Dongfang Shi, who remained behind, followed Yongle's main force to Yunzhou.

Before going to Yunzhou, Yongle made a special trip to see Qin Man.

Perhaps because of the "special care" Shen Qingque had given her before, her life was much better now than before. Of course, it wasn't by much.

Yongle came here to see for himself what kind of coachman could bewitch a young lady from an official's family.

Regardless of whether Qin Man was born out of wedlock, her status as a daughter of an official family was enough for her to marry a scholar. Unless she'd lost her mind, she wouldn't be so foolish as to want to marry a stable boy.

The county magistrate, Qin, was completely bewildered and summoned all the grooms from his household. Actually, these grooms weren't his family's, but rather worked for the county government. However, he had been working there for over a decade, so these grooms were practically indistinguishable from his own.

The groom Qin Man mentioned was the son of the county government groom; let's call him Little Groom for now.

The young groom was tall and slender with long arms and a narrow waist. Although his face wasn't particularly handsome, it could still be described as having refined features.

Presumably to meet her, the young groom had even wiped his face and changed into nice clothes, looking fresh and clean with no unpleasant odor.

Yongle thought, "How could such a small place employ such a handsome man? Qin Man has excellent taste. No wonder he took a liking to this groom!"

He's young and strong, why is he a groom? Even being a minor official in the county government would be better than being a groom!

Yongle dismissed everyone and asked what was on his mind.

"You're so young, why are you only working as a stable boy in this small place? Haven't you ever thought about working hard and marrying Qin Man someday?"

The young groom said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "I know that my status is lowly and I am not worthy of Miss Qin. But my heart is as clear as day. I also want to go out and find a good job, and when I come back, I will be successful and come to propose to Miss Qin. However, the magistrate of Qin is a person... I am afraid that if I am not by Miss Qin's side, Miss Qin will suffer."

Yongle understood the implication behind his words: he wanted to elope with someone if necessary!

However, marrying a daughter of an official by deception is a capital offense. If he dares to run away with Qin Man, Magistrate Qin can catch him and beat him to death without hesitation.

Yongle sighed. Qin Man seemed to have nothing but this man in her heart and eyes, but she didn't know what kind of person he really was.

"I am going to Yunzhou. If you and Qin Man need anything, you can go to Yunzhou to find me. If fate allows, I can help you."

The young groom immediately knelt down to express his gratitude. Yongle said nothing more and hurried off with his men.

She saw Shen Qingque again five days later. She and her men traveled day and night and arrived at the Yunzhou Prefectural Government Office in the afternoon. Early the next morning, she sent someone to inform Shen Qingque that she had arrived.

When she arrived, Shen Qingque had just returned from a county under Yunzhou.

Both were weary from their journey, their joy at seeing each other hidden in their eyes. Yongle stepped forward and took his hand, her bright eyes reflecting his image.

If there weren't so many people present, Shen Qingque would have only wanted to pull the person into his arms and meld them into his very bones.

"Do I have a room?" Yongle tilted his head to look at him.

Shen Qingque couldn't suppress the smile on his lips, and took her hand, leading her towards the backyard of the yamen.

While carrying his luggage, Dongfang Shi observed the two people and was shoved by a young eunuch.

"What are you looking at! That's Lord Shen, the third-ranked scholar in this imperial examination. You shouldn't look at him anymore; it won't make you feel good."

Dongfang Shi glanced at the eunuch. Did this little eunuch think he would feel inferior in front of Shen Qingque?

He is the regent of Donglin, second only to the emperor, what is there for him to feel inferior about! If he were to reveal his identity, wouldn't Shen Qingque have to obediently serve him like a slave?

Unfortunately, I can't reveal my identity right now!

He looked away and carried his things to the servants' room. He wasn't some pampered young master who couldn't endure hardship.

He had originally planned to fake his death and then return to Donglin with the blacksmith. Unfortunately, the person he was dealing with changed his mind midway, killing the blacksmith and then trying to kill him as well. Luckily, he was skilled enough to escape this calamity.

Now that his identity has suddenly changed, and he has become a foreign prince who attempted to assassinate King Xuan, he must be even more careful not to reveal his true identity.

He had no chance to leave a signal during the voyage. Once ashore, he had left messages all the way from Yanzhou, which the Donglin guards would then seek out. He needed to wait for an opportunity to rendezvous with the Donglin guards who came looking for him.

Now, when Yongle and Shen Qingque finally met, their brief separation felt like a reunion. Yongle wrapped her arms around Shen Qingque's neck and, upon hearing that he had returned to the capital and had just missed her, she angrily punched him.

"It's your fault for not writing to me! You have no idea how much I miss you!"

Shen Qingque pulled her into his arms, apologizing repeatedly, but the smile on his lips never faded.

“I plan to stay in Yunzhou until the end of my stay here,” Yongle said.

Shen Qingque paused for a moment, then kissed the top of her head.

"You can stay for a short period of time, but no more than half a month. You must return to Beijing after half a month."

Shen Qingque's tone was resolute, leaving no room for Yongle to refute. Yongle was taken aback; this was the first time he had ever seen Shen Qingque so... domineering towards him.

She was so fascinated!

Yongle was only confused for a moment, then said unhappily, "Why?! I traveled such a long way by boat to come find you, not just to see you a few times!"

Shen Qingque didn't want her to leave either, but official business came first, so he had to be firm.

"No, you have to go back to Beijing. I promise you, I'll handle things here quickly and go back to be with you as soon as possible."

Yongle sensed something was off about his tone when he refused to negotiate, and immediately asked, "Are you hiding something from me?"

Shen Qingque ruffled her hair into a ball. "There are many things I've kept from you, all of them state secrets. Don't overthink it."

"How could I not overthink it!" Yongle said angrily. Although she wasn't smart, she wasn't particularly stupid either. "If you don't tell me, I'll write to Song Yaozhu and ask her! I believe she knows!"

"Don't disturb the princess."

"Well, Song Yaozhu knew all along! So I was the only one who didn't know!"

Shen Qingque: "..."

When did the Yongle Emperor become so cunning?

Shen Qingque rubbed his temples and said, "When did you become so good at getting people to talk?"

"I don't care, you have to tell me why you want me to go back!"

"With Dongfang Shi gone, the envoy from Donglin Kingdom is about to enter Dachen. There's no doubt that the two countries will go to war. Yanzhou and Yunzhou are so close to Donglin. If a conflict really breaks out, this place will not be safe. Yongle, I can only feel at ease if you go back."