A long section of the mountain temple wall in the front yard had collapsed, about ten-odd zhang long.
If it couldn't be repaired in time, wild beasts from the mountains would follow the trail and pounce on the defenseless commoners and patients.
As soon as Caiyu arrived, she started to carry sand, stones, bricks with the others...
She busied herself without a single complaint.
She wasn't doing it out of anger. Instead, after witnessing such a tragic situation in the world, she could empathize.
Her father had always loved to save the world and help the people. If he still had the ability, he would surely take the lead and send all the children of the Lan family here to relieve the victims.
The sun during the autumn heat was scorching. Even though they joined close to evening, Caiyu was sweating profusely and aching all over after working for an hour.
But the army was still continuing the repair work.
The deeper into the night, the more dangerous it was in the mountains.
They had to at least enclose the wall temporarily tonight.
The task was urgent, so the leader of the repair team gritted his teeth and said, "Skip dinner for now! Everyone, grit your teeth and work harder. We'll have a late-night snack after we're done!"
Everyone responded and continued to work hard with their heads down.
Hearing this, Caiyu also continued to work without hesitation.
The sky above the mountain was clear, the stars were vast. As soon as the sun set, it became cool.
The evening breeze blew through the forest. Song Yinghuai stood on a high place, his cold eyes fixed on the small figure in the distance, silent.
Han Fen, standing behind him, looked at the man's cold and broad back and carefully said:
"My lord, since you know it's Miss Caiyu, why don't you just send her back directly? Instead, you keep her here and..."
He even deliberately made things difficult for her and let her do the heaviest work.
Song Yinghuai remained silent.
He did deliberately make things difficult for her. He wanted her to know that one couldn't act willfully. Some places and things weren't for play.
But...
When he saw the little girl working so hard on the task, he seemed to see the figure of Lord Lan in Caiyu.
She didn't really come here willfully to cause trouble. Maybe... she had truly inherited the blood of the Lan family and had a passion for the country and the people.
It was a pity that she was a woman. There were many great things she couldn't participate in, and he didn't want to tell her either, lest it increase her troubles. He privately just wanted her to live carefree.
As for those intrigues and deceptions, he wanted to block them all for her.
But seeing her work so hard, his impulse to send her away gradually weakened.
It was a long time before Song Yinghuai said, "Do you think she's doing quite well?"
Han Fen was stunned for a moment. When he realized who "she" in Song Yinghuai's words referred to, he immediately nodded without hesitation:
"Miss Caiyu is very good. This subordinate sees that she's working as hard as the other soldiers. If she were a man, this subordinate thinks she would do excellently."
Song Yinghuai nodded. "Then let her be. I can't stop someone from being loyal to the country and bringing benefits to the people, right?"
Han Fen was overjoyed.
It seemed that the lord had recognized Miss Caiyu's efforts and was no longer angry that she had come up the mountain without permission, right?
But why did he still look as cold as ice?
Han Fen had no idea that what Song Yinghuai was most angry about wasn't that Caiyu had come up the mountain without permission, but that since she wanted to come up the mountain, why didn't she mingle with his own troops but chose to come up with Sheng Jiangli?
In her heart, was he always less trustworthy and reliable than Sheng Jiangli?
Caiyu in the distance naturally didn't know that her clever idea of coming up the mountain to make contributions and get a chance to rehabilitate the Lan family had been misunderstood by others...
On another high mountain peak, Suobude urged Sheng Jiangli in front of him to go down for dinner:
"General, the kitchen has already cooked the porridge. Miss Qingqing cooked it herself. Go down and have some!"
Sheng Jiangli was sitting on a protruding mound, chewing on a sweet root, silently looking at the busy figure in the distance:
"I won't eat. I have no appetite."
Suobude followed his gaze. The small figure at the foot of the mountain, which was completely different from the other seven-foot-tall men, was particularly eye-catching.
Suobude was silent. "General... is it because she won't eat that you won't eat either?"
"Yeah." Sheng Jiangli nodded noncommittally. "Little Sister Caiyu is so busy that she doesn't eat. How can I, a grown man, have the nerve to go and eat first?"
