Shen Qingwan's body has not fully recovered yet, but she can't rest and always has to go outside to check the flood situation.
That day, Lianyun brought her some nourishing medicine as usual, but she frowned and pushed it away.
"My condition is fine now. I don't need to take any more medicine." Smelling the bitter smell in the air, she rarely showed her temper.
Since she was a child, she has disliked the smell of medicinal herbs and is even more resistant to taking medicine, so she has always tried her best to stay healthy.
Poor Yun refused to give in, and brought the medicine to her again, saying seriously: "Your Majesty is busy every day, even if it is not a serious matter, you should take some supplements."
Although Lianyun persuaded her to take the medicine, she was also secretly blaming her for running out without caring about her health, and now she was talking about the medicine.
Shen Qingwan naturally heard the sarcasm in the words, but she just curled the corners of her mouth, glanced at her with a slightly coquettish look, then frowned, and drank it all in one gulp while resisting the urge to take a sip.
As soon as he finished drinking, he picked up the candied fruit on the table and put it in his mouth. When the bitter taste in his mouth faded a little, he spoke, "What are Governor Li's plans for today?"
"I heard that the governor will send people to repair the dam today, so I will leave soon." Lianyun said dutifully.
Building a dam is an important project for flood control, and there must be no mistakes. If she doesn't supervise it personally, she is afraid that something might go wrong.
He frowned and returned to his usual cold expression, "Go and talk to Governor Li for a while. I'll go with you."
"But..." Lianyun frowned worriedly when she heard this, "My lady, if you don't want to take the medicine, just rest for a few more days."
But Shen Qingwan had already stood up gracefully, and curled her lips towards the anxious Lianyun, with a quiet and calm smile on her cheeks.
"If I can save the people from the dire straits, I will have no complaints even if I have to drink a few more cups of medicine." After saying that, he turned around and changed into casual clothes.
Lianyun couldn't persuade her, nor did she dare to disobey her orders, so she could only pout, suppress her worries, and go find Li Chaoyang.
It was good to have Shen Qingwan as the supervisor, and it would also reassure her, but Li Chaoyang was also worried that she would not be able to hold on, and then he would be the one to bear the blame if the emperor blamed him! But he could not persuade this virtuous concubine to change her temper, so he had to make arrangements for her.
As she wished, Shen Qingwan politely declined the superior seat and resting place arranged for her by Li Chaoyang. If she just wanted to go through the motions, there was no need to do so.
The men who were repairing the dam were all dressed in cloth, and their faces were shiny dark under the sun. She frowned solemnly, and looking at these hard-working people, she couldn't help but sigh at the class into which people are born.
She can enjoy wealth and glory without doing any work, just because of her family's honor, while these people need to work ten or a hundred times harder to get one thousandth of the reward.
Seeing that she was lost in thought, Li Chaoyang said, "Your Majesty, your body is not well yet, so there is no need for you to come and inspect it. I will do my best to supervise you."
Shen Qingwan's clear eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of gray sand, but her voice was clear, "Don't you know that seeing is believing? If I don't keep an eye on it, how can I know if there is anything wrong?"
She was not afraid that Li Chaoyang was a corrupt official who would do some superficial work to deal with the situation while enriching himself in private, but she wanted to make herself feel at ease so that she could be worthy of the people and the emperor who were in trouble.
Hearing this, Li Chaoyang couldn't help but secretly wipe his sweat. Realizing his nervousness and uneasiness, Shen Qingwan chuckled, "I am the emperor's eyes, so this trip is worthwhile."
"Your Majesty is right. It was I who was rash."
In response, she simply curled her lips slightly and looked at the huge project in front of her without blinking.
At this time, a sudden situation occurred. A man who was repairing the dam suddenly fainted and hit the bricks on the ground. The movement was quite loud, and the people who were repairing stopped what they were doing and turned around to look at the man who fell.
Shen Qingwan's expression froze when she saw this, and she watched as some people came down to surround her.
"He fainted!"
"What's going on? Is his life in danger?" She didn't care about anything else and rushed forward to check. She squatted down beside the man, who was a young man with a pale face and sweat on his forehead.
"Are you okay?" She bent down and called softly, trying to see if he still responded.
Li Chaoyang also rushed over, looking solemn, "Madam, I'm afraid he has fainted."
Shen Qingwan raised her eyelids slightly, her lips tightly closed, and even her breath revealed nervousness and urgency, "Send someone to get a doctor." She then said to the people next to her, "Help you carry him to the tree over there."
Those stunned people listened to her calm command and quickly responded. Shen Qingwan helped them to support the man.
In the busy crowd, no one noticed that there was a handsome man in a dark blue brocade robe standing not far away, watching what had just happened.
Throughout the whole process, his gaze was involuntarily drawn to the woman in plain clothes. Her every serious movement and look were deeply imprinted in his mind and could not be erased.
Even though he was standing a little far away, he seemed to still be able to feel the coldness emanating from her inside out, but at that moment it was a little different. Regardless of her identity or gender, she was only thinking about what was at stake.
His brows, which had been cold for many days, finally showed some smile. Perhaps he himself did not even realize that the corners of his mouth were raised, and his heart was moved slightly.
After a while, the doctor came trotting over and said that he fainted suddenly because he was unable to adapt to the high-intensity work and was not well fed.
Shen Qingwan felt relieved after hearing this. She left the man in the care of the doctor and walked to Li Chaoyang to discuss the repair with him.
"We've just experienced a flood, and the people are left without clothes to wear and food to eat. The food during this period needs to be improved." Her voice was calm and powerful, with an irrefutable tone.
Li Chaoyang nodded in agreement. Just when Shen Qingwan wanted to say something, she suddenly heard footsteps behind her, approaching her.
She turned around in confusion and was stunned. Even Li Chaoyang opened his eyes in horror and immediately knelt down.
"Your humble servant Li Chaoyang pays respect to His Majesty. Long live the emperor!"
As soon as they heard Li Chaoyang's call, everyone immediately knelt down and saluted.
Only Shen Qingwan was still in a daze. Looking at the familiar face in front of her, she couldn't help but feel a sour nose and an unspeakable emotion growing in her heart.
When she came to her senses and looked at the people kneeling around her, she realized that she should bow, but just as she bowed, he stepped forward and held her hand.
There was some tenderness in her voice, "No need to be polite outside the palace." Then she said to Li Chaoyang sternly, "Get up."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Li Chaoyang was very excited to see the emperor, but Fu Yuheng just told him to get busy first.