"Old man, I was sent by the imperial court. You must believe the Emperor." When money didn't work, Yinzhen changed his approach.

"The Emperor sent you?" The old man sat up abruptly, somewhat excited. "The Emperor is blessed with great fortune; he is a true dragon descended to earth, protected by Heaven. The Emperor has finally thought of Shandong. Is the drought about to end?"

Yin touched his nose, feeling a little guilty. Whether it rained or not was up to fate; he didn't remember his grandfather praying for rain.

"What do you want to ask?" The old man was quite eager this time.

"Have you heard who these rebels are?"

The old man sighed: "Old Tan's eldest son, this is truly a sin. Are you really sent by the imperial court?"

Yin patted his chest: "Don't worry, see if I'm a new face. At this time, a new face is someone from the imperial court."

“That’s true.” The old man nodded, swallowed hard, “It’s been a drought for years. The governor or whatever he was doing had no choice but to find a wandering sorcerer who said he could pray for rain, but he needed offerings.”

"Sacrificial offerings?" Yin was somewhat surprised, as the officials in the room hadn't mentioned these words at all.

"That Taoist priest said that the river god was angry and that only a young, beautiful woman with a compatible birth date could appease the river god and bring down sweet rain."

"The officials, desperate as they were, followed the Taoist's directions and found the girl from the Tan family. The girl was undeniably beautiful; everyone in the surrounding villages knew of her."

Yin's suspicions were clear: "Did it sink in the river?"

The old man nodded: "Yes, the river god worship ceremony was grand that day, but it still didn't rain. The Taoist priest ran fast and we couldn't catch him. It's just a pity for the Tan family's daughter, who is only twelve years old."

"Old Tan's eldest son is an educated man. He did this for his sister. Although we don't approve of it, we think he's a real man."

Yin nodded, took off the water pouch from his waist and handed it to the old man. The man, who had just been lying on the ground, suddenly sprang up. Everyone reached out to grab the water pouch, but fortunately, they were still somewhat rational and shared it with each other, taking a small sip.