Cui'er, however, looked rather hesitant; judging from her expression, she didn't seem too keen on going. Madam Geng was usually kind and forgiving, and she rarely reprimanded servants, especially those who hadn't entered the household with her, even if they were a little cunning or lazy.
"It's not that I don't want to go, but the water in the kitchen is barely enough to cover daily expenses, let alone water for bathing." Cui'er couldn't help but tell her about her experience of going to the kitchen to fetch water. Because Geng Shi was out of favor, she was always teased when she went to the kitchen with her.
"What did you say? There's not enough water!" Green Lan asked in confusion. Normally, she was only responsible for helping Madam Geng with her dressing and hair, and serving tea and water. All the chores outside were done by Cui'er. Naturally, she didn't know that the Fourth Prince's mansion was already facing a shortage of daily water.
"Yes, the last few times I went to fetch water for the princess to bathe, what that eunuch Huang said was really infuriating! I didn't even tell my sister when I got back." Cui'er had obviously suffered a lot outside, and seeing that Madam Geng was kind, she couldn't help but complain.
"What did they say?" Madam Geng asked as she walked over, clutching her handkerchief.
When Cui'er saw that Madam Geng had come to ask in person, she hesitated a bit, but after thinking for a moment, she still said, "That eunuch Huang said that your princess wants to take a bath, why don't you just let her go to the garden!"
"What! How dare he say that!" Green Orchid exclaimed in shock and anger. The words were utterly offensive, and her face flushed crimson.
“What’s there to be afraid of? He’s just a servant, and it’s common for him to follow the powerful and the weak.” Madam Geng was quite angry, but she was used to hiding her emotions. After saying this, she turned and walked into the inner room, throwing out a sentence as she went, “Go and fetch a bucket of water from Bixin Lake.”
Upon hearing this, Cui'er immediately wilted. She had originally only needed to fetch water from the kitchen, but now she had to carry water from the garden.
Seeing her like this, Lülan said angrily, "Your Highness can't not take a bath, can you? What if the master comes? How are you going to serve him?"
Cui'er was already resentful of Geng Shi's lack of favor, and now she had to fetch water. When she heard Lü Lan say this, she couldn't help but sarcastically say, "The master hasn't come for a long time. Now he only goes to Niu Gege's place. Where has he come to our place?"
"You, go ahead and mock the princess like that!" Green Lan raised her hand and pushed Cui'er. The latter was caught off guard and stumbled, falling to the ground.
Cui'er was upset because she had suddenly fallen, and the pain made her burst into tears. Before Lülan could react, Geng Shi suddenly came out of the house again and said to Cui'er on the ground, "If you don't want to fetch water, that's fine, or if you don't want to serve here, I can go and talk to your Granny Yu."
Seeing this, Cui'er cried and said, "Your Highness, what are you saying? I didn't mean to not want to serve Your Highness. It was Sister Lülan who beat me for no reason. It's really heartbreaking."
Madam Geng then said, “Get up. If Lülan is at fault, I will punish her myself. What is the meaning of your crying and making a scene here? People who don’t know the situation might think I’m abusing you. Tell me, why is there such a water shortage in the manor?”
Seeing what Madam Geng said, Cui'er gradually stopped crying, slowly got up from the ground, wiped away her tears with her sleeve, and sobbed, "Princess, how long has it been since it rained? I heard from some of the eunuchs in the kitchen that there has been a severe drought in the capital these past few months, and the water sources in the Western Hills are almost dry. It is said that the people in the capital are starting to panic, and people have already started fetching water from the lotus ponds to drink. But the sun has dried up all the water, and many places that usually have some water are almost completely dry."
Lady Geng had never imagined that the world outside the Fourth Prince's mansion was like this. After thinking for a moment, she said to Cui'er, "You may leave now. I'm not taking a bath today." After Cui'er left, Lülan helped Lady Geng back to her bedroom.
Meanwhile, the Fourth Prince was in the Ministry of Revenue in the palace discussing the severe drought that had plagued the capital for several days. Several vice ministers and advisors in the Ministry of Revenue were at a loss. Even the water in the Forbidden City was becoming scarce, and the springs in the Western Hills were almost dry. They and the people of the entire city were about to face a situation where they had no water to drink and no water to use.
"Fourth Prince, why don't we have Green from the Astronomical Bureau take a look at the sky and see how long this rain will last? The person in charge of the water source in the Western Hills has already reported that the water there can only supply the local people with enough water for five or six days at most. If it doesn't rain soon, we will all have no water to drink," a councilor said.
"Father has been at the observatory these past few days. Just the other day, he went to the Temple of Heaven to pray to the heavens for mercy and for rain to fall. Even so, we must prepare for the worst. What if the rain doesn't fall within five or six days? If there is no water, I'm afraid it will incite a popular uprising," the Fourth Prince said with a worried frown.
“Then we should go and find a usable water source now. Besides the western mountains, there is water to the south and west. Why don’t we go and transport water?” said Vice Minister Tongjiageer.
“If we go out to fetch water, the time, manpower, and resources spent on the round trip will be more trouble than it's worth,” another vice minister said.
Seeing that both sides had their own reasons and arguments, the Fourth Prince was unable to make a decision. His father had entrusted him with the Ministry of Revenue, and he was determined to manage it well. Now, his first priority was to resolve the current severe drought!
"Geerzhen, immediately send people to investigate how many ponds are still in the capital. How many cubic meters of water does each pond hold, and how many people's needs can it provide? Go and investigate them all for me. I want to report back to this Prince tomorrow morning." The Fourth Prince suddenly interrupted the discussion.
"Yes! Your humble servant will go immediately!" With that, Gerzhen stood up and went out to begin the investigation.
“Fourth Prince, are you planning to use the water from the ponds in Hequ? That's what farmers use to irrigate their vegetables and grains. If we use that water, how will they irrigate their crops? If there's no water to irrigate the land, this year's autumn harvest will be compromised!” said an advisor in charge of agricultural affairs.
"As long as we get through this most difficult time, I believe Heaven will see Father Emperor's sincerity and send down rain. The most urgent task now is to solve the water shortage for all the people in the city. As for irrigation of the fields, we can send people to explore water sources further away and guide them, which may solve some of the immediate problems," said the Fourth Prince.
Everyone agreed with the Fourth Prince's suggestion, as an exceptionally severe drought lay before them. Meanwhile, the women in the Fourth Prince's residence, ever since Lady Geng was the first to learn of the water shortage, were also beginning to realize that water was becoming increasingly scarce.
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