On the tenth day of the eighth lunar month, the entrance to the Temple of Heaven was crowded with disaster victims from all over the country and people from the capital. They could only get one day's worth of water from the tea stalls, and they were all on the verge of death from the torment of the weather.

Hearing that the emperor was coming to pray for rain, they all arrived very early to wait. It must be said, in their minds, the emperor was an envoy sent by heaven. Perhaps if the emperor communicated with the heavens, it would really rain.

With such expectations, the people endured the scorching heat and drought, and stayed there early.

The emperor's departure from the palace was timed perfectly. First, the rain-praying implements and ceremonial procession left the palace, followed by the emperor's golden palanquin, then the civil and military officials, and the imperial relatives and descendants.

For a long time, the people of the capital had not witnessed the emperor's majesty. To ensure the procession arrived at the Temple of Heaven smoothly at the auspicious time, prayers for rain were to be offered. The Prefect of the Capital had cleared the streets. People stood quietly on both sides of the street, watching the majestic royal procession outside.

To demonstrate the imperial family's high regard for the emperor, Kangxi wore a very formal dragon robe. Fortunately, there were ice basins in the sedan chair, so it wasn't too hot. However, the princes, relatives, and ministers following behind the imperial carriage were in a much worse state. They were all wearing court robes with an undergarment underneath. Sitting on their horses, they all looked energetic, but they were already unbearably hot.

"Tenth Brother, it's so hot! I don't see you sweating at all." Fourteenth Brother was sitting next to Tenth Master's horse, and he couldn't stand the heat any longer, so he asked.

“I’m wearing a thin silk dress made by my princess underneath, so it’s not hot!” Tenth Master glanced at Fourteenth Master with a smug look on his face.

"Look at you, isn't that what Princess Shuhui made for you? So smug, aren't you!" Fourteenth Prince rolled his eyes at Tenth Prince, scoffing inwardly. But thinking of his own wife and none of the other princesses who had made him such clothes, he felt a pang of resentment. He couldn't help but think of Xi Niu, the female assassin he'd met in Qi County, the one who'd smiled so brightly at him! Although he'd been deceived by her, Fourteenth Prince had indeed been flirted with by that woman back then.

Fourteen shook his head violently, trying to pull himself out of his memories of Xiniu. He looked up at both sides of the street. Suddenly, a woman's face flashed by in the hushed crowd on both sides of the street.

How could they look so alike? Fourteen was surprised to realize that in that fleeting glance, he seemed to have seen Xiniu's face.

"Fourteenth Prince, what's wrong?" Tenth Prince asked when he saw Fourteenth Prince sitting on his horse, looking around absentmindedly.

"It's nothing, I just thought I saw someone," Fourteen said.

"Who is it?" Tenth Master asked, noticing Fourteenth Master's strange expression.

"It's nothing, I just saw things. Can you stop staring at me like that?" Fourteen said angrily. He looked as if someone had caught him doing something wrong.

"Fine, I won't look then. Why are you angry?" Tenth Master said, then stopped looking at Fourteenth Master.

The Fourth Prince rode his horse alongside the Third Prince, following behind Emperor Kangxi's imperial carriage. After being reprimanded by the Prince of Heshuo, the Third Prince refused to walk with Yinqi anymore.

"Fourth Prince, Father has asked you to pray for rain on his behalf. It seems the position of Crown Prince is definitely yours!" The Third Prince had always looked down on the Fourth Prince. He disliked his quiet nature; the Fourth Prince had always followed the Crown Prince and rarely stepped forward. But while he hadn't been paying much attention, the Fourth Prince had gradually risen to prominence before Emperor Kangxi.

"Third Brother, you can't say things like that. Father is right ahead. If he hears this, I'm afraid your confinement will start again," Fourth Prince said coldly.

Upon hearing this, Third Master was so angry he almost fainted. Fourth Master, however, was completely unharmed and rode off on his horse.

"Third Brother, what's wrong?" Eighth Prince rushed over on horseback. Fifth and Seventh Princes were both disabled, so Emperor Kangxi hadn't invited them to this kind of event.

"Eighth Brother, tell me, why can't Fourth Brother say something nice?" Third Master said angrily.

"Hehe, Third Brother, you know Fourth Brother well. He never says nice things. But Fourth Brother is very capable. Otherwise, Father Emperor wouldn't have entrusted such an important matter to him," Eighth Prince comforted him.

"Sigh, I just joked with him, and he gave me a hard time! If he really gets that position, we're going to have a very difficult time in the future," the Third Prince said to the Eighth Prince in a low voice.

Eighth Prince looked startled and said to Third Prince, "Third Brother, you really can't say such things. You can't just guess at Father's intentions, or you'll really get into trouble again."

Third Master glanced at Prince Heshuo's retreating figure and said, "Fine, I'll keep my mouth shut. Today we're all Fourth Prince's guests. Let's see how he prays for rain."

Having said that, Third Master spurred his horse and chased after him. Seeing Third Master leave, Ninth Master immediately spurred his horse and caught up with Eighth Master.

"The third brother is still very unwilling, isn't he? In my opinion, with his looks, he still wants to compete?" the ninth brother said disdainfully.

"Keep your voice down. There are people all around us, you never know if someone might hear you," the eighth brother said, glancing sideways at the ninth brother.

"Yes, but judging from the current situation, does Father Emperor favor him?" The Ninth Prince held up four fingers.

"Don't gossip about it. You won't know the answer until the very last moment," Eighth Master said, shaking his head.

From the crowds on either side, a few people could be seen sneaking around, following the royal procession. They were clearly different from ordinary people.

Several lithe figures flashed into an alley, walked up to a woman in a white dress, clasped their hands in greeting, and said, "Master, our people are all in order."

The woman's face was veiled by pink and red gauze. Judging from her stature, she appeared to be only a teenager, but her eyes shone with a sharp, piercing light. Her gaze was unlike that of a teenage girl; it was as cold as frost as she stared at the figures that kept flashing by at the alley entrance.

"Now that the Tartar emperor has returned to the Temple of Heaven, let's try to kill him there. Otherwise, once he returns to the palace, it will be much harder to kill him," the woman said.

"Yes, I have already counted their men. There are three hundred Imperial Guards alone, and about three hundred men from the Prefect of the Capital." The man with a scar on his head replied.

“There aren’t many people, but we can’t outnumber them. If we want to kill that dog emperor, we have to use a strategy. Have all the people we’ve planted among the disaster victims arrived?” the woman in white asked.

"They're all in place. They've got the emotions of those disaster victims under control. If they just stir things up a little, they'll definitely get them to cause trouble," the man said.