"I heard from Xiaoyuan that you’re going back to Funan?" Li Luru hurriedly came in from outside.

"Yes, there’s an urgent matter at home." Ye Haoxuan stepped forward, holding her shoulders, "I’ll leave San with you. You and Xiaobai wait for me in Yun’an. When I return, Xiaobai can take me to find someone."

"How long will it take for you to return?"

"At the quickest, half a month, at the slowest, twenty days." After thinking for a moment, he suggested, "Why don’t you come back to Funan with me? It’s been a while since you’ve been home; you should go back and take a look. Besides, I’m not certain I can return in twenty days."

"No, absolutely not." As soon as he finished speaking, Li Luru quickly waved her hand, "I firmly refuse to go home. If I return to Funan, my mother will surely package me off to the Wang Family."

She was unwilling; Ye Haoxuan didn’t insist but proposed, "After returning to Funan, I’ll send someone to your family to tell your mother the marriage arrangements with the Wang Family don’t count."

He thought to himself, the one he wanted, how could he let that kid from the Wang Family have her.

"No way!"

"Why not?" Ye Haoxuan frowned slightly, not pleased upon hearing her refusal.

"It’s just not possible."

"Could it be you still want to marry that Wang guy?" Ye Haoxuan was displeased—how could her mind work this way, ignoring him, such a great young man, and instead considering a dandy?

Knowing he misunderstood, Li Luru explained, "Of course not. I’m not stupid, looking for trouble myself. But you shouldn’t send someone to my home either, otherwise, my mother..."

Her mother’s ambition for wealth never stopped. If Ye Haoxuan truly did that, she might not even need to return home; she’d be sent directly to the Ye Family by her mother.

Ye Haoxuan recalled the information about Li Family members and understood what she was thinking.

Somewhat angry, he realized she truly wanted to avoid his presence—not out of pretension or playing hard-to-get.

By this time, Xiaoyuan had prepared the horse.

"Master, it’s time to go."

Ye Haoxuan looked at her deeply, "I have never failed in my life!" Escaping his grasp wouldn’t be so easy.

After saying this, he left the tent, mounted the horse, and led the group away without looking back.

"Miss Li, shall we go too?"

After Ye Haoxuan and his group departed, San spoke.

"Where are we going? Didn’t he say to wait here?"

"Before leaving, the master said we should go to the prefecture to wait for him. Liyang is chaotic and probably unsafe."

Li Luru nodded, "Alright, then let’s go."

She could ride horses too, so San brought a slightly shorter pony over.

Upon leaving Liyang County’s city, she discovered Ye Haoxuan hadn’t just left San, but also two other guards.

Traveling to the prefecture involved passing several towns in Liyang County and passing through Nankai County.

Entering Nankai County, she discovered not only Liyang had earthquakes—two towns near the Liyang border in Nankai County also experienced earthquakes.

As they arrived in one of the towns, Li Luru saw the town looked recently shaken by an earthquake. The townsfolk sat together in small groups, with exposed wounds left untreated.

"Why is it still like this? No one to clean up, no one came?" 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

San said, "Liyang County was addressed quickly because they took the prince’s nameplate to find the Prefect of Yun’an Prefecture. The prince didn’t come here, so these people aren’t concerned."