Chapter 91 is about a young, doting husband in a matriarchal society where men are more...

Ye Lan stepped forward and whispered a reminder: "Master, it's almost late afternoon. Everyone has been traveling for most of the day without a drop of water. Why don't we let them eat something before entering the city?"

Upon hearing this, Zhilan glanced at Fu Yun beside her. Seeing the weakness and paleness on his handsome face, and a hint of fatigue between his brows, she couldn't help but feel a pang of pity and asked, "Are you alright?"

Fu Jun was slightly taken aback, not expecting Zhi Lan's attention to turn to him. He smiled and replied, "I'm fine, don't worry about me, just follow everyone else's schedule."

Fu Yun never expected that his words would have such a different effect on Zhi Lan. The slight reluctance she felt turned into heartache. She felt sorry for him because he was clearly delicate and frail and not suited for long journeys, yet he tirelessly traveled to fulfill the promise he made to her.

I feel even more sorry for his perseverance and resilience. He didn't want to affect everyone's progress, so even though he was exhausted and physically and mentally drained, he insisted on pushing through his physical discomfort and keeping up with everyone else's pace.

Her understanding and thoughtfulness made her seem all the more cold and domineering.

This made her start to reflect: while the result is important, shouldn't the process also be taken into account?

This period is crucial for deepening trust with the people. Only through mutual trust can they confidently entrust their backs to the people when a crisis arises, thus working together to overcome difficulties and solve the problems encountered.

Thinking of this, Zhilan glanced at everyone present and saw that their lips were dry and their brows showed signs of fatigue. She then raised her voice and said, "You've all traveled for so long and must be tired. Let's eat something before we set off again."

As she spoke, she looked at Ye Lan and Qian Qingling and asked, "Have you prepared any dry rations?"

Ye Lan and Qian Qingling hurriedly replied in unison, "Yes, Master, food has been prepared for everyone."

Zhilan nodded in satisfaction: "Very good, then let's distribute them to everyone!"

"Yes." Ye Lan and Qian Qingling responded and withdrew.

The stonemasons were all taken aback by this news, their eyes shining brightly. They had clearly not expected that their employer would even prepare provisions for them before they went out to work.

Ye Lan and Qian Qingling walked to the carriage and gave the driver some instructions. Then, the three drivers each climbed into the carriage and took out a large package.

Ye Lan turned to Liu Lan and said, "Distribute the dry rations and water to everyone."

"Yes!" Liu Lan responded and took some dry rations to the stonemasons.

Among the crowd, only Xing Fei stood behind the carriage, guarding it without moving.

Seeing Ye Lan, Qian Qingling, Liu Lan, and the others distributing the rations to everyone in an orderly manner, Fu Yun felt a mix of emotions.

To be honest, as the main employer, he hadn't even thought of preparing food for the workers, but Ye Lan, Qian Qingling, and the others had prepared everything without him having to remind them.

It must be said that they were incredibly thoughtful. Even in modern times, it's rare for someone to pay someone to provide them with meals, let alone in ancient times with its clear class distinctions.

Of course, he admired the Empress the most. Judging from the question she just asked, this was clearly not the first time she had distributed things to ordinary people; it was very likely that it had happened countless times before.

As Fu Yun was pondering, she was about to reach into her sleeve pocket to take out a steamed bun when she saw an egg pancake being handed to her: "Here, take this pancake."

Fu Yun paused in his movements, looked up in surprise, and saw Zhi Lan looking at him with a very serious expression.

Fu Jun was touched and was about to politely decline, but then said, "No need, I brought my own steamed buns."

Zhilan's voice rang out again: "You are weak, you need to eat this to have the strength to travel."

Fu Yun twitched the corner of her mouth: "..."

Since things had already come to this point, he couldn't very well refuse, so he could only bite the bullet and accept, "Thank you."

Zhilan smiled slightly and said gently, "No need to be polite. Since I brought you out, it's only right that I take care of you."

Fu Jun's forehead veins throbbed. He wanted to shout: You've got it backwards! What do I, a grown man, need to be taken care of? You're the one who should be taken care of.

But he knew it would be useless to say it out loud; Zhilan and the others wouldn't believe him. He could only prove it with his actions later.

[Hahaha! The Empress is spoiling her too much! Don't let her kindness go to waste!]

Xiao Ba was laughing hysterically in Fu Jun's mind, and couldn't resist adding cheekily: "[President Fu, your image of being delicate and frail is already deeply ingrained in people's minds. With your current physique, even if you work out hard, you won't change people's impression of you. Just accept your fate!]"

Fu Yun: "!!!" What are you gloating about?

He was quite indignant: "Shut up! Stop looking down on me. After more than half a month of simple training, I already have two thin muscles."

[What's the use? The original owner's figure was already slender and lean; even if you had eight-pack abs, no one could tell!]

In modern times, you can look slim in clothes and muscular when you take them off. But that wouldn't work in ancient times. Here, you're covered up completely in all four seasons. Even if you have a toned physique and defined abs, no one would notice, right?

Fu Yun rolled her eyes: "So what if others can't tell? Can't I enjoy myself after exercising?"

【Sure! Of course! Anyway, when it comes to being delicate, frail, and easily overpowered, only Mr. Fu stands out.】

President Fu was speechless: "..."

He didn't want to talk to Xiao Ba anymore and silently ate the egg pancake that Zhi Lan had given him.

