Chen Yao nodded, "Yes."

"I didn't ask you, I asked her."

Chen Yao looked at Shen Yu in surprise. Did he want Shen Yu to be the cook?

Shen Yu's big, watery eyes looked innocent and naive as she obediently nodded.

Although she was the legitimate daughter of the Shen family, she was mute. Her mother died when she was only eight years old, and her father then made his concubine his official wife.

Knowing she was not favored at home, she stayed quietly in her little courtyard. When Fu Li cut back on her food allowance, she grew her own vegetables to be self-sufficient.

She managed to get by until yesterday, her fourteenth birthday. She thought of going to see her mother, but on her way back, she was robbed by bandits.

"Alright, you'll be following me from now on."

Mingyue told Xiaoyun to take them downstairs, sign the slave registration forms, and then send them back.

The departure, originally scheduled for three days, was delayed by two extra days. The other maids were escorted out of the city, while Chenyu was assigned to learn from the imperial chef.

Li Er prayed every day that the god of death would leave quickly, and he worried every day about whether he would still have his head. After learning that Mingyue and her group had set off, his heart was finally at ease.

The remaining bandit leaders also started to get creative. As long as they had this terrain, they could still go back to their old ways!

Just as he was about to go to the village to gather a few of his men to return to the mountain, he discovered a large group of soldiers. Before he could even run, he was arrested and beheaded along with the greedy Lord Chen and his family that same day.

Mingyue sat inside the carriage drawing blueprints, while Xiaoyun and Chen Yao sat outside, chatting about various rules and interesting stories.

Shen Yu stared intently at Mingyue's drawings, a gaze Mingyue couldn't ignore even if she wanted to. "Want to learn?"

Shen Yu nodded.

Mingyue tapped the inkstone. "Grind the ink properly. I'll teach you when we get to Huaizhou."

Shen Yu obediently ground the ink, her eyes crinkling with laughter, revealing a pair of adorable dimples.

After traveling for three days, they finally arrived at the disaster relief city. Duwei Zhang Wen personally waited at the city gate to welcome Mingyue, saying, "Grand Preceptor, you've finally arrived."

As soon as he entered the city gate, he saw refugees begging everywhere. Zhang Wen was worried about the people and was very thin. His official robes were faded and patched in some places.

They practically had the word "impoverished" etched on their foreheads.

Mingyue withdrew her scrutinizing gaze. "How many refugees are there in the city?"

Zhang Wen frowned in thought, "Last week's count showed over a thousand people. Recently, there has been a lot of movement between people in and out of the city... I'll arrange for someone to do another count later."

"Hmm." Mingyue didn't say much. The group returned to the city lord's mansion. Along the way, many refugees tried to snatch the food, but Ji Yong'an had them stopped.

Before even stepping across the threshold of the city lord's mansion, the plaque above seemed precarious and could fall at any moment.

Mingyue looked at Zhang Wen with a calm expression. "Commander Zhang, you are concerned about the people, but you should at least pay attention to your image."

Zhang Wen looked embarrassed and said, "Yes, yes, yes."

Upon arriving at the hall, Zhang Wen led Mingyue to the seat of honor and personally poured her a cup of tea, saying, "This is old tea, so the taste may not be very good. Please forgive me, sir."

Mingyue chuckled, picked up her teacup, glanced at it a few times, and put it down again. "It's alright, Zhang Duwei, let's continue talking about disaster relief."

"Yes, yes, the supplies you brought have truly solved the urgent problem for Huaizhou. I will arrange the distribution of the supplies immediately and will not let you worry."

Mingyue raised her hand to interrupt Zhang Wen, "I personally arranged the supplies this time. The Emperor sent me here for the purpose of building a project to transport the Mo River to Huaizhou."

Zhang Wen was taken aback, his brows furrowing even deeper. "But the city is mostly populated by the elderly, women, and children. The remaining refugees rely on the relief porridge distributed by the city lord's mansion every day. If we were to recruit laborers to build the project, it would likely incite public anger."