By June, it hadn't rained at all, and it was unbearably hot.
Even with preparations, there's nothing we can do about this drought. It's unbearably hot, and there's no water.
The imperial court was truly prepared, using various methods to obtain water.
There's no way to get things done in the fields, but at least people need water to drink before they can think of any other way to get things done.
It's already August, and it's still hot. There's no hope for a good harvest this year.
Huan Yue sat in the Qing'e Palace; the court was none of her concern.
Yan Boxuan and the three princes have all moved out, and little Xie Yi is being taken care of by his grandfather.
Now, he usually takes his son there in the morning, and Xie Zhou brings him back in the evening.
Although adults are busy at night, children need to sleep at night.
The drought affected a wide area, and Xie Jian and Xie Yu were both busy. Prince Jun, Xie Ji, also took on a task, after all, he was seventeen years old.
With connections in the royal family and the court, the inner palace was particularly secure.
Consort Zhu raised her three little princesses very well.
As for the other concubines, those who didn't have Wu Meiren's ambitions probably didn't want to pursue Taoism either.
On the Crown Prince's side, everyone felt more at ease.
It was hot, so everyone went to the Qing'e Palace, where some ice was placed.
Huan Yue couldn't be too cold, so no ice was placed around the throne; she relied on her calm mind to keep cool naturally.
Yang Chu'er, Huang Li, Bai Ling, and several others danced for the Empress.
Huan Yue found it quite beautiful; Yang Chu'er's dancing now has a certain charm.
The thrush and lark also danced quite well.
Ren Zhaoxun sat to the side, eating melon seeds and watching the dance; he was having a very good time.
So why be so pessimistic? As for the drought, the palace has no shortage of water.
The water level in Taiye Pond has remained basically unchanged, so the drought situation isn't that severe yet. It's not a once-in-a-century event.
Fang Tang was sweating profusely from her busy work. She came in, sat down, and ate some watermelon to cool off.
She wasn't particularly beautiful, but she looked quite good in her red dress.
Huan Yue asked, "How is your sister-in-law?"
Fang Tang reported, "Princess Peng is well, but there are more rumors circulating outside, and some people are even going to Taiqing Palace to burn incense."
Ren Zhaoxun scoffed: "The Taiqing Palace is so audacious?"
Fang Tang laughed and said, "The Taiqing Palace project has never been completed. It is said that those two female disciples asked for rain."
Huan Yue asked, "How do we obtain it?"
Fang Tang said, "They'll definitely have to kidnap the eldest grandson first."
Huan Yue said, "Let them pick an auspicious day. It has to be a cash-on-delivery transaction; otherwise, why should we trust him?"
Fang Tang's eyelids twitched: "Is Your Highness going to personally cause trouble? Forget it, let's not bother with them."
She's about to give birth. It's really not worth fussing over.
Once the autumn harvest is over, the imperial court will be free to deal with them, which will be easy.
Ren Zhaoxun also advised, "Your Majesty, don't pay him any attention. The eldest prince has already smashed it up once and still hasn't succeeded. How much ability could he possibly have?"
Fei and Gu said, "The drought area is quite large, and praying for rain requires extraordinary abilities."
Fei and Gu thought that if a group of old Taoist priests could accurately predict the date, they could cut them all down as a sacrifice to the heavens, and then it would rain anyway.
Fei and Gu didn't say whether they believed it or not, but with the Empress around, believing in the Empress was the right thing to do.
A palace attendant rushed over, covered in sweat: "A fight has broken out in Baishi Village."
Huan Yue remained calm: "What happened?"
The eunuch watched as the Empress remained calm: "Actually, it's not a big deal. Doesn't Baishi Village have a river? The land in Baishi Village is basically never dry, so there's no doubt about a bumper harvest this year. Shouldn't other villages be fighting over water? But a group of people came to fight over water, and none of them were from the neighboring villages."
Fei and Gu didn't understand: "What do you mean?"
