After a heavy rain, many crops were flooded in the fields, and it is feared that this year's grain yield will be halved in most places.
Fortunately, Xu Yunci, along with the Crown Prince and the Duke of Rongguo and other officials, made timely preparations, and the grain supply was only half of what it had been in previous years, which was already quite good.
After compiling these reports, the emperor deliberated for many days and, after discussing with his officials, decided to halve taxes this year regardless of the region. The people naturally praised the emperor's benevolent act.
Xu Yunci came out of Fu Ning Palace, rubbed his temples, and quickened his pace to return to his residence. If he remembered correctly, the phoenix crown would take shape today, and he wanted to see it for himself so that he could make any changes if there were any problems.
Xu Yunci closed his eyes to rest as soon as he got into the carriage, but the carriage did not move.
Chang An was a cold, unyielding man. He reached out to stop the young woman dressed as a servant who was about to step forward; he remembered her as the same one from last time.
Who is it?
The young woman was not old, wearing the same coarse cloth robe as last time, and looked anxiously at the carriage behind Chang An.
Remembering her master's instructions, she bit her lip and looked at Chang An with pleading eyes: "Please let me see Prince Xu. My master has something he wants to give to the prince."
Fearing that Chang An wouldn't believe her, she took out a letter from her sleeve and handed it over: "Or, or you could give this to the young master for me, please, young man."
"What's up."
Xu Yunci's voice came through the carriage, but it wasn't loud.
Chang An glanced at the envelope and answered truthfully, "Someone stopped me on the road, saying it was a letter for the Crown Prince."
The carriage curtain was lifted, and Xu Yunci sat inside, squinting as he sized up the woman dressed as a servant, before glancing at Chang An.
The latter understood what it meant, took it, and opened it in front of the woman. It read: "Meet at Pinxianglou at 2:45 AM the day after tomorrow."
After glancing at it, Xu Yunci's expression remained unchanged as he lowered the carriage curtain.
The woman dressed as a servant was about to say something when Chang An stopped her first: "If you cause any more trouble, I'll take you to the Jingzhao Prefecture."
The young woman shut her mouth, stopped blocking the Duke's carriage, and looked around in the direction she had come from.
Xu Yunci, sitting in the carriage, looked at the letter in his hand. The writing on it was still wet, so it must have been written not long ago.
He folded it again, put it back in the envelope, got off the carriage, and tossed it to Chang An. It was the usual procedure: let him handle it. As for the Pinxianglou (a place name), he had no intention of going there.
Back at Songyuan, Xu Yunci could finally relax. He changed out of his official robes and into a casual long robe, leaning back in his chair.
"How are you doing at home lately?"
Chang Shun stepped forward and touched the tip of his nose: "The old lady and the duchess are as usual, nothing's wrong. It's just that the young lady caught a cold the other day. The imperial physician came to see her and prescribed medicine, saying that it was caused by catching a chill in the heavy rain a few days ago."
"These past two days, the Eighth Miss has been going to Chengyu Pavilion every day, but she hasn't seen the Cousin Miss. She hasn't gone today either. It's strange, the Cousin Miss has seen people from Chunjinxuan and people from the Duchess's side, but she hasn't seen the Eighth Miss. She said she was afraid of passing on her cold to the Eighth Miss."
It was more than strange; Xu Lingqing was frantic with worry. He had been quite concerned about Li Shiyue's sudden visit to Chun Jinxuan these past two days.
She had just thought of visiting Li Shiyue at Chengyu Pavilion to avoid arousing suspicion, but Xu Lingqing was the only one who hadn't seen Li Shiyue. Her biggest worry now was what Wei Yujie and Li Shiyue had said to cause this.
"Before Miss caught a cold, she sent Chunling over, but the young master wasn't at the manor, so she went back."
Xu Yunci rubbed his fingertips together, somewhat puzzled: "Did you say something?"
Chang Shun shook his head: "No."
Li Shiyue was indeed sick, but it wasn't that serious. She just wanted to take this opportunity to check on Xu Lingqing.
The maid who was watching Xu Lingqing was someone Lian Dong trusted. Xu Lingqing was as anxious as a headless fly. She even went to Chun Jin Xuan but didn't get anything out of her. Her gaze was still fixed on Cheng Yu Ge.
Unfortunately, Li Shiyue decided to wait a few more days to see what Xu Lingqing would do, so she made sure the cold was more serious.
Before Xu Lingqing could do anything, Xu Yunci rushed over first. He had just returned home this morning, and the dark circles under his eyes were even more severe than they had been recently.
"Why didn't you go back to rest? You look terrible."
It's no wonder Li Shiyue said that; when they sat together and compared, Li Shiyue's complexion was much better than Xu Yunci's.
Xu Yunci shook his head, took her hand and sat her on the wooden couch, feeling incredibly happy that his little cousin was worried about him.
"The floods outside are severe. I've been running around with His Highness and Father, and I feel quite tanned. This morning, the Emperor and the court officials decided to halve this year's taxes, which is why I rushed back."
"I heard you caught a cold as soon as I got back, so I rushed over to check on you. I also need to pay my respects to my grandmother later."
Li Shiyue blushed and let Xu Yunci hold her hand: "My face is peeling. This heavy rain has been falling on and off for seven or eight days. The temperature has been terribly hot these past two days. Even if I sit and do nothing, I'm covered in sweat."
Xu Yunci touched his cheek; it was indeed a bit rough. In the past, it wouldn't have mattered, as it would have healed in a year or two.
But the wedding date was still pending, and he didn't want to be an ugly groom on his wedding day. He thought he should ask Chang Shun to find something to help improve his sun-damaged face.
"By the way, did you know that my third aunt intends to find a husband for my cousin Wei?"
Xu Yunci shook his head; he really didn't know, nor had he asked. Following Li Shiyue's train of thought, he continued, "We've looked at which families, but Mother is right; a woman's marriage is an opportunity to choose her destiny."
Li Shiyue raised an eyebrow: "You really don't know?"
"Should I know?" Xu Yunci swallowed hard, looking at Li Shiyue with a smile in her eyes, he was somewhat uncertain.
Seeing his current appearance, he was no longer the cold and aloof young master in the eyes of outsiders. Li Shiyue withdrew her hand and pushed the teacup towards him.
"My third aunt favors my sixth cousin."
"Cough cough cough." Xu Yunci put down his teacup, almost swallowing the tea in his mouth. He looked at Li Shiyue with a puzzled expression and nodded at her.
He put down his teacup and took out a handkerchief to wipe the water from his lips. He couldn't quite articulate his thoughts; they knew perfectly well what had happened earlier, and the maids they had sent away were all taking the blame.
If it weren't for the sake of the reputation of the third wife of the Wei family, Wei Yujie would have been punished as well, not to mention that Yang had to give up a piece of Shu brocade.
Unexpectedly, the Wei family favored Xu Yunxu, the youngest son of the eldest branch and Xu Yunci's younger brother.
"What did Mother say?"
Li Shiyue pursed her lips, recalling Yang's attitude, and shook her head at Xu Yunci: "Aunt..."
Xu Yunci instantly understood that Yang Shi probably disagreed with the matter. Seeing that he remained silent, Li Shiyue said, "This matter was mentioned by my third aunt in front of me and my aunt yesterday. My sixth cousin probably doesn't know about it either."
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