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Su Zhi silently mourned for Zhao Xiaohua in her heart, thinking about how she had yearned to become the Rain Goddess. Initially, it was supposed to be a moment of glory for her, but now it turned out to be quite embarrassing. If by chance the heavens decided not to be merciful this year and a severe drought occurred, she would be truly in trouble. Such a Rain Goddess was better off not being one at all.
A few years ago, that girl who portrayed the Rain Goddess made a misstep, and coincidentally, there were many heavy rains that year. Crops were reduced, and that girl was criticized by everyone. Not only did she lose all her glory, but she was also blamed by others. In the end, even the family who had arranged her marriage withdrew their proposal.
The Rain Goddess naturally enjoyed prestige; some, because of this title, would be sought after by others. In their natal and in-law families, as well as in the eyes of all outsiders, they were regarded as favorable. This was their blessing, the blessing every girl longed for. But if anything went wrong during this ceremony, they would be blamed. Because such occurrences were rare, people tended not to worry about such matters. Moreover, people always believed that they wouldn’t be so unlucky, that they were the ones destined for good fortune. Naturally, there were still many who desired to become the Rain Goddess.
Zhao Xiaohua was one such person. Unfortunately, her luck was not good. She encountered numerous obstacles on her path to becoming the Rain Goddess, ultimately ending up in the same situation as that other girl.
Su Zhi thought to herself that it hadn’t rained since the beginning of the year, and people were fearing a drought. Yet, Zhao Xiaohua had encountered this setback at such a time. It seemed like fate was against her.
“Is she alright?”
Su Zhi asked, though in her heart, she wasn’t genuinely concerned; rather, she felt a hint of satisfaction at the misfortune. The Zhao family was just too detestable, especially Zhao Xiaohua, who had been so smug after becoming the Rain Goddess. It was truly hard to sympathize with her. However, this was all related to the rain worship, and if something were to happen to Zhao Xiaohua…
She narrowed her eyes and raised the stick in her hand, ready to strike. They really hated that dog for ruining the ceremony.
The dog barked twice and then ran off.
Su Zhi couldn’t help but wonder if the dog had glanced at her earlier. It seemed like it couldn’t bear the scent of spiritual energy emanating from her. She didn’t dislike the big dog. She hoped no one would catch it.
After chasing for a while, the group gave up the pursuit.
On the Rain Worship Festival, it wasn’t customary to kill. Although the dog had disrupted the ceremony, it hadn’t bitten anyone. They didn’t want to further delay things because of this dog.
Shen Zi’an put down Yueyue and instructed her to return to the flower carriage with Xiaori and Xinger.
The three children held hands and ran back to the flower carriage.
“Hey, brother, is this dog yours?”
A man approached Shen Zi’an, noticing how friendly the dog was with Su Zhi. He thought to himself that if the dog belonged to their family, when someone came looking for blame, he could shift some of the responsibility away. You couldn’t mistreat a dog, but could you mistreat a person? If the dog was a stray, it would be one thing, but if it was a pet, after today, they would catch it and put it down for disrupting the ceremony.
Shen Zi’an replied, “This isn’t my dog. There are plenty of people from our village here; you can ask around.”
Immediately, some villagers from Riverside Village affirmed that the dog didn’t belong to Shen Zi’an’s family. Shen Zi’an and Su Zhi were well-liked in the village, and people were happy to speak up for them.
At that moment, Zhao Xiaohua was helped onto the flower carriage again, and it continued forward.
As they reached Riverside Village, they saw many villagers already waiting at the village entrance. After a brief stop and some lively interaction, they set off once more.
Although they didn’t linger for long, the people of Riverside Village soon learned about the incident on the road. One by one, they all came to know that Zhao Xiaohua had fallen from the carriage. The faces of the villagers turned grim, silently praying that heaven would not bring upon them a great calamity, hoping that the mishap of the Rain Goddess falling from the carriage that year was merely a coincidence.
As they were soon to reach the altar, the people of Riverside Village followed behind the flower carriage. Along the way, they whispered in small groups, but eventually, they fell silent. The more they spoke, the more uncertain they felt.
Upon reaching the altar, Su Zhi observed the elaborate ceremony and realized how much importance people placed on the Rain Worship Festival. The altar was grand, not much smaller than those seen on television for matchmaking events. Incense burned in censers, and abundant offerings were arranged. Men and women dressed in similar attire stood in their designated positions. The Rain Goddess knelt before the altar, offering incense and prayers, accompanied by a group of fair-skinned boys and girls, with occasional accompaniment of drums and gongs.
