The gatekeeper immediately opened the gate.

Mu Yuanxiu strode forward, cupped his hands and smiled at the old man, "Qing Gong? Are you still in good health?"

The elderly man who opened the gate, with white hair, stared at Mu Yuanxiu’s face for a while and happily said to the young servant holding a lantern next to him, "Quickly inside and report, this is Lady Li’s husband, wait, Yuanxiu? So, the commander of the reinforcements from the Capital is you? Are you now the Great General?"

The guards who came along smiled and said, "Old man, he is not only the general coming to support, but also the Third Prince Consort of the Emperor."

Qing Gong was puzzled, "Third Prince Consort? You married a Princess? Then... what about Lady Li?"

"That is the Third Princess, old man!" The accompanying guards laughed heartily.

Qing Gong was even more surprised, "Then... what about Guoguo? Lady Li’s little niece?"

Another guard laughed and said, "That is the Eldest Prince’s Great Princess."

Qing Gong, "....." was utterly confused.

The servant beside him ushered Mu Yuanxiu inside, smiling as he said, "Prince Consort Mu, don’t mind, Qing Gong is old, more forgetful than seven years ago, actually, everyone else in our mansion knows about Prince Consort Mu and the Third Princess, we’ve told Qing Gong before, but a few days later he forgets."

Mu Yuanxiu nodded, "I see."

Another servant came to take away their horses and led the guards to rest.

Mu Yuanxiu only brought two guards, following the guiding servant into the mansion.

He turned back and glanced at Qing Gong, with white hair but still guarding the gate, knitting his brows.

Seven years ago, when he left, he heard from the Baili Mansion that Qing Gong was old, and they would send him to the estate to retire in the summer, but now, Qing Gong was still guarding the gate.

Could it be that in the Baili Mansion, all the younger and stronger men had been sent elsewhere?

With the war tight, the whole of Liangzhou City was in need of people.

The guiding servant saw him looking at Qing Gong thoughtfully, guessing he was asking about Qing Gong’s age.

He then said, "The original gatekeeper Yuan Xu went with the army, and there were not enough people guarding the gate, so Qing Gong insisted on replacing Yuan Xu; the Second Madam couldn’t persuade him otherwise, so she let him."

As expected, he guessed correctly.

But with this, isn’t the Baili Mansion short on guards?

When they reached the back courtyard, a full-grown leopard sauntered in.

The two guards behind Mu Yuanxiu immediately became vigilant, "Commander, a leopard!"

Mu Yuanxiu, however, smiled broadly, waving at the leopard, "Big Flower, you’re here too? What about Guoguo?"

The leopard opened its mouth, walked toward Mu Yuanxiu, stopped beside him, and rubbed its head against Mu Yuanxiu’s leg.

Mu Yuanxiu bent down, patted its head, and ruffled the fur around its neck.

"Grown quite a bit stronger, it seems Guoguo has been feeding you lots of good food."

"Roar," the leopard gave a low call, as if saying, of course.

Mu Yuanxiu smiled and patted its head, "Go ahead, continue your patrol."

The leopard snuggled up to him once more before wandering off.

The guiding servant quickly smiled, "Oh right, I forgot to tell Prince Consort Mu that Princess Guoguo isn’t here, she went outside the city with Mr. Rui, saying there’re fewer people guarding the mansion, so she left the leopard here to keep watch."

Mu Yuanxiu realized.

No wonder.

Having such a sensible leopard here can fend off ten times the threat.

While talking, they arrived at Baili Huang’s study room.

As it was wartime, Baili Huang’s study room was brightly lit.

Many people were inside discussing matters.

The guiding young servant stood outside the study room and said, "Second Master, Mu Prince Consort from the Capital is here!"

Baili Huang personally came out to greet him.

Seeing Mu Yuanxiu, he was momentarily surprised but immediately smiled and cupped his hands, "Yuanxiu, why have you come?"

"I am the commander of the reinforcements sent by the Emperor." Mu Yuanxiu said with a smile.

Baili Huang was even more pleased, "Great, Yuanxiu, come, please come in."

Inside the room, there were three advisors and involvers, as well as Baili Huang’s brother’s second son, Baili Xun.

The young boy from back then had grown into an adult.

"Uncle Mu." Baili Xun was very happy to see Mu Yuanxiu and quickly walked over.

Mu Yuanxiu smiled and patted his shoulder, "Ah Xun, almost didn’t recognize you."

After everyone updated each other on their recent situations, Baili Huang called for Chang Sui to serve tea and discussed the recent war events with Mu Yuanxiu.

"The Emperor received an urgent report from Liangzhou and immediately sent me over," said Mu Yuanxiu, "the main army moves slowly, so I came ahead with ten men to check the situation."

With reinforcements, Baili Huang’s mood was greatly improved, "Yuanxiu, how many troops did you bring?"

"Five thousand troops, along with food, equipment, and medicine." Mu Yuanxiu said.