Chapter 12 Next year, the earth may be dry.
Yunzhu waited for Xiao Mingzhang until very late that day before he went home.
She originally intended to wait for him to come back so they could rest together, but halfway through, she became too sleepy and couldn't resist sneaking into bed first.
When Xiao Mingzhang returned, she was having a dream, and her originally beautiful face was serene.
Xiao Mingzhang sat on the head of the table, staring at her sleeping face for a long time before finally lifting her up, lifting the covers, and calling for someone to change her into a new one.
Yunzhu was fast asleep when she suddenly felt a chill on her body. She opened her eyes and was met with Xiao Mingzhang's dark pupils, with dark red flames flickering on his face.
"It's alright." Xiao Mingzhang lowered his head and gently pressed his lips to her forehead. "The blanket is a bit dirty, I'll have someone change it to a new one."
"Hmm..." Yunzhu was completely unaware that the quilt, which had been changed three days ago, was suddenly dirty. How come she didn't notice it when she got into bed just now?
But she was too tired to think about those things. She let Xiao Mingzhang deal with the blankets and continued to lie weakly in his arms. Soon she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
When she woke up again, it was already the next morning.
Xiao Mingzhang had just returned from his morning exercise, with a light sheen of sweat on his forehead.
Yunzhu was covered with the bedding he had ordered to be changed the night before. She sniffed it and smelled a familiar and comforting scent of bamboo leaves.
"Awake? Get up and have breakfast. The doctor has arrived." On this rare day, Xiao Mingzhang woke Yunzhu up early, not for calligraphy practice.
Yunzhu immediately got up and followed his instructions.
She knew that since yesterday's matter had been postponed to today, Xiao Mingzhang would definitely not break his promise today.
After they finished their meal, the doctor came in to examine them. The doctor was already waiting outside. After taking their pulses, he said, "Both the prince and princess's pulses are normal, and there is nothing wrong with them. However, the princess's pulse is a little weak. If she wants to have children, she will need to take more tonics in the future."
"Weak?" This was the first time Yunzhu had heard such an assessment of herself from a doctor.
Yunzhu was born and raised in the boundless wilderness of the Western Regions. She learned to ride horses and shoot arrows. She learned everything the men of the Western Regions learned from a young age. From birth to marriage, no doctor on the grasslands ever said that she was physically weak.
But the doctor in front of us is a renowned gynecologist in Yunzhou City. Almost all the women in Yunzhou City have had their pulses examined by this doctor, so what he says should not be wrong.
Yunzhu then pondered why the doctor had diagnosed her with a weak pulse.
Yunzhu was the third daughter of her father, the king. Her two older sisters had both married princes from other tribes on the grasslands. They continued to live on the grasslands, still free to do whatever they wanted and go wherever they could on horseback.
Since marrying into Yunzhou, she has not enjoyed a carefree life for a long time.
Although Xiao Mingzhang never restricted her in the same way as Ying Shi, her life was still quite different from that on the grasslands.
Could it be that she hasn't gone out much during the two years she's been in Yunzhou City, which has led to her weakened health?
Yunzhu asked the doctor about her guess.
The physician nodded: "If going out more often, riding horses and hunting can make the princess happy, it will also be good for her health."
Is that really the reason?
Yunzhu found it unbelievable, yet at the same time, she felt that it made perfect sense.
After seeing the doctor off that day, Yunzhu stared intently at Xiao Mingzhang with her bright eyes.
She could finally speak with conviction: "Xiao Mingzhang, did you hear me? From now on, you're not allowed to keep me cooped up at home all the time. It's true that I need to study, but I also need to ride horses and hunt often to broaden my mind!"
"Okay, I heard you." Xiao Mingzhang smiled helplessly at Yunzhu. Seeing that she had received the doctor's words as if she had received an imperial pardon, he couldn't help but shake his head.
Taking advantage of her weakened state, Yunzhu pressed on to Xiao Mingzhang and made many more demands of him.
Xiao Mingzhang knew she was pushing her luck and really wanted to refuse her outright, but as soon as Yunzhu brought up the doctor, he was completely helpless and could only agree to everything.
Yunzhu was overjoyed.
She considered herself to have won a great victory that day.