Su Fuyun was originally an exceptionally handsome young man, and his appearance naturally leaned towards a youthful look. How could Fuyun possibly know that the way he was focused on eating was a completely different sight in Zhilan's eyes? The young man with delicate features was eating with extremely refined and elegant movements, which was very pleasing to the eye.

He lowered his eyes and ate slowly, his obedient manner so docile that one couldn't bear to interrupt him.

His fair skin glowed with a soft halo under the setting sun, like a mysterious and dreamlike painting, captivating the eye and naturally drawing one in.

It must be said that Su Fuyun possesses a rare and unparalleled beauty, and every gesture he makes exudes an indescribable charm. It's hard to say which woman will catch his eye in the future.

In fact, Fu Yun was born into a wealthy family in Jiang City, so table manners were naturally a given. But at this moment, he didn't necessarily have to eat slowly. It was just that the pancake had been sitting for most of the day and was now cold and a bit hard. He was afraid of choking and embarrassing himself in front of Zhi Lan, so he slowed down his eating.

It wasn't until Fu Yun finished his pancake and looked up that he noticed Zhi Lan seemed to be staring at him in a daze.

Fu Yun waved his hand in front of Zhi Lan: "Why are you spacing out? Have you eaten?"

Zhilan snapped out of her daze in an instant, a strange light flashing in her eyes, and nodded in response.

She shifted her gaze from Fu Yun to the others present. Seeing that everyone had basically finished their food, she subtly changed the subject: "It's about time to go into the city."

Fu Yun didn't say anything more, walked to his horse, and mounted it.

"Prepare to enter the city."

At Zhilan's command, everyone quickly tidied their clothes, dusted themselves off, and mounted their horses.

The group was stopped by guards at the gate of Bacheng: "Where are you from? What brings you into the city?"

Zhilan remained indifferent and said nothing, simply taking out a token without any expression.

The guards on either side of the city gate glanced coldly at the token, and upon seeing the words on it, their expressions changed slightly. Their attitude instantly became extremely respectful, and they extended their right arms towards the city, in an inviting gesture: "Your Highness, please!"

Zhilan twitched the corner of her mouth, gently kicked the horse's belly, and slowly entered the city.

Fu Yun noticed the token that Zhi Lan took out, which seemed to have the character "Ji" engraved on it.

The reason the guard was called Prince Zhilan was probably because he thought it was a prince from the palace who went out riding and hunting.

After all, only members of the royal family in the entire matriarchal society have the surname Ji. Of course, she couldn't possibly think of the empress, because Zhilan had disguised herself.

After entering the city, the excavation team didn't rest for a moment and headed straight for Hongxing Town.

When we arrived in Hongxing Town, it was already dark.

Looking at the sky, Fu Yun knew that he would not be able to return today. Even if he asked the people in town for directions, he would not be able to go to Futou Village at night and would have to stay overnight in Hongxing Town.

"My lord, I have something I would like to discuss with you."

Just as Fu Jun was thinking this, Ye Lan came up behind Zhi Lan and him.

Fu Yun knew that today's journey was probably over, so he consciously slowed down the horse's pace.

Zhilan forced the horse to stop and turned to look at Yelan: "What is it?"

Ye Lan cupped his hands and said, "Reporting to Master, it is already late, and it is difficult to discern directions at night. Why don't we rest in the town for the night and set off again early tomorrow morning?"

Zhilan looked up at the sky, glanced at the setting sun, and instead of responding directly to Ye Lan, turned to Fu Jun: "What do you think?"

Fu Jun naturally had no objection: "Commander Ye is absolutely right. Everyone is quite tired after traveling all day, and it is not safe to travel at night. Why don't we stop and rest for the night to recharge our energy?"

“Alright.” Zhilan agreed to Yelan’s suggestion and instructed, “Arrange a reliable inn for us to stay at, and just tell everyone that we are out hunting.”

Night Blue: "Understood."

Ye Lan returned to the end of the group and whispered a few words to Liu Lan.

Upon receiving instructions, Liu Lan immediately went to arrange for a nearby inn to accommodate her.

The group stood in the open space waiting when Zhilan suddenly asked, "Have you ever spent the night away from home before?"

Fu Yun couldn't help but wonder, "Should I reply yes or no?"

If you were to ask the original owner, Su Fuyun, there would naturally be no answer, since in a matriarchal society, men are not allowed to stay out all night.

But he didn't want to admit that a grown man like him could only stay at home at night.

So he answered, "Yes."

Zhilan frowned slightly, a hint of coldness flashing in her eyes: "Oh?"

Fu Yun knew that Zhi Lan was overthinking things, and reminded her, "The time you and I were kidnapped by bandits, we spent the night on the mountain."

The coldness in Zhilan's eyes dissipated, replaced by a faint smile: "If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten about it."

She quickly changed her questioning style: "We'll be staying in Hongxing Town tonight. Are you afraid of spending the night in an unfamiliar town?"

Fu Yun: "..."

He really didn't know what to say. Just how fragile were the men here? They were afraid even after staying one night in an inn?

In matriarchal societies, the more delicate and frail a man is, the more they adore him. The popularity of a charming, delicate man among women in such a society is analogous to the popularity of a voluptuous, alluring woman among men in our society today. Do you understand?

Fu Jun: "I don't believe it. How could a woman not like her partner if he has a strong physique?"