Duoduo was held up by Su Xian at the manor for a while before she was finally allowed to leave.
By this time, the sun was no longer as scorching as it had been at noon.
Still, it was very hot.
As soon as Duoduo stepped out, she could feel a wave of heat rushing toward her.
Usually, Duoduo wouldn’t have paid much attention.
After all, there was ice to cool things down indoors, and even the carriages had ice blocks inside.
So, enduring just a bit of heat on the road had never felt unbearable to her.
But now that she realized heat like this could lead to a nationwide drought and poor harvests, it truly hit home.
It really was too hot.
No wonder the archery and horseback riding lessons at the Imperial Academy had been moved indoors.
Those boys, including Xiao Yunchuan, kept griping about not getting enough of a run.
Duoduo turned her head and asked Lüdou,
“Lüdou, is it hotter this year than last year?”
Lüdou nodded vigorously.
“Princess, have you forgotten? Last year, even though the days were hot, it cooled down at night.”
“We used to sleep in the courtyard every night, and we’d wake up covered in mosquito bites!”
Lüdou’s words brought a smile to Duoduo’s face.
She remembered now.
Back at the Song residence, ice for cooling was a luxury reserved only for her grandmother’s and her parents’ rooms.
When she was hot, she could only hide under the shade of a tree with Lüdou and fan herself with a banana leaf.
Back then, what she longed for most was rain—and what she hated most was also rain.
Because rain brought coolness.
And because of the rain, the servants in the manor would slack off.
She and Lüdou could sneak into the kitchen to find food.
But when it rained, the roof of their room would leak.
Water would be everywhere—on the bed, on the floor.
Luckily, it didn’t rain often in summer.
On dry nights, Lüdou would drag the mat into the courtyard at dusk.
Then she’d light some mugwort, and they’d lie on the mat to sleep.
Back then, what Duoduo loved most was watching the stars in the sky with Lüdou.
The mugwort was secretly gathered by Lüdou, and there wasn’t much of it.
So, often in the middle of the night, swarms of mosquitoes would bite them.
Lüdou would get up frequently to shoo them away.
Even so, every morning, Duoduo would wake up with plenty of mosquito bites on her face and hands.
This year, Duoduo hasn’t been bitten by mosquitoes even once.
Her memories of the past seemed wiped clean, leaving no trace behind.
If Lüdou hadn’t brought it up, Duoduo wouldn’t have recalled what her life used to be like.
Once inside the carriage, fog from the ice blocks in the corners was drifting through the air.
The temperature inside was just right, making them both feel refreshed.
“Princess, every day when I wake up now and think back on those old days, it feels like a dream,” Lüdou couldn’t help but sigh.
Duoduo’s question had reminded her of the hardships of their past.
Comparing it to their current life, Lüdou felt they were living like immortals.
Duoduo nodded.
“You’re right! That’s why we should cherish the present even more and repay those who are kind to us.”
Lüdou’s eyes flickered.
“Princess, are you talking about the Prince?”
Duoduo broke into a wide grin.
“I think it should be everyone who’s been good to us!”
“Princess, one person’s strength is limited,” Lüdou said, a hint of worry crossing her expression.
Duoduo tilted her little head.
“So, we should do what we can to unite others’ strength!”
“Doesn’t the teacher always say that unity is strength? Ten chopsticks are unbreakable!”
Hearing that Duoduo wasn’t planning to act alone, the worry on Lüdou’s face faded.
She didn’t care about the others—as long as the princess didn’t foolishly charge ahead on her own.
“Princess, you’re right.”
“Princess, are you going to the shop to buy jade again?” Lüdou asked in a low voice.
Earlier, Duoduo had asked Lüdou to bring a thousand tael note.
Duoduo nodded.
“We’ll visit the teacher first; I have some questions to ask him.”
“Then we’ll go take a look, and if something catches my eye, I’ll buy it.”
Duoduo was being prepared.
Lüdou nodded, understanding.
The carriage slowly came to a stop in front of the jade shop.
The doorman quickly came over to greet them and helped lift the carriage curtain.
Duoduo stepped out. The shop assistant paused for a moment, then broke into a full smile.
“Your humble servant greets the Princess!”
Duoduo smiled warmly and nodded. “I’ve come to see the teacher. Is he here?”
The assistant beamed. “The manager is indeed here. Please, come inside!”
Duoduo hopped down from the carriage, and Li Jin, having heard the news, walked out to meet her.
“Princess, what brings you here? Are you planning to browse again?”
A curious glint appeared in Li Jin’s eyes.
“I haven’t seen the teacher in a long time, so I wanted to come and visit you.”
“I brought you some watermelon. Have the assistants carry it in.”
Li Jin immediately arranged for someone to move the watermelon.
“You came all the way here, and you brought gifts?” Li Jin said, though he was clearly pleased inside.
Watermelon wasn’t rare in summer.
Xiao Yi had also sent some over.
But Duoduo bringing watermelon to Li Jin showed her respect as his student.
It was like a successful student visiting their teacher with a gift—it filled him with pride.
Li Jin led Duoduo into his office.
The room had ice blocks, so it wasn’t hot.
Once Duoduo sat down, she couldn’t wait to ask,
“Teacher, why did emperors in the past pray for rain?”
Li Jin was startled for a moment, then understood.
“Since ancient times, only two kinds of people prayed for rain.”
“One was the emperor himself; the other was someone with special abilities, like a shaman or a Taoist priest.”
“Do you know, Princess, why only the sovereign or specific individuals could pray for rain?”
Duoduo shook her head.
“Because, from ancient times on, there’s been a belief that the emperor’s power is granted by heaven.”
“If the emperor governed poorly, heaven would send natural disasters as warnings or punishment.”
“Thus, the emperor would hold rain-praying ceremonies to seek heaven’s forgiveness.”
“As for those with special abilities, they claimed to connect with heaven, conveying the emperor’s wishes to the heavens.”
Duoduo understood.
“So praying for rain doesn’t necessarily guarantee that it will rain, right?”
Li Jin thought for a moment.
“I’ve taught you that several conditions must be met for rain to fall.”
“Ancient records mention people who used divination and the study of celestial patterns to predict the weather.”
“What they calculated—those celestial patterns—is what I call feng shui.”
“When the conditions were right, the rain would naturally come.”
“Teacher, do you mean that whenever emperors prayed for rain, the Imperial Observatory would first study the celestial signs and then choose the right time for the ceremony?”
Li Jin nodded.
“Teacher, have you ever seen an emperor pray for rain?”
Li Jin thought for a moment.
“I haven’t seen it in person, but I’ve seen many paintings of it.”
Duoduo’s eyes lit up. She was full of curiosity about rain-praying ceremonies.
“Teacher, can you show me?”
Li Jin shook his head. “I saw them in someone else’s collection, so I can’t show you, Princess.”
“But I can tell you about it.”
Duoduo immediately nodded. “Teacher, please, go ahead—tell me about it!”
