Chapter 281
[Master, if those two passersby really listened to you and came in to take shelter from the rain, what would you do?]
"Guess!"
These people were all professionals; there was absolutely no way they would come in to seek shelter from the rain, especially when they were already completely soaked.
Ordinary people might not notice it right away, but people like Shen Chunying and the others must have already felt the benefits of the rain on their bodies.
In today's escort team, apart from Shen Chunying and Yu Huaixian who had followed her to the manor last time, it was everyone else's first time being drenched in the spiritual rain.
But that didn't stop them from quickly discovering the difference.
Just as Liu Wei had said, this rain felt incredibly comfortable on the body, and hidden injuries and latent ailments felt significantly alleviated.
Thinking that this rain was brought down by their Lord and the Divine Artifact, the crowd, who had already accepted that the person they were protecting was a true immortal descended to the mortal realm, once again refreshed their understanding of what an 'immortal' truly was.
The crowd couldn't help but look at Yue Fuguang's carriage with even more fervent gazes. They unilaterally declared that unless the Lord killed them, no one could make them leave her side.
Just like their colleague Shen Chunxue, who had a biological mother as a manor lord. As the sole heir to the mountain manor, she chose not to return and be a young miss, willingly staying by the Lord's side instead. At this moment, they could understand her better than anyone else.
So what if it was the Luoxia Mountain Manor of the Five Mountains and Six Manors?
Was it as appealing as staying by the Lord's side?
The crowd, whose thoughts were racing wildly due to excitement, quickly noticed something amiss with that kid Yu Huaixian.
At first, when they saw him opening his mouth wide to catch the rainwater to drink, they thought the kid was just thirsty.
But the fact that he was still drinking after a while was highly suspicious!
None of them were fools. The moment they thought of his identity as the cousin of the Junior Preceptor, they all silently raised their heads and opened their mouths wide.
It didn't matter if one wasn't smart, but one had to be perceptive and know to follow the smart people closely.
Fortunately, everyone was riding horses, so they didn't have to worry about tripping over their own feet while walking with their heads tilted back.
The only downside was that lunch had been so delicious that none of them had eaten sparingly. On the other hand, Shen Chunying, Liu Wei, and Yu Huaixian had stepped out halfway through, so they had eaten a bit less than the rest.
The advantage of this became apparent right then.
Liu Wei and Shen Chunying weren't as boorish as the men; they merely caught the rainwater secretly with their hands to drink. Because the rain was heavier this time compared to the incident at the alternate estate, it only took a short while for the two of them to fill their stomachs. They felt a faint sense of regret that their appetites were small and their stomachs couldn't hold more.
Wei Ping and his group shared the same regret.
The kettles and small teacups on the carriage were already filled. Just as they were fretting over what to do next, they saw the Junior Preceptor's escort team, led by Yu Huaixian, all craning their necks toward the sky with their mouths wide open...
First it was Cai Xian and Huo Ying at the front, followed by Wei Ping and the others, who all began to imitate them.
Even Lin Congxue, who had the strongest scholarly air, temporarily set aside his reserve.
Compared to a bit of modesty, a healthy body seemed far more important.
Especially when everyone around him was doing it, joining in was called being sociable and fitting into the circle!
Senior officials like Yu Chongshan and Bao Yuanjun watched all this with chuckles, then turned their gazes toward the endless expanse of the imperial manor's lands in the distance.
They could almost imagine the seeds here, having drank their fill of the spiritual rainwater, desperately sprouting and growing.
Around the fields, there seemed to be faint silhouettes of people moving about; those were the guards protecting the fine seeds.
From the moment these guards saw their carriage procession approaching the imperial manor, they had been silently tailing them. Even without seeing their expressions, one would know that these people had already quietly heightened their vigilance.
Yu Chongshan stroked his beard. The boys on duty today were lucky to catch his granddaughter bringing down the spiritual rain.