Su Zhi hadn’t anticipated that the attendees would also kneel down during the ceremony, but in the end, she found herself following suit.
After the flurry of activity, everyone felt quite tired. However, they couldn’t eat yet because they still had several more villages to visit before the ceremony could be considered complete.
Thinking about her little ones at home, Su Zhi although a bit worried knew they had to move forward together. However, there were significantly fewer people behind them now; everyone was exhausted, and some had already gone back to eat.
Su Zhi was relieved that she had secretly tucked some jerky into the children’s clothes. Otherwise, they would have been starving. Being a young boy and girl participant is not easy.
After the ceremony concluded, the flower carriage needed to hurry back to the Tian Sheng courtyard in town. There, people would change clothes, collect their rewards, and enjoy a sumptuous meal before heading home. This was the routine, the same every year.
By the time they arrived at the Tian Sheng courtyard, it was already mid-afternoon. The group of people looked worn out, like wilted vegetables, lacking in energy.
Su Zhi held Yueyue, who was nestled in her arms, feeling sorry for the little girl. Though she didn’t have to walk, she was still tired. Those few pieces of jerky seemed insufficient for her. Su Zhi quickly took out some candy for her to eat, promising that they would have a meal soon. Looking at Xiaori and Xinger, they were in the same state. However, being boys, they naturally wouldn’t act as spoiled as Yueyue. Su Zhi also gave them some candy, thinking to herself that she wouldn’t let her children take on the role of these young boys and girls in the future. Let others have this honor instead.
Qian Dahu and Zhang Dafu arrived, their expressions still gentle but lacking the morning’s enthusiasm. From the way they looked at Zhao Xiaohua, it was evident they knew about her falling from the carriage. However, they didn’t say anything. Such matters were not prestigious, and discussing them would only instill fear in the hearts of the common people. It would also imply that they hadn’t chosen the Rain Goddess candidate wisely. Thus, they chose to let the incident pass without comment.
Zhao Xiaohua made an effort to keep a low profile, no longer as arrogant as she had been in the morning.
As usual, the meal was ready, and everyone took their seats. After eating and receiving their rewards, they could disperse.
After exchanging a few words, Qian Dahu and Zhang Dafu left.
Su Zhi inquired about the people staying at the Tian Sheng courtyard and learned that Shen Zhu had already been sent away. She then joined Shen Zi’an and the three children to eat heartily. They were all hungry.
After Shen Dahu and Zhang Dafu left, Zhao Xiaohua’s family immediately departed as well, seemingly aware that they had caused trouble and didn’t want to be subjected to gossip here.
Su Zhi noticed that nobody was openly discussing Zhao Xiaohua falling from the carriage; they were all talking about other things. It seemed people wouldn’t loudly discuss the matter anymore. Just as she was thinking this, Sun Shi, who was sitting next to her, began to speak about it. Although her voice was low, those nearby could still hear.
Sun Shi continued to berate how her son had been dragged down from the carriage by Zhao Xiaohua, saying they couldn’t let her off lightly when they got back. At the very least, she needed to compensate them with some silver. Her reasoning was that her son had been frightened and had fallen from the flower carriage, undoubtedly diminishing his luck. She urged Su Zhi to go with her, mentioning that Xiaori and the others were also on that carriage.
Su Zhi, feeling annoyed, whispered a few words in Sun Shi’s ear, causing her to immediately fall silent and start eating voraciously.
What Su Zhi said was about Wulang hitting the dog. She wasn’t taking Zhao Xiaohua’s side or trying to protect Sun Shi’s dignity. Rather, she wanted to remind Sun Shi that if she went to demand compensation from the Zhao family, they might also hold Wulang accountable. If things were really scrutinized, Wulang’s mistake would be greater. And his mistake would reflect on the Shen family, as he was part of it. If there was a severe drought this year, someone might blame the incident during the Rain Worship Festival to them. Su Zhi didn’t want the Shen family to get dragged into it.
Inside the carriage, Zhao Xiaohua sat with a mournful expression, lamenting, “Second Sister-in-law, why am I so unlucky? How did I fall from the flower carriage? Now everyone is looking at me differently. Didn’t you see the