The heavy rain continued for several days without stopping.
That day, as soon as Jun Huailang returned to the residence, he went to ask his father about it.
His father also knew nothing about the matter of urging the construction schedule, so he promised to ask the people below him about it over the next two days. Jun Huailang agreed and was about to leave.
Just then, his father called out to him.
“Huailang,” he said. “The farmland in the southern outskirts has been somewhat flooded these past few days. The prefect has asked me to go take a look with him in two days. Would you like to come along?”
Jun Huailang was silent for a moment before his father continued, “Prince Guangling is going as well. The two of you have always been close, and he is a rare talent capable of bringing order to the world. If you travel together, you can also learn more from him.”
Jun Huailang pressed his lips together.
“Forget it, Father.” After a moment, he smiled faintly and said, “The journey by carriage and boat is tiring, and it would take up some energy.”
Duke Yongning was puzzled. “Hmm? Are you still going to the academy these days?”
Jun Huailang nodded.
Duke Yongning had never interfered much with the decisions his son made. Hearing this, he merely gave a hum and said, “Reading more is good as well. Although one can learn real things in the government office, you must first build a solid foundation in learning before you can handle other matters.”
Jun Huailang nodded in agreement and bowed to take his leave.
Duke Yongning was silent for a moment, then added, “Huailang, read more of the Doctrine of the Mean.”
Jun Huailang looked up at him.
He heard Duke Yongning say, “I know you have strategy and ambition in your heart, but in all things, keeping to the middle is often better. Whether studying or handling affairs, do not reveal too much of your ability in front of others. It is enough to be just right.”
He had never been a man of many words. After a pause, he added, “A person only needs to have one thing that stands above the rest. Any more than that, and it becomes easy to be cut down.”
Jun Huailang understood what he meant.
When a tree stands out in the forest, the wind will surely destroy it.
His family background was already the thing that stood out the most. If he excelled far beyond others in other areas as well, it would make people wary of him.
Because above his head stood the imperial family and imperial power, which would not allow him to climb any higher.
Jun Huailang nodded and replied, “Your son will respectfully obey Father’s instructions. Please rest assured.”
——
For the next few days, Jun Huailang did as he had said and went to the academy every day.
Several days passed in succession, until the day his father was about to set out for the southern outskirts.
Although the southern outskirts were not particularly close, they could make the round trip within a day. Jun Huailang therefore did not make a special effort to see him off. After eating breakfast early that morning, he raised his umbrella again and left the courtyard.
The rain had not stopped these past few days and was falling especially fiercely. Their courtyard was already somewhat flooded. Even the stone paths that had been raised several levels were covered with standing water everywhere.
As he walked outward, Jun Huailang could only pay attention to where he was stepping.
Just then, Fuyi, who was seeing him out, called softly, “Young Master…”
Jun Huailang looked up at the sound and saw two people standing at the courtyard gate not far away—Xue Yan and his servant.
Xue Yan stood there quietly, holding an umbrella and silently looking at him.
Jun Huailang’s breathing stopped for a moment. The sensation of being kissed until he could barely breathe that day suddenly surged up from his chest again.
Jun Huailang stopped walking.
He stopped, and Xue Yan did not leave either, as though he were standing there waiting for him to come over.
Jun Huailang took a deep breath.
No matter how much he hid, he could not hide forever. It was impossible that he would never see him again for the rest of his life.
He lowered his eyes and slowly stepped forward.
Xue Yan blocked his path.
He said nothing either, merely looking at him quietly, as though he were forcing Jun Huailang to speak first.
“…Your Highness.”
Jun Huailang struggled to control his voice, making it sound calm and cold, without any emotion or tremor.
Xue Yan gave a hum.
“Where are you going?” he asked. “Still going to the academy?”
Jun Huailang nodded.
Xue Yan was silent for a moment.
“I won’t be here today,” he said. “There is no need to hide so far away.”
Jun Huailang instinctively retorted, “I wasn’t…”
What did he mean, he wasn’t?
Clearly, he was.
He could not even continue his own rebuttal. The words stopped halfway, leaving him awkwardly cut off.
