Upon hearing this, Nanli immediately turned her head and glared at Qing Feng, feeling somewhat annoyed. "How can I live with myself if I ignore this?" If she didn’t know, she could ignore it. But now that she knew, how could she disregard so many lives?
Qing Feng felt guilty, and being scolded by her made his face burn with embarrassment. However, it was understandable for the poor people to worry about their homes being destroyed and then being driven out of the capital. As the rain fell harder, even if their houses didn’t collapse, people would still fall ill from the cold.
Nanli didn’t hesitate and said, "I am the Ninth Princess, and I can assure everyone that I won’t let your houses collapse. If they do, the court will send people to help rebuild them. Now, please move quickly to save your lives." Ye Siheng’s reputation was already outstanding, and Nanli had recently gained much attention for her proficiency in Daoist arts and for helping the poor for free. As the rain poured down, some began to waver.
Nanli continued loudly, "I observed the stars last night, and this heavy rain will last for half a month. If you want to survive, move now! I guarantee with my own reputation, the Prince Yu Mansion’s, and the Mansion of Marquis Anyang’s, that I speak the truth. Please trust me!"
Some of the poor people echoed, "We are willing to trust the Ninth Princess!" If the rain were to last half a month, their unstable houses wouldn’t hold up. With a place to move to, they had no reason not to act. Immediately, some began to pack their belongings, and others hesitated.
More people joined in, and even if some didn’t want to leave, there weren’t enough of them to resist the officials. By the time the first group of poor people had moved, the rainwater had reached their thighs. Suddenly, a decrepit house collapsed as soon as an elderly person was escorted out of the door. The rain soaked the walls, and in an instant, the small house collapsed in the downpour.
Seeing this example, others quickly began to pack up their things. The officials were afraid that more houses would collapse, so they hastened their efforts. With the low terrain of the slums and the poor state of the water channels, the rain didn’t stop. In less than half a day, the water had reached the roots of the people’s thighs. Fortunately, Nanli and her team arrived quickly, and most of the people were relocated. The remaining few were also moved in an orderly manner.
Nanli worked tirelessly to move all the people from the slums. Chunxi Tavern was also used to accommodate the poor, and Chu Shuo, as the acting young master, made arrangements there. Seeing Nanli work so hard without even having a meal, Chu Shuo felt extremely distressed.
He brought some food and insisted that Nanli sit down and eat before doing anything else. Nanli was indeed hungry, and when she smelled the food, her limbs felt weak. She sat down and ate two bowls of porridge and two steamed buns, filling her stomach, and then felt rejuvenated.
Chu Shuo couldn’t help but shake his head. "Look at you, you’re clearly the Ninth Princess, yet you’re doing everything yourself." When the people couldn’t move their belongings, Sixth Sister stepped up to help, not caring about her own identity as a woman. Everyone was amazed at her strength.
Nanli drank some water before saying, "What’s the big deal? I’m just lending a hand. It’s my uncle and second brother who are really helping. Otherwise, these people would really have nowhere to go." Chu Shuo also didn’t take credit. "Look at what you’re saying. We’re just doing a little less business for a few days. But with so many people staying at the inn, food is a big problem. Will the court allocate funds?" Even if he and the Qian family were wealthy, they couldn’t afford to feed so many people.
Nanli shook her head gently. "The treasury is very low on funds, and they will need to allocate funds to rebuild the slums in the future. I’m afraid they won’t be able to allocate funds now." Chu Shuo frowned deeply.
Nanli heard this and immediately patted Chu Shuo’s shoulder, saying, "Second Brother, don’t worry, I still have some money saved up. I’ll give it all to you later." Chu Shuo couldn’t accept her money and quickly refused, "No, this is your hard-earned money." In fact, he wasn’t broke; he just didn’t have liquid cash on hand after spending it. He was more than willing to do good deeds with Sixth Sister.
"I earn money precisely for times like today. Wealth is meaningless to me," Nanli said seriously. Chu Shuo knew her mindset well and stopped refusing. As the sky grew completely dark, the torrential rain continued. It had been for several days in a row.
Thanks to the previous efforts of the Ministry of Public Works, the water channels were built well enough to quickly divert the rainwater to the moat, preventing most of the city from being flooded. However, as expected by Ye Siheng and Nanli, most of the houses in the slums collapsed after enduring several days of wind and rain.
The people in the slums were grateful and admired Nanli’s foresight. This half-month had been filled with continuous heavy rain. Even when it paused, it was only for a short time before resuming. The ministers in the court counted the days, and sure enough, after half a month, the rain gradually subsided, and the sky began to clear slowly.
They were both surprised and pleased that Nanli’s prediction had been so accurate. However, even after the rain stopped and the water receded, there was still much work to be done for post-disaster reconstruction. They couldn’t afford to celebrate; instead, they immediately threw themselves into the work of rebuilding.
Nanli couldn’t compare to Ye Siheng’s exhaustion. He was busy overseeing everything and dealing with the aftermath, with no time even to eat or sleep. He realized that he hadn’t returned home for ten or eight days. With some free time, Nanli naturally missed Ye Siheng.
However, he was busy in the palace, and she didn’t want to disturb him. That night, as she slept deeply, she sensed some movement. She reacted quickly, striking out with her palm, but the figure in front of her dodged. "Are you asleep or not? How come you’re so alert?" Ye Siheng’s voice sounded tired.
"You’re back?!" Nanli was surprised and sat up abruptly. The room was dimly lit by moonlight filtering through the window lattice, allowing her to see Ye Siheng’s figure vaguely.
Without hesitation, she threw herself into his arms and hugged him tightly. Ye Siheng stiffened slightly, feeling her reluctance to let go, and could only helplessly say, "I haven’t bathed in two days. I’m dirty."
"Dirty or not, I don’t mind," Nanli muffled her voice, burying her head in his chest. Since they got married, they had never been separated for so long without seeing each other.