But in fact, if Yunzhu were more adept at understanding people's hearts, she could have easily discovered that although Xiao Mingzhang was obedient to her and granted her every request, there was always a layer of subtle heartache hidden beneath his gentle smile.
Like a beautiful night in late autumn, all the wind, frost, rain, and snow are hidden behind her, and what is revealed before her eyes is only endless tenderness after layers of embellishment.
—
Xiao Mingzhang always kept his word.
After the doctor left that day, Yunzhu was no longer bound by Xiao Mingzhang's rules, and she was almost completely free from all constraints in the entire Prince's mansion.
She could go out for a walk whenever she wanted, or go horseback riding outside the city whenever she wanted, and no one would stop her anymore.
In fact, there were only two people in the Prince's mansion who would try to stop her: Xiao Mingzhang and Ying Shi. Prince Huan, Xiao Shao, almost never cared about Yunzhu's whereabouts.
After Xiao Mingzhang relented, Ying Shi originally wanted to intervene, but knowing she was in the wrong, she talked to Xiao Mingzhang a couple of times. Seeing that Xiao Mingzhang really didn't want to restrain Yunzhu anymore, she could only turn a blind eye.
Moreover, compared to Yunzhu, Ying Shi has been more concerned about another matter lately—the scar on Xiao Mingzhang's cheek.
The scar did not escape Ying's notice after all, and she would not, like Yunzhu, believe that the scar was really made by a tree branch at the bottom of the river.
She knew perfectly well that there was only one person in the entire Yunzhou City who could cause Xiao Mingzhang to suffer such an injury.
Ying had a huge argument with Xiao Shao over this.
The noise became known to almost everyone in the mansion.
The story was passed around, but no one knew the reason why the two were arguing.
Yunzhu considered herself used to these kinds of arguments between middle-aged couples, so she didn't take them to heart.
That day, she went out of the city to ride horses with Yu Jingsi and Cui Ranzhi. Several other noble ladies from Yunzhou City also accompanied them.
After riding out of the city gate, Yu Jingsi told everyone about her brother's recent trip to Qingzhou.
"Qingzhou?" someone who didn't know the situation asked, "Are you going to check how the locust plague is being dealt with?"
Yu Jingsi nodded.
It turns out that the locust plague in Qingzhou was a problem. Although the emperor had sent people to Qingzhou to help a month ago, a month had passed and the results were minimal. Many people in Qingzhou were still unable to get enough food.
Yunzhou is not close to Qingzhou, with two large cities, Luozhou and Jizhou, in between. However, some refugees have already arrived in Yunzhou, which shows that they really have no other choice.
King Huan then decided to send someone to check on the situation. If the Prince of Sui needed any help, the King Huan's residence would spare no effort to assist him.
"Our prince is truly righteous!" one of the girls in the group exclaimed.
"Of course!" Yu Jingsi felt that being born in Yunzhou was something to be very proud of.
Although Yunzhou is quite far from Jinling, the Huanwang Mansion is there. The current Huanwang and his heir are both good rulers who love their people like their own children. They are good at leading troops into battle and governing the land. Regardless of whether they are citizens of Yunzhou City or not, as long as they set foot on Yunzhou land, they will always be responsible for them.
"I agree. Yunzhou is a place of outstanding people and abundant resources; everything about it is wonderful!"
A girl chimed in, echoing Yu Jingsi's sentiments.
Yu Jingsi glanced at her with delight, and the two of them chatted back and forth, quickly leading the group from their original casual conversation to endless praise of the Huan Prince's Mansion.
As the Crown Princess of the Huan Prince's Mansion, Yunzhu found it hard not to feel honored when she heard them suddenly speak so highly of the Huan Prince's Mansion.
She barely spoke throughout, but she memorized every word others said praising the Prince's Mansion, intending to recite it to Xiao Mingzhang when she got home that night.
until--
Suddenly, a voice that sounded different from the others rang out: "Um, actually, there's something I'm not sure if I should say..."
Yunzhu and Yu Jingsi turned around and saw that the person who spoke was He Sinan, the young lady of the He family.
Yunzhu remembered that He Sinan's father was now also a strategist in the Huan Prince's mansion.
However, her father's expertise was different from that of ordinary strategists.
