Chapter 207 The Ninth Day of Entering a Rebirth Novel

Chapter 207: Day Nine in a Rebirth Novel

Ran Yuanzheng furrowed his brows, paced a few steps in the study, then suddenly stopped, fixing his daughter with a sharp gaze: "If what you say is true, then your rebirth, knowing about the drought, secretly hoarding grain—all that can be explained. But the Imperial Advisor, An Yi... in his past life, he never forewarned of the drought. This proves he didn’t have that ability! Yet now, he suddenly knows about it..."

Ran Zhuyu frowned too. This was exactly what she feared most: "Father, you mean..."

"He might also be reborn!"

Ran Yuanzheng declared firmly, his face dark as a storm cloud: "Otherwise, there’s no explanation for why he would suddenly possess this ability to 'know the unknown'!"

He pondered for a moment, then instructed Ran Zhuyu: "Yuer, remember this—never reveal to him that you are also reborn. Now, we're in the dark, and he's in the open. He still doesn’t know your secrets. We need to observe carefully and see what he truly intends!"

Ran Zhuyu nodded solemnly: "I understand, Father."

Ran Yuanzheng walked to the window, gazing at the thriving flowers and plants in the courtyard, but his eyes were dark and grim. He slowly clenched his fists, his voice low and filled with murderous intent:

"Crown Prince... Qi Haocang!"

"This time, I will never let him ascend that throne!"

---

Comment Section:

"What! The Imperial Advisor is also reborn?! (Shocked)"

"Why is he reborn?"

"No way, the author isn’t going to expose the female lead’s rebirth later, right? I’m a bit scared. I don’t like such plots!! (Hugs chubby self.jpg)"

"I thought this novel was about the female lead being reborn and kicking butt, but turns out there’s a confrontation between reborn people?"

"Person above, how do you know it’s a confrontation? Couldn’t the Imperial Advisor be the male lead?"

"But in his past life..."

"He did nothing in his past life!"

"That’s exactly because he did nothing!"

"That’s normal, right? The Imperial Advisor wasn’t close to the female lead in his past life. He didn’t like her. Why would he risk helping her?"

"In this life, he’ll go the ‘never say never’ route! Maybe he’ll even regret not helping our Zhuyu baby!"

"...That makes sense too!"

"So he’s the male lead! I knew it! Otherwise, why would he be described as so handsome when he first appeared!"

"..."

An Yi was organizing the books in his hands: ...

He is not.

The male lead is the Seventh Prince.

But... from the comments’ implications, the female lead’s side suspected he was also reborn?

----------

The corners of his mouth curled up in a smile.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, two months had passed.

A hint of dryness had already crept into the breeze, rustling the lush greenery inside and outside the imperial city, yet it failed to bring sufficient moisture.

An invisible anxiety began to quietly take root and spread among the court officials.

As time went on, the news from Yongzhou gradually grew grim.

First, local officials in Yongzhou reported that "no rain has fallen for over a month," with the land beginning to show signs of cracking and river levels noticeably dropping.

Then, more detailed urgent reports reached the capital through various channels, piling up on the desks of relevant departments.

"Since late spring, rainfall in Yongzhou and several neighboring circuits has sharply declined, with no effective precipitation for nearly two months. Drought has become apparent. If rain doesn't come, the spring crops will likely be lost..."

At first, this news circulated only within the Ministry of Revenue, which managed agriculture, household registration, and grain, as well as in a small circle of central government departments.

But within the palace, no secret remained hidden for long.

Soon, the news that "Yongzhou has gone nearly two months without rain" caused a huge stir among the capital's official circles.

"Have you heard? In Yongzhou, it hasn’t rained for almost two months!"

"Really? This... what the Imperial Advisor said two months ago..."

"No way? Could what the Imperial Advisor said actually be true?"

"Shh! This is not yet settled. Maybe it’s just a coincidence..."

"A coincidence? Predicting a disaster thousands of miles away nearly five months in advance? That coincidence is a bit too..."

Whispers spread along the corridors of various ministries, in private gatherings after court sessions, in exchanged glances and hesitant silences.

Amazement, doubt, and disbelief intertwined.

Many people began to seriously consider, for the first time, the young Imperial Advisor who perched high in the Observatory and was deeply favored by the Emperor.

Could it be... that he wasn’t entirely a charlatan?

Could he truly possess the mysterious ability to communicate with heaven and earth and foresee fortune and misfortune?

Another month passed slowly amidst the increasingly scorching weather and everyone’s anxious anticipation.

Messages from Yongzhou grew more urgent each time.

"Drought persists, riverbeds exposed, wells dry..."

"Crops wither, land cracked like a turtle's shell..."

"The people are uneasy, small groups of refugees have started migrating to neighboring prefectures..."

Sure enough, a drought!

Not a coincidence, not alarmism.

The Imperial Advisor, An Yi—five months ago, after that palace banquet, in the Yangxin Studio, he told the Emperor about the once-in-decades great drought in several circuits of Yongzhou—was slowly turning into a brutal reality!

The entire court and country were thoroughly shaken.

All previous doubts, mockery, and glee at his expense vanished in an instant, replaced by a complex mix of shock, awe, and a hint of lingering dread. So he wasn’t a fraud after all!

Imperial Tutor An Yi actually possesses extraordinary abilities, able to glimpse the heavenly secrets!

Could it be... that immortality through cultivation truly exists in this world?!

The impact of this news shook these officials, who had spent years maneuvering for power, far more than the drought itself.

----------

Inside the Yangxin Study, the sandalwood incense lingered as before, but the atmosphere was completely different from three months prior.

The old emperor, holding the latest urgent disaster report from Yongzhou delivered by express courier, found his hands trembling slightly.

The words "barren land stretching a thousand li," "no harvest at all," and "refugees appearing" described in the report deeply stirred him.

He instinctively pressed his chest, his face pale, with lingering fear from having narrowly escaped disaster:

"Imperial Tutor... the Imperial Tutor truly foresaw everything! Had the Imperial Tutor not issued a prior warning, I and the court would have been completely unprepared. Once refugees erupted on a large scale, storming prefectural offices and inciting civil unrest, the consequences would have been unimaginable! The Imperial Tutor is truly my pillar of support, the pillar of the Great Ming!"

He murmured to himself, filled with both the relief of having dodged a calamity and a newfound awe and deep wariness of An Yi's ability.

Yet, after the relief, looking at the vast quantities of grain, money, and supplies initially estimated as needed to address the disaster mentioned at the end of the report, the old emperor's brow furrowed tightly, showing obvious distress and reluctance to part with resources.

Building new alchemy chambers, procuring overseas immortal herbs, refining the next batch of "longevity pills"... which of these doesn't require enormous sums of silver?

These disaster relief costs are truly too much...