Qin Rong was caught in a dilemma, unable to move forward or backward, and was frozen in place.

The surroundings quieted down, save for the rustling of the grass and the shimmering of the river. If it weren't for Qin Rong, this scene would have been quite a sight to behold. Xiang Wan had been squatting there for quite some time, but Qin Rong remained motionless, and the man hadn't managed to catch a fish. The two seemed to be locked in a stalemate; the man wouldn't speak until he caught a fish, while Qin Rong wouldn't leave until he spoke. In this standoff, Xiang Wan was the one suffering. She had squatted there for so long without seeing anything; if she went back now, all her suffering would have been for nothing.

She looked around and saw that there were many pebbles nearby. Her eyes lit up and an idea popped into her head.

He quietly clenched a pebble in his right hand, grabbed a handful of dirt in his left, glanced around, moved to a less conspicuous spot, calculated the distance between his hiding place and his blind spot, and then with a burst of strength, threw the pebble in his right hand into the river next to Qin Rong.

With a "ding-dong" sound, Qin Rong was startled and couldn't help but cry out as she faced the river. Seeing this, Xiang Wan raised the mud in her left hand and swung it a short distance in front of Qin Rong. Just then, a gust of wind blew by, and the mud splattered all over Qin Rong's body and face, turning the pure white lotus flower into a mud-covered bodhisattva.

Before Xiang Wan could even admire her masterpiece, she dashed off to a corner and hid.

"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!" Qin Rong was covered in mud, and a lot of it was blown into her mouth. She spat it out forcefully, and the previous beauty was replaced by her disheveled state.

Xiang Wan secretly observed, suppressing her laughter until her stomach ached, but she didn't see the man fishing glance subtly in her direction, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes.

"Does the young lady also wish to go fishing?"

The man's eyes quickly swept over Qin Rong, then he picked up his fishing rod, baited it, and cast it out again.

"Huh?" Qin Rong was a little flustered. She hadn't expected that after trying to talk to the man every day, she would suddenly be asked about it by him today. She didn't know whether to feel ashamed or annoyed, and she was momentarily speechless.

"The girl's white dress has not attracted any fish, but rather aroused the jealousy of the wind. If she doesn't go back and change her clothes soon, the river might overflow its banks."

The man's teasing words made Xiang Wan almost laugh, but she held it back tightly, her face turning bright red.

Qin Rong wiped her face with her hand and looked at the man expectantly. She was about to say something when she was attracted by the man's suppressed laughter. For a moment, she forgot about her disheveled appearance and was unable to come back to her senses.

"Young lady, do you see any fish in this river?"

Qin Rong was secretly pleased when she heard the man's question, and without thinking, she looked towards the river.

"Young master, you may not know, but this river is perfect for raising fish. There are usually plenty of fish, big and small, but today too..."

Qin Rong stopped talking after staring at the river for a while, her body stiffened, and then she let out an "Ah!" Without caring about her posture or appearance, she ran back the way she came, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

"Human potential is indeed limitless," Xiang Wan remarked after watching the scene.

The main characters had already left, and she didn't want to stay any longer, so she quietly turned and walked back. She was in a great mood the whole way, walking with a spring in her step.

She didn't know who Qin Rong was trying to seduce, but she was extremely excited to be able to ruin this one. Therefore, she didn't realize that while she was ruining someone else's fishing opportunity, she had also become the fish that someone else wanted to catch.

"master."

"Let's go back, the fish have already taken the bait."

Yuan Yi followed behind, carrying an empty bamboo basket and a fishing rod that hadn't caught a fish all day, looking conflicted. "There's nothing here yet, how did it get hooked?"

Xiang Wan's actions had already been noticed by Yuan Yi, but he had obeyed his master's orders and remained silent. Xiang Wan's mischievous movements appeared to Yuan Yi like childish play. Ever since his master decided to fish here, he had been quite worried, fearing both sabotage and his master's displeasure at failing to catch any fish. After several fruitless attempts, seeing his master's increasingly dark expression, he was almost tempted to have his men dive down and put the fish on the hook. Then, a few days ago, a beautiful, delicate girl approached him. His master ignored her, but the girl persisted, almost always arriving at the right time. He had almost thought his master would eventually fall into this woman's arms when he saw Xiang Wan, whom his master had rescued, appear.

He breathed a sigh of relief, too overjoyed to interrupt their hard-won meeting. Now that the real person was there, he found Qin Rong increasingly displeasing, and couldn't help but lend a hand when Xiang Wan threw mud at her. But then the annoying girl left, the real person left, and his master seemed quite pleased. He was confused. Xiang Wan hadn't even gotten a good look at his master's face, so why did she leave? Had he interrupted their meeting?

The more he thought about it, the more he realized it was true. He looked at his master with a guilty expression, hesitant to speak. When he returned to his temporary residence in Anyang City, he still couldn't figure out how to explain it to his master.

"Yuan Yi, with that face you're copying that of a young girl, how am I supposed to look at you again?"

Yuan Feng deliberately ignored Yuan Yi the whole way, finding it somewhat amusing to see him looking so worried and troubled with his brows furrowed. His subordinate was indeed loyal, but his emotional intelligence was truly worrisome; he, as the master, would have to handle finding him a wife in the future.

"Your Highness, I have a question to ask you."

"explain."

"Am I in the way? It seems that Miss Xiang Wan doesn't even recognize Your Highness. I shouldn't let her leave."

"Hehe," Yuan Feng smiled, "You think I'd like it just because you hooked a fish and I caught it?"

"It was my fault." Yuan Yi's face turned red. His master had guessed the stupid thing he wanted to do. Even though his face was dark, blood dripped from his earlobes.

"Haven't stretched your muscles in a while, how about some exercise?"

"…yes."

That afternoon, Yuan Yi was thoroughly disciplined by his master, who was just as ruthless as he was when training his subordinates. He finally understood the frustration his men felt from being pushed to the point of wanting to vomit blood. He realized that his master must have caught his men chatting idly. It seemed that the training wasn't rigorous enough. Indeed, no matter where you are, the right way is to train them so they don't have time to gossip.

The group of subordinates secretly watched their leader being reprimanded. When they saw Yuan Yi's gaze sweep over them, they all shuddered and scattered like birds and beasts, fearing that if they were too slow, they would be dragged along to accompany their master in his training.

Normally, a little training from the boss would only require lying in bed for one night before getting up. But if it were their own master training them, they'd be lying in bed for ten days to half a month, and yet no one could tell from the outside. They'd still get scolded for being lazy and slacking off, and then get another scolding. Anyone with common sense knows who's easy to mess with and who's not. Letting Yuan Yi get a good scolding is better than suffering twice themselves. The spirit of "better to sacrifice a friend than oneself" was being displayed to its fullest extent at this moment.