When Shen Xihe indirectly expressed her feelings for Xiao Huayong, the Crown Prince was so delighted he could barely contain himself.

His eyes were practically glued to Shen Xihe, afraid that if he blinked, she would vanish and everything that had just happened would turn out to be nothing more than an illusion.

Previously, Xiao Huayong’s intense and passionate gaze had made Shen Xihe extremely uncomfortable. Even now she felt uneasy, only able to sigh helplessly and try her best to ignore it.

While the couple was being affectionate, several courtyards away, Emperor Youning’s face was frigid as he held a memorial in his hands. This urgent report from Jiangnan showed that the drought in Dengzhou affected not just that region, but the entire empire. Jiangnan was a land blessed with talented scholars – every three years during the imperial examinations, more than half of the successful candidates came from there.

Scholars were most skilled at championing justice through their writing. In the Emperor’s hands were essays from Jiangnan students. Many had begun making veiled references connecting the Dengzhou disaster, the strange events during the prayer ceremony, and how after Prince Xin had knelt to beg for amnesty for the imperial harem, the Emperor had delayed taking action. Though not stated explicitly, anyone with a brain could understand the implications.

How far was Dengzhou from Jiangnan and the imperial palace? Xiao Changqin had only knelt in the courtyard for a day and night, and the petition from Dengzhou’s people presented by Shu Han had just reached his hands, yet Jiangnan was already taking action. Since when had communication between North and South become as swift as between neighbors?

Someone was deliberately manipulating things – it was meant as a threat to him. So who was pulling strings behind the scenes?

There were many suspects, first and foremost Xiao Changqin kneeling outside, as well as the seemingly obedient Eastern Palace. Of course, others couldn’t be ruled out either.

But there was no time to dwell on such matters now – if he didn’t grant amnesty to the imperial harem soon, he would be seen as a depraved and muddle-headed ruler!

“Bring him in,” Emperor Youning commanded coldly.

Liu Sanzhi hurriedly went outside and instructed two eunuchs to help Xiao Changqin, whose legs had gone numb from kneeling for a day and night.

Emperor Youning stared at Xiao Changqin, who maintained his composure and, despite his knees being numb, still managed to keep his back straight as he knelt: “If We issue the edict to grant amnesty to the imperial harem and Dengzhou receives no rain, you will have deceived the people and disrupted court order. Even executing you would not be too harsh!”

Xiao Changqin’s expression remained unchanged. Though his bloodshot eyes showed exhaustion, they still gleamed with defiance: “The people cannot wait much longer. I request Your Majesty issue the edict immediately and announce it to the empire. If there is no rain within three days, I am willing to die for my offense!”

This life-or-death gamble was exactly what Xiao Huayong had wanted to prevent Shen Xihe from risking.

Xiao Changqin understood the current situation clearly. Xiao Huayong and Shen Xihe wouldn’t want him dead, so they wouldn’t harm him. But as Xiao Huayong had said, there were always variables – even the Imperial Astronomers could make mistakes. Who in this world could truly predict heaven’s will correctly every time?

Knowing this, he was still willing to make this bet with the Emperor because if something truly went wrong, he could follow the example of Fourth Brother and fake his death to escape. Without his identity as a prince, and with Little Nine still around, he could act more freely operating from behind Little Nine.

There were some things he couldn’t do as Prince Xin, but as a nameless person, he could act without restraint.

Of course, being Prince Xin had its advantages too – there were pros and cons to each situation. Either way, he didn’t stand to lose much.

Emperor Youning narrowed his eyes. He had just met with people from the Imperial Astronomers Bureau, and their vague responses clearly showed they didn’t believe Dengzhou would see rain in the coming days. He was curious about what gave his son such great confidence.

After fixing Xiao Changqin with a piercing gaze for a moment, Emperor Youning wordlessly grabbed his imperial seal. The edict had already been drafted before Xiao Changqin entered, and he stamped it with a loud thud.

“Liu Sanzhi, go proclaim the edict,” Emperor Youning ordered. “Send Prince Xin back. We shall see if Dengzhou’s drought is truly caused by accumulated yin energy in the palace!”

Though they had expected to hear good news tomorrow, they hadn’t anticipated receiving the Emperor’s edict so quickly. Besides the edict announcing amnesty to appease the people of Dengzhou and those young scholars in Jiangnan, there was also an imperial decree for Shen Xihe, since as Crown Princess she held authority over the imperial harem and would need to oversee the amnesty.

However, Emperor Youning had held something back – regarding the Imperial Preceptor, he ordered the Department of Internal Affairs and the Court of Imperial Clan to assist her. The Department was controlled by Liu Sanzhi, while the Director of the Court was the Emperor’s cousin within five degrees of mourning, naturally loyal to the imperial ancestors – both sided with the Emperor.

Shen Xihe was already satisfied with this; whether these people followed along or not didn’t matter.

Upon receiving the decree, she immediately headed back to the palace accompanied by Liu Sanzhi and the Court Director.

Given the urgency, the “frail and sickly” Xiao Huayong naturally couldn’t accompany her on this rushed journey. Shen Xihe had already begun planning for the imperial harem amnesty. As soon as she, the new mistress of the imperial harem, returned, the Six Departments and Twenty-Four Offices came to pay their respects.

When Madame Lan, the Etiquette Official of the Bureau of Ceremonies, saw that Shen Xihe had indeed successfully obtained authority over the imperial harem and managed to convince the Emperor to grant amnesty, she quickly presented her carefully prepared list of names to Shen Xihe.

To leave the palace, she needed Shen Xihe’s approval. Even if she didn’t leave, given Shen Xihe’s intelligence and capability, she should pledge loyalty to her.

Being quite shrewd, Madame Lan had separately compiled a list of those who must be removed. While many met the conditions for release from the palace, some didn’t – but Madame Lan had either obtained leverage over them or discovered their weaknesses, and organized everything for Shen Xihe.

With Zhenzhu and Biyu by her side, Shen Xihe spent half a day finalizing the list of palace maids to be released, which she then sent to the Department of Internal Affairs and the Court of Imperial Clan for review.

When Liu Sanzhi saw several of his confidants on the list, his eyelid began to twitch. He should have realized the Crown Princess wouldn’t fight a battle she wasn’t confident of winning, but he hadn’t expected her to have already figured everything out – she must have long-harbored intentions to take control of the imperial harem.

The reasons for releasing each palace maid were clearly stated, from coming of age to misconduct, leaving no room for objection.

They didn’t dare try to keep these people even if they wanted to. The reason Shen Xihe chose to use the amnesty to clean up the imperial harem was that these people were being released for the benefit of the common people – even the maids themselves wouldn’t dare cry and make a scene about wanting to stay, or they would be defying an imperial edict.

After sending out the register, Shen Xihe anxiously awaited news of rain in Dengzhou. The next day would be the agreed-upon date – Xiao Changqin and Emperor Youning had agreed on three days, meaning the day after tomorrow at the latest, but Shen Xihe still hoped for rain today.

From dawn until dusk, there was still no news. Even after the midnight hour passed, there was no word from Dengzhou. Shen Xihe’s heart sank. Unwilling to rest, she waited in the vast darkness of night until a gyrfalcon tore through the ink-black sky, swooping down with good news – before midnight, heavy rain had begun pouring in Dengzhou.

The rain would delay official messages, but knowing Shen Xihe, Xiao Huayong had sent the gyrfalcon immediately. She should receive formal news from Dengzhou tomorrow.

The letter also contained a lock of black hair – sending thoughts through a lock of hair was Xiao Huayong’s habit when writing to her.