Zhou Qiongyue left the inner room and stood outside on the corridor, looking at the rain. She felt a long-unseen good mood. She even happily reached out her hand to catch the rain.

Like Zhou Qiongyue, the others who were counting on their fingers waiting for the rain included the emperor, the second prince, and Xie Zixin.

Of course, the emperor didn't tell anyone, but since morning, he began to look outside frequently and was absent-minded while reviewing memorials.

The emperor did not rest after lunch at noon. Instead, he ordered people to place tea sets at the door of the imperial study and started to sit down and make tea.

He had just finished brewing the tea himself when a secret guard came to report, "Thank you, Concubine Xie, for ordering the decoction of medicine." The emperor looked at the sky covered with dark clouds, and a smile widened on his face.

The emperor looked up at the sky and said proudly, "Little Hezi, it's going to rain!"

Eunuch He followed the Emperor in looking toward the sky outside and replied earnestly, "Your Majesty said it would rain, so it will definitely rain! Your Majesty is wise and wise."

"You! You are becoming more and more cunning." The emperor just wanted to find someone to chat with, so he didn't care whether he liked what Eunuch He answered.

When he is in a good mood, he can listen to anything.

Sure enough, after Eunuch He waited with the emperor for a while, lightning and thunder began to flash. Soon, it began to rain, and the rain got heavier and heavier.

Just like the mood of the Emperor and Eunuch He, their moods were getting better and better.

When the rain started to fall, Eunuch He immediately knelt down and said, "Your Majesty is wise and wise. Long live the emperor!"

At this moment, in Eunuch He's mind, the emperor was indeed quite amazing, even being able to predict the rain. When he thought about the emperor's frequent glances outside in the morning, he knew that the emperor was waiting for the rain, and his loyalty and admiration for the emperor reached an incredible height.

Seeing this, the servants around also knelt down immediately and said, "Your Majesty is wise and wise. Long live the emperor!"

"Okay, okay, okay, everyone will get rewards! Also, pass on my words, Yuan'an will be exempted from taxes for two years." The emperor was in a good mood at this time, and even gave a big reward directly.

After waiting for the rain and the news of a two-year tax exemption, the people outside were all preparing to return home. In the past, they would wait outside Yuan'an City with their families, just to find work for their family members and to allow the elderly and children to queue for free porridge.

This is the only way for the whole family to survive this famine. Now that it has rained, those with foresight are planning to return to their hometowns to continue farming and take advantage of the two years of tax exemption to store more food.

When the year is bad again, the old and young in the family will not have to suffer like this.

Many honest people are willing to work hard as long as they have hope of survival.

When it was raining, the second prince was also waiting in the mansion, but he did not go into the backyard. Instead, he waited alone in the front yard.

According to his previous practice, he would either go to the palace to find his father or mother, or go to his good friend Yuan Bohua. But today, he knew that Xie Zixin wanted to be a demon, so he didn't dare to leave the house.

He had to make a decision in the mansion at the critical moment, but he felt that Xie Zixin's idea would not work.

Not to mention whether a child born without a full term could be raised, on this special day, the Second Prince Li Jingchen felt that his father probably did not want such a grandchild.

As expected, the Second Prince guessed it. Xie Zixin secretly had someone boil the medicine and drank it, then happily waited for the birth. However, she waited for a long time, until the rain came and until it was dark, but she still didn't start.

She could only look at the person serving next to her with anger. This person was originally the second prince's man. She didn't know what means Xie Zixin used to bribe him.

Seeing her master's furious expression, she quickly knelt down and kowtowed, "Master, this servant truly acted according to your talent, and no one else noticed. Perhaps... perhaps it's not time for the young master to come out yet."

Xie Zixin stared at the person kneeling below seriously, observing her reaction. Xie Zixin also saw that this person was not lying, so she could only angrily say: "Get out."

If there was no one around her right now, she really wouldn't want this kind of idiot who can't even do such a small thing.

When the servants heard Concubine Xie say this, they knew that they had escaped this disaster, and they immediately kowtowed and said, "Thank you, my master, for your forgiveness." Then they quickly left.

Xie Zixin saw the man leave, then she reached out and touched her belly. She felt very uneasy. She always felt that her medicine had been replaced by someone, but she didn't know who it was.

She thought about everyone in the mansion and the backyard, and finally focused on the main wife Duan Jianing. Only that bitch would be afraid that she would give birth to a firstborn son who would bring good luck.

Duan Jianing: This is really a big pot dropped from the sky. She dare not take action under the attention of so many big guys. Isn't that like an old man hanging himself because he thinks his life is too long?

It had been raining for the entire afternoon. Even if Xie Zixin ordered people to boil the medicine again, it would be of no use.

Xie Zixin could only touch her belly and curse Duan Jianing's ancestors for eighteen generations. She could only wait for the right opportunity later. It was obvious that she did not doubt others at all.

The second prince waited until evening, but still did not receive the news that Xie Zixin was about to give birth. He finally breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed his father, just as he had imagined, would not allow a child born with all the advantages. With a mother who could predict the future and himself born with auspicious signs, any legitimate son would be a thorn in his side.

He still hoped that the child could be born full-term. Royal children were difficult to raise, and even those born full-term might not be raised successfully, let alone premature babies!

The rain continued for three days, soaking the previously dry and cracked ground. At least Yuan'an City no longer lacked water.

But when the flooding continued on the third day, everyone started to worry about flooding again. Fortunately, the Daning River had been cleaned up continuously over the past two years, and it easily withstood the test of this flood.

By the third night, the rain that had been falling for three days had gradually stopped, and the breath that had been stuck in everyone's throat dissipated in an instant.

Early the next morning, Zhou Qiongyue quickly ordered the people in the mansion to send a message to Luo Yong on the farm, asking him to start planting the crops on the farm again.

Although the sowing season has passed, we can still plant whatever we can!

Now that Luo Yong has gained experience in managing the farm, Zhou Qiongyue only needs to give him orders and she doesn't have to worry about anything else.

So when everyone was busy with things on the farm, Zhou Qiongyue was busy taking people to see the shops and houses she bought in Yuan'an.

The fifth prince had a farm of one hundred acres, which had always been managed by Zhou Qiongyue. Zhou Qiongyue did not allow the sale of any of the stored grain in those two years.

When the drought hit, she decided to use part of the grain to help the victims in the name of the Fifth Prince.

Part of it was sold when food was expensive, and the vegetables that were previously grown and dried on the fifth prince's farm were also sold, making a lot of money.

Zhou Qiongyue took charge and bought a three-story house and a small shop on the street for the fifth prince in the inner city of Yuan'an.