The Imperial Guards were quickly brought forward.
“Who has come here earlier?” The Emperor stared at the Imperial Guards with a tense expression.
The Imperial Guards knelt on the ground, their heads lowered.
“Your Majesty, earlier only Princess Changle and her maid were here.”
“Did you see clearly what that mist was about?”
The Emperor looked at the high platform where he had stood, now like an immortal terrace, his eyes churning with unreadable emotions.
The Imperial Guard trembled in fright.
“Your Majesty, you instructed that the Princess should not discover my presence, so I dared not get too close.”
“At that time, only the Princess was here; her maid was guarding the entrance.”
“I feared being discovered, so I did not approach.”
“I do not know what exactly happened there.”
The Imperial Guard knew nothing, and the Emperor’s face darkened.
Eunuch Li quickly stepped in to smooth things over.
“Your Majesty, it’s about to pour rain. Perhaps you should return to the palace?”
Just then, a clap of thunder rolled across the sky, and raindrops as large as beans came pelting down.
The Emperor lifted his head, once again gazing at the mist-covered high platform, lost in thought.
“Your Majesty, you must take care of your royal health!” Eunuch Li said with great urgency.
Because of the hot weather, no umbrellas had been prepared.
In his desperation, Eunuch Li pulled up his sleeves to shield the Emperor’s head.
The rain struck his face, stinging slightly.
The Emperor’s face—whether tears or rain—traced lines down his cheeks.
He withdrew his gaze and flicked his sleeve.
“Return to the palace!”
Eunuch Li promptly announced, “Raise the palanquin, return to the palace!”
The Emperor’s entourage came in haste and left in haste.
At that moment, all of the capital city was rejoicing.
After months of heat, a great rain had finally come.
The common people, unafraid of getting wet, played and frolicked in the rain.
Some took out containers to collect the rainwater.
Others simply washed their faces and hair under the downpour.
Children ran about in the rain, chasing and laughing, their joyful sounds filling the entire capital with excitement.
The rain continued for a whole day and night before stopping—but that’s a story for later.
Outside the Prince of Pingyang’s mansion, the tense, confrontational atmosphere was also quenched by the sudden heavy rain.
The common people hurried home, leaving behind only a litter of rotten vegetable leaves.
On the mansion’s gate, suspicious, foul-smelling liquid remained.
All the filth and chaos were washed away by the rain, leaving no trace.
Inside the Prince of Pingyang’s mansion, Xiao Yi gazed at the heavy rain outside the window, lost in thought.
“The Prince, the Prefect of the Capital left in haste with his men, heading toward the palace, it seems.”
“However, there are still yamen runners guarding the gate.”
Yunxiao reported, his shoulders damp.
“The Prince, Prince Ling took Song Shuyu and followed His Majesty to pray for rain, and they succeeded.”
Xiao Yi stared at the downpour outside the window. “Where is the Princess?”
Yunxiao froze—had the Prince not heard what he just said?
Xiao Yi turned to face Yunxiao. “The Princess? Has she returned?”
Yunxiao snapped back and quickly replied.
“The Prince, the Princess has not yet returned.”
“But with such heavy rain, they are probably delayed on the road.”
“The Prince, the Prefect of the Capital has placed the mansion under guard. Even if the Princess returns, she won’t be able to enter,” Yunxiao reminded Xiao Yi.
“Didn’t the Prefect of the Capital go to the palace to report?”
Xiao Yi’s tone was very calm, as if the chaos that had just engulfed the mansion had never happened.
Because rumors of a plague in the Prince of Pingyang’s mansion had spread, the common people were furious, demanding that the mansion be set on fire to prevent the plague from spreading.
Upon hearing this, the Prefect of the Capital rushed with his yamen runners to the Prince of Pingyang’s mansion.
Outside the mansion, it was already packed with angry citizens.
They hurled rotten vegetable leaves, stones, and other objects at the mansion’s gate and walls in vented fury.
Though the Prince of Pingyang was already a disgraced prince, he was still a son of the Emperor, of imperial blood. The Prefect of the Capital dared not trample upon him lightly.
He quickly ordered the mansion sealed off, forbidding anyone from entering or leaving.
“You, a mere Prefect of the Capital, have no authority to seal my mansion!”
The mansion’s gates opened, and Xiao Yi, seated in a wheelchair, was pushed out by Yunxiao.
A rotten egg flew out from the crowd, about to strike Xiao Yi in the face—
But an umbrella suddenly opened. The egg hit the umbrella’s surface and slid to the ground.
Behind Xiao Yi, Yunxiao moved as well.
He leaped over the crowd, seized the man who had thrown the rotten egg, and dragged him out.
The man trembled in fear, while a pungent odor spread, and liquid ran down his pant legs.
Yunxiao contemptuously tossed the man to the ground.
The Prefect of the Capital bowed to Xiao Yi.
“The Prince, since the mansion has a plague, I gave the order to seal it for the mansion’s own good.”
“If the people’s anger is not appeased, I fear the mansion will know no peace!”
Hearing the threat in the Prefect of the Capital’s voice, Xiao Yi stared at him for a long moment.
Because of Yunxiao’s earlier move, the common people dared not utter a word.
The scene fell into utter silence.
When the Prefect of the Capital felt a chill running down his spine under Xiao Yi’s gaze, Xiao Yi finally spoke.
“The Prince of Pingyang’s mansion has a plague? Does the Prefect of the Capital have proof?”
“Without evidence, how dare a mere Prefect of the Capital arbitrarily seal my mansion? Do you hold no regard for me at all?”
The Prefect of the Capital wiped the sweat from his forehead.
He indeed had no evidence.
But this was a plague—how could he take it lightly?
“The Prince, someone saw a person with the plague being moved out of the mansion,” the Prefect of the Capital explained.
“Oh? Someone? Who might that be? Can they step forward and confront me?”
The Prefect of the Capital quickly turned and brought forward the initial accusers.
“Did you personally witness someone in the mansion contracting the plague?” Xiao Yi coldly asked the first man.
The first man quickly shook his head in denial. “I heard it from them.”
The others who were pointed out similarly shook their heads in denial.
“We also heard it from someone else!”
A cold smirk curled at the corner of Xiao Yi’s lips.
“Oh? All just hearsay?”
“Then from whom did you hear it?”
The accusers glanced at each other.
Because the situation had been chaotic at the time, and more people kept gathering, everyone was indignant—and naturally, no one noticed who had first spoken.
Seeing their expressions, the Prefect of the Capital was dumbstruck.
“Prefect of the Capital, do you decide life and death on the basis of baseless rumors?”
“Do you live up to His Majesty’s expectations of you? Do you live up to the official cap on your head? Do you live up to the trust of the common people under heaven!”
Xiao Yi’s words grew heavier and heavier, louder and louder, one sentence piling onto the next.
“Or, perhaps, you have no regard for His Majesty at all!”
The common people all turned to look at the Prefect of the Capital.
His legs gave way, and he fell to his knees.
