Cui Da hid in the shadows and carefully observed their numbers. There were about ten of them, which was four more fighters than his own side.
"She really is a member of the White Lotus Sect!" Following the trail left by Cui Da, Fourteen and Cui Er quickly caught up.
"Let's hurry back and report to Fourth Brother. They outnumber us. We need to be on guard!" Fourteenth Brother added.
"No need, Fourteenth Prince. Fourth Prince instructed us to follow you so that you can personally uncover Xiniu's identity. Fourth Prince and the Emperor have already left the cave. We just need to go and meet up with them!" Cui Da whispered to Fourteenth Prince.
The Fourteenth Master glared hatefully at Xi Niu, who was discussing something with several men in black, seemingly making arrangements. Judging from her demeanor, she no longer resembled a little girl; she was more like a swift and decisive bandit.
"Just let them go like that?" Fourteen felt quite uneasy. The only woman he wanted to treat seriously had been deceiving and using him all along.
"Fourteenth Master, the three of us are no match for them. Besides, Fourth Master instructed us to bring you back safely. Let's go." Cui Dadao said.
Fourteen still didn't want to go back. He wanted to rush over and loudly question the woman.
"Fourteenth Master, you can go back and mobilize your troops to wipe out the White Lotus Sect. There's no need to bother with her here. Our team isn't familiar with this area. They're the local bullies. Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local dragon." Seeing that Fourteenth Master was unwilling to leave, Cui Er had no choice but to say this.
After thinking it over, Fourteen restrained his impulse and left with Cui Da and Cui Er.
After some twists and turns, the Fourteenth Prince and his entourage finally reunited with Emperor Kangxi and his men, escaping the pursuit of the White Lotus Sect, and headed northeast. Since the incident with Xiniu, the Fourteenth Prince seemed like a different person, no longer as boisterous as before. He listened attentively to everything the Fourth Prince said, no longer opposing him as he had before.
Meanwhile, Lanqin spent an unknown amount of time in the South Courtyard. To prevent the Fujin (Prince Consort) and Uya Shi from conspiring, Cui Niang practically forbade Lanqin from stepping outside the South Courtyard. Furthermore, Lanqin's pregnancy had made her movements increasingly sluggish. Another reason Lanqin didn't want to go out was the increasingly severe drought, which had begun to ravage the capital. Because the Emperor was absent, Prince Yinqi was acting as regent in the palace. He ordered all the people to conserve water and had already dispatched people to investigate the drought situation and water sources in various regions.
While Emperor Kangxi was away, a severe drought had already formed in North China. Yinti had been in a bad mood lately; he had finally managed to become acting regent and certainly didn't want any major trouble to occur at this time.
At this moment, Yinti was in his study in his mansion, discussing the current severe drought with several trusted confidants.
"Your Highness, where is the Emperor now?" Da Hui asked. Since he and Duodungun plotted against Princess Baoyue, although Yinti hadn't outwardly retaliated against them, he had neglected them for a while. However, now that they were at a crucial moment in the struggle for favor, Yinti knew the importance of the situation. Although Baoyue was beautiful, there were many other beauties out there. Therefore, Yinti quickly adjusted his emotions.
"They should be on their way back. We haven't exchanged letters for half a month. The last time was at Mount Wutai," said Yinti, wearing a light green brocade casual robe with the characters for "fortune" and "longevity," and a jade thumb ring.
"Your Highness, we must bring the current drought under control before the Emperor returns, at least to prevent any untoward incidents. Otherwise, Your Highness will lose face," said Duodun Gun.
“Indeed, Your Highness is truly facing a thorny problem. If the drought leads to a popular uprising, the Emperor will certainly blame Your Highness for handling the matter poorly,” Da Hui said.
Yinti frowned slightly for a moment, then said, "We must prevent peasant uprisings in all areas. Immediately issue a decree instructing the local county magistrates to hold the line. We must not allow any peasant uprisings to occur!"
Da Hui pondered for a moment and said, "But, but sometimes you can't stop a mob."
A shadow crossed Yinti's face, and he said with slight displeasure, "What should we do? I was just acting as regent when such a great disaster struck. This is really bad! If another mob comes to the capital after Father Emperor returns, my image in Father Emperor's eyes will be greatly damaged."
The advisors nodded and began whispering among themselves. Yinqi twirled the ring on his thumb, glanced at his trusted confidants, and finally smashed a blue-and-white porcelain cup on the coffee table next to him to the ground.
The sound of porcelain shattering on the ground brought everyone back to their senses from their hushed conversation.
"You all need to come to a conclusion today, or none of you will be allowed to return!" Yinti shouted angrily.
"Your Highness, I have heard a rumor." Da Hui quickly stood up and clasped his hands in greeting when he saw that Yin Ti was furious.
"I'm talking about the drought right now, why are you bringing up rumors?" Yinqi glared fiercely at Dahui.
“The rumor I’m about to mention is related to the current drought!” Da Hui said.
"Oh. Tell me about it!" Yinti suppressed his anger and gestured for Dahui to continue.
“One day, I went to a teahouse in Dongshisitiao Hutong for tea and overheard someone saying that the current drought was caused by a monstrous star, which angered Heaven and sent this drought to warn the people. They said that once the monstrous star is eliminated, the drought will naturally pass,” Da Hui said.
“I’ve heard this rumor too! It seems to have spread all over the capital recently,” Dorton said.
“Yes, I heard one of my concubines say the same thing,” someone else chimed in.
"A demonic star?" Yinti repeated, "But the Imperial Observatory didn't tell me about any demonic stars!"
“Your Highness, this rumor is entirely beneficial to you. You might want to think about it carefully: if the Emperor heard such a rumor, wouldn’t he be less likely to blame you for not taking responsibility? If the people of the world knew that a demonic star had descended to earth, wouldn’t they be less resentful towards the court?” Da Hui said.
“Indeed, Your Highness, I believe that regardless of whether this rumor is true or false, we should let it spread and grow bigger and bigger. When the Emperor returns, he will naturally hold this wicked star accountable, and it will have nothing to do with Your Highness.” Duodungun also echoed.
Upon hearing this, Yinti immediately understood what they meant. However, he himself did not believe in any ominous star, saying, "If Father Emperor doesn't believe it, this is just a rumor."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
