Ji Lan pursed her lips – she hoped Han Yan would end up with Zhuo Qi. What better way to get revenge on a man than to find an even better husband? While Fu Yunxi might be unmatched in Da Zong, this Western Rong prince didn’t seem bad at all. At least he treated her Young Miss well. As they say, it’s easy to add flowers to brocade, but difficult to send charcoal in snowy weather.

Shu Hong sighed but said nothing. Han Yan just smiled and continued drinking her tea.

Two days passed quickly.

During these two days, Han Yan remained in Qingqiu Garden without leaving. Zhuang Han Ming came several times, but Han Yan didn’t see him. Zhuang Shiyang, uncharacteristically quiet since his return, hadn’t sought her out. In the past, Han Yan might have found this suspicious, but now she simply had Ji Lan monitor Zhuang Shiyang’s movements in the mansion while she focused on her tasks.

On this day, the sky was overwhelmingly dark, with torrential rain pouring outside. Lightning flashed and thunder roared as black clouds pressed down over the entire capital, making the sky as dark as night. Yet in the darkness, lightning would illuminate the entire sky, while thunder crashed against people’s ears, rumbling as if heaven itself might collapse. Han Yan sat quietly as Ji Lan lit lamps in the room, saying nervously, “What terrible rain – it’s frightening.”

Water streamed down from the roof corners, and the “swoosh” of rain created white splashes in the pond. The rain showed no signs of stopping, and one could only wonder about the conditions outside.

Han Yan felt cold and pulled her outer garment tighter, saying, “It won’t stop until it’s rained for three days and nights.”

Shu Hong looked at Han Yan thoughtfully: “Then, Young Miss, does this mean we won the bet with Official Yang?”

Ji Lan seemed to just remember, exclaiming “Ah!” before turning to Han Yan: “That’s right! We’ve won the bet, haven’t we? Young Miss, you’re amazing! But how did you know such a big rain would come?”

Han Yan paused, then smiled: “I just had a dream – I dreamed of this great rain.”

Ji Lan believed her words completely, exclaiming excitedly: “Young Miss, what an incredible dream! If only you could dream of future events too!”

Han Yan smiled faintly. How nice it would be if her previous life had been just a dream, but those were real experiences, real pain carved into her being. The pain was so intense that she remembered everything clearly. How could she not know future events? She did know, but by changing her fate, that once-clear future had become uncertain.

“This rain… I fear it will cause flooding,” Shu Hong murmured. While they could hide in their warm room with lit lamps and tea, there were homeless commoners whose houses leaked, perhaps now staring helplessly at their water-logged possessions. Floods might mean little to wealthy official families who would want for nothing, but for poor commoners, it was a devastating disaster.

Han Yan frowned. In her previous life, this rain had lasted exactly three days and nights, leaving countless people homeless. The capital had suddenly filled with refugees, but with empty coffers and funds diverted to military expenses, there had been no way to help these people.

Her gaze grew distant. At that time, Wei Rufeng had personally sent many gifts to comfort her. To a young woman about to marry him, Han Yan had thought it showed her future husband’s consideration and had been deeply touched. Now, as events repeated themselves, it felt like another lifetime. Han Yan knew Wei Rufeng wouldn’t be sending gifts this time. After one lifetime, she saw through Wei Rufeng’s character and no longer had expectations of him. But what about Fu Yunxi?

Did she still have expectations of Fu Yunxi? How should she react if he came to visit? As she pondered this, she shook her head and smiled at her overthinking. Fu Yunxi probably had no time to visit her now. Rather than dwelling on this, she should think about what questions to ask when she meets Yang Qi.

Just then, there came a knocking at the window. Han Yan started, thinking she had misheard. But amid the rain, the knocking was unmistakably clear. Outside was pitch black, and as Han Yan wondered uncertainly, Ji Lan and Shu Hong exchanged glances. Before they could speak, the window suddenly burst open, and a figure leaped into the room.

Han Yan was startled but relaxed upon recognizing the person. Zhuo Qi was soaked from head to toe, having rushed through the rain to get there. Han Yan asked, “What’s wrong?”

He took a few steps inside, leaving puddles on the floor. Shu Hong frowned, but Zhuo Qi took a deep breath and smiled at Han Yan: “It’s so warm in here.”

Han Yan said, “How did you get here in such heavy rain?”

Zhuo Qi picked up Han Yan’s used teacup from the table and took a sip. Shu Hong frowned again, but Zhuo Qi seemed utterly unconcerned, saying, “I found out about what you asked me to investigate.”

This single sentence diverted Han Yan’s attention from his lips on her teacup. She asked, “What did you find?” Her tone carried an urgency she didn’t even notice herself.

Zhuo Qi looked at her amusedly, then pondered: “I braved the rain to bring you this news, got completely soaked, and you’re not concerned about my health? You could at least give me something to wear so I’m not so cold.”

Han Yan glared at him: “I don’t have any men’s clothes.” He couldn’t possibly wear Zhuang Shiyang’s clothes, and Zhuang Han Ming was too small. Was he deliberately saying this?

Zhuo Qi cupped his chin: “You could give me one of your…” Seeing Han Yan’s increasingly dark expression, he quickly raised his voice and laughed: “Cloaks.”

Han Yan glared at him for a long while before finally compromising. She went to her clothes chest and retrieved a fox fur cape. Seeing him so completely drenched made her feel cold just looking at him. Since he had done this for her, she could at least spare a cape. She handed it to him: “Is this satisfactory?”

Zhuo Qi took the cape but didn’t put it on immediately. Instead, he held it to his nose and took a deep breath, showing an expression of intoxication: “It smells wonderful.” Finally, under Han Yan’s murderous gaze, he unhurriedly put on the cape and smiled slightly: “Thank me – I found that person.”

“You found them?” Han Yan was surprised. Fu Yunxi had known about this lead for several months before his deployment but hadn’t found anything particularly useful, let alone the actual person. Yet Zhuo Qi had found them in just two days. Even with capable subordinates, the difference seemed too great – Fu Yunxi’s people couldn’t be that incompetent. Unless… an impossible thought occurred to Han Yan… could Fu Yunxi have deliberately concealed the information?