Xiao Yi frowned, and Su Xian looked at him in surprise.
"How could only that specific carriage be lost? Weren't there guards assigned to watch it?"
"Your Highness, what should we do? As we travel north on this journey, we have no way to prepare another one..."
Xiao Yi pondered for a moment. "Yun Xiao, send a carrier pigeon to Ling Yu and Ling Feng. See who is available to prepare a valuable birthday gift, and that will do."
Yun Xiao was taken aback. "Your Highness, is it enough for it to just be valuable?"
Xiao Yi nodded. "Yes, remember, valuable and heavy! Valuable and heavy, do you understand?"
Yun Xiao immediately broke into a smile. "This subordinate understands."
Yun Xiao retreated from the room, and Su Xian put down her embroidery.
"Your Highness, what about the lost birthday gift? Aren't you going to send someone to investigate?"
Xiao Yi shook his head.
"We are in a hurry to reach the capital, so there is no need to investigate."
Su Xian secretly felt that this was a bit strange.
Previously, when she mentioned preparing a birthday gift for the Emperor, Xiao Yi had said he would handle it.
When they set off, Su Xian had seen the guards loading a large and heavy chest onto the carriage.
Xiao Yi had even specifically assigned several guards to watch over that carriage.
It was evident that Xiao Yi must have put a great deal of thought into this birthday gift.
But now that the gift was lost, Xiao Yi was not anxious at all, nor did he send guards to search for it.
This was far too unusual!
In a secluded courtyard within the city, several men in black loaded a chest onto a carriage.
Smug expressions appeared on all their faces.
Once they presented this to their master, they would surely be rewarded.
Although they had failed to assassinate the Prince of Pingyang, they had managed to steal the birthday gift.
This way, the Prince of Pingyang would surely fail to reach the capital in time because he would be busy searching for the gift.
Even if the Prince of Pingyang eventually reached the capital, he would have no time to prepare another suitable birthday gift.
Naturally, their master's birthday gift would then have the chance to take the top spot.
The men had not opened the chest, so they naturally did not know that inside were just a few ordinary large rocks.
They would travel over mountains and rivers to transport the large chest back to the capital, but when their master saw the contents of the chest, the lives of these men would also come to an end.
But that is a story for later, so we will not dwell on it now.
Seeing that it was about time, Xiao Yi had Yun Xiao bring in breakfast.
After the group finished eating their breakfast, they went downstairs.
Today was yet another cloudless day.
"Why does it feel like it's getting hot a bit early this year? It's not even summer yet, but it already feels like the heat of summer."
Xu Jinxin wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Su Xian handed her own handkerchief to Xu Jinxin. "Perhaps the climate here is just different?"
Xu Jinxin shook her head. "Shouldn't it get more humid the further south we go? It's far too dry."
Beside them, Nanny Li spoke up, "Yesterday, I heard the innkeeper say that it hasn't rained here since the beginning of spring."
Out of concern for Nanny Li's health, Su Xian had her ride in their carriage today.
Xu Jinxin looked surprised. "It hasn't rained for that long? Won't there be a drought?"
Xu Jinxin's words caused everyone to fall silent.
In the carriage ahead, Li Jin was discussing the same topic.
"Teacher, why isn't it raining?" Duoduo didn't understand.
"Because there isn't enough humidity," Li Jin explained.
"Humidity? What is that?" Duoduo still didn't understand.
"Let's put it this way: there isn't enough moisture in the air, and there are too few clouds in the sky. The clouds up there can't turn into rain and fall down."
"Does rain come from clouds? Clouds are so light, how can they turn into rain?"
Seeing Duoduo act like a little encyclopedia of questions, Li Jin explained the process of rain formation to him in simple terms.
"So that's how it works. That's so interesting!"
Duoduo came to a sudden realization after hearing the explanation.
Even Xiao Yi, who was sitting nearby, couldn't help but cast a few glances at Li Jin.
He had never heard such an explanation before.
"From which book did you get this concept?" Xiao Yi inquired.
Li Jin was taken aback. He had gotten carried away with his explanation and forgot that the sharp-witted Prince of Pingyang was right beside him.
"Uh, I forgot. I saw it in a book, anyway."
Li Jin brushed it off completely.
After all, he wasn't lying; this knowledge did indeed come from books.
It was just that those books didn't exist in this time and space.
Xiao Yi frowned. He didn't believe it.
He was a man who loved to read. He couldn't say exactly how many, but he had read at least tens of thousands of books.
However, he had never read a single book that talked about what Li Jin had just explained.
He developed a deep curiosity about Li Jin.
Over the past two days, he had known some of the things Li Jin taught Duoduo, but other things were completely unheard of to him.
Yet, Li Jin's explanations were so logical and reasonable that they made him feel as if that was simply the way things were meant to be.
Sensing Xiao Yi's probing gaze, Li Jin secretly became alert.
It seemed he needed to be more careful when giving lessons to Duoduo.
Meanwhile, Duoduo rested his chin in his hands, looking at the scenery outside the window, his mind still pondering what Li Jin had just said.
The carriage moved slowly forward and finally came to a stop at the foot of a mountain.
The guards got out of the carriages and began digging pits to build stoves, preparing the midday meal.
The people inside the carriages also stepped out to stretch their legs.
In just a short while, the scorching sun made everyone feel uncomfortably hot.
Li Jin wiped his sweat. "This is way too hot! It feels exactly like the peak of summer. How is this spring?"
Xiao Yi looked up at the sky. It was completely cloudless, without even the slightest breeze.
He furrowed his brows.
If it truly was a drought, then not only the common people, but they too would face the danger of having no drinking water.
If there was no water, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Xiao Yi began to question whether his decision to take a detour through this area was the right one.
Duoduo hid in the shade of the carriage, playing a game of stepping on shadows with Yingniang.
"Sister, I stepped on you!"
"Sister, you can't step on me!"
Duoduo and Yingniang laughed and played, and soon, large drops of sweat were rolling down their foreheads.
"Alright, look at you sweating all over. Take a break."
Su Xian affectionately pulled Duoduo over and used a handkerchief to wipe his sweat.
Duoduo's small face was flushed red from the heat.
"Mother, I want to drink water!" Duoduo felt thirsty.
Lianxin hurriedly brought a water skin down from the carriage.
"If the prefecture city ahead is truly experiencing a drought, our water supply might become a problem."
Xu Jinxin's face showed concern.
"Aunt Xu, maybe it will rain soon!"
"Teacher said that as long as there is enough humidity, it will rain." Duoduo took several big gulps of water and handed the water skin back to Lianxin.
"That's true, but with this temperature, where would the humidity come from? Unless there's artificial rainmaking..."
Xu Jinxin realized she had let slip something she shouldn't have and quickly covered her mouth.
However, Duoduo heard her loud and clear.
"Aunt Xu, what is artificial rainmaking?"
