As the sun sank toward the west, Li Ye, sitting on the bed in Bibi Dong's bedchamber, finally saw Bibi Dong return from the Pope's Palace.
Seeing the worry covering his beloved girl's face, Li Ye felt a pang of heartache for her.
But the moment Bibi Dong saw Li Ye, who had come to Spirit Hall to visit her, the worry on her face vanished without a trace, and she beamed as she threw herself into his arms.
"Ye Li, why did you take so long to come see me? I thought you only remembered your Long'er and had forgotten all about Nana and me!"
Faced with Bibi Dong acting like a jealous little girl, Li Ye smiled rather helplessly, then kissed her forehead and said gently, "Silly girl, how could I possibly forget you? There's just been a lot going on lately, and Long'er and the others were jealous of you every day and wouldn't let me come see you. That's why I'm a little late."
"You looked so worried just now. Did something troubling happen? Is there anything I can help you resolve?"
Li Ye's words warmed Bibi Dong's heart. She immediately gave him a light kiss, then leaned against his chest again and said unhappily, "Droughts and locust plagues have struck many places lately. The grain those commoners planted would have been ready to harvest in just a little while, but now they haven't harvested a single grain. I sent a lot of people to kill the locusts and divert water, but it's barely helped. And the imperial families of the two great empires don't care at all whether those people live or die. They've sent only a tiny amount of disaster relief grain. Although Spirit Hall's influence reaches far and wide, we don't have enough