In a daze, Su Wanyan asked, "Aren't you going to rest?"

Yu Nanqing opened his mouth, wanting to reply to Su Wanyan, but seeing that she was already drowsy, he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue and looked at her with a doting smile in his eyes.

Yu Nanqing was indeed busy. He left Fucheng in May or June of last year and didn't return until March of the following year.

The new tax law in Fuzhou has just been promulgated, and many Fuzhou officials are dissatisfied with it. At this time, the most people will try to exploit loopholes. It will not be an easy task for Yu Nanqing to find and deal with them one by one.

The fact that the emperor was far away and the mountains were high was not only advantageous to Yu Nanqing, but also to the officials of Fuzhou.

"I thought the prince wouldn't come back after returning to the capital this time, but I never expected this..."

At the government office, Yu Nanqing did not attend the welcome-back banquet, so the banquet that had already been arranged had to be canceled.

As the two local officials left, they couldn't help but mutter something in a low voice.

Seeing that there was no one else around, another official chimed in, "Why doesn't he just behave himself as a prince and sit back and collect his money? Why is he making such a fuss?"

"Hey, hey, hey..." Someone heard their conversation and quickly stepped forward to reveal, "I heard that the Prince is not valued at all in the capital. He was... was sent to Fuzhou by the Empress Dowager. There is no place for him in the capital..."

"Ahem!" With two coughs from the Fuzhou Inspector, the three sly officials felt a chill run down their spines and quickly slipped away without even turning their heads.

Such remarks have already been made public; one can only imagine what things have become behind the scenes.

The thirteen cities of Fuzhou are already deeply intertwined, and it would be difficult for Yu Nanqing to overthrow them single-handedly.

Supervisor Fuzhou frowned, but still decided to make a trip to Prince Gong's Mansion.

Su Wanyan, on the other hand, was quite content. Having only been back at the Prince's Mansion for a few days, she took a rag and carefully wiped the decorations in the room clean.

Qiu Ye was overjoyed to see Su Wanyan return. For the first two days after her return, he chattered incessantly in Su Wanyan's ear. Now, he came in from outside with a hand warmer and was surprised to see Su Wanyan cleaning.

"Your Highness, you mustn't! Put it down and let me do it!" Qiu Ye put down the hand warmer and snatched the rag from Su Wanyan's hand.

Su Wanyan smiled, holding the 'zombie doll' in her hand, which she treasured and clutched to her heart: "Actually, it's not dirty, I just wanted to move these things around."

During the days that Su Wanyan was away, Qiu Ye cleaned the room spotlessly every day, and the furnishings were exactly the same as before.

Everything in the Prince's mansion was in perfect order, all thanks to them.

Upon hearing this, Qiu Ye smiled and said, "Your Majesty has not been home for too long."

A simple sentence stirred something within Su Wanyan's heart.

She collected her thoughts and put the 'zombie doll' back in its place: "It did take a lot of time to come back. The mountains were blocked by heavy snow, and we really couldn't walk anymore."

"Huang Ye told me everything." Qiu Ye pouted. "To be honest, I'm very envious. I wish I could be by Your Highness's side. It would be so much fun."

Su Wanyan agreed with this. Huang Ye was mild-mannered and not as lively as Qiu Ye. If Qiu Ye were there, she would probably get along well with the villagers.

Thinking of this, Su Wanyan couldn't help but smile.

Just then, Huang Ye came in from outside and reported, "Your Highness, the eldest daughter of the Lu family has come to visit. Will you see her or not?"

"The Lu residence?" Su Wanyan asked in confusion, "Who?"

"Your Majesty, have you forgotten?" Qiuye reminded her, "You met him last year on the Qixi Festival when we went on an autumn outing. His name is Lu Chao, and he even gave Your Majesty two boxes of pastries from Fuweilou."

When Qiu Ye mentioned it, Su Wanyan remembered, but...

What is she doing here?

As far as I can remember, she and her weren't very close.

After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Have her wait in the flower hall."

After all, Lu Chao hadn't offended her. At the time, her attitude was quite good, neither humble nor arrogant, which earned her a lot of goodwill.

After thinking for a moment, he asked Qiu Ye, "Is Yu Nanqing still in the study?"

"yes."

Officials have been coming to see Yu Nanqing these past few days.

Indeed, after all, important matters in Fuzhou have been delayed for quite some time, and there are still things to attend to in the capital, as well as Yan Gongyi...

Main courtyard, flower hall.

When Su Wanyan arrived, she saw Lu Chao dressed in a lake-blue brocade robe with a hundred birds flying around her, with a moon-white flowing cloak over it, and a fox fur scarf that made her small face look dignified and delicate.

Although March in Fuzhou is already warm, the wind still blows a little chilly.

Most of the people in Fucheng have already shed their winter clothes and put on spring clothes. If they feel really cold, they will hold a hand warmer like Su Wanyan is doing now.

People like Lu Chao who still wear scarves are rare, but they do exist.

Lu Chaochao and Su Wanyan curtsied and said, "This humble woman, Lu Chaochao, greets Your Highness, may Your Highness be well."

Su Wanyan stepped forward and gently helped her up, saying, "Please get up and sit down."

Lu Chao's generous and open manner pleased Su Wanyan.

After Qiu Ye brewed the finest tea, Su Wanyan asked, "May I ask what brings Miss Lu here today?"

Lu Chao put on a gentle smile: "It might sound ridiculous to Your Majesty if I told you, but I didn't have anything special to say. I just missed Your Majesty, so I came."

Su Wanyan was slightly taken aback; she hadn't expected this reason, though of course she didn't entirely believe it.

Lu Chao smiled and said, "Although I have only met Your Majesty once, I admire Your Majesty's talent. Since our meeting on Qixi Festival, I have been looking forward to having a longer chat with Your Majesty. After Your Majesty went to the capital, I thought..."

I thought she would never come back.

Lu Chao smiled and changed the subject: "Fortunately, I have seen Your Majesty again. I hope Your Majesty will not laugh at me."

She knew she wasn't close to Su Wanyan, so she had mustered up a lot of courage to come this time.

Su Wanyan smiled and shook her head: "I am honored that Miss Lu thinks so highly of me."

She was self-aware; in terms of talent, she had none at all. She was neither literate nor martial, so where did her talent come from?

"What I have said is the truth."

Su Wanyan smiled and replied, "Thank you."

At this point, there was nothing we could do but agree.

At this moment, Lu Chao took a letter from the maid: "Your Majesty, I will be holding a tea banquet at Fulin Garden in the coming days. If Your Majesty is interested, would you do me the honor of attending?"

After saying that, she stood up and stepped forward, respectfully handing over the invitation.

Qiuye, with her keen eye, stepped forward and took it.

Su Wanyan did not agree immediately: "There are many affairs in the manor recently, please allow me to consider it."

"Your Majesty, I thank you." Lu Chao bowed again and said, "Your Majesty has only recently returned to the city and must be exhausted. I will not disturb you any longer. Please allow me to take my leave now."

Su Wanyan didn't try to stop her and instructed, "Huang Ye, see Miss Lu off."

Lu Chao politely bid farewell to Su Wanyan before following Huang Ye and leaving the Prince Gong's Mansion.