He Sinan's father was named He Chonghuan. He was skilled in astrology, Liuren divination, and Bagua calculations. He could often predict the weather for the next few days based on celestial phenomena with high accuracy. When King Huan went on military campaigns, he always liked to take him along to help predict celestial events.
“My father said that this locust plague in Qingzhou might not be so easy to solve…”
He Sinan always spoke softly and gently, as if he was afraid of disturbing people.
But these three short sentences, in an instant, were like a boulder thrown into calm water, stirring up countless waves.
The crowd looked at each other, puzzled, and asked her what she meant.
He Sinan continued, "My father said he's calculated that this year's locust plague in Qingzhou might continue into next year. Next year, it won't just be Qingzhou; it might even affect Jizhou, Luozhou, and our Yunzhou as well. The land will be dry, and the people will have little food..."
Do you really believe what you're saying?
Locust plagues are often accompanied by droughts, and everyone already understood the meaning behind He Sinan's words today.
But drought is no small matter, and they were still unwilling to give up and wanted to get to the bottom of it from her.
Surrounded by the crowd, He Sinan nodded cautiously, then quickly shook his head: "But this is just my father's guess. As you all know, guesses can be wrong sometimes. It's just a possibility..."
Maybe……
Everyone couldn't help but recall how credible He Chonghuan's predictions usually were...
Finally, everyone gasped in shock.
"If this prophecy comes true, won't our Yunzhou City soon be plunged into dire straits?" Cui Ranzhi asked in astonishment.
“It’s more than just being in dire straits,” Yu Jingsi said in a deep voice. “At that time, I’m afraid it will be difficult to even get a bite to eat or a sip of water.”
Yunzhou is located in the north and is not near any major rivers or seas. If it were to encounter a drought, the chances of survival would be slim.
He Sinan only meant to give everyone a heads-up, but after he finished speaking, he caused everyone to immediately feel a sense of crisis.
She wanted to ease everyone's tensions, but didn't know how to start.
Yunzhu said, "Alright, alright, even if there is a drought, that's a problem for next year. Besides, since Mr. He has already predicted it, Prince Huan probably already knew. The Prince's Palace will definitely find a way to start storing water and food early. Let's all put our minds at ease for now!"
Yes, they are in Yunzhou, and they also have the Huan Prince's Mansion.
Yunzhu's words brought smiles back to everyone's faces in an instant.
“That’s true, with the Prince’s Mansion here…” they murmured to each other, seemingly quite willing to believe that as long as the Prince Huan’s Mansion existed, they would always be safe.
Seeing that she had finally calmed the person down, Yunzhu breathed a huge sigh of relief.
When she returned to the palace that day, it was not too late. In the distance, under the orange-red sky, weary birds were returning to their nests, and the clouds were like endless, spreading silk, spreading across the beautiful sky.
After riding horses all afternoon, it should have been a good time to rest, but less than a quarter of an hour after returning home, Yunzhu went to Xiao Mingzhang's study instead of resting.
Yes, persuading others is often easier than persuading oneself.
Yunzhu remembers that there were many records about locust plagues in Xiao Mingzhang's study.
She dragged Ayan along to help her find all the books, but as soon as she sat down at the table and opened the books, she felt a headache coming on again.
There are too many words in this book that she doesn't recognize.
"Princess, what are we going to see?" Ayan was completely confused and had no idea what her princess was going to do.
Yunzhu looked at Ayan, about to explain to her, when suddenly she thought of someone who would be very suitable to interpret these books for her.
She then said to Ayan, "Go and call Ming'an over here for me!"
"Princess Qingyuan?" Ayan asked uncertainly.
"Yes," Yunzhu affirmed.
“Call her the County Princess… what if she doesn’t come?” Yunzhu had never invited Xiao Ming’an to their courtyard before, and considering their relationship, Ayan was unsure whether Xiao Ming’an would actually come.
Yunzhu said confidently, "Then just tell her that I have some books that I don't understand and I need her to help me understand them. As long as she agrees to read them to me this afternoon, I will agree to go out with her once in the future for each book she reads to me. Otherwise, tell her to forget about it in the future!"
Ayan suddenly realized what was happening and immediately obeyed, calling for Xiao Ming'an for her.
A note from the author:
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He Sinan: Yes! My dad's a prophet! [Shut up]
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