His Highness the Madman gave in again today.

Only after the two of them passed by did they see clearly.

It really was Chu Canglan.

The first time he hit the wall was because he didn't expect Mo Sangyu to suddenly set up a restriction. Without any warning, he was directly bounced away by the invisible wall.

Chu Canglan was speechless.

Who the hell is this supposed to protect against?

He stood up, gathered his true energy, and flew up to the palace wall again. After approaching the invisible airflow, he paused for a moment, then forcibly tore open a crack and crawled inside.

Mo Sangyu: "..."

The strength of a Grandmaster is so... terrifying?

If it weren't for Silver Moon, taking over Youdu City would definitely not have been so easy.

As soon as Chu Canglan entered, he almost bumped into Feng Xingyu and Mo Sangyu.

"Lord Chu."

Mo Sangyu greeted her with a smile, "What a coincidence, to meet you here."

Feng Xingyu: "Next time you can use the palace gate; no one will stop you."

Chu Canglan touched his nose: "...Okay, I'll definitely do it next time."

He came in to find Mo Sangyu, and it's better to meet her here, saving him the trouble of going further inside.

"I'm here to..."

"I know why you're here."

Before he could finish speaking, Mo Sangyu immediately used the tracking talisman to sense Yin Yue's location and found that he could indeed sense it, which meant that Yin Yue had successfully been reborn.

But this location...

She frowned involuntarily: "The Great You Dynasty!"

"The Great You Dynasty?"

Chu Canglan didn't care where they were; upon hearing this, his face was filled with excitement and surprise: "Really? She's in the Great You Dynasty? Where exactly?"

Three questions in a row.

"I'll give you a tracking token that connects you to her; go find her yourself."

Mo Sangyu raised his hand, and spiritual light gathered between his fingers, condensing into an almost transparent talisman. With a gentle flick, the talisman floated towards Chu Canglan and entered his brow.

"Follow its guidance, and you will find her."

Mo Sangyu said, "However, her soul was previously harmed. After being purified, her past memories may be lost. She might not remember you. You... should be prepared."

Chu Canglan stiffened slightly, then nodded emphatically: "I understand, thank you."

To be able to be reborn is already an immense blessing.

Memories can be retrieved slowly, but being alive is more important than anything else.

He turned to leave, then stopped, looked back at Mo Sangyu and Feng Xingyu, and solemnly clasped his hands in a salute: "I will continue to manage Youdu City until you find a suitable person to take over. Farewell."

As soon as he finished speaking, he tore through the invisible air currents once more and disappeared outside the palace walls.

This restriction was practically useless to him.

Mo Sangyu narrowed his eyes, a glint of light flashing in them.

She'll need to do some more research and make an upgrade.

A night breeze carried the faint sound of a distant drumbeat.

Mo Sangyu looked in the direction where Chu Canglan had disappeared and sighed softly.

Feng Xingyu put his arm around her shoulder: "Worried?"

"Not exactly."

She shook her head: "I'm thinking we need to speed things up."

The Great Paradise is too peaceful; I have a feeling it's not a good thing.

Feng Xingyu naturally understood what she meant. In the darkness of the night, he did not reply, but simply tightened his grip on her shoulder slightly.

In the days that followed, no one mentioned the matter again; everyone simply got busy.

Mo Sangyu painstakingly repaired all the roads in the entire Chen Kingdom.

What used to take more than ten days to trek can now be completed in three to five days with fast horses.

The carriage traveled on a smooth, solid road, with less bumping and more than twice the speed.

The businessmen were the first to feel the changes.

Specialties from all over the country, furs from the grasslands, dried goods from Baiyue, tea and silk from Cangqi, and minerals and medicinal herbs from Tiehe, flowed continuously to Wudu along the well-connected highways, and then dispersed to various prefectures and counties.

With faster turnover of goods, lower costs, more products on the market, and prices gradually decreasing, people's lives have become much better.

More importantly, news will travel much faster than before.

The imperial decrees and military intelligence from the border regions, which used to take more than a month to spread throughout the country via the postal relay system, can now be delivered within ten days.

The imperial court's control over local areas has been strengthened in a subtle way.

The changes are subtle, yet they are like spring rain seeping into the soil, gradually altering the fabric of this newly born nation.

Standing on the newly built stone bridge spanning the moat outside Wudu City, Mo Sangyu looked at the rushing river below and the endless stream of carriages and pedestrians on the bridge, and suddenly felt a deep sense of accomplishment.

However, the initial investment is huge, and it's unclear how long it will take to recoup the financial resources spent on road construction.

Fortunately, the countries they conquered all had relatively full treasuries, which directly enabled the newly established Chen Kingdom to become a powerful nation capable of rivaling the Great You Dynasty.

Meanwhile, Feng Xingyu focused on handling state affairs during this period.

The detailed rules for the imperial examinations were finally promulgated, and preparations for the first special imperial examination were underway.

The supervisory department was set up, and Ya Zi quickly got into the role, leading a group of capable people to start sorting out the secret intelligence reports submitted from various places.

In the imperial court, with the implementation of the new regulations and several relentless reprimands, the voices about selecting imperial concubines finally fell silent.

Time flies by in the midst of busyness; more than a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

During this time, they received a message from Chu Canglan saying that the person had been found, but after that, there was no further news.

