Wei Yao squinted her eyes, a malicious glint in her expression.
Her intuition told her she wasn’t mistaken. Neither Yun Shang nor Ah Du’s presence seemed like a good thing.
The letter from her father had made it clear: these two were not extraordinary people. They came from a remote mountain village, and there was no trace of the village to be found.
But that was fine. That only proved the two of them were mere mortals. Since they weren’t celestial beings, how could they possibly summon rain for the people tomorrow with perfect timing?
If the rain failed to come, then all the rumors circulating in the palace would pierce the emperor’s heart like knives. His dignity would be ruined, and the so-called Heavenly Maiden and Grand Tutor would have committed the crime of deceiving the emperor!
“So it seems Your Grace truly cares about me. Thank you for your concern, for sending the An Duke all the way to investigate my origins. Did he finally find satisfactory answers?”
Yun Shang smiled with disdain. She wasn’t unaware of what kind of person the An Duke was—she just didn’t expect his children to be so foolish and malicious.
The daughter misbehaving in the palace, the son getting along so well with the Third Prince—didn’t they worry about what trouble it might bring in the future?
“So the Heavenly Maiden already knows, does she? If she knows, then why not come up with a countermeasure? She still has to obey the emperor and perform the ritual to summon rain for the people tomorrow. I shall wish the Heavenly Maiden luck in actually summoning the rain. If she fails and the emperor’s dignity is damaged, she will surely meet a miserable end.”
Wei Yao’s smile was like a blooming flower. What did it matter to her? Tomorrow, the test would fall on the Heavenly Maiden—and what did that have to do with her? If the emperor’s face was humiliated, he wouldn’t be thinking about what she had done anyway.
Yet, strangely, she felt a subtle difference about the Grand Tutor beside the Heavenly Maiden—a feeling that was hard to define, part hostility, part inexplicable tension.
“Sister, I really don’t like those people. I don’t want to see them again.”
Back in the Heavenly Mechanism Palace, Ah Du seemed to have been holding back for a long time. Seeing Yun Shang return, he ran to her and pulled her into his arms, just as intimate as when he was a child.
“What’s wrong? Why say that all of a sudden? Are you scared of tomorrow?”
Yun Shang pretended not to notice, gently patting his back. She could feel that he was suppressing something deep inside.
How could he not feel oppressed? Knowing the identities of those people, memories of his childhood flooded back—how could there be no emotional stir at all?
“I’m never afraid of tomorrow. Even if I die, I’d be happy to die with you, sister. But I feel a sense of frustration. Why does that family, both in my childhood and now, always turn into my nightmare, as if they are forever chasing me? Whether intentionally or not, they always bring me so much disaster. Was I born with a grudge against them? Is my life destined to repay them?”
Ah Du’s face was full of pain. Sometimes he wondered if his very birth had been a colossal mistake.
Had he been indebted to the An Duke’s household, forced to pay again and again, suffering humiliation repeatedly?
“Ah Du, don’t think like that. Those people don’t matter. Didn’t you say that having me by your side is enough? All the pain from your childhood is already over. Those who bullied you have been punished. If the An Duke’s household continues to pursue us, I won’t let them get away either. Be good. Listen to me and wait patiently, okay?”
Yun Shang comforted him with gentle patience. Thinking of the hardships Ah Du had endured in the original world made every extra glance feel cruel.
Finally, the day of the Heavenly Maiden and Grand Tutor’s ritual to summon rain for the people arrived. Everything was prepared. The emperor sat in the highest seat, and all eyes were on them.
The emperor looked at Yun Shang and Ah Du with a trace of doubt. Over time, the shock from that fallen leaf had faded.
With all the rumors spreading, he genuinely wondered whether these two were charlatans.
Looking up, the sun blazed brightly in the sky, showing no sign of rain. His heart sank further. If they failed to summon rain, wouldn’t it prove he had been deceived?
Then, as the emperor, how could he save face? Wouldn’t he be the laughingstock in front of all his ministers?
Wei Yao, as a concubine, naturally sat beside the emperor, fanning herself lazily. The sunlight was scorching.
But she didn’t mind. Just imagining the scene to come filled her with glee.
Everyone was watching intently, seeing Yun Shang and Ah Du standing in the center, hands folded as if requesting rain.
Yet everyone could tell that there was no way they could summon rain—the sun was still high in the sky.
Minutes passed. Yun Shang and Ah Du showed no signs of haste. Yun Shang was confident; with the system, what was there to fear?
Ah Du didn’t care either. Whether the rain came or not, he trusted his sister. Even if the emperor’s face were humiliated and blame fell on him, he wouldn’t fear. As long as he could stay with Yun Shang, he didn’t care if the path ahead led to life or death.
At first, everyone was patient. But half an hour passed, and the sunlight grew unbearable. Even the emperor gradually lost patience, his gaze on Yun Shang and Ah Du growing colder.
It had been promised that rain would come within the hour, but now most of that hour had passed, and not a single drop had fallen. The sun only grew stronger, making it impossible to see even a single raindrop.
Wei Yao was more than delighted. Even though her makeup had melted from the heat, she didn’t care. She stared directly at Yun Shang—she just didn’t like this woman.
From the first glance, she disliked her. Yun Shang’s gaze seemed to see right through her, as if reading the darkest parts of her soul.
And Ah Du, beside her, also found Yun Shang extremely strange. No matter what, he didn’t like these two people. Seeing them disappear wouldn’t bother him at all.