"If you feel sorry for her, I can just bring her a portion of food and let her eat first. Why do both of you have to go hungry? General, are you afraid that the Prince of Yan will come and stop you?"
Sheng Jiangli spat out the grass root in his mouth and said disdainfully, "Why should I be afraid of him? I just don't want Little Sister Caiyu to be special as soon as she comes. All the soldiers here are doing their best for the people. If Little Sister Caiyu goes to eat alone, it will chill the hearts of the other soldiers. It's a big taboo in leading an army! Do you understand!"
"Ah, I understand!" Suobude nodded repeatedly. "Then I'll go and eat. You can just stay hungry!"
Suobude sighed.
Miss Qingqing had specially made the spiced porridge for General Sheng. Unexpectedly, there was someone who didn't understand the amorous feelings and only wanted to accompany a beauty who didn't belong to him to go hungry.
Sheng Jiangli didn't feel hungry at all.
As long as he could see Caiyu, he was happy. Not to mention skipping one meal, he could even skip three meals.
Under the starlight and in the gentle breeze.
The three of them each occupied a corner, allowing time to pass, forming a picture.
In a room in the east wing of Qixia Temple.
Qingqing brought in the cooked porridge. Lü Baiwei was waiting in the room.
She looked haggard and pale, groaning with her eyes closed, looking like a real patient infected with the plague.
However, after Qingqing put the white porridge aside, she said:
"Get up, Your Ladyship. It's me."
Lü Baiwei immediately opened her eyes and sat up. Her eyes were black and bright, showing no sign of illness.
"Your Ladyship has good acting skills. I just don't know if the Prince of Yan will feel sorry for you." Qingqing mocked lightly.
Although Lü Baiwei was her savior, Qingqing didn't think much of Lü Baiwei's character.
Obeying her was simply to repay her life.
Lü Baiwei's face twisted a little. "Xuan Yao... he just came to take a distant look and then left. He only told the servants to take good care of me."
"I thought so too. Especially since Elder Sister Caiyu has also come up the mountain, the Prince of Yan will be even less likely to come and see Your Ladyship." Qingqing sighed. "Your Ladyship, since the lord has already promised to help Young Master Zhu become the crown prince, why do you have to cause more trouble..."
"That man is not something we little women can control."
Meigu on the side said unhappily, "What Your Ladyship has in mind, what do you, a little girl, know! You've never experienced love or the heartlessness of men. You don't know that if a man isn't tied down by a woman's feelings, he can turn against you at any time."
"Just like the Crown Prince. He has no feelings for our lady, so no matter how much our lady tries to please him, even gives birth to children for him, he won't care about any affection at all."
There was a glint of tears in Lü Baiwei's eyes. "If the Crown Prince ascends the throne, the first person he'll execute is me. In the future, I'll either die a violent death or die of old age in the cold palace... So, Qingqing, don't blame me for competing with Caiyu. If I don't win Xuan Yao over, he may turn against me at any time in the future."
"What crown prince... even if Zhu'er becomes the emperor, if Xuan Yao has no feelings to consider, it'll be as easy as flipping his hand for his several hundred thousand Yan troops to overthrow Zhu'er."
"I'm also forced to do this!"
Qingqing's fingertips trembled slightly.
Although she was young, she had seen through the warmth and coldness of human relationships.
She had experienced wars and the struggle for the throne.
Back then, when Lü Baiwei passed by a pile of corpses and heard her dreamy voice, she had someone dig her out. Later, she entered the Vermilion Bird Camp and spied on information for the emperor. She had seen countless cases of heartlessness and cruelty.
She knew that Lü Baiwei's plan was right.
If one wanted to achieve their goal, they always had to sacrifice something else, either others or other things.
Seeing her silent, Lü Baiwei knew that she actually agreed with her words and felt relieved.
She slowly drank the porridge and said, "I don't need you to do anything to harm her. In the future, you just need to cooperate with me and act a bit so that Xuan Yao will come and take care of me more often."