Chu Li gave Yang Wanshan a cool glance. “No need for formalities.”

Ding Xian stepped forward and said, “It’s late. Please arrange for His Highness and the Princess to rest first. Any matters can be discussed tomorrow.”

Yang Wanshan nodded repeatedly, ordering someone to open the main gate of the residence and leading Chu Li’s party inside.

“Qingzhou is truly an impoverished area. The facilities in this residence are simple. I hope Prince Ning will be understanding,” Yang Wanshan said after entering the courtyard, bowing once more to Chu Li.

Chu Li nodded indifferently, not finding anything inappropriate.

At that moment, a young maidservant entered from outside carrying a torch. She lit the lanterns that had been prepared in the residence, immediately brightening the entire compound.

Mu Yunjin, still on Chu Li’s back, looked around and noticed that the residence had only two or three rooms in total. However, she didn’t comment on it and simply nestled back against Chu Li’s back.

Chu Li felt the warmth pressed against his back, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly upward.

“Let me first lead Prince Ning to the sleeping quarters,” Yang Wanshan said, walking to one side and smiling as he opened the door to a large room.

…

…

After opening the door, Yang Wanshan was dumbfounded.

The group following behind also approached and were similarly stunned by what they saw inside.

Several tiles from the roof had been blown away at some point, leaving a section of the ceiling exposed. The heavy rain that had fallen throughout the day had already soaked the bed inside the quarters. The floor was even stained with mud and fallen leaves from the rain.

The simple decorations like vases had been blown askew by the wind and lay toppled on the table. The entire room was permeated with dampness.

“This, this…” Yang Wanshan was suddenly terrified.

“Please forgive this official, Prince Ning. It was my neglect of duty.” Upon meeting Chu Li’s icy gaze, Yang Wanshan’s legs went weak, and he made to kneel.

“It’s late, and I’m so tired. Let’s switch to another room to rest first,” Mu Yunjin, still on Chu Li’s back, couldn’t help but interject.

After speaking, Mu Yunjin yawned. Coming to manage the flood was not a pleasant assignment to begin with.

Moreover, at this point, whether the room’s condition was intentional or not, she didn’t want to pursue it further. After three days in a carriage, she just wanted to settle down properly.

Seeing that Mu Yunjin was speaking on his behalf, Yang Wanshan’s expression improved slightly. He walked to the door of another small room. “This side room is smaller. I must trouble Prince Ning and Princess to bear with it for one night. Early tomorrow, I will order people to repair the room.”

“Mm,” Mu Yunjin decided.

…

“This servant is Xiaoju. Hot water has been prepared. Would the Prince and Princess like to bathe now?”

After they had settled in, the young maidservant from earlier approached and bowed to Chu Li and Mu Yunjin.

“Mm,” Chu Li responded. He turned his head to see that after he spoke, Mu Yunjin was already eagerly rummaging through his luggage, looking for his light robe for sleeping.

“Here you go,” Mu Yunjin held out a black light robe to Chu Li, a smile on her lips.

Chu Li smiled faintly, his eyes unusually mischievous. “Not coming together?”

“Be serious,” Mu Yunjin punched him lightly, turning away with a hint of shyness and running off to arrange other clothes.

Chu Li watched her retreating figure, and when he left the room, his mood seemed quite good.

“Princess, let this servant handle these.” Xiaoju saw Mu Yunjin organizing clothes and moved to help her.

Mu Yunjin waved her hand. “No need. It’s late, you should rest early.”

Xiaoju stepped back, lowering her eyes. “This servant is a maid from Lord Yang’s household, assigned by Lord Yang to serve the Prince and Princess. If Princess needs anything, please just instruct this servant.”

“Mm, alright,” Mu Yunjin smiled at Xiaoju.

“Then this servant will withdraw first. Princess, please call upon this servant anytime if needed.” Xiaoju bowed again.

Mu Yunjin nodded.

…

Half an hour later, in the small side room, Mu Yunjin sat on a chair, drying her still-dripping hair. Looking around, she realized how truly small the room was—it contained only a bed and a table, and the bed seemed as if it could only accommodate one person.

Seeing this, Mu Yunjin couldn’t help feeling that by coming along, she had truly burdened Chu Li. She looked toward the person sitting in the chair nearby.

“Chu Li,” Mu Yunjin called softly.

Chu Li turned to look at her.

“It’s late, you should rest early,” Mu Yunjin smiled, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Chu Li.

Chu Li understood the meaning behind her words, and the corner of his mouth curved upward. “Together.”

“Huh?” Mu Yunjin didn’t immediately understand.

Chu Li stood up, took Mu Yunjin by the shoulder, lifted her from the chair, put his arm around her shoulder, and led her to the bed. Then he pressed her to sit down.

Mu Yunjin looked at the small bed and bit her lip. Did he mean sleeping together?

“Are you going to sit there all night?” Chu Li asked in a low, gentle voice as he saw her sitting motionless at the edge of the bed.

“No,” Mu Yunjin immediately took off her shoes, climbed onto the bed, moved backward, and slipped under the covers, thinking that they had shared a bed once before anyway.

After lying down, Mu Yunjin immediately turned to her side, facing the wall, trying to make as much room as possible. She buried her face in the blanket and closed her eyes, pretending to sleep.

