The princess has super powers and space, so what's wrong with being a little arrogant?

Mu Xiyue kissed him on the cheek and said, "Xiao Yibai, I like what you said, as long as you don't say one thing and mean another."

After the two of them talked for a while, they brought the topic back to where it had strayed.

Xiao Yibai hugged Mu Xiyue and showed her the documents on the table. "The Emperor has sent Fourth Brother to provide disaster relief and investigate the cause of the flood. He'll leave early tomorrow morning. This is the flood control map constructed in Jingtong County last year. Are there any similar examples where you used to live?"

Mu Xiyue carefully read the document in his hand, which contained diagrams and textual descriptions. Jingtong County was not large, covering an area of approximately a hundred miles. To the west of Jingtong County were high mountains, and in the valley halfway up the mountain lay a large lake.

There are four towns on the edges of the east, south and north sides of the entire county, whose terrain is much higher than the middle, while there are five towns in the middle with low terrain. The area of fertile land is not small. In years without floods, the grain output of these fertile lands is 10% to 20% higher than that of other places. This is one of the reasons why the court was unwilling to give up this land.

During years of heavy rainfall, not only do the lakes in the valley overflow, but rainwater from the surrounding Jingtong County also converges on these five lowest-lying towns. Due to the climate, Jingtong County receives the most rainfall in the entire Tianqi Kingdom. Despite flood control measures being built after each flood, floods still occur every three to five years.

Mu Xiyue didn't have any expertise in this area, but judging by the documents, she could tell that the plan was likely to be effective. As for why flooding had occurred again this year, Mu Xiyue's limited understanding suggested that either last year's project had been less rigorous, with shoddy workmanship and materials cut, or else factors had arisen that hadn't been considered previously.

Xiao Yibai agreed with her analysis. "Well, you're right. We'll have a conclusion within half a month at most. The Xianwang Mansion will be publicly soliciting donations tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, so we should also make a statement."

Mu Xiyue was a little surprised. "Is this a fundraising campaign for the flood? Have there been such fundraising campaigns in previous years? How much should I donate?"

"Every time there's a serious disaster, the Xianwang Mansion will organize a fundraising event like this. All donations of silver, grain, or medicinal herbs will be publicly announced, along with where the silver was ultimately spent and the distribution of the grain and herbs. In previous years, some donated tens of thousands of taels of silver. Besides the common people, even the daughters and sons of officials donated hundreds, and some even thousands."

This is somewhat similar to modern fundraising. "In my previous world, there were also fundraising activities like this. I didn't expect the Xianwang Mansion to have such advanced ideas. Such a public fundraising will make the young men and women of such a wealthy family contribute a little bit. When does it start tomorrow?"

Mu Xiyue looked so eager to donate money that Xiao Yibai laughed out loud, "How much are you planning to donate?"

Mu Xiyue thought for a moment and said, "It's not appropriate to donate too much. Not only will it attract attention, but my income is limited, and giving out too much money at once will arouse suspicion. When the emperor made me a princess, he rewarded me with 5,000 taels of gold. I will donate all of it."

There was no morning court on the second day, so Mu Xiyue and Xiao Yibai went to Prince Xian's Mansion after breakfast.

There were five fundraising stalls at the entrance of Prince Xian's Mansion. In front of each stall was a bookkeeper, a cashier, and the imperial guards sent by the emperor to help maintain order.

When Mu Xiyue arrived, there were already many people donating silver at the gate of Prince Xian's Mansion, including ordinary people and dignitaries. When everyone saw Xiao Yibai and Mu Xiyue getting off the carriage, they all saluted.

Xiao Yibai raised his hand and said to everyone, "Please stand up, everyone. There's no need for formalities. The princess and I are here today for the same reason as you all. Thank you all for your generosity."

As he said this, he asked someone to unload the gold from the car behind and took Mu Xiyue to the stall to register.

When Princess Qinyang heard that Mu Xiyue had donated money, she hurried out of the mansion. She happened to see the guards carrying the gold to the wall. The accountant recorded it and sang, "His Royal Highness Prince Jin donated 50,000 taels of silver, and Princess Xinping donated 5,000 taels of gold."

Princess Qinyang was stunned for a moment, thinking she'd misheard. Xiao Yibai had always donated 20,000 taels, so his donation of 50,000 wasn't surprising; after all, he could afford it. But Mu Xiyue's donation of 5,000 gold was equivalent to 50,000 silver taels. No young lady had ever donated so much.

Qin Yang walked up to Mu Xiyue and whispered, "Xin Ping, why did you donate so much? Did you donate the betrothal gift that your fifth brother gave you?"

Mu Xiyue chuckled, "That's impossible. I can't afford much of a dowry myself. If I donate the betrothal gift Xiao Yibai gave me, I'll have no dowry at all. These five thousand taels of gold were given to me by the Emperor when he made me a princess. I was going to add to my dowry, but now I'm donating it all. It's my humble contribution."

Qin Yang admired Mu Xiyue very much after hearing this. She couldn't do this. After all, Mu Xiyue had only been back from the countryside for less than a year and her income was limited.

Xiao Yibai and Mu Xiyue were invited into Prince Xian's mansion. Outside, everything was exploding as if a frying pan had been filled with water.

Mu Xiyue spoke without hiding what she said just now. Many people who came to donate money heard it and were talking about it.

Although there were a few people who were sarcastic and jealous, most people praised Mu Xiyue highly. If you ask yourself, there are very few people who can achieve this with Mu Xiyue's apparent wealth.

It's just that outsiders don't know how much money Mu Xiyue has. If it were really just five thousand taels of gold, Mu Xiyue wouldn't donate it like this. She's not a philanthropist. Mu Xiyue donated so much mainly because she had gained too much ill-gotten gains during this period. She donated more to feel at ease.

In the main hall of the Xianwang Mansion, the Xianwang said with a smile: "Xinping and Jinzhi can just call me uncle. You donated all the gold awarded by the emperor. All the young ladies in the city will hate you."

Mu Xiyue smiled and said, "Not really, not really. Everyone should do what they can. It's good to have such intentions. I am just doing my best."

The virtuous king laughed heartily, "No wonder Jin Zhi insisted on marrying you. No other noblewoman in the capital can match your courage."

Xiao Yibai was laughing proudly beside him, as if he was very proud of it. "Uncle Wang is right. Yueyue is the best woman in the world."

The news of Mu Xiyue and Xiao Yibai's donation soon reached the ears of the princes.

The emperor also knew that Prince Rui's palace had been robbed. Prince Rui had donated 20,000 taels of silver in previous years. He had originally planned to donate only 5,000 taels this time. Anyway, everyone knew that the palace had been robbed, so it was understandable that he donated so little.

Now that Xiao Yibai and Mu Xiyue were together, if he only donated 5,000 taels, it would be too shabby in comparison, so Prince Rui gritted his teeth and donated 10,000 taels.

The King of Qi was a man of deep thoughts. He didn't like to do things that would attract attention, so he donated 20,000 taels in a proper manner.

The Sixth Prince, the most business-savvy of the princes, donated 30,000 taels, as before. The Seventh Prince, the youngest and with the least assets, also donated only 10,000 taels.

Although the Second Prince had been stripped of his title of Prince, everything else in the Prince's Palace was operating normally. He had kept a low profile since the incident, but today he made a high-profile donation of 50,000 taels.

The fundraising lasted for three days, and a total of more than 600,000 silver taels were raised, as well as food and various herbs.