Qiann Yan was not surprised by this, but instead asked about Jing Yunzhou.

"Recently, very little has been heard about him. Previously, he was suppressed by other princes in unison, so he might have temporarily gone into hiding," Ashui explained.

Qiann Yan always felt that Jing Yunzhou was plotting something. What Jing Yunzhou’s mind might concoct, she truly couldn’t predict.

In any case, it had little to do with her. She was documenting the landscapes and cuisines of Great Zhou, and once the situation in the Capital City stabilized, she planned to set off. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Ashui couldn’t help but say, "Why wait until then, Commandery Princess? Leaving now would be good, to avoid getting caught up in it."

Normally speaking, Ashui’s thoughts weren’t wrong.

But she needed to see Jing Yunzhou’s outcome. If, by chance, an unexpected event occurred and he truly succeeded in seizing power, then things wouldn’t be good.

"I’ll see Jing Yunzhou’s conclusion."

Ashui felt a pang of jealousy: "Does the Commandery Princess still care about Jing Yunzhou?"

"If he unexpectedly succeeded, it would be detrimental to me. By watching here, I can prevent these unexpected events."

Ashui suddenly realized and felt better: "Commandery Princess, are you thinking about having something to eat? It’s already the later part of the afternoon. Recently, I’ve learned to make a few tea snacks. Would you like to try? They’re slightly sweet but not greasy."

"Then go ahead and make them."

Ashui’s cooking skills were getting better and better. Such a good cook, too bad she couldn’t take him back to continue cooking for her.

What a pity.

Regarding the thoughts hidden in Ashui’s eyes, she actually saw through them clearly. Since he didn’t express them, she didn’t ask much.

This person’s real name was Lin Xinghuai, and she was almost certain he was the person she had met before; they were the same person. It wasn’t based on any evidence, but rather an intuition. Her intuition was always very accurate.

For now, the other’s purpose seemed to be presenting himself in front of her, and she hadn’t seen any other intention.

She was rather curious about this person’s origins.

"How can a small world capture a person’s spirit?"

System 666 knew it was being asked and hurried to respond: [Host, this is beyond my knowledge range, I can’t help you.]

"This Ashui is precisely that Huai. Not to mention anything else, he is quite talented and versatile. If I could capture his spirit, he could not only work for me but also allow me to observe what he truly is up close."

"In each world, his abilities are not bad. If he could awaken his past memories, he’d be a true polymath, able to solve many things for me."

System 666 was extremely speechless but still said: [Then the Host can slowly study how to capture his spirit. In the meantime, he can continue to acquire more abilities in the small world. Once he gains more, capturing him would make him even more of a polymath, wouldn’t it?]

"What you say makes sense. So capturing his spirit isn’t urgent, I will research it slowly."

When Ashui came in with the tea snacks, he noticed Qiann Yan staring at him a bit strangely. He didn’t think much of it; the Commandery Princess definitely didn’t look at him that way.

Time unknowingly slipped away, and in the blink of an eye, more than a year had passed.

During this period, many things happened that had little to do with Qiann Yan. Several princes, because they angered the emperor, were dispatched; they were publicly named as lacking virtue and not having the chance to inherit.

Jing Xiyu was still ill, and anyways, everyone thought he had no chance of inheriting the throne. Given his constitution, it was not possible.

Jing Yunzhou had been quite obedient over the past year, as if he knew he had no hope and talked about the father-son relationship with the emperor.

Every time he spoke, he said he wasn’t thinking about anything else now, just wanting to spend more time with the emperor.