Lan Yan and Jun Yelan sat down and asked, "Have the matters in Ningzhou all been resolved?"
"Not yet, we haven't found a water source. Jun Yelan frowned. If this issue isn't resolved, Ningzhou will inevitably erupt in riots again. It's only treating the symptoms, not the root cause."
Lan Yan reached out and smoothed the worry lines between Jun Yelan's brows, smiling, "Jun Yelan, I mentioned going up the mountain to find water before. Why don't you go with me? Perhaps I'll be luckier and find it smoothly."
Of course, she needed to seek help from the system.
Jun Yelan had already arranged for people to search, but they hadn't yielded any results. He didn't hold out much hope. But now Lan Yan was looking at him with a smile in her eyes, so he nodded, "Alright."
"Then let's go immediately." Lan Yan was tired of staying in the mansion. She changed into comfortable clothes, took Jun Yelan's hand, and they headed out to the nearby mountains.
As for the route, Lan Yan naturally consulted the system. With her persistent pestering, the system finally revealed a little, only giving a general direction.
She was already content. After an upgrade, the system was much better than before.
Jun Yelan followed Lan Yan. Seeing Lan Yan mutter to herself for a while and then know the way, he found it strange but didn't ask. He treated it as accompanying Lan Yan on an outing.
Lan Yan stood on the mountainside, hands on her hips, muttering, "Strange, why haven't I found a water source yet? I don't believe it today!" She continued up the mountain, her face full of determination.
Jun Yelan behind her smiled helplessly and followed.
Lan Yan reached the summit, but all she saw were lush green plants, with no sign of water.
"Yan'er, it's getting late now. Let's go back first." Jun Yelan looked around, worried about wild beasts.
Lan Yan nodded in disappointment, preparing to descend the mountain. Just then, she heard the sound of water and hurried in the direction below, but it was too dark to see the exact path.
Her foot slipped, and she rolled down the mountainside.
"Yan'er." Jun Yelan grabbed Lan Yan's hand, shielding her, and rolled down the mountainside with her.
After an unknown amount of time, they were finally stopped by a rock and came to a halt.
Jun Yelan quickly got up, helped Lan Yan, and asked, "Yan'er, are you injured?"
Lan Yan moved her arm, and a sharp pain shot through it. She looked up and saw that Jun Yelan's clothes were torn and his face was injured. She said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Jun Yelan, it's all my fault for being too impatient."
"It's alright, as long as you're okay." Jun Yelan checked Lan Yan's arm and was relieved when he saw no fractures.
Lan Yan was filled with self-reproach when she heard the sound of flowing water. She looked at the cliff face ahead and saw water seeping out. She exclaimed, "There's water here, we found it!"
Excellent, the people of Ningzhou were saved, and Jun Yelan could complete his mission smoothly.
Jun Yelan walked over, touched the cliff face, and got cool water on his hand. "Yes, tomorrow we'll send people to excavate here and then divert a channel down. The fields here will have water."
"With food, the people can live."
Lan Yan couldn't stop nodding, joy radiating from her face. She wanted to clap, but her injured arm throbbed with pain again.
Jun Yelan supported Lan Yan's arm, his voice full of concern, "Yan'er, you need to rest properly now. I'll help you to the cave to sit down. It's late today, we'll have to spend the night here."
"Okay." Ever since finding the water source, Lan Yan felt that nothing was a problem anymore. She sat on a rock and watched Jun Yelan start a fire, smiling, "Yelan, no one will impeach you now. You're a great contributor."
Jun Yelan paused while gathering firewood and couldn't help but turn to hug Lan Yan. "Yan'er, you're doing all this for me, always thinking of me. I don't care if I'm a contributor or not, as long as you stay by my side."
"You were injured for me today, and the pain must be significant. Just this once, you've done this for me. From now on, let me do it for you, alright?"
Lan Yan placed her hands on Jun Yelan's back and smiled, "Who rushes to get hurt? When we were rolling down earlier, you protected me and were even more injured than I was. I know you just don't say it."
"Besides, we are husband and wife. If you achieve merit, I can naturally benefit from it too. So, don't think about those things anymore, I'm hungry."
Jun Yelan held back tears with great effort. Looking at Lan Yan's current appearance, he lowered his head and kissed her lips. It was a gentle kiss, and then he let go, allowing Lan Yan to lean against him as they watched the fire.
Lan Yan felt at ease and couldn't help but feel sleepy.
Jun Yelan took off his outer garment and draped it over Lan Yan's shoulders, quietly watching her sleeping face. He stayed awake all night, guarding her. For him, as long as Lan Yan was well, it was enough.
The next morning, the two of them descended the mountain.
Jun Yelan first had a doctor examine Lan Yan's injury and told her to rest well, while he organized people to handle the water source matter.
With her arm injured, Lan Yan had to stay in her room and, bored, started reading. Just then, she saw Song Cheng approach, holding a cage. "What is this?"
Song Cheng smiled, "The Chief Eunuch was worried you might be bored, Madam, so he asked me to bring you a cat. The Chief Eunuch also said he's very busy lately and asked you to take good care of your injury. He'll come to see you after he's done."
"Alright, please tell him to rest well." Lan Yan's attention was drawn to the little creature in the cage. The cat had pure white fur, with faint markings on its forehead, and its eyes were glaring fiercely at her.
She smiled, "Little one, are you scared here? Don't worry, I won't hurt you." She opened the cage, picked up the white cat, and stroked its fur.
The fierceness in the white cat's eyes immediately disappeared, and it comfortably nestled in Lan Yan's hands.
Seeing this, Lan Yan gently nuzzled the white cat's chin and chuckled, "You little thing, you really know how to enjoy yourself. I wonder where Yelan found you, so unafraid of people."
White Cat: I was caught on the mountain and am very fierce towards people.
Lan Yan then went to the kitchen to prepare a fish for the white cat, but the cat refused to eat it.
Furthermore, the white cat wriggled out of her hands and went straight for the raw meat on the chopping board.
Seeing this, Lan Yan couldn't help but wonder if this was truly a cat!
When Jun Yelan returned in the evening, he saw Lan Yan playing with the white cat and frowned. He stepped forward, picked up the white cat by the scruff of its neck, and said coldly, "Song Cheng, I asked him to find a cat, and he found a white tiger."
The white cat, its identity finally revealed, looked pitifully at Lan Yan.
Lan Yan held it in her arms and coaxed, "Yelan, let's just treat it as a cat. You don't need to argue with a cat. By the way, how is the excavation of the channel going?" She stroked the white cat's head and subtly placed it under the table, preventing Jun Yelan from fixating on it again.
Jun Yelan sat down, took Lan Yan's hand, and smiled, "I'll take you to see it tomorrow." This water source was found by Lan Yan, making her the greatest contributor.
"Okay." The next day, Lan Yan followed Jun Yelan to the foot of the mountain and watched the villagers diligently digging the channel. She was truly impressed.