fengwu's lips curved into a slight smile, and he said to her with a smile, "Cheng Nanliu's siblings have been found. Shall I take you to see them?"
Lu Qingwan was still immersed in the excitement of Si Fengwu's open scheme to defeat Murong Tao, and didn't notice Si Fengwu's slightly displeased gaze.
Following Si Fengwu all the way, she stood at the entrance of the cold and dark dungeon and realized something was wrong. She grabbed Si Fengwu's sleeve and stopped.
"You brought me here to find Cheng Nanliu, are you sure you're not in the wrong place?"
Thanks to Tuo Nie Wuming, Cheng Nanliu was also a general with a hundred thousand troops. How could he have fallen to such a state in just a few months?
What's more, it was understandable that Cheng Nanliu was imprisoned in the dungeon before, but since Si Fengwu's men had found him, why hadn't they released him?
With a few brief exchanges of glances, Si Fengwu understood Lu Qingwan's doubts. He silently held her hand and said in a deep voice, "His condition is not good. Shen's men dare not act rashly and are waiting for you."
Lu Qingwan was stunned for a moment, then understood. How could someone like Cheng Nanliu have come out of a dungeon unscathed?
But Lu Qingwan never expected those people to be so cruel.
Even though she was mentally prepared, she was still startled when she actually saw Cheng Nanliu lying on the simple wooden board.
"What... what happened?"
She looked at the guard guarding Cheng Nanliu in the dungeon.
On a wooden board less than three feet long, a man in prison clothes lay on it. His entire face was covered with layers of burn marks from a branding iron. It was unclear how many times he had been tortured, and the wounds had festered.
The two bloody holes at the positions of his scapulae were terrifying to behold. His body was covered in whip marks, brandings, and stab wounds from daggers. His prison uniform had already become rags.
Most horrifyingly, his kneecaps had been smashed.
Where they should have been round and protruding, they had caved in softly. The broken bones pushed through the skin and flesh, and both legs were swollen to the point of being almost transparent.
The guard lowered his head in pain, his eyes never leaving Cheng Nanliu.
"When my subordinates found him, he was already like this. If it weren't for the personal maid of Cheng Nanshu saying he was in this dungeon, my subordinates might not have recognized him even if they saw him.
I heard that after he left Nie Wuming's residence, he was captured by Empress Wanyan.
She didn't ask anything, just kept torturing him..."
Lu Qingwan had already started to take his pulse while asking questions. After the guard finished speaking, she decisively ordered, "Take him to the Imperial Medical Office. Ru Yue and Li Su, come and assist me, quickly!"
As soon as the words fell, the guards rushed in.
Si Fengwu frowned upon hearing this, "He's already like this, can he still be saved?"
Lu Qingwan raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean, you don't believe in my medical skills?"
Si Fengwu quickly shook his head, "How would I dare? I mean, for such a gifted person, if he cannot live as vibrantly as before, death might be a better outcome for him."
Si Fengwu believed in Lu Qingwan's medical skills, but Cheng Nanliu's patella was shattered. Si Fengwu felt that it was almost impossible to make such a person completely recover and walk as swiftly as before.
Cheng Nanliu had experienced enough hardship trying to survive in Wu An Palace as a child. He had finally returned to Beiwu, and after such a short time, he had fallen from grace again.
In Si Fengwu's opinion, it was better to die than to linger on in such a state.
Lu Qingwan disagreed, "Perhaps what you say has some truth, but as a doctor, I have absolute confidence in my medical skills. I can make him live as healthily as before.
Moreover, Your Highness, in my opinion, unless they are enemies, there is no reason to give up on a patient before attempting to save them."
Si Fengwu silently moved aside, "What equipment do you need? I'll have someone prepare it."
Lu Qingwan blinked her eyes. The latter understood, "Be alert. Don't let anyone see."
"Understood."
Lu Qingwan performed a perfunctory bow and followed the guards carrying Cheng Nanliu out.
Upon leaving the dungeon and finding Si Fengwu still following behind, she muttered in confusion, "Don't you have any important business to attend to? Why are you following me?"