Chapter 41: Thunder Claps, Nourishing Rain Comes

South of the City, Tiandao Palace.

Ding Suian was assigned the job of ’tile removal,’ carefully taking down the glazed tiles from the old palace roof one by one, to be re-laid once the new palace was completed.

Using the excellent vantage point from above, he overlooked the entire site.

Tiandao Palace in Lanyang covered nearly a hundred *mu*. At this moment, most of the buildings within the sprawling five layers of palaces had been demolished, leaving only a row of meditation rooms in the northeast corner temporarily preserved.

Cultivators dressed in green robes frequently entered and exited the meditation rooms, which appeared to be purposefully preserved for the Cultivator of the State Religion to use for accommodation and storage.

Over the course of the morning, twenty-five robust and agile Protectors of the Faith in black robes appeared. The Cultivator of the State Religion were not skilled in combat, so they were often accompanied by black-robed Protectors of the Faith as bodyguards.

The State Religion possessed a cultivation system distinct from that of Martial Artist. Every Protector of the Faith was formidable, reportedly possessing at least the strength of a Martial Artist in the Manifesting Elemental State.

Through observation, the Protectors of the Faith would patrol along a fixed route every half hour.

However, it was clear that their attitude was very relaxed.

The State Religion enjoyed the favor of the imperial court in Great Wu, was beloved by the common people below, and possessed various Divine Ability themselves. Who would dare to be so foolish as to cause trouble here?

Over time, the Protectors of the Faith naturally became lax.

At noon, to save time climbing up and down, the laborers responsible for ’tile removal’ simply ate their lunch on the roof.

“A-Zu~”

“A-Zu!”

“Ah? What is it?”

Ding Suian was slow to react. Turning his head, he saw Lu Sanxiang, who had been assigned to the ’tiling’ group with him this morning, and he chuckled foolishly, “Brother Lu, is something the matter?”

The seemingly honest Lu Sanxiang glanced at the white flour pancake in Ding Suian’s hand, chuckled, and scrambled up the roof slope. He sat shoulder-to-shoulder with Ding Suian on the ridge, pulled out his own black *wowotou*, and offered it, “Do you have enough to eat? I can share some if you don’t.”

“No need, I have enough.”

Ding Suian refused with a foolish grin.

Lu Sanxiang didn’t receive the polite reciprocal offer he expected, so he awkwardly started chewing on his own black *wowotou*.

Seventy percent of the laborers on the construction site brought this coarse *wowotou*, steamed from a mixture of black beans and sorghum. People like Ding Suian, who ate flour pancakes for lunch, were a minority.

Ding Suian suddenly asked, “Brother Lu, if we work for the State Religion, can we truly be reborn in the Immortal Realm after death?”

Lu Sanxiang was angry because Ding Suian was impolite and hadn’t offered him any white flour pancake, so his reply carried a hint of irritation, “What good things are you dreaming of? We were born as lowlifes; the Immortal Realm won’t be our turn!”

Ding Suian asked curiously, “Then why are we doing free labor for the State Religion?”

“Strength isn’t worth money anyway! The State Religion saves people from suffering, rescues them from disaster, subdues demons, and suppresses evil. What’s wrong with contributing some effort?” Lu Sanxiang became even more displeased.

He continued to shout, “Just a few days ago, an Immortal Master of the State Religion captured a dog demon right here in Lanyang City—who in the whole City doesn’t know about that! Forget the distant stories, I’ll tell you what I saw with my own eyes: a few years ago, Old Master Xu from our village had a foolish son who still didn’t recognize people even in his teens. They sought doctors and medicine for years, but nothing worked! In the end, it was an Immortal Master who took action and cured Old Master Xu’s son. Since then, Young Master Xu has been like a completely different person! Not only is he intelligent, but he even passed the exam to enter the Literature Institute of the State Religion. Even our County Magistrate treats Young Master Xu politely!”

“Wow! That amazing?”

“Exactly! The Divine Ability the Immortal Master used was called… what was it called? Oh right, the Spring Return Edict!”

The Spring Return Edict is supposedly a Divine Ability comprehended by Duke Bei, one of the Three Sages, by observing the sprouting and growth of spring vegetation.

Ding Suian looked down from his height at the dense crowd of free labor (oxen and horses), and after a moment, he cast his gaze toward the turbulent Zhebei River several miles away. Losing interest in conversation, he tore his pancake in half and handed it to Lu Sanxiang.

Lu Sanxiang had been trying to cozy up to him precisely for this food. Surprised and delighted, he quickly accepted it, immediately clasped his hands before his chest, and prayed devoutly toward the north, “Thank the Three Sages for bestowing this food.”

“???”

Ding Suian, who had been gazing into the distance, retracted his look and slowly turned to Lu Sanxiang, “Brother Lu, I clearly gave you this pancake.”

“Ostensibly, you gave it to me!” Lu Sanxiang, having received the pancake, became self-righteous. “But everything in the world is predetermined! This morning before I left, I vowed to the Three Sages that I would eat my fill today! This pancake is merely the Three Sages bestowing it upon me through your hands!”

Ding Suian blinked, then suddenly swayed his body, bumping into Lu Sanxiang. Caught off guard, the pancake in Lu Sanxiang’s hand dropped.