The eunuch reported, "Some people used this incident to cause trouble in Baishi Village, but fortunately we were prepared and arrested them all. Several people from Baishi Village sustained minor injuries. However, a group of people mingled in the middle, trying to steal corn—the Zhou family from Yanling Village."
Ren Zhaoxun said, "Didn't the Zhou family not send them back?"
The eunuch reported, "That's Zhou Lao Er. Isn't there also Zhou Lao Da or something? The Zhou family of Yanling Village just gathered a few people. They didn't steal any corn, so they all got tied up and taken to the yamen. Because the water in the river is still good, and the neighboring village is also having a good harvest. They were afraid of people stealing, so they went to the yamen together and asked that all the thieves have their legs broken."
Huan Yue understood: "While others are busy with drought, they are busy stealing."
The eunuch reported, "Corn is now priced at ten taels of silver each; stealing a few can make you rich. Corn in the next village is also priced at three taels of silver each; carrying fifty of them would be more than a hundred taels of silver."
Ren Zhaoxun said, "It makes me want to steal it."
Huan Yue nodded.
Yu Anu said, "No one would have imagined that such a problem would happen in Baishi Village."
Huan Yue nodded, "I've never seen anything like this before."
She seemed to have heard that monkeys can pick corn, and melon growers should keep an eye on them.
Is that really an exaggeration?
Although there was malicious speculation and pressure on Baishi Village, each one could still be sold for three taels of silver.
Ren Zhaoxun asked, "What will happen to this land in the future?"
Fei Hegu said, "This matter is actually quite simple. If the imperial court has this situation, stationing three to five hundred people will be enough. How many people would dare to openly fight the imperial court?"
Although Baishi Village is large and a few hundred people cannot be observed, its main purpose is to deter others.
There are now about a hundred people protecting Fuminbo.
Due to special circumstances, there were probably tens of thousands of soldiers around Zichan Mountain.
If Changhe County can guarantee a bumper harvest, the cost of stationing three to five hundred people is not high.
Although the bumper harvest in Changhe County is associated with the legend of the phoenix's destiny, the good location is very important.
It gets a bit cooler in the evening.
Xie Zhou brought his son back.
The little boy came over, took his mother's hand, pressed his face against her belly, and listened to his younger brother.
Huan Yue asked, "What did my brother say?"
The child said, "Rain."
Um?
Xie Zhou sat down and looked at his eldest son.
The child winks at his mother.
Huan Yue and Bao Bao winked. "I remember a story about someone dreaming of beheading the Dragon King, so you're one dreaming and the other is the Dragon King? What does this mean? Does it mean the older brother beats the younger brother if he doesn't make it rain?"
The child's smile is so sweet; Mom is overthinking things.
Huan Yue kissed him, not because his mother was overthinking it, but because it was a bit strange.
Xie Zhou dared not ask his son any more questions; he was too young.
Anyway, the situation is alright for now. Even if the harvest is a little less this year, we won't lack food.
Huan Yue added, "After a drought, we must guard against flooding."
Xie Zhou nodded, "My dear wife."
The little one looks at this and wants to kiss his mother.
Huan Yue let him kiss her; that was perfect.
The child continues to listen to his younger brother.
Huan Yue noticed that he occasionally mumbled something he couldn't understand.
The eldest son walks not well but steadily, and speaks not clearly but is a steady person.
So nobody cared.
After all, he was often held by his grandfather, so he didn't use his own legs much.
My grandfather taught me not how much to talk, but how to listen more.
Huan Yue felt that the baby could accept it, while some children might not be able to.
The eunuch came to report: "King Zheng and Princess Yongmu have successfully set sail."
Huan Yue calculated that he would likely not return until the year after next.
This time, we're going to fight the Great Stone Kingdom.
Therefore, it's best to collect more grain so that we have a guarantee for fighting next year.
Xie Zhou used the resources of the Great Stone Kingdom to bring 300,000 people to Ningzhou to mine. This matter is definitely going to cause a huge uproar.
We're just waiting for the Great Stone Kingdom to cause trouble. Let's test its actual combat strength.
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