Chu Li’s eyes held a trace of amusement. He lay down beside her and, feeling her body tensed into a straight line as she slept on her side, gently placed his hand on her waist.

Mu Yunjin trembled.

“Relax, this Prince won’t eat you,” Chu Li chuckled, then lightly patted her waist twice.

Hearing this, Mu Yunjin did relax considerably. Her body curved slightly, though she still slept on her side. She was indeed tired and soon her breathing became even.

Chu Li’s hand never left her waist. Inhaling the faint fragrance from beside him, his eyes filled with warmth.

Later in the night, perhaps because it had started raining again, the sleeping Mu Yunjin felt a chill. She pulled the blanket tighter and turned over, touching a warm body beside her. She reached out and embraced the source of warmth.

…

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Chu Li opened his eyes slightly to find Mu Yunjin still sleeping sweetly in his arms. A tender emotion spilled from his eyes as he lightly kissed her forehead.

When he was dressed and left the room, Ding Xian was already waiting outside. Seeing Chu Li emerge with a face full of spring joy, he raised an eyebrow.

“Your Highness, today we need to discuss the details of managing the flood with Yang Wanshan. Should we go out now to see Qingzhou’s situation?”

Chu Li nodded, glancing at the room to the side with half-closed eyes. “That room… don’t repair it.”

Ding Xian was initially stunned, then immediately understood and couldn’t help but smile. “Yes, yes, yes. With the current shortage of manpower in Qingzhou, we really can’t spare people to repair the room. We’ll have to trouble Your Highness and the Princess for now…”

Chu Li gave Ding Xian an appreciative look.

Mu Yunjin slept for a long time, until the sound of rain outside gradually grew louder, which finally roused her from her dreams. When she woke and saw her surroundings, she immediately sat bolt upright.

“Oh no, oh no, I’ve overslept again,” Mu Yunjin quickly got out of bed and began to dress.

She wondered if this bad habit had been formed from being pampered at the Prince’s Mansion. Now she had no sense of time at all, which was truly problematic!

“Princess, you’re awake.” Xiaoju saw the door open and hurriedly prepared fresh water as she entered.

Mu Yunjin was tying her ponytail. Seeing Xiaoju arrive, she asked, “Has Chu—I mean the Prince—gone out?”

“The Prince left with Guard Ding at dawn. They’re probably at Lord Yang’s place by now,” Xiaoju said with a smile.

Mu Yunjin pressed her lips together and sighed softly, silently cursing herself countless times. She hadn’t come here to enjoy herself, yet on the very first day, she had slept so late.

After washing up, Mu Yunjin ate a few mouthfuls of porridge and looked at Xiaoju. “How do I get to Lord Yang’s place?”

“Lord Yang’s residence is in Fengshui Town ahead. Turn right when you exit, cross two small bridges, and you’ll be there,” Xiaoju said.

Mu Yunjin nodded. Just as she was about to leave, she noticed it was still raining outside. “Do you have a straw rain cape?”

“Is the Princess going out?” Xiaoju was somewhat surprised.

Mu Yunjin made an affirmative sound. “I want to go to Lord Yang’s place to see what’s happening. You can stay here.”

This was Xiaoju’s first day serving Mu Yunjin, and she wasn’t yet familiar with her temperament, so she obediently followed the instructions and brought a straw rain cape.

Mu Yunjin put on the rain cape and hurriedly left.

As soon as she stepped out of the residence, Mu Yunjin wasn’t careful and stepped into a puddle. Her cloth shoes instantly became soaked.

Mu Yunjin frowned and continued walking very carefully.

After a while, Mu Yunjin saw many commoners with joyful expressions walking from a place ahead, each carefully carrying a large bag of something.

Mu Yunjin recognized them as the grain brought from the Imperial City.

Seeing this, Mu Yunjin smiled and continued walking toward the place Xiaoju had directed.

But after walking for a while, she still didn’t see any small bridges.

“Excuse me, where is Lord Yang’s residence?” Mu Yunjin stopped a passing commoner to ask for directions.

The commoner, noticing Mu Yunjin’s unfamiliar accent and appearance, looked her up and down, and fearing she might have designs on the delivered grain, pointed her in the opposite direction.

“Thank you,” Mu Yunjin thanked him and turned to go that way.

…

“Damn, what kind of place is this?!” Mu Yunjin cursed, hugging a tree trunk and feeling that her shoes were so wet they could be wrung out.

She felt she had walked through half of Qingzhou without finding Yang Wanshan’s residence. Instead, the roads here were so twisted and winding that she couldn’t even remember the way back to their lodgings.

Mu Yunjin gave up on finding Chu Li and turned around, following her memory to try to find her way back to the residence.

“Wuwuwuwu…” A sobbing cry came from one side.

Mu Yunjin paused and listened carefully. It sounded like a child crying.

After a moment, the crying stopped.

Mu Yunjin thought she had misheard and continued walking a few more steps when the crying started again, now accompanied by another wailing voice.

Hearing this, Mu Yunjin wrapped her arms around herself and walked toward the sound. After passing through a muddy field, she saw a small boy clinging to a tree, his hands gripping a branch tightly as he cried loudly.

Nearby was a lake. Floodwaters had surged through a breach in a dam, and waves were already engulfing half of the tree the boy was clinging to, with the water level steadily rising.

“Oh my poor son! Someone save my son!” a voice wailed.