The following day, after a night of torrential rain, the parched earth was finally thoroughly soaked by the summer downpour. The previously dusty green plants seemed to have grown taller overnight, their lush green leaves glistening in the morning sunlight. Early that morning, the Fourth Prince instructed Su Peisheng to convey the previous night's decision to the main courtyard. Therefore, before the Fourth Prince left, Su Peisheng went to the front courtyard to convey his message and told him Yan Yu's location, then hurried back to the front courtyard to accompany the Fourth Prince into the palace.
The carriage representing the royal princes glided leisurely along the bluestone streets of the capital. After a night of cleansing, the capital, which had been suffering from drought for three or four months, looked as if it had been washed clean by the rain, fresh and clean, and there were no more listless passersby to be seen on the roadside.
"My lord, the drought is finally over, so you don't need to worry about it anymore," Su Peisheng said cautiously, seeing that the Fourth Master was in a good mood.
"Although the drought has been resolved, something even more terrifying than the drought has followed. This drought is not limited to the capital. According to the reports from various places, Shaanxi, Gansu, Yushu and Qinghai have also suffered from drought for several months. With this sudden downpour, I wonder if there will be flash floods?" Fourth Master closed his eyes to rest, sitting upright on a small stool in the carriage, and said slowly.
"Flood!" Su Peisheng said, his expression changing slightly.
"A sudden downpour, if it falls to the ground and cannot be drained into the rivers in a short time, will turn into a disaster. If the rivers cannot be drained in time, floods will occur." Fourth Master's joy from yesterday vanished. He had thought the rain would last for two or three hours, but he did not expect that the rain would last for a whole day and night.
"This night's rain shouldn't cause a flood, right?" Su Peisheng felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing this, as he vividly remembered the horrific scenes of floods. Su Peisheng's hometown was located in the middle of the Yellow River, which flooded every year. Nearly half of his family members perished in the floods, and although he survived by chance, he was forced to enter the palace, be castrated, and become a rootless, neither-male-nor-female eunuch.
"Hopefully, it won't rain again. Otherwise, if it rains like yesterday for a few more days, the Yellow River might not be able to withstand it." Fourth Master frowned slightly.
Su Peisheng glanced at Fourth Master with a sigh, feeling a chill in his heart. Just yesterday he was hoping for rain to save the people suffering from drought; but now he was worried that God might turn on him and cause a flood.
Meanwhile, the Fujin (principal wife) was already leading her entourage towards the east courtyard. The old woman guarding the east courtyard, seeing the Fujin arrive, dared not act rashly and immediately opened the wooden gate to welcome her inside.
Mingyan had already sent a maid from the courtyard to serve Yan Yu as instructed by Madam Li, ostensibly to monitor her actions. At this moment, she was instructing the servants in the courtyard to clear away the branches and leaves that had been knocked down by last night's torrential rain. Seeing the Fujin (Madam's wife) enter the courtyard with her entourage, she was startled and quickly said something to the maid beside her before rushing towards the Fujin.
"This servant greets the Princess Consort!" Mingyan quickly walked up to the Princess Consort, curtsied, and said.
"Your mistress is awake, isn't she? I've come to thank her." The lady-in-waiting glanced at Mingyan expressionlessly, without stopping her steps. Mingyan then followed the lady-in-waiting towards the main house in the east courtyard.
Li Shi had just gotten up and was letting Que'er style her hair at the dressing table when she heard a maid outside the room say that the Fujin (principal wife) had arrived. She immediately stood up. She had just reached the doorway when the Fujin had already stepped onto the stairs.
The two looked at each other, their expressions quite awkward.
"This humble servant greets the Fujin!" Li's hair was not yet fully styled; her black hair cascaded down her chest, and the moon-white satin accentuated her delicate and elegant features, creating a beauty quite different from her usual charming and radiant appearance. Looking at the woman before her who had overshadowed her for almost ten years, the Fujin felt a heaviness in her chest and momentarily forgot to tell Li to dispense with the formalities.
Seeing that the Fujin (principal wife) hadn't said anything, Li Shi, whose calves were aching from squatting, could no longer support her body and began to tremble slightly. The Fujin looked at Li Shi, who was bowing meekly before her, and felt a slight sense of relief. She thought to herself: As long as I am the Fujin, you must bow to me whenever you see me.
"Please rise, sister. We've been sisters for years, why be so formal? Let's be more casual and avoid alienating our sisterly bond." The Fujin reached out and took Li's hand. The latter seemed somewhat resistant, but couldn't pull her hand away, so she had no choice but to let the Fujin lead her into the house.
After the Fujin (principal wife) and Li Shi (née Li) sat down according to the proper etiquette for hosts and guests, Li Shi asked, "Why did you come so early, sister? Is there something you need?"
The Fujin smiled faintly and said to Li, "Is Yan Yu here with my sister? My sister is really willful. We only had a few words of argument, and she ran to my sister's place to bother me. It really puts me, as her older sister, in a difficult position."
Li was startled. Although she didn't know how the Fujin knew Yan Yu was here, she could no longer hide it. She could only smile and say, "I get along quite well with Princess Yan Yu. If you don't mind, would it be alright if Yan Yu stayed here for a while?"
After hearing her words, the Fujin seemed unconcerned, her smile remaining gentle and proper. She said, "I'm afraid you'll have to disappoint me, sister. However, the master sent someone to the main courtyard early this morning to grant Yan Yu permission to enter the mansion, to be betrothed as a concubine, and to reside in the west wing of the main courtyard."
When these words came out of the dignified mouth of the Fujin, Li's expression changed drastically. No matter how she tried to hide it, she could not conceal her surprise and doubt.
Why would this happen? The Fourth Prince clearly suspected Ulanara yesterday, so why would he suddenly leave such words for the Princess Consort? Could it be that the Princess Consort is deliberately deceiving me, with the aim of getting Yan Yu to go back with her? Li Shi mentally went through all the possible scenarios one by one, still looking at the Princess Consort who was waiting for her reply with disbelief.
"If my younger sister doesn't believe what I'm saying, that's alright. How about we wait until Master returns and then I'll ask him myself before we release them?" The Fujin sneered inwardly but still asked kindly on the surface.
After Li's expression calmed down a bit, she said to the Fujin, "That's not what I meant. Please don't misunderstand me. I'm just surprised. When did you become interested in Consort Yan? I'm completely confused."
The Princess Consort didn't know why the Fourth Prince suddenly had such feelings for Yan Yu. She was still having a headache dealing with Yan Yu's return to the mansion when the Fourth Prince took it upon himself to solve everything for her.
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