Xu Jinxin knew Duoduo was comforting her, and she nodded.
"Yes! It will stop! Oh, the sky is brightening up!"
Xu Jinxin looked up inadvertently and saw that the originally dark and oppressive sky was gradually becoming brighter.
Delighted, Xu Jinxin held Duoduo's cheeks and planted a kiss on her face.
"Oh! Duoduo, you are such a lucky little star!"
"Look, the sky is brightening. This rain won't last much longer!"
Kissed so suddenly, Duoduo was momentarily stunned.
Seeing Duoduo's expression, Su Xian couldn't suppress the smile at the corners of her lips.
"Your Aunt Xu is just too excited." Su Xian pulled Duoduo into her arms.
Duoduo blushed. She hid in Su Xian's embrace, feeling a little shy.
Looking at the bashful Duoduo, Xu Jinxin laughed out loud.
"Well, did Aunt Xu scare you? I was just so happy!"
Yingniang asked softly, "Mother, why will the rain stop when the sky brightens?"
Xu Jinxin looked up at the sky.
"Because once the sky brightens, the clouds will scatter."
"With fewer clouds, cumulonimbus clouds naturally can't form, and so it won't rain!"
"Cumulonimbus clouds?" Duoduo and Yingniang both asked in surprise.
Xu Jinxin paused for a moment.
"Well, it's just the name of a type of cloud that makes rain."
"Just like you are named Duoduo and Yingniang is named Yingniang!" Xu Jinxin tried her best to explain it simply.
"Oh, so clouds have names too!" Duoduo's eyes sparkled.
"Of course. People have names, so naturally, clouds have names too." Xu Jinxin nodded.
"Aunt Xu, what other names are there?" Duoduo was curious.
"Well, there are rosy dawn clouds, and seven-colored auspicious clouds, haha!" Xu Jinxin couldn't help but laugh.
"Seven-colored? Like a rainbow?" Duoduo's eyes lit up.
"Yes! Just like a rainbow, very beautiful! Unfortunately, Aunt Xu has never had the chance to see one either."
Xu Jinxin had only ever heard of them.
"Then under what circumstances can we see them? The teacher said that in summer, after it rains, when the sun shines on the rainwater, you can see a rainbow."
"What about the seven-colored auspicious clouds? Under what circumstances can they be seen?" Duoduo asked like a curious little baby.
Xu Jinxin shook her head. "Auntie doesn't know about that. If you want to know, you can ask your teacher."
Duoduo nodded and looked up at the sky above.
At this moment, the sky was growing brighter and brighter, as if transitioning from dusk to dawn.
What was originally a torrential downpour had now lessened considerably.
"This rain is stopping so quickly! Looking at this, it will stop in about the time it takes an incense stick to burn."
Xu Jinxin sighed in amazement; their luck was simply too good.
Inside the room, Li Jin and Xiao Yi were looking at a map.
From here, they would still have to travel for half a day before reaching the next prefecture city.
"Your Highness, why don't we rest for a night before leaving."
"It just rained today, and the roads outside will absolutely be muddy and impassable."
"If we happen to get stuck in the mud halfway, it will be quite troublesome."
Xiao Yi had just proposed that they leave as soon as the rain lightened a bit.
After looking at the map with Xiao Yi, Li Jin brought up a different idea.
"No need. Yun Xiao, go find the village head later and ask for some straw."
"Then, tie straw around all our carriage wheels."
Tying dry straw around the wheels would increase their contact area, ensuring they wouldn't sink into the mud.
"Yes." Yun Xiao went out to find the village head.
Li Jin didn't quite understand why Xiao Yi was in such a hurry to leave.
However, Xiao Yi was the Prince. No one dared to contradict his decisions.
By the time Yun Xiao and the men finished wrapping all the carriage wheels in straw, the rain had turned into a fine drizzle.
Xiao Yi had Yun Xiao buy some dry firewood from the village head and place it on the carriage.
If they wanted to reach the next city as quickly as possible, they would likely have to travel a bit through the night.
"Let's go," Xiao Yi said, pushing his wheelchair.
Hearing that Xiao Yi and his group were about to leave, the village head hurried over to dissuade them.
"Young master, after passing through here, all the way south is just barren hills."
"It just rained heavily, so the roads will definitely be slippery. With all your large and small carriages, the journey certainly won't be easy."
"If the young master doesn't mind, stay here for the night. Wait a couple of days for the mud on the road to dry a bit before leaving."
"There is no need. We are in a hurry." Xiao Yi declined the village head's good intentions.
The village head looked at Duoduo outside and finally sighed.
He could tell that this young master was not someone who could be easily persuaded.
"It's almost time for lunch. How about this, I'll have my wife prepare some dry rations for everyone."
"Thank you!" Xiao Yi nodded.
"It's only right, just consider it..." The village head swallowed the rest of his words.
"Just consider it some repayment from our village!" After saying this, the village head left with his hands clasped behind his back.
Xiao Yi gave Yun Xiao a meaningful look.
Yun Xiao nodded. He took some silver from his pouch and quietly placed it under the tea tray.
Xiao Yi pushed his wheelchair outside.
The sky outside had brightened considerably. The rain was still falling, pattering lightly.
Xiao Yi saw the female family members crowded outside, all looking at the sky and chattering away.
"Aunt Xu, without the sun, there is no rainbow."
"Right. A rainbow is actually just the sunlight shining onto water droplets, and the light reflecting off them."
Hearing the sound of the wheelchair, Su Xian turned her head.
"Jinxin!" Li Jin reminded his wife.
Xu Jinxin turned around, only then noticing that Li Jin and Xiao Yi had come out.
"Are we setting off now?" Xu Jinxin had already heard the guards talking about it.
"Yes, we are leaving immediately." Li Jin nodded.
"That's wonderful! We can finally go!" Yingniang and Duoduo were both overjoyed.
"The road might be very muddy. Watch your step when you get into the carriage," Li Jin instructed.
Duoduo saw that Lüdou and Nanny Li, just like the guards, were wrapping straw around their shoes.
"Teacher, why are you wrapping straw around your shoes?"
Duoduo was very puzzled.
"Because this increases the slip resistance of the shoes."
"Slip resistance? Why do we need slip resistance?" Duoduo wanted to get to the bottom of it.
"It just rained, and the dirt on the ground has gotten wet and slippery. When people walk on it, it's like..."
"It's very easy to slip and fall, and the mud easily sticks to your shoes."
"With the straw, you can walk faster without falling over."
Duoduo nodded, indicating she understood.
"Father, Mother, Nanny Li is getting on in years. Why don't we let her ride in the carriage with us?"
Hearing this, Nanny Li hurriedly curtsied. "Princess, this old servant can walk."
Xiao Yi nodded. "Nanny, you can ride in Pingting's carriage."
Touched, Nanny Li bowed to Xiao Yi and Duoduo. "Thank you, Master!"
The village head hurriedly rushed over with the dry rations his wife had prepared and handed them to Yun Xiao.
Finally, he gave Duoduo a stone.
"Little Miss, this is a stone from the river. Keep it as a souvenir!"
Duoduo happily accepted it. "Is it from the river where I saved that fish?"
