After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Murong Chen glanced at the sky outside, his brows furrowing slightly. "Where in the village can we find a place to stay?"

Shen Yi hurriedly stepped forward and respectfully replied, "Your Highness, if you do not mind, you may stay at my humble abode for the time being."

Murong Chen let out a long sigh and shook his head, "Then I'll stay at your place for the night."

After saying that, he went in to take another look at Granny Chen. He saw that Granny Chen was lying down in her new clothes and sleeping soundly, so he led the way and left.

Shen Yi led Murong Chen and his group to the grand ancestral home, where they were greeted with the main gate open. Even the village chief and some village elders came to investigate.

Shen Yi led them to the tidied-up guest courtyard.

Murong Chen was somewhat surprised to see that the house was simple yet grand, and clean in every way, with even the bricks and stones on the ground so smooth that one could see their reflection in them.

"This ancestral home in Shen County is quite well renovated!"

Shen Yi humbly replied, "Your Highness is too kind. This house will be the foundation of my family in the future, so it took some effort to build it."

Murong Chen nodded. He knew that Shen Yi's family was in business. Although the house was well-built, there wasn't a single valuable item inside, so there wasn't much to say about it.

At this moment, Su Tai came over to ask, "Your Highness, what would you like to have for dinner?"

Murong Chen had just opened his mouth when he thought of Shen Tian and immediately changed his words, "What did the concubine eat in the village before? Prepare a meal for me that matches the concubine's diet."

Su Tai was stunned for a moment, then replied weakly, "Your Highness, the concubine likes to eat sweets, especially baked pastries, sweet soups, and sweet milk tea. Besides that, she also likes guokui (a type of flatbread).

Murong Chen chuckled, “These things are indeed what she likes. In addition, prepare some main dishes and invite the concubine’s brother as well. Also, Magistrate Shen and Lord Tang will join me at the table.”

Su Tai hurriedly went down to make arrangements.

Shen Yi then came out, and the two whispered to each other for a long time.

"What should we do? What else should we make besides snacks?" Su Tai asked, somewhat perplexed.

Shen Yi remained calm. "I'll have boiled seafood, seafood in sour soup, steamed yellow croaker, boiled shrimp, braised beef, mutton soup, some green vegetables, some fresh fruit, and some guokui pastries and sweet soup. That should be enough."

Su Tai immediately told Chi Sanhua and the others to prepare the dishes.

Shen Ying stopped Shen Yi, who had just stepped out of the courtyard, and asked in a low voice, "Who is that person? They even opened the gate to your ancestral home?"

Shen Yi gestured for silence, "Village Chief, that's a prince!"

"Emperor Emperor Emperor"

Shen Yi covered Shen Ying's trembling mouth.

"Keep quiet and let the rest of the villagers go back first. We need to take good care of this master first!"

Shen Ying nodded excitedly, "I understand, you go and get busy!"

With Shen Ying taking charge, the other village elders quickly dispersed.

Shen Da Gou and Shen Er Gou brought their younger brothers over, and Murong Chen asked them almost all the questions, while they answered.

Because they were nervous, they didn't know how long they had been there until Su Tai came over to serve the dishes, at which point they breathed a sigh of relief.

To entertain Murong Chen, Su Tai brought out all her best culinary skills: baked durian cakes, baked chicken cakes, mango mousse cakes, strawberry mousse cakes, Black Forest cakes, and various small breads, serving one of each.

These pastries alone broadened Murong Chen's horizons, and after he tasted them himself, the way he looked at Su Tai changed.

"Madam Shen, to be honest, if you weren't the wife of County Magistrate Shen, I would have taken you back to the capital. Just for your skills, I wouldn't be willing to let you go!" He prided himself on not being a glutton, but after eating these pastries today, he couldn't stop himself.

Shen Yi was so frightened that he immediately knelt down, "Your Highness."

Her hesitant and stammering manner was simply unbearable to watch. Murong Chen waved his hand speechlessly, "I was just saying that, look how scared you are! Time to eat!"

Shen Yi quickly got up, and Su Tai also hurriedly left.

After Murong Chen's actions, Su Tai no longer dared to go in and serve him.

Murong Chen ate for almost an hour before finally ordering the meal to be taken away because he couldn't eat anymore. Accompanied by Tang Yu and Shen Yi, he took a night tour of the village, where he saw the Shen Family Village, which was brightly lit by lanterns, and heard the sound of students reading aloud coming from several houses.

In this situation, he was filled with mixed emotions.

After returning home, I lay in the warm and comfortable quilt and soon fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, Murong Chen walked out of the Shen family ancestral home in high spirits. Thinking of the reading voices he had heard the night before, he became even more confident about the imperial examination and ordered Tang Yu to immediately prepare a carriage to rush back to the county town.

Shen Yi caught up with the carriage carrying a large bundle and gave the bundle to Tang Yu.

Murong Chen glanced at it curiously, "What is that?"

Tang Yu quickly opened it. "It contains freshly baked guokui (a type of flatbread), various steamed buns and breads, and several cans of fresh milk tea."

Murong Chen was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter, "Is Madam Shen afraid of being taken away by me, so she doesn't even dare to see me?"

Tang Yu couldn't help but chuckle. "Your Highness, Madam Shen and County Magistrate Shen are different from ordinary officials. They just want to stay in Shen Family Village. Even after becoming officials, they don't want to go far away. They just want to do something for their fellow villagers."

Over the years, the couple has brought prosperity to Dongmen Village in Shenjiazhuang. They also built a pontoon bridge connecting Moshi Town and Dahe Town, reducing many drowning deaths. They even discovered the coal mine after buying their house.

I saw in them a sense of mission and a detachment from power and influence. To be honest, I can't even imagine being as indifferent to fame and fortune as they are. I truly admire them!

Murong Chen nodded and casually said, "Since we're already here, let's go to the pontoon bridge."

Tang Yu quickly relayed the message.

While the group accompanied Murong Chen on his travels, Lu Tong in the county town was filled with unease because of Murong Chen's orders.

He personally led a group of county yamen runners to storm the Zhu residence.

The gatekeeper was terrified by Lu Tong's display of force and scrambled to the backyard, shouting and yelling.

Zhu Yixuan rushed over and, seeing the steward being restrained by the constables, his expression changed drastically. "Lord Lu, what do you mean by this?"

Faced with Zhu Yixuan's anger, Lu Tong was even angrier than him. "Zhu Yixuan, I want to ask you what you mean! I admit that your Zhu family is the richest in Zhaohua County, but don't forget, no matter how rich you are, you can't fight against power!"

"Why can't your dad just be a good rich man? Why does he have to abuse his power and offend important people! He almost dragged me down with him!"

Zhu Yixuan immediately thought of the person he had seen at Shenjiazhuang yesterday, his face paled, and his tone softened, "Lord Lu, I had no idea things would turn out this way? Now..."

Lu Tong snorted irritably and flicked his sleeve. “Your Excellency wants to arrest and imprison the troublemakers and instigators from yesterday. I am just following orders. Zhu Yixuan, I advise you to cooperate and not resist. The fate of the Zhu family is in your hands.”

The butler nearly fainted from fright and collapsed to the ground like a rag doll.

Zhu Yixuan's eyes were dark and unfathomable. After a long while, he finally managed to ask with difficulty, "Lord Lu, could you tell me some details about that important person? My Zhu family will certainly repay you handsomely!" (End of this chapter)