Seeing her puzzled gaze, Mu Changxi simply took off his outer garment and handed it to Song Chaoyu, "Here, you smell it!"
Sometimes Song Chaoyu felt that Mu Changxi was like a child.
Taking off his clothes, he looked at her eagerly, what was this about?
Song Chaoyu smiled and shook her head, took the clothes, and then smelled them. There was a faint scent of powder on them.
It wasn't strong, but it was enough for anyone to smell clearly.
Song Chaoyu finally understood what Mu Changxi meant; he disliked the smell of the powder!
However... Song Chaoyu also found it unpleasant, so she walked towards their luggage, "I'll pick out some clothes for you. But what do you plan to do about the situation here?"
Mu Changxi, who had been relaxed and joking with Song Chaoyu with his clothes, suddenly turned cold, "I don't know what they really want. I still want to go to Haizhou first. We can deal with other matters on the way back, what do you think?"
Song Chaoyu felt that this was for the best.
One must bide their time to achieve greatness later, wasn't that right?
Song Chaoyu nodded, "Then we won't linger here. Shall we depart on another day?"
Mu Changxi nodded, "I don't plan to go to Yizhou either. Since Mu Hansu's territories are likely similar, it's better for us to go directly to Haizhou and catch them off guard. What do you say?"
In fact, there was no need to ask Song Chaoyu about such matters.
But it seemed that ever since they left, no matter where they went or what decisions they made, Mu Changxi would ask for Song Chaoyu's opinion.
It was just like when they were at the manor, making Song Chaoyu feel that she was getting closer and closer to the Mu Changxi of the past.
---
Hearing that they were leaving, Lord Han and Lady Han were naturally unwilling.
Especially Lord Han, who sat before Mu Changxi with a bitter expression, "Your Highness Prince Chang, the person has been beaten and punished. Should the Prince have calmed down by now? It would be good to stay for a couple more days, wouldn't it? We can also come up with a plan to see how best to receive those disaster victims!"
Actually, Song Chaoyu understood that Lord Han's "enthusiasm" was simply because he had his eyes on the large amount of disaster relief funds they had.
And this was only the first batch. After Mu Changxi arrived in Haizhou, if needed, he could ask the imperial court for a second, third batch...
Wasn't this what Mu Hansu did in his previous life?
Then he would split it with the corrupt officials in these prefectures, and in the end, all the disaster relief funds would fall into their hands, with no connection to the disaster victims at all!
Even those disaster victims who rose up in resistance would be labeled as "rioters," with some dying and others fleeing.
If the imperial court hadn't accumulated enough wealth and popular support through generations of wise rulers, they wouldn't have been able to act so outrageously.
But with Mu Hansu acting so recklessly, how long could the imperial court remain prosperous?
Song Chaoyu suddenly thought of what Mu Changxi had told her about the dream he had.
In the dream, Mu Changxi personally ended Mu Hansu's life.
What happened after that?
Would the entire Great Yue Dynasty have another wise ruler to take over, or would it collapse and eventually become history?
Song Chaoyu suddenly felt a sense of enlightenment.
If what they were doing now could save the Great Yue Dynasty and benefit its people, then even if the path ahead was fraught with danger, she was willing to face it with Mu Changxi.
Mu Changxi, seeing the shrewdness in Lord Han's eyes, simply smiled slightly, "Let's talk about it after we return from Haizhou. For now, we must see what the situation in Haizhou is like, shouldn't we?"
"Sigh!"
Lord Han's gaze involuntarily fell on Mu Changxi's legs.
Perhaps in his mind, Mu Changxi's legs were already crippled, making him a person of no ability.
Therefore, his words became even bolder, "Actually, there's not much to see. The relief procedures from previous years are all there, just follow them. Those disaster victims always like to cause trouble, and it's fine to suppress them. When we return to the capital, I hope Your Highness will speak well of me to the Emperor. As for the benefits of disaster relief... I will naturally help Your Highness manage it, and I will definitely not let Your Highness suffer any losses."
Anger was the only thought in Song Chaoyu's mind at this moment.
To think that a prefectural official would actually offer such advice to the prince responsible for disaster relief.
How could the disaster be alleviated? How could the hearts of the disaster victims be settled?
Mu Changxi's eyes also held a hint of coldness, but he did not let Lord Han see it.
He offered no explanation, only stating, "This King says that we will depart tomorrow morning."
Lord Han frowned, unsure of Mu Changxi's intentions. However, seemingly for the sake of the disaster relief funds, he did not want to offend Mu Changxi too much, and quickly nodded, "Alright, alright, alright! Since Prince Chang insists, it is indeed better to go to Haizhou early. I will prepare for Your Highness immediately, please rest assured."
In fact, after seeing these two prefectures, Song Chaoyu felt that they didn't need to go to Yizhou anymore.
They should head directly to Haizhou City.
When they left Yuezhou, Lord Han prepared many things for them to take on the road.
Song Chaoyu did not refuse. After all, Lord Han's possessions were obtained by extorting countless people, weren't they?
It wasn't a big deal for them to use them.
---
The carriage traveled towards the outskirts of Yuezhou City, and after a long journey, it only paused briefly in Yizhou territory.
However, this time the stop was not for any other reason, but because they were about to "split into two groups."
One group, led by Xiao Ruizhi, would impersonate Mu Changxi and head into Haizhou City to confuse everyone's attention.
The other group, consisting of Mu Changxi and Song Chaoyu, disguised as traveling merchants, would blend in with the disaster victims and head towards Ping'an County first.
However, one thing was that Mu Changxi's wooden wheelchair looked too conspicuous.
It was Xu Yuan who offered a suggestion: Mu Changxi should not use the wheelchair, but instead use crutches. Many disaster victims were injured or already disabled, but no one could afford a wooden wheelchair like this. Crutches, on the other hand, would not attract attention.
Song Chaoyu knew Mu Changxi's situation and naturally wasn't worried about him "not knowing how" to use crutches.
And to make it more convincing, they didn't even buy new crutches, but bought old ones used by others.
After changing their clothes, the few of them truly looked like traveling merchants.
"Madam."
Mu Changxi turned back, looking at Song Chaoyu, who had also changed into different clothes, and smiled slightly, "I hope you can forgive me for enduring hardship together with your husband."
With so many servants around, what was he playing at?