The Emperor, with more men than women, made me his mistress.

They wanted to make sure the grove was safe before their masters went in to rest.

At the same time, Jin Chenyuan and Shao Qi both pulled on the reins, slowing down the horses' running speed.

Seeing Yue Li still trying to charge forward on horseback, Jin Chenyuan stopped her, saying, "Wait a minute, let Haoyun and the others check it out before we go in."

Pulling on the reins, he stopped the horse, looked at Jin Chenyuan and Shao Qi who had slowed down, and then at Hao Yun and the others who were already searching through the woods.

Yue Li swallowed back the question that was about to come out: "Check what?"

Forget it, they were raised in luxury, so this is normal for them. How can their lifestyle be the same as ours?

Before Yue Li could finish complaining in her heart, Hao Yun rode out on horseback and said, "Master, you can go in now."

"it is good."

After replying to Haoyun, Jin Chenyuan said to Yue Li, who was standing next to him, "Yue Li, let's go in."

"okay."

When the three of them tied their horses to the edge of the woods and entered the grove, they found that a stove had already been set up in a clearing inside the woods.

Seeing this, Yue Li asked in surprise, "Are they going to cook?"

Didn't Jin Chenyuan say we could stay at the inn tonight? Why are they having someone cook for us now?

Jin Chenyuan, who was walking beside him, shook his head and said, "We won't cook lunch today. We bought some dry food in the city when we came, so let's just make do with this for now. We'll have a better meal when we stay at the post station tonight."

"Then what's this?" Yue Li pointed to the stove that had already been set up.

She knew that Jin Chenyuan had asked someone to buy dry food before she arrived. She was going to prepare some herself, since the food and dry food she had prepared before were still in her space.

If she doesn't prepare some food, and she can't take food out of her space in front of everyone while traveling, is she supposed to watch others eat while she goes hungry?

However, when she was about to buy some dry food, Jin Chenyuan stopped her and said that he would have his men prepare some for her as well.

So even now, Yue Li still doesn't know what kind of food Jin Chenyuan had his men prepare.

Looking in the direction Yue Li was pointing, Jin Chenyuan calmly replied, "I'll have them boil some hot water for everyone to drink. Although it's hot now, it's still better not to drink cold water."

Upon hearing this, Yue Li realized she had misunderstood; it wasn't about cooking, but rather that this person was very particular.

However, Yue Li strongly agrees that not drinking unboiled water is a good habit.

After all, she learned the common sense of not drinking unboiled water when she was a primary school student in modern times.

Shao Qi, standing to the side, glanced at Jin Chenyuan strangely, wondering when he had developed the habit of not drinking cold water.

When they arrived at Qingyuan Prefecture, they were rushing along the road, carrying water bags. Although the water in the water bags was boiled and then cooled, it was still cold water!

However, when Shao Qi saw Yue Li standing next to him, whose cheeks were flushed from the heat, he understood.

Prince Chen is taking Yue Li's feelings into consideration, since in their hearts, young women need to be pampered.

To be honest, this was the first time Shao Qi had ever seen a young girl riding a horse just like them, and for an entire morning at that.

In Kyoto, all the noble ladies he had met traveled long distances in comfortable carriages, each carrying a cartload of luggage.

Think about those noble ladies who travel by carriage, requiring two carriages to carry their luggage, and then look at Yue Li, who rides a horse with a small, flat bundle. The difference is indeed quite significant.

However, upon glancing at his two bundles hanging on Tian Dong's horse, he realized that he was carrying more bundles than Yue Li.

Judging from this, Yue Li's behavior really doesn't seem like that of a young lady.

However, Shao Qi was also quite curious to see the aloof Prince Chen showing such tenderness towards women for the first time.

The guards over there were lighting a fire to boil water, while Yue Li and the other two found a clean spot and sat down to eat the dry rations they had brought.

She picked up a piece that looked like sliced ​​beef, took a bite, but couldn't tell what kind of meat it was. After swallowing the meat, Yue Li asked, "What kind of meat is this? It's not beef, is it?"

She knew that in this era, it was not allowed to slaughter cattle privately. Even during the year she lived in Qingshan Village, the villagers were very meticulous in raising cattle.

Yue Li was aware of this.

Ancient times?

Farming requires oxen for plowing; without oxen, farmers would have to work much harder.

Therefore, Yue Li agrees with the government's order prohibiting the private killing of oxen for plowing.

“It’s not beef, Chuanbai said it’s mule meat.” Shaoqi tore the flatbread in half and stuffed the meat into it as he spoke.

"I really can't tell the difference," Yue Li said, stuffing another piece of meat into her mouth.

Knowing that Yue Li asked if it was because of the beef, Jin Chenyuan wasn't hungry, so he didn't rush to eat his dry rations. Instead, he sat down next to Yue Li and explained, "Actually, it's quite easy for officials or wealthy and powerful families to eat beef. After all, wealthy families all own estates, raise cattle on their own estates, and slaughter them for their own consumption. The government doesn't interfere."

“Yes, many families in Kyoto have estates specifically for raising cattle and horses,” Shao Qi added from the side.

"I know that, it's just a matter of 'the higher-ups have policies, the lower-downs have countermeasures'!" Yue Li said with a chuckle.

As expected, the saying "where there's a policy, there's a countermeasure" is applicable in any era.

Upon hearing Yue Li's words, Jin Chenyuan pondered their meaning and nodded with a smile, "That makes sense."

Anyway, as long as you don't kill the oxen that are plowing the fields, who will care where the beef you eat comes from?

Before Yue Li and the others could finish eating a biscuit, the hot water that had been boiled was brought up.

On the way, no one had time to make tea, so everyone just drank plain water.

Jin Chenyuan drank a couple of sips of water, but didn't eat any dry rations. He then stood up and went to the stove that had been set up.

Meanwhile, Yue Li and Shao Qi, who were eating roujiamo (a type of flatbread), didn't notice Jin Chenyuan's departure.

About fifteen minutes later, Yue Li, who was half full, stood up from the ground, patted the grass clippings off her body, and looked around.

Seeing Haoyun and Tiandong eating dry rations with their guards around, and then seeing Jin Chenyuan fiddling with something at the stove he had set up.

Seeing this, Yue Li curiously went over, and only when she got closer did she smell a faint fragrance wafting from the pot.

"Brother Chenyuan, what are you doing?"

Jin Chenyuan naturally noticed Yue Li's approach. He waved his hand, signaling Yue Li not to get so close to the fire. "It's hot now, don't get so close, or you'll get burned by the heat."

Upon hearing Jin Chenyuan say this, Yue Li noticed the layer of sweat on Jin Chenyuan's forehead.

"It's so hot, Brother Chenyuan, what are you doing?" Yue Li was genuinely curious.

Based on her observation, Jin Chenyuan was not someone who couldn't compromise, especially since Shao Qi had eaten dry rations while Jin Chenyuan was cooking something to eat on the road.