Once the matter was settled, Li Qiji put Su Xu in charge of it and instructed Guan Chengzhuo to inform the prefect of the state and instruct them to push the matter forward with all their might the next day.

Before they could even catch their breath, they spurred their horses and headed straight for the prefectural government office.

Seeing that the two "big light bulbs" had left, Li Qiji pushed Bilian to Jiwu, and then, with Guan Zhiyue carrying a basin of ice, found a secluded spot in the mountains where they could be shaded from the sun, and the two went to whisper to each other.

"Yue'er, do you miss your husband?"

"Husband, I missed you so much on the way to the inspection. The thought of you suffering here made my heart ache. I'm so glad I came by myself!"

Guan Zhiyue, listening to Li Qiji's disgusting words, pouted and said, "The Emperor doesn't do his inspection properly, he just wants to go and see beautiful women! He's so irresponsible!"

Li Qiji took Guan Zhiyue's hand and rubbed it in his large palm, then said, "Nonsense, how am I irresponsible? I'm very responsible, okay?"

"Hmm, how can you say you're in charge? You're only thinking about beautiful women, and you still say you're in charge!" Guan Zhiyue said coquettishly.

Li Qiji raised his hand and gently pinched Guan Zhiyue's nose, saying with a smile, "Yes, I was thinking about beautiful women. Who can blame me when Guan is so beautiful and charming?"

"Your heart is pounding so hard, it's tempting me!"

Upon hearing this, Guan Zhiyue snorted and shook off the hand that was holding her, saying, "Nonsense, I didn't do anything. Besides, if your heart wasn't pounding, would you still be sitting here right now?"

"Alright, enough of this nonsense. Let's go find a place to eat. We've been busy all morning and haven't even had a chance to eat anything."

Li Qiji nodded and said, "Yes, my wife is hungry, I'll go and get some food right away."

Li Qiji left after saying that, to find something to eat. Guan Zhiyue had a lot of food in her space, but it wasn't appropriate to take it out directly, especially with so many guards around!

It's not good to eat alone. These people have been busy all day and haven't eaten yet!

——

night.

The group of people returned to the prefectural capital from the outskirts, completely exhausted. Guan Zhiyue felt her muscles trembling all over her body. It was absolutely exhausting. This was no job for a human being!

This is so damn tiring! It's a pity there's another tough battle to fight tomorrow, otherwise there would be so many locusts that we wouldn't be able to deal with!

The group slumped onto the table, too exhausted to move a finger. The sight of locusts made them want to vomit.

They ate insects all day long. Those guards who fried locusts and netted locusts now get acid reflux and feel nauseous at the mere mention of locusts!

This is absolutely terrible, absolutely terrible!

"I can't take it anymore, I need to wash up and go to bed, I'm too tired!!" Guan Zhiyue stood up unsteadily, glanced at the others, and said.

She doesn't want to eat anything anymore; her stomach is full of locusts!

Seeing that Guan Zhiyue had gotten up and left, Li Qiji quickly followed.

She called for a servant to bring water, and Guan Zhiyue, dragging her exhausted body, slowly climbed in and took a comfortable bath. It felt wonderful, and her fatigue was slightly relieved.

Her hair wasn't even dry yet, and she was already half asleep, leaning against the headboard.

Li Qiji affectionately picked up a towel from the side and gently wiped her down.

Nothing more was said that night!

——

Li day.

As sunlight streamed through the window, Guan Zhiyue opened her tired eyes, yawned, and subconsciously reached out to touch the spot beside her, only to find it empty.

The bed looked like it had been cold for a long time, so Guan Zhiyue called Bilian in.

"Bilian, are you there?"

Hearing the shouts, Bilian ran out of the next room, pushed open Guan Zhiyue's door, and said, "Your Majesty, you're awake?"

"How long after His Majesty left?"

Bilian thought for a moment and said, "She left at the beginning of the morning and it seems she also asked Jiwu to carry a few buckets of cold water to the bathing room."

Bilian told Guan Zhiyue everything she knew. When Guan Zhiyue heard that Li Qiji had taken a cold shower at 5 a.m., the corner of her mouth twitched involuntarily.

In his heart, he thought to himself, "Serves you right. You brought this on yourself. You made a mistake, so go and suffer the consequences!"

Guan Zhiyue then stood up and asked Bilian to help her undress. She continued, "What's the situation outside? I hear a lot of noise."

Bilian replied obediently, "Now all the people of Sihuangzhou have been mobilized, and I heard that some people who left before rushed back last night, all to work together to control this locust swarm!"

"These kinds of things can only be done well if we work together. It seems that the people of Sihuangzhou are quite hardworking and honest. Let's go, after we're all ready, we'll join their ranks."

"Your Highness, where are we going?"

Guan Zhiyue said, "Boiling water, cooking, washing rice and vegetables, doing chores and running errands!"

"There are so many things we can do. As long as you want to do it, there's nothing you can't do. We can contribute our share to help Sihuangzhou rebuild faster after the disaster."

"This is what we need to do, and it's something we can do."

Bilian was also captivated by her mistress's passionate speech, and the enthusiasm in her heart quickly fermented and burned.

When the two arrived at the outskirts of the city yesterday, it was already packed with people. Officials of all ranks, local gentry and wealthy people, as well as ordinary citizens, were all carrying buckets and basins.

On the open ground, they were all catching those annoying locusts, and some of the stronger young men were also learning from Ji Wu and the others to use fishing nets to catch these swarms of locusts.

Busy figures moved about on this barren land, gradually saving this land that was on the verge of death.

At this moment, no one backed down; everyone was contributing their share in their own way!

When Li Qiji saw Guan Zhiyue approaching, he quickly led her into the tent.

He asked with great concern, "Why didn't you rest a little longer? How can your body handle it?"

Guan Zhiyue nodded and said, "It's alright. You were seriously injured by several knives a few days ago. With all this continuous busyness, can your body handle it?"

Upon hearing Guan Zhiyue's concern for him, Li Qiji patted his chest and said, "I'm perfectly fine."

"Don't worry, my injuries are completely healed, don't fret!"

"How are things? Are there still many locusts in Sihuangzhou?" Guan Zhiyue changed the subject.

Li Qiji smiled with great satisfaction: "Finally, everything is over, and the locusts have received the greatest reward for everyone's efforts."

Upon hearing this, Guan Zhiyue stood at the entrance of the camp, watching the busy figures, and a slight smile appeared on her lips. "With this, how can we not enrich the country?"

"However, if you want to get rich, you must first build roads! There's still a long way to go!"

When Li Qiji heard Guan Zhiyue say that, he knew that she must have other ideas, but he wasn't in a hurry. Things would happen one step at a time.