Seeing the longing gazes of her nephew and niece, Zhao Jiaqi realized she had been too harsh. She was simply irritable from the heat!
"Su Ya, go tell the kitchen to make two buckets of shaved ice and distribute them to everyone in the manor. This weather is truly unbearable, and it will help cool everyone down!"
Hearing this good news, everyone who had been listless felt as if a pie had fallen from the sky. They were so happy they almost cheered, but seeing her displeased expression, they could only suppress their joy in their hearts!
The next day at noon, the sky turned a dark, oppressive black. A dense swarm of locusts was rapidly moving towards their inner city, accompanied by a buzzing sound. If not for the noise, everyone would have thought it was about to rain.
Upon seeing this, the soldiers and all the citizens of the city, relying on their past experience, began to fight the locusts!
Inside the manor, Zhao Jiaqi directed everyone, shouting, "Pluck them! Pluck these locusts until they're bald! Let's see if they dare to fly here again!"
Yu Meng, watching the locusts fill the sky, tugged at her mother's sleeve and whispered, "Mom, you catch locusts. Only sheep can be plucked bald. You're using the wrong word!"
"Alright, then we'll catch the locusts bald!" The meaning was more or less the same!
Following Zhao Jiaqi's shouts, the dark sky cleared in a short time. Except for the locusts that had been dealt with, the rest of the swarm fled in panic!
Looking at the sky on the other side, these pests had actually crossed their four fiefdoms and were desperately flying towards Yun Country!
Zhao Jiaqi: ...
Those on the fiefdoms who were ready to show their skills: ...
Fan Zehao stared blankly at the flying insects, pulling his wife's hand. "This... it's over?"
There was a hint of a joke in his voice, but more than that, it was disbelief. They had barely done anything, and the insects were already gone?
Beside the couple, Yu Meng crossed her arms and sighed, "Insects are also sentient. When they heard Mom was going to pluck them bald, why would they dare to linger in this territory? If they didn't flee for their lives, wouldn't they be wiped out? Besides, in this day and age, who would dare to provoke a ferocious woman like Mother Yaksha? Isn't that asking for death?"
Fan Zehao heartily agreed with his daughter's words, but he was even more impressed that she dared to speak the truth in front of the Yaksha.
As expected, when his own woman got ruthless, not only did people fear her, but even insects were afraid!
Well, his wife now had an additional function: she could ward off evil spirits at home... no, ward off insects!
Zhao Jiaqi, observing the father and daughter interacting secretly, couldn't be bothered to argue. She called Wangcai over, "You can ride a horse. Go to the other cities and check the locust disaster situation!"
"Your servant will go now!" Wangcai received the order and rode out of the manor on a swift horse!
That afternoon, outside the manor, three large pots were set up, filled with boiling oil. As long as anyone brought locusts, the manor guards would help fry them!
There was no distinction between mine and yours. Once fried, everyone ate together, enjoying the delicacy and temporarily forgetting their troubles!
The streets were filled with aroma, and the sight of people standing on the street eating fried locusts was everywhere, dispelling the gloom caused by the drought and lack of rain!
The day after the locusts entered their territory, everyone returned to their usual routines. Soon, news arrived from Wangcai!
The inner city and the other three fiefdoms had not been affected by the locusts. Instead, Yun Country was invaded. According to the news, Jinzhou City had been so ravaged by locusts that not a single blade of green grass remained!
It was incredibly bizarre!
Su Ya and the others heard this news and were overjoyed. If they were afraid of angering the Prince and Princess, they would have jumped up and applauded!
They say that heaven favors kind and beautiful people, and that heaven does not deceive them. Zhao Jiaqi and Fan Zehao were exceptionally favored by heaven. In early July, the sky was filled with dark clouds, and the sky above the fiefdoms was gloomy!
The wind blew, carrying a hint of coolness. Everyone looked up at the sky, their hearts already brimming with joy. At this rate, it would rain within a day or two!
It wasn't just them who were happy; even Zhao Jiaqi's face showed disbelief!
"Husband, pinch me quickly and see if my eyes are playing tricks on me. Is the sky about to rain?"
Fan Zehao obediently did as he was told, found a fleshy spot on her that couldn't be seen and pinched hard!
He grinned foolishly, "Hehe, your eyes aren't playing tricks. I see the dark clouds too. It's going to rain!"
Zhao Jiaqi's face darkened as she rubbed her buttocks and glared fiercely at the foolishly grinning man!
She asked through gritted teeth, "You didn't misread it, so why did you actually pinch me? Tell me, are you seeking revenge on me?"
Perhaps this fellow had wanted to beat her up for a long time but dared not, so he took the opportunity to pinch her hard. Zhao Jiaqi didn't believe he wasn't seeking revenge!
Fan Zehao's face was stern, but a slight smile played on his lips. He raised his hands and exclaimed, "I am truly wronged! You can't falsely accuse me, or I'd be further from justice than Dou E!"
Zhao Jiaqi didn't believe a word of it. Looking at how he tried to suppress his laughter, she knew he wasn't as innocent as he claimed!
Seeing his expression, she became even more annoyed. "Get lost! Starting today, you're not allowed to sleep in my bed!"
Fan Zehao watched his wife's retreating back and stiffly twitched his lips. If he had known his wife was so fickle, he wouldn't have pinched her!
Now, he regretted it deeply and chased after his wife, begging. Sleeping on the ground in the rain would surely make him sick!
Besides, sleeping on the ground was nowhere near as good as sleeping in bed, hugging his wife!
That night, a light rain began to fall. The hot air instantly cooled down by several degrees. The young servants and maids in the manor, hearing the rain, all rushed out of their rooms!
They were almost all collecting rainwater, preparing to bathe with it. Since the drought began, they could count the times they had washed clothes, let alone bathed!
The weather was cooperative; it rained lightly all night. By dawn, it had turned into a drizzle, fine as cow's hair, drifting in the air, only just dampening the ground!
Fan Zehao looked at the retreating dark clouds and furrowed his brow. "I hope these clouds are in a good mood and just play for a bit. If it rains like this for a long time, even a person can't handle it!"
Zhao Jiaqi looked at her husband murmuring by the window and shook her head speechlessly!
If these clouds were truly in a good mood, they would pour down like rain!
This was clearly the dark clouds being unhappy and crying sadly, which was why it was raining so sporadically. Even a child's urine was more than this!
"I'm telling you, stop looking at the sky. No matter how much you look, the clouds will rain as they will!"
Fan Zehao turned his head, his brow furrowed. "It's fine if I don't look at the sky. Let me look at you instead. It doesn't cost money to look at you!"
Is this person getting more indecent as he gets older?
Zhao Jiaqi directly threw the teacup in her hand at him. Following him, she had also learned to be thick-skinned!
"Such a big person, and still so unseemly every day!" Zhao Jiaqi scolded him affectionately, "Go out and take a look at the fields. If the fields are thoroughly watered, it's not too late to plant corn now!"