They weren't the only lucky ones; there was also Wei Shouyi and his men, who had led a group to capture Wu Lao'er's accomplices.
They had already captured Wu Lao'er's parents, wife, children, and elders. While returning to the military camp, they suddenly noticed that the previously clear sky to their rear flank had abruptly become heavily overcast.
Wei Shouyi, who was particularly sensitive to geographical locations due to years of warfare, immediately pinpointed that it was the direction of the imperial manor.
Normally, seeing that it was about to rain wouldn't be strange, but the area covered by the dark clouds wasn't far from them. The sun was shining brightly right above their heads, yet heavy rain was about to fall over there.
Wei Shouyi's eyes flickered. If he wasn't mistaken, didn't the shape of those dark clouds perfectly cover the territory of the ten-thousand-acre imperial manor?
He quickly thought of the Junior Preceptor who happened to be there today, and the spiritual rain she once summoned that only fell on her own fields, without a single drop landing next door.
"Giddy up! Giddy up! Giddy up!"
Having figured this out, regardless of whether it was true or not, Wei Shouyi decided to head over and freeload on the rain first.
At worst, he'd be wrong and just take a cold rain bath. With his thick skin and sturdy build, he wouldn't even catch a cold!
It could be said that Wei Shouyi's benefit from this wave was entirely due to luck and his own decisiveness.
The group followed behind Yue Fuguang's carriage along the rainy road. As they slowly left the boundaries of the imperial manor, the originally continuous curtain of rain first splintered into threads, then scattered into an invisible floating mist that slowly dissipated into the world.
The trees along the road were washed bright and clear, every leaf looking like fine jasper.
Faint light pierced through the clouds on the horizon, rapidly illuminating the earth.
The imperial manor guards, who had been following the convoy all along, looked at the sky where the clouds had parted and the rain had stopped, and then at the convoy that was about to disappear from sight...
"General!"
A soldier uncertainly called out to their leader, who had an indescribably complex expression on his face—their general, Shen Jian.
At the same time, he was the Emperor's nephew, the Grand Princess's eldest son, and Shen Kang's older brother.
"Fall back!" he commanded with a wave of his hand.
He had heard about that miraculous Junior Preceptor many times, but due to various reasons, he had never had the chance to meet her.
Meeting in such a manner today had to be considered luck for him and his brothers-in-arms.
"Fang Cheng, pass down the order. Today's events are not to be spread outside. Violators will be dealt with by military law!"
"Yes, General!"
...
Smack! After listening to Eunuch Qian's report, Emperor Mingxi frustratingly slammed the memorial in his hand onto the desk!
He couldn't help but secretly regret it; his trip to the imperial manor a couple of days ago was simply too early!
If he had gone today, wouldn't he have had a chance encounter with Fuguang, and had the opportunity to be like Wei Ping and the others!
If nothing else, his son could have joined those silk-pants in stealing a chicken or grabbing a pig, right?
Sitting at the lower desk, Xie Zhiyan, who was working hard at reviewing memorials, didn't even need to think to know what his imperial father was pondering.
He covertly rolled his eyes, really wanting to tell his imperial father that this sort of thing depended on fate.
Emperor Mingxi didn't know his good eldest son was secretly criticizing him. He turned to ask Eunuch Qian, "Old Qian, where are Wei Ping's carriages now?"
Qian Gui: Your Majesty, just say you want to know if those officials are heading to the palace!
Qian Gui bowed and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, Ping San reported that Lord Wei and the others have already returned to their respective estates."
Qian Gui quickly raised his eyes to glance at the Emperor and added, "According to Ping San, the rain was very heavy. All the lords, except for the Junior Preceptor, were drenched in the rain."
Emperor Mingxi nodded. "Send a message to Shen Jian. Have him keep an eye on the growth of the crops over the next few days."
Thinking that besides the grain seedlings, there were also wild vegetables and weeds in the fields, he said, "Crown Prince, tomorrow or the day after, take some people to pull the weeds, and remember to sort and store them all properly."