(Edited)

Ji Xian reported: "My lord, a man named Wei Jin has appeared at the Third Prince's residence. This man is exceptionally capable and has many opinions on water conservancy."

Then, Ji Xian relayed what he had heard from Wei Jin to Qiao Qiu.

After listening, Qiao Qiu nodded slightly. "What he said is true, but whether it is building a dam or digging a waterway, it is a huge project and it will be difficult to complete it in a short period of time."

"I think so too. The Third Prince is also troubled by this matter," Ji Xian replied. To put it bluntly, he thought the Third Prince was a bit foolish, stubbornly sticking to a dead end when it was clearly impossible. He suggested they think of another way to alleviate the disaster first.

Qiao Qiu shook her head, walked to the sand table, looked at the terrain on it, and said, "The result of blindly pursuing success will not be very good."

A question mark appeared above Ji Xian's head. He felt that what his master said was similar to what he was thinking, but why did he feel that he didn't quite understand?

For the next few days, Ji Xian was also kept at the mansion, where he would do some medicine and other things, and was basically idle.

This kind of life made him a little uncomfortable. But he couldn't figure out what his master really wanted.

After Qiao Qiu locked Ji Xian up at home, she took Yu Honghua out for a stroll.

For those with exceptional lightness skills, muddy roads are no problem at all.

Qiao Qiu, carrying Yu Honghua, performed a "walking without leaving a trace" maneuver on the main road, flying almost parallel to the road surface, using the stones rising from the ground and the trees by the roadside as leverage.

Yu Honghua hid in her arms, not daring to look at her at all.

The silver-gray robe and the grass-green skirt complemented each other beautifully, creating a scene reminiscent of a painting as they walked by, especially beautiful in the misty rain.

"My lord, where are we going?"

Yu Honghua was not blown by the wind or wet by the rain in her arms; on the contrary, she felt a warm feeling all over her body.

She knew that it was her husband's inner strength that enveloped her, protecting her from the rain and wind, but she was a little worried that this might deplete her inner strength too much.

"I'll take you to see a natural cave; it's quite beautiful inside. However, I reckon it might be gone in a few days."

"Why?" Yu Honghua asked subconsciously.

"You'll find out in a few days," Qiao Qiu said gently to Yu Honghua. "Close your eyes."

"Oh." Yu Honghua didn't know what she was going to do, but obediently closed her eyes.

Qiao Qiu felt a warm glow in her heart and a surge of strength when she saw that the woman did as she was told without asking why.

Turning her head forward, Qiao Qiu's eyes became much more serious and cautious.

The beginning of this section of the road has been destroyed by a mudslide. To get to the cave, you have to go through this section first.

The sound of the flowing water grew louder and louder. In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the great cliff appeared in front of them. Qiao Qiu pushed off with all her might and flew into the air without the slightest hesitation.

There are still rocks rolling down the cliff, and the water is very rapid and muddy, rushing straight down. Even watching it from the side is creepy.

Qiao Qiu stepped over the falling rocks and crossed the steep cliff in a few strides, entering the network of canyons.

Just then, Qiao Qiu took out a paper umbrella, opened it, put one arm around Yu Honghua's waist, and the two floated down.

Yu Honghua felt a different kind of lightness, and the sound of the water flowing in her ears wasn't as loud. She was curious and wanted to take a look, but then she remembered that her husband hadn't told her to open her eyes yet. If she saw something she shouldn't, it wouldn't be good, so she decided to keep her eyes closed.

Qiao Qiu saw that her eyes were closed and did not speak. Her daughter-in-law was not as brave as she was at night, and she was afraid of scaring her.

The two finally stepped onto solid ground, and Qiao Qiu then told Yu Honghua to open her eyes.

Yu Honghua opened her eyes and immediately saw the turbulent Yellow River in front of her, which looked like it was about to devour people. She was so frightened that she burrowed into Qiao Qiu's arms.

Qiao Qiu patted her back and gently comforted her, "It's okay, the water won't splash up."

Yu Honghua looked up at her, her eyes full of trust and reliance, before leaving her embrace and walking towards the shore.

Qiao Qiu followed behind her with an umbrella, both to shield her from the rain and to ensure her safety.

Yu Honghua then realized that what she thought was a rushing river was actually several meters above the bank.

"Husband, where is this place?" Yu Honghua looked around and realized that she was on a cliff, a place that jutted out halfway up the mountain.

Qiao Qiu pulled her into his arms to warm her up before saying, "This is a section of south-central Jizhou. It's mostly along rivers and the sea, and the mountains aren't very high, but they do block many rivers."

Yu Honghua nodded as if she understood, "Oh."

Qiao Qiu didn't intend to say anything more, and turned to walk into the cave with her arm around her.

Upon entering the cave, Qiao Qiu folded up her umbrella and placed it beside the entrance. Then, she took out a luminous pearl and, along with the jade-red flower, went inside.

Actually, not all of the cave was dark, but Qiao Qiu was afraid that Yu Honghua might not be familiar with the place and might accidentally step into an empty space, so she took it out.

This is a natural stalactite cave, extremely large in area, with small ravines, streams, and stalagmites of varying sizes but in all shapes and sizes, making it a feast for the eyes.

Yu Honghua was almost stunned; she had never seen such a beautiful cave before.

Especially when the light shines on those stalagmites, they are absolutely stunning.

In some places, water was still dripping, drop by drop, falling into puddles. These puddles were of different sizes, seemingly being slowly shaped into something, though it was only now becoming apparent.

The river inside the cave was relatively calmer than the one outside, but it wasn't as clear.

"Is it pretty?" Qiao Qiu could tell everything from her expression, but she still couldn't help asking.

Yu Honghua nodded excitedly and said, "Beautiful, so beautiful!"

"Let's go, let's take another look inside," Qiao Qiu said gently.

"Mmm." Yu Honghua's eyes were almost touching it as she nodded vigorously.

During the day, Qiao Qiu took Yu Honghua to explore the entire stalactite cave, where they even had a delicious barbecue before heading back.

Before leaving, Yu Honghua glanced at the rushing river one last time. She wondered if it was just her imagination, but she felt that the water level had risen considerably.

By the time they returned to Yilan City, it was already dark.

The two went out for a day and didn't get caught in much rain, but they did sweat a bit.

Lying in the double bathtub, Qiao Qiu relaxed completely and closed her eyes for a nap.

A moment later, a slender hand grasped her arm and began to wash her body with a handkerchief.

Qiao Qiu knew, even without opening her eyes, that Ji Rufeng (Yu Honghua from the night) was there, treating men like women.

Yu Honghua, now in a more assertive role, wiped her face and massaged her to relieve her fatigue.