Mei Xin lived in the front courtyard.
She had no injuries, ate well, and slept well, and soon became full of life.
She thought about walking around the courtyard to find Shen Yun.
However, the front courtyard was not large, and she finished her tour in no time, and also found Shen Yun as she wished.
But the other party did not speak to her.
He even ignored her directly.
He walked past her and went into a narrow passage from the front courtyard to the back courtyard.
She was about to chase after him, but was stopped by Zi Cao, who Su Xiao Qi had sent to attend to her personally.
"I'm sorry, Miss Mei, that passage leads to the back courtyard. Without Madam's permission, outsiders are not allowed to enter."
"Outsider, Miss Zi Cao, you must be mistaken. How could I be an outsider?
I came back with your master. Can't you see my relationship with him?" Mei Xin reprimanded with clear displeasure.
According to her former status, ladies and young ladies of official families would greet and pay their respects to her.
Now, even such an ordinary young maid dared to lecture her.
This was the importance of status.
Once there was a deviation, she would never be able to return to her former self.
"Then I apologize, but I am only responsible for serving Miss Mei well." Zi Cao felt uncomfortable with Mei Xin's lack of self-awareness.
However, as she said herself, she was just a maid and could not make any decisions.
Why argue with her?
There was no benefit to winning.
As steady as she was, she never engaged in pointless disputes.
This was also what Su Xiao Qi valued about her.
"Hmph, you do know your place. If I can't go there, can I go out for a walk?" Mei Xin was very angry.
She wanted to go out for a walk, at least to know where she was.
Since the Madam had not given any instructions, Zi Cao could not refuse, so she nodded and agreed, leading her towards the manor.
Unexpectedly, and perhaps by Mei Xin's good fortune, she spotted Shen Yun at a glance.
Logically, one passed directly through the manor and came out from the back courtyard to the manor, while the other came from the front gate and took a longer route, so they should not have met.
But Shen Yun happened to be standing there watching Su Xiao Qi for a long time, which allowed Mei Xin to catch up.
This made it seem as if Shen Yun was deliberately waiting there for her to encounter him.
Mei Xin was very happy to see Shen Yun in a field of rice.
She even raised her eyebrows and looked at Zi Cao as if to provoke her.
The meaning was: You wanted to stop me from seeing him, but I met him just by casually taking a walk.
This was destined fate, which could not be blocked.
Zi Cao's position was higher, and she could see not only Shen Yun but also Su Xiao Qi sitting under the ginkgo tree.
She lowered her head, focusing on her nose and mind.
But in her heart, she regretted bringing Mei Xin along.
She really did not intend to cause trouble for her mistress.
But because of this woman, she had done such a thing.
She could only try her best to block Mei Xin, preventing her from getting close to Shen Yun.
But who was Mei Xin? Having finally found a valuable connection, why would she give it up?
Seeing Shen Yun at this moment, she was like a dog seeing a bone.
She rushed forward a few steps, and as she got closer, she also saw Su Xiao Qi.
At this moment, Shen Yun had just sat down.
The husband and wife sat side by side, and he even gently rested Su Xiao Qi's head on his shoulder.
He was so gentle, it made one's heart flutter.
Mei Xin's heart trembled.
A voice in her heart screamed at her to rush forward and snatch back this man who originally belonged to her.
But she didn't.
She was very clear about Shen Yun's attitude towards her.
Even without Su Xiao Qi present, he could ignore her.
If she did it in front of Su Xiao Qi, he would surely make her lose face.
Then how could she snatch him away from Su Xiao Qi in the future?
Mei Xin stopped in time, closed her eyes, and ran towards the direction of the manor.
Zi Cao was somewhat surprised by Mei Xin's sudden behavior, but she did not go forward to disturb her mistress, and her heart inexplicably relaxed.
That's good, that's good.
Su Xiao Qi had actually seen Mei Xin long ago.
She simply did not want to speak.
However, Shen Yun was sitting with his back turned, so he did not see Mei Xin behind him.
Therefore, he was still talking to Su Xiao Qi about Jiangning Prefecture.
He spoke of Jiangning Prefecture's prosperity, its status as a land of fish and rice, and how it was lined with shops selling goods brought back from maritime trade, which were unavailable anywhere else in Daliang.
He also said that on the way back, he saw that Jiangjin was suffering from a drought, and many rice fields had dried up.
The paddy fields, which were originally irrigated, were cracked open by the sun, as hard as stones.
Upon hearing this, Su Xiao Qi's eyes finally sparkled with interest.
"Is it only the Jiangjin area, or are there other places?" Su Xiao Qi remembered that the book mentioned many other places had also experienced drought.
The rice that was supposed to form ears of grain had been directly scorched to death.
The summer harvest would likely be a complete failure.
"The places we passed through, Jiangjin, Ludi, and Yizhou, all had drought conditions."
"It seems this year is truly a drought year." Su Xiao Qi looked up, her mood somewhat heavy.
After bringing up this topic, neither of them had the inclination to discuss trivial matters of romance anymore.
Instead, they discussed it seriously.
"If there is a drought, will the imperial court provide disaster relief?" Su Xiao Qi remembered that the Daliang dynasty should have such a plan, she just wanted to ask more clearly.
Shen Yun said that there naturally would be, but if the affected areas were too widespread and severe, even if the imperial court allocated grain for disaster relief, it would be a drop in the bucket.
"I have read many local gazettes of Daliang, which state that 'drought is always followed by locusts,' and that drought is often accompanied by locust plagues."
This would exacerbate the disaster.
Shen Yun nodded, understanding what she meant.
But at present, his influence was limited, and even if he rashly advised Emperor Xingzhao, the emperor might not listen to him.
Su Xiao Qi also knew that Shen Yun was a man with great ambitions.
In her previous life, after he became a powerful minister who held sway over everything, although he was somewhat autocratic, many of the decisions he made were beneficial to the people's livelihood.
Su Xiao Qi recalled that in her previous life, after Shen Yun had become the Grand Secretariat,
A locust plague occurred south of the sixteen prefectures of Youzhou. He personally went to the fields to study it, leading the Ministry of Revenue and local county yamen officials into the fields to find ways to control and exterminate locusts.
And he wrote the "Method for Locust Control."
"My wife, shall we return to the capital?" Shen Yun whispered.
Su Xiao Qi frowned and thought for a moment before shaking her head, "Not now. The old madam and my mother are afraid of the heat.
The nights in the capital are very hot, and they find it hard to sleep. I have to stay here with them until this period passes before we can go back."
Su Xiao Qi was showing filial piety, and Shen Yun had nothing to say.
He could only agree, feeling a bit disappointed.
He held Su Xiao Qi's hand. Su Xiao Qi struggled for a moment, but could not break free, so she let him.
"Imperial Censor Wang will return to the capital in three days. Before then, I must return to the palace to report this matter to the Emperor." This was his explanation to her as to why he was eager to return to the capital.
Su Xiao Qi was indifferent, "Politics are important."
He was an official now, and unlike before, he could not casually come out to play with her.
The consequences of taking unauthorized leave in the Daliang dynasty were severe.
At best, it would result in a caning, and at worst, losing his position or even his head.
"My wife... we haven't seen each other for a long time, don't you... miss me?" Shen Yun's hand slowly moved upwards, from her waist to her back.
Reaching her nape, he gently held her head, narrowed his phoenix eyes, leaned forward, and softly pressed his lips onto Su Xiao Qi's tender and pure lips.
"Mmm..." Su Xiao Qi let out a soft gasp, her voice completely swallowed by Shen Yun.