CHAPTER 167: CHAPTER 166: COINCIDENCE

It seemed the young attendant was deeply impressed by Yan Daoxin’s eloquence. The next morning, when they were about to leave the inn and continue their journey, he even specifically chased after them to kindly remind them to stock up on some dry food in advance. Otherwise, once they reached the borders of Huazhou and headed further into the rain-prone areas, it would be increasingly difficult to buy food.

It’s said that the local people, seeing that they might face a complete crop failure this year, are all eager to store whatever grain they have at home to avoid going hungry in case of a famine. No one is willing to sell it for money.

As the saying goes, listen to advice and eat your fill.

Zhu Yu and the others heeded the young attendant’s advice. When leaving that county, they specifically detoured to the market to buy plenty of durable dried foods like flatbreads. They carefully wrapped them in oil paper and stored them away, also filling their water flasks to the brim.

Generally speaking, the one thing not lacking in flood-affected areas is water.

But similarly, the thing most lacking in those places is clean, safe drinking water.

The flooding that submerges fields and kills crops is not the most terrifying; the real horror is when people drink from contaminated water sources and consume grains soaked in filthy water, they can easily fall ill, and an epidemic can quickly spread.

After traveling for two more days, the further they went, the more it rained. Roads that should have been easy to traverse were softened by the continuous, lingering rain, becoming muddy, causing the horses to slip from time to time.

This forced them to slow their pace to avoid both themselves and the horses falling into the mire by accident.

The small streams beside the road, which should have been clean and shallow, were now filled with turbid, muddy water. The water seemed to be wider than the road, its yellow surface rippling with the wind.

The towns and county cities they passed by indeed matched the young attendant’s warning. Not even the pancake vendors had open stalls, and many places like restaurants and butcher shops no longer served customers.

Seeing the seemingly endless rain drowning their crops and fearing a complete crop failure, the locals carefully stored away their grain, unwilling to sell it to outsiders.

With no materials to cook in restaurants and butcher shops, they had no choice but to close their doors.

This lent an ever-increasing sense of desolation to the villages and towns along the way.

Though they wore oilcloth coats, traveling in the rain every day still left Zhu Yu feeling entirely damp. The wet clothes clung uncomfortably to her body, carrying with them a subtle, musty smell.

They came to a place without villages or shops in sight, and suddenly the rain grew heavier. Countless raindrops fell from the sky, instantly splashing in the puddles on the ground. The road ahead became a hazy mist in the downpour, barely visible.

The rain, driven by the wind, pelted their faces, making it difficult to keep their eyes open, further complicating their path.

The five of them had no choice but to take shelter from the rain beside a farmer’s field in a small hut for watching over melon patches, planning to continue once the rain lightened up.

"When Prince Yi married, wasn’t it said that Duke Yan’s second son-in-law, Vice Minister Bai Qi Hong, had already been sent by the Holy Emperor to Huazhou to repair the canals?" Zhu Yu looked across at the vast, waterlogged fields opposite the hut and couldn’t help expressing doubt after calculating the time. "It’s been a while by now.

This rain, although heavy, shouldn’t have resulted in waterlogged fields and flooded crops everywhere if the canal repairs were progressing smoothly, right?

In the places we’ve passed these past two days, there have been channels undergoing repairs, yet all were filled with water, serving no function at all."

"It seems Vice Minister Bai may be encountering some difficulties," Lu Qing estimated their travel speed. "If the rain lets up quickly, we should be able to reach him within a day."

Zhu Yu looked suspiciously at Lu Qing. "Are you passing through Huazhou just to see that Vice Minister Bai?"

"Thank you, Madam, for thinking so highly of me, but this is merely a coincidence," Lu Qing replied humbly with a wave.

Zhu Yu gave him a smile in return.

If it truly were a coincidence, then there was something fishy about it!

If it were just a coincidence, Lu Qing wouldn’t have specifically instructed the rune on the day of Lu Zhang’s wedding to keep track of whether Bai Qihong attended with his father-in-law Duke Yan, and if not, where he had gone!

Over time, Zhu Yu had gained a basic understanding of her husband—apart from the undeniable coincidence of marrying a wife skilled in post-mortem examinations, there were no other coincidences in his life.

The conversation between them ended there, and neither delved deeper.

Outside, the rain showed no sign of easing. Yan Daoxin sniffed the musty odor from his oilcloth with a disgusted look, clearly irked by the pervasive moldy scent.

He rummaged through his trunks for a while and magically produced a vermilion porcelain bottle among many jars, dispensing a few red pills of the same hue to the other four, one each.

"It’s not good to stay soaked like this all over. Take these pills to help clear up any excess moisture and damp energy in your body, or else we’ll end up ill from the damp heat!"

Having witnessed Yan Daoxin’s capabilities, Zhu Yu naturally had no doubts about the efficacy of the pills he gave her. She swallowed one immediately, and soon felt a warm sensation spreading from her belly throughout her limbs via her meridians, a relief that was indescribable.

After more than half an hour, the rain finally subsided. Around them, the fields had become indistinguishable from a shallow lake.

Taking advantage of the lighter rain, the five picked up their pace and reached a bustling place just before nightfall.

In stark contrast to the desolate areas they had passed, this place was indeed vibrant.

Before they even approached, Zhu Yu could faintly hear singing carried by the wind alongside the raindrops.

As they got closer, they saw many robust men with bare upper bodies, carrying loads of earth and soil on their shoulders, moving them to a further location.

From head to toe, they were drenched, barefoot, and mud-stained trousers were casually rolled up to their calves. Despite their evident exhaustion, they sang work chants in unison, cheering themselves on without pause, embodying a spirit of tireless determination.

Suddenly, a sturdy man in his thirties or forties stumbled, his load tipping to the side, and without a word, he fell into a puddle of mud before him.