twenty two.

Meng Huaiyi lowered his dark eyes and looked at the princess's face, meeting her gaze.

The weather in Jiangnan was terribly hot and humid. She gently moved closer to him, her hand only touching his face: "General Meng, would you be willing to serve me?"

Meng Huaiyi's sullen mood, which had lasted all day, seemed to be ignited.

He threw away the sword he was carrying, put one arm around her waist, picked her up, and quickly placed her on the low table next to the screen.

He knelt before her, his usually cold and composed face now burning as he said in a hoarse voice, "Your humble servant obeys."

The tattered screen, affected by the low table next to it, wobbled even more precariously. The begonia-colored lantern pants and the man's gray shirt were thrown down and hung up, creating an alluring scene in the room…

(Turn off the lights)

...The magic of time, two years later...

The moon still hung shyly above the room, and sounds that made one blush and their heart race could be heard from inside from time to time. After another fifteen minutes, the sounds gradually stopped.

Bai Yan lay naked inside her bed tent, her black hair damp with sweat and clinging to her face, watching him busily working.

Meng Huaiyi had only put on his pants and was washing her underwear, which he had accidentally dirtied, with his back to her.

His back was strong, and when he bent over, you could see his sexy V-line.

Bai Yan rested her chin on her hand, admiring the view, and then said, "It'll be dawn soon, even if you wash it now, it won't be dry. Do you expect me to wear this wet undergarment?"

Meng Huaiyi hesitated for a moment, then looked at her and asked, "What should we do then?"

Bai Yan chuckled, "What should we do? Let's take it. Anyway, I don't need another piece of clothing."

Meng Huaiyi said "Oh," picked up his clothes from the side and put them on, then put the undergarment close to his chest, opened the window and was about to leave under the cover of night.

Bai Yan frowned and said, "You're leaving again?"

"Is this place some kind of den of tigers and wolves, where you can't even stay for one night?"

Meng Huaiyi said, "If someone sees this, it will damage the princess's reputation."

Bai Yan was so angry she laughed. How could he grow up to be so stubborn? Was he really afraid of damaging her reputation? Why was he crawling into her bed?

"Is this how you serve me?" Bai Yan said. "You're done having your fun and then you leave? You washed the stains off your clothes, but what about the stains on your body?"

She threw back the thin blanket covering her and pointed to her legs: "Do you expect me to call a maid to wash them?"

After seeing this, Meng Huaiyi's mind was filled with the recklessness he had just committed.

A surge of anger rushed to his head, and he quickly turned around: "I'll go get some water."

Bai Yan lay on the bed, waiting for him to fetch hot water to serve her.

Meng Huaiyi adjusted the water temperature and wrung out the towel before walking to the princess's bedside. The usually imposing general was now like a little wife, kneeling down to wash her.

Two years have passed, and she has shed some of her naivety and become more mature and sophisticated.

Meng Huaiyi's breathing became more and more rapid. Seeing this, Bai Yan mischievously placed his hand under his waist: "Isn't it clean yet? What's the rush?"

Meng Huaiyi's breathing suddenly became heavy, and his eyes were filled with a mixture of anger and rage: "Stop making trouble."

Bai Yan raised her red lips, about to speak.

"Princess, someone from the capital has arrived, saying they've come to deliver an imperial decree," came the voice of the maid Hongping from the doorway.

Bai Yan knew something was wrong. She had just turned around when Meng Huaiyi jumped out of the window and left, leaving only the still-warm brocade handkerchief on the collapsed side.

He is fast.

Hongping helped the princess change her clothes and do her makeup, and then sent a servant to fetch the officials who were still in their offices.

Before long, all the officials of Jiangnan Prefecture, big and small, had arrived, including Liu Jinan and Meng Huaiyi. "Last quarter, the Jiangnan Textile Factory gave the national treasury 50 million taels of silver, which I suppose was due to an imperial decree of commendation."

He shook his head again, his eyes filled with jealousy: "These officials in Jiangnan have hitched a ride on the princess's coattails, and their official positions have been rising rapidly in the past two years."

Meng Huaiyi glanced at him: "You want a raise too?"

Liu Jin'an didn't want to. Even though Jiangnan had become prosperous after the princess's reforms, it was still not the capital. If he, an official from the capital, were promoted in Jiangnan, it would be tantamount to being promoted in name only and demoted in reality. So he couldn't help but sigh: "Jiangnan is good, but when can I return to the capital?"

This kind of southern tidal weather made him especially miss the dry, cold, and familiar air of Kyoto.

"Brother Huaiyi, do you want to return to the capital?" Liu Jin'an asked again. "These past two years, you have quelled the bandit rebellion in Jiangnan and made outstanding contributions. If you return to the capital, His Majesty will surely give you an important position. I reckon His Majesty intends to wage war on the border..."

Liu Jinan laughed: "When that time comes, Brother Huaiyi, you will be ennobled and appointed as a general in no time."

Meng Huaiyi lowered his eyes. He knew that what Liu Jinan said was true. Who wouldn't want to be ennobled and appointed as a general, to reach the highest position in the court? It's just that over time, the gentleness of Jiangnan seemed to have smoothed out some of the bloodthirsty and warlike nature in his bones.

He was attached to this place...

She couldn't help but look up again. She was at the very front, listening with the others as the eunuch from the capital read out the imperial edict.

And what about her? Does she also cherish this place as much as he does, reluctant to leave everything here?

Bai Yan quickly accepted the imperial edict. The edict from her father was similar to those of the previous months, simply praising her in front of the officials of Jiangnan Prefecture to bolster his image and instruct the officials to work diligently for him.

"Princess, besides the imperial edict, this is a letter from His Majesty to you."

Bai Yan put away the imperial edict and opened the letter. Hong Ping stepped forward, took the envelope from her hand, and stood aside to serve her.

Bai Yan finished reading the letter in the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, then put it away and handed it to Hong Ping.

Her gaze fell upon the heads of all the officials, big and small, in Jiangnan Prefecture: "I'm sure you all have heard the Emperor's decree."

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