Yan Qing and Yan Xu are managing Youdu City on their behalf. With the addition of defensive barriers and hidden sentries throughout the city, there have been no problems so far, even without Chu Canglan's presence.

Now that the highways throughout the entire Chen Kingdom are open, the journey from Youdu to Wudu takes only five or six days for an ordinary person.

It was March, and Feng Xingyu issued an order, instructing Yan Qing to escort Granny Yu, Feng Mian, and the others over.

After receiving the order, Yan Qing became depressed.

Exiling him to Youdu was bad enough, but now they want to take Fengmian away from him...

He only agreed to stay in Youdu because Fengmian was there; otherwise, he would definitely have stayed in Wudu.

"Yan Qing".

Feng Mian went to clean the room where Mo Sangyu used to live. When she came out, she saw Yan Qing sitting blankly at the door of the study, so she walked over to him, squatted down and asked, "What are you doing here? Aren't you busy today?"

"Fengmian"

Yan Qing turned to look at her, his expression serious, and asked, "You... do you want to stay with your young lady, or... with me?"

After asking that question, Yan Qing felt completely drained.

He didn't dare to look up at Feng Mian, and he also felt that he was... being a bit too far-fetched.

How could Feng Mian possibly choose him over his own young lady?

He was dreaming.

You don't need to answer.

Before Feng Mian could speak, he turned his gaze elsewhere: "I was just talking nonsense. You should hurry up and pack your things these next two days. I'll escort you to the Fog City."

After saying that, he got up and left quickly.

If he had turned around and looked at Feng Mian even once more, he would have seen Feng Mian's flushed little face and her flustered and nervous eyes.

After spending so much time together, even if Feng Mian was slow to realize, she knew that Yan Qing treated her differently from others.

For the next two days, Yan Qing locked himself in his study to deal with backlogged affairs or to patrol the city defenses, deliberately avoiding Feng Mian.

Feng Mian went to see him twice, but was politely turned away by the guards at the door, who said that General Yan was busy.

She looked at the closed study door, bit her lip, and turned to leave.

The departure date is set for three days from now.

Fengmian helped Granny Yu pack her luggage.

Granny Yu was old, but still in good spirits. As she folded clothes, she muttered, "Finally, we can go to the Misty City. I wonder how Master and Madam are doing now, whether the rules in the palace are strict, and whether they are adapting well..."

"Miss is so capable, she can thrive anywhere."

Feng Mian spoke softly, but her hands slowed down.

"Why are you so absent-minded, girl?"

Granny Yu glanced at her: "Reluctant to leave Youdu?"

Feng Mian shook his head and didn't say anything.

It wasn't that she was reluctant to leave Youdu, it was...

In short, for some reason, she felt very confused.

"Miss Fengmian," a guard announced from outside the door, "General Yan said that the little rabbit you raised recently has refused to eat, and he wants you to go and take a look at it quickly."

"What?"

Upon hearing this, Feng Mian immediately put down what he was holding: "I'll go right now!"

She ran quickly to the rabbit's burrow, only to find the little rabbits hugging carrots and happily munching on them.

That Yan Qing, he lied to her again!

Could it be... that he's looking for an excuse to see her?

Upon realizing this possibility, Feng Mian's pent-up frustration suddenly dissipated, replaced by a bittersweet feeling.

She turned around and found Yan Qing standing right behind her.

He looked a little haggard, with faint dark circles under his eyes. When he saw Feng Mian looking over, he forced a smile and said, "Um... the little rabbit suddenly started eating again. I... I didn't mean to lie to you."

Feng Mian ignored his words, walked up to him, and looked up at him: "Why have you been avoiding me these past two days?"

Yan Qing looked away: "No."

"Yes," Feng Mian insisted. "You do have it. Ever since you asked me that question that day, you've been avoiding me."

Yan Qing's throat moved, but he didn't say anything.

"Who asks someone a question and then runs away without giving them a chance to answer? Yan Qing, you big coward!"

"..."

In Yan Qing's heart, Feng Mian has always been a gentle and weak little rabbit, just like the little rabbit she raised.

Unexpectedly, she could be so fierce, leaving Yan Qing stunned.

"Then...then what...what do you mean?"

Yan Qing slapped his own mouth.

Why are you so nervous?

I've never experienced anything like this, not even when I was fighting on the front lines.

"I……"

Feng Mian tensed up immediately. She twisted her hands together, and before she could say anything, her cheeks began to burn.

She took a deep breath, as if she had made a huge decision, and said in a soft but clear voice, "If... if what you asked that day was serious, then I... I want to be with you."

These words took all the courage she had in her entire life.

Yan Qing suddenly turned to look at her, his eyes wide, as if he hadn't heard clearly: "...What?"

"I said."

Feng Mian's face flushed red, but she forced herself to look into his eyes: "I don't want to leave Youdu, I want... to stay here and be with you."

Yan Qing was stunned, as if he had been nailed to the spot.

After a long pause, she asked uncertainly, "You...you don't want to go to the Fog City to find the Empress anymore? She's your mistress, you..."

"Miss has many people around her, she doesn't need me."

Feng Mian lowered her head, her voice becoming even softer: "Besides... Miss said that I could choose the days I wanted, and I... I want to choose you."

The last few words, as light as a feather, struck Yan Qing's heart with a heavy blow.