“Hey! Hey~”

Amidst Lu Sanxiang’s distressed cries, the pancake rolled down the roof slope all the way to the ground.

Just then, a large yellow dog passing by suddenly saw food drop from the sky and snatched it up and ran off with the speed of thunder and the swiftness of a burglar covering his ears while ringing a bell.

Lu Sanxiang, who had intended to chase after it, watched as the big yellow dog vanished in a flash. Furious, he turned and roared at Ding Suian, “You little brat of the Wu Family! You made me lose my pancake!”

Ding Suian scratched his head and chuckled foolishly, “Brother Lu, maybe the Three Sages decided they didn’t want to bestow it upon you after all.”

A person who doesn’t recognize kindness is worse than a dog!

The sixth day of the first lunar month was the day all industries began returning to work.

Lin Hansu bore the pressure of Princess Xingguo demanding the return of sixty thousand *mu* of farmland before the second month, and on that day, she began leaving the City to inspect the various manor farms.

The managers of the various manor farms and the proprietors of the City’s shops reacted identically, all showing great enthusiasm and respect for Lin Hansu’s arrival.

Seeing this, Hansu couldn’t help but feel a slight increase in her confidence regarding the completion of the farmland retrieval mission.

But Ding Suian did not think so. Hansu was still unaware that The Du Brothers had already approached the Vermilion Robe Patriarch regarding this matter.

If he were Second Master Du, the best approach would be to proactively donate half or more of their land assets to the State Religion.

This way, they would exchange significant profit for the State Religion’s protection, and Lin Hansu’s plan to retrieve the land would turn into a struggle against the State Religion for resources.

Second Brother Du could simply sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight.

Lin Hansu was protected by the golden signboard of ‘Role Model for Women Under Heaven’; even the State Religion would have to consider the Emperor’s reputation and would not dare to directly confront her. However, Ding Suian, who had thoroughly offended the Du Family two months ago, appeared far too weak facing the State Religion with only the identity of a Dragon Guard Army Soldier.

Therefore, on the fourth day of the month, he went to Tiandao Palace in disguise, attempting to find a way to break the deadlock.

On the seventh day of the first lunar month, the inspection of the manor farms continued.

Because the Beginning of Spring occurred before the New Year, the temperature rise this year was earlier than in previous years, and it grew warmer day by day after the New Year.

Around noon, Ding Suian and his party arrived at Yaxi Village.

The village housed over two hundred families, cultivating more than seven thousand *mu* of irrigated and dry fields.

It was considered one of the larger manor farms belonging to the Princely Estate.

Learning that the Princess Consort had personally arrived, the manor farm manager quickly ordered people to clean up the estate, prepare the reception hall, and then rushed out of the village with several elders to greet her.

Hansu, however, did not rush into the village. Instead, ignoring the dust on her skirt, she squatted down at the edge of the field. She directly grabbed a handful of soil with her fair hand and squeezed it. After letting go, seeing that the soil did not clump together, she clapped her hands clean and stood up, saying, “This winter only saw one snowfall during the twelfth lunar month. If there is no rain after the New Year, we must be careful of drought.”

“Your Highness actually understands soil moisture! I am impressed.”

The manager offered a compliment, but a dark, thin old farmer nearby bowed and cupped his hands, then said, “Reporting to Your Highness, Divine Immortal Yuan already sent word through the prefectural and county officials this morning, stating that on the night of the Awakening of Insects, the seventeenth day of the first lunar month, at the second quarter of the Hour of the Rat, the spring thunder will clap and the nourishing rain will come.”

‘Divine Immortal Yuan’ refers to Supervisor Yuan, the supervisor of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau.

This man served across two dynasties and was over seventy years old.

In his early years, to spare the common people the worry of famine, Teacher spent over a decade cross-breeding Southern Zhao triple-crop rice with local Great Wu rice strains, developing a new variety that was promoted nationwide.

This increased the rice yield per *mu* in Great Wu by more than thirty percent.

Although the imperial court and local nobles subsequently raised the land tax, it ultimately provided the common people with a few extra mouthfuls of life-saving grain each year.

Consequently, Teacher gained extremely high prestige among the populace.

Ding Suian naturally knew of this person, but hearing the old farmer describe him so miraculously, he was still skeptical, and couldn’t help but smile, “Old Sir, even if Supervisor Yuan is a divine immortal, he can’t pinpoint the thunder and rain down to the Hour of the Rat on the seventeenth night of the first lunar month, can he?”

“Hmph!” Hearing someone question Divine Immortal Yuan, the old farmer’s previously hunched back instantly straightened. He looked at Ding Suian displeasedly and said, “You young whelp, you don’t believe Divine Immortal Yuan? For all these years, when Divine Immortal Yuan predicts the first rain after the New Year, the error has never exceeded half an hour! Your family surely doesn’t farm; if you had even one field, you wouldn’t dare criticize Divine Immortal Yuan.”

“Old Li! That’s enough!”

The manager knew Ding Suian was the Princess Consort’s guard, and quickly reprimanded the farmer.

Only then did the old farmer awkwardly shut up.

Ding Suian was briefly lost in thought, then cupped his hands and said, “Thank you for the guidance, Old Sir!”

Acknowledgement: Thanks to Xuan Ge Jia Dao La for the reward.