Chapter 44:  真的下雨了

It’s really raining

Just then a gust of wind blew in from the window and the sheet of paper on the tray was blown to the ground and fell into everyone’s sight. 

“Observing the stars at night, on the nineteenth day of the Gui Yue,between 9-11 am, a torrential rain fell from the sky, accompanied by thunder and lightning.”

The handwriting was clear and neat, fleeting like a floating cloud.

 “(Thunder Rumbling sound) …..”

A shocking thunder clap struck in the sky outside the main hall, followed by a torrential downpour.

For a moment, the royal court held in the main hall was surprisingly silent, not even a crow and peacock was heard. 

It’s really raining!

The eyes of the crowd looked again at the lightly floating piece of paper on the floor.

Around 9-11 am on August 19th! 

The sky is pouring with rain!

Accompanied with thunder and lightning!

Every single one of them is right! 

Everyone looked at each other in dismay. 

Not only is the calculation right, but even the hour is not a bit of difference!

Even the Board of Astronomy could only calculate whether it would rain on the second day, but not in detail about the hour.

The original joy of having a welcome rain after a long drought is replaced by a shock.

The person behind the note must have been an expert.

“It’s finally raining!” Imperial Censor Liu rushed excitedly to the entrance of the main hall and saw the torrential rain pouring down outside, his face full of joy.

He didn’t care what predictions the Board of Astronomy made or who was the one who wrote the note. All he knew was that it was finally raining today!

Three whole months have already passed! 

The big rain has finally come!

The people can be saved!

The Dong Lan Kingdom is saved!

The other ministers also smiled with joy after a brief moment of shock.

No matter what, this rain is a great joy for everyone, and for the country.

Only that Lord Zhao stood in the same place with ‘a livid with rage’ face.

The roaring thunder outside and the crashing sound of the rain pouring down were like a pair of big hands slapping him hard in the face, as if in mockery of his certain words just now.

How can it be!

Unexpectedly, it’s really raining!

It can’t be!

He obviously looked at the configurations of the stars last night therefore it supposedly can’t be raining. 

When he raised his head and saw the man in the dragon throne looking at him with an indistinct gaze, his body shivered and he fell to his knees in fear.

The man who was in charge of the Board of Astronomy, Lord Zhao, had lost face in the public, in the courtroom. He was so ashamed that he asked to retire and return to his native place on the spot in front of His Majesty.

Without saying a word, the Emperor ordered his men to bring the four treasures of literature or study—writing brush, ink stick, ink slab, and paper–so that Lord Zhao could write a letter of resignation on the spot, and with a stroke of his vermilion pen, the decision to return to his hometown was made on the spot and there were no more room for maneuver.

This heavy rain continued until the morning of the third day, when it gradually stopped.

After the joy, everyone began to worry again. After all, the rain was only ‘as pressing as a fire burning one’s eyebrows rain’, but if it didn’t rain again for the second half of the year, the drought would still be a serious problem for them.

If the expert behind yesterday’s note could be brought in to take up the post of supervisor of the Board of Astronomy and be able to tell them the weather conditions for the next two days, then they would not have to be so passive and could even make timely adjustments according to the weather conditions at any time.

The next day, at the morning court, some ministers began to suggest that the master or the capable person should forecast the weather again to see if it would rain again in the next two days.

This suggestion was soon approved by most of the ministers.

In the end, they just wanted to confirm whether this master really had the capabilities to do something like this. 

There were even people who suggested on the spot that if this capable person could really predict the weather conditions for the next two days accurately, she should be recommended for the post as the Board of Astronomy Supervisor. 

However, some ministers immediately began to object, “Your Majesty has said before that this capable person is a woman, how can a woman be an official?”

“Why can’t a woman be an official? It’s not that there is no precedent like this since ancient times…”