Xue Yan said nothing.
After a while, he said, “If I don’t come looking for you, just stay at home. The rain is this heavy. Why are you running around?”
His voice was somewhat hoarse. Even though the rustling rain around them blurred his voice considerably, it still made Jun Huailang’s ears and even his heart tremble and burn.
…It was true that he had not seen the other man for several days.
Under the umbrella, Jun Huailang hardly dared to raise his head to look at him. Forcing down the fluttering in his heart, he said indifferently, “I’m not running around. I simply have nothing else to do, so I’m reading.”
As he spoke, he tried to walk around Xue Yan.
Xue Yan said again, “…Otherwise, when I return today, I’ll move out.”
Jun Huailang’s footsteps stopped.
He felt somewhat ashamed of himself.
When he heard Xue Yan say this, his very first reaction was actually that he could not bear to let him go.
His grip on the umbrella tightened, the veins gradually showing on his porcelain-white hand.
“…There is no need.” He lowered his head, the oil-paper umbrella hiding his expression. “No matter where Your Highness is, I still have to read.”
After saying that, he held his umbrella and walked straight past Xue Yan.
The bluestone path was not very wide. When Jun Huailang passed by, Xue Yan moved his umbrella aside so that the cold rain would not splash onto Jun Huailang’s shoulder.
And the cold rain immediately poured onto his own body without any obstruction.
Jun Huailang’s hand gripping the umbrella trembled again.
He hurried away as though fleeing.
But the sandalwood fragrance he caught in that brief instant as he passed Xue Yan’s side was like winding threads, clinging to his heart and wrapping tightly around his soul.
Making it seem that no matter where he fled, it would be useless.
——
A clap of thunder split down outside the window.
The rain that day was especially heavy.
Jun Huailang sat in the academy, but he was not particularly at ease, repeatedly looking toward the window.
He knew that when officials normally went out to inspect the countryside, they would not prepare too many things for the sake of traveling light and keeping the trip simple.
With rain this heavy, their inspection party would certainly not have a smooth journey today. Moreover, the official roads outside the city were not flat, and the country paths were even more difficult to travel. If they were not careful, the wheels of the carriage could sink into the mud, causing no small amount of trouble.
Jun Huailang could not help worrying.
He was worried that his father was too particular about doing things properly and would refuse to turn back even in such heavy rain. He was also afraid that they might encounter some accident along the way and become stranded outside the city in the storm.
And uncontrollably, he also worried about Xue Yan, unable to stop himself from wondering what he was doing at that moment and whether he might run into any trouble.
At that thought, Jun Huailang unconsciously touched his lips again.
That tiny wound had already healed. At this moment, when he touched it, he could only feel an almost imperceptible little scab.
It did not hurt much.
That wound had been caused when Xue Yan’s canine tooth struck him while he was rushing forward recklessly. There had only been a slight sting before Xue Yan sucked away the bead of blood.
After that kiss ended, Xue Yan separated from him while breathing heavily, then pecked another kiss onto that tiny wound.
“Jun Huailang, if you want to pretend you don’t know anything, then forget about this tomorrow,” he had said in a low voice. “But don’t provoke me again. I’m not a good person.”
Jun Huailang pursed his lips.
At the time, his mind had been completely blank, but now that he thought about it, he always found it somewhat difficult to believe Xue Yan’s words.
He said with his mouth that he was not a good person, yet he had been willing to risk his life to save him. He had endured for who knew how long and had never revealed the slightest bit of his feelings toward him.
And even on that night… although that kiss had been fierce, it had stopped after only a taste, carrying a restraint that bordered on madness.
Would the Xue Yan of his previous life really have done such a thing…
Just then, his arm was bumped, startling him back to his senses.
He turned his head and saw Shen Liufeng sitting beside him, leaning over and looking at him.
“Huailang, what are you thinking about?” he whispered. “Are you also thinking about Uncle and the others?”
Jun Huailang froze for a moment, then nodded.
The rain outside was loud, pounding against the bamboo leaves with a crackling sound. Shen Liufeng therefore leaned closer without much concern and continued whispering, “I’m worried too. You know, with rain this heavy…”
He paused, then scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly.
“When something happened in Yangzhou that day, the rain was this heavy too,” he said. “I always feel a little uneasy.”
Jun Huailang’s gaze froze.
Naturally, he was talking about the time they had been trapped by a landslide in the mountains of Yangzhou.
He did not speak for a moment. Shen Liufeng had always been someone without much of an opinion of his own, so he stared at him nervously.
“Maybe I’m just overthinking it, but I always feel a little unsettled…”
After a moment, Jun Huailang smiled faintly at him.
“Don’t overthink it,” he said. “Just study in peace for now. After class, I’ll take you to the South City Gate to meet them.”
Shen Liufeng nodded repeatedly.
Just then, a faint rumble of thunder sounded outside the window.
Amid the pouring rain, the thunder was very far away and indistinct. Yet after several successive peals of thunder, the faint sound of voices gradually began to rise.
Jun Huailang frowned and looked toward the window.
The voices grew closer and closer.
Just then, a guard rushed into the classroom.
The person teaching the class was none other than the academy’s dean. Seeing the man enter, he put down his book and asked, “What is it?”
The guard hurriedly said, “Dean, this is bad! The embankment north of the city suddenly collapsed. The river water has surged in and is flooding into the city!”
The dean froze in place, and the students in the classroom immediately erupted into an uproar.
Jun Huailang’s pupils contracted sharply. His hand gripping his brush tightened abruptly, and he nearly stood up from his seat.
The embankment had collapsed?
In his previous life, the embankment had clearly collapsed after July had begun. Moreover, based on the conditions he had inspected in his daily rounds, although there had been a lot of rain during this period, it absolutely should not have been enough to wash the embankment away.
Now, even the timing of the collapse was different from his previous life…
This clearly was not the will of Heaven, but the work of man.
The embankment had collapsed because someone had tampered with it. And precisely because he and Xue Yan had arrived this year, the situation among the officials of the Jinling government offices was completely different from his previous life. That was why the person had acted early, deliberately causing the embankment to collapse.
…And had even specifically chosen a time when Xue Yan and all the high-ranking officials of Jinling were out of the city.
It was already June, yet Jun Huailang’s back suddenly turned cold again and again.
Just then, the guard continued, “Dean, there are quite a few displaced people outside whose houses have been flooded. They want to come into the academy to take shelter. What do you think…”
The road at the entrance of Linjiang Academy was narrow because it was located on a hill beside the river. The terrain was high and uneven. Because of this, although much of northern Jinling had been flooded, Linjiang Academy was one of the few safe areas.
But when Jun Huailang heard those words, he felt something strange.
The Yangtze River was broad and carried abundant water, and with the unusually heavy rainfall this year, the situation after this breach was bound to be severe. But when ordinary people faced a disaster like this, they would usually panic, rushing to protect their families and rescue their belongings. Even if they fled, it would be difficult for them to choose the right direction.
How could they, at the very first moment of the flood, run to the most logical place for shelter?
Jun Huailang suddenly remembered that the case files from his previous life had said that when the flood came, several conflicts had broken out in the city.
The most serious one had occurred in the academy. The displaced people had seized the buildings and gotten into arguments with the scholars, which then escalated into fights. Many scholars had been injured or killed.
At the time, he had still been puzzled. How could people merely seeking shelter from the rain end up killing someone?
…So this was where the problem had originated.
The page of the book in Jun Huailang’s hand suddenly tore beneath his grip.
The dean at the front of the classroom hurriedly said, “Quickly, go open the gates and let the people in to take shelter!”
The guard gave an acknowledgment and was about to run outside.
“Wait!”
Jun Huailang stood up.
Everyone in the classroom immediately looked at him.
At this moment, every person had a panicked expression. Yet he alone stood upright where he was, dressed in a blue robe, with the bearing of an orchid and jade tree.
There was clearly no expression on his face, cold and aloof, yet for some reason, everyone felt a little more at ease when they saw him.
“There may be something suspicious here. Don’t open the gates yet,” he said. “I’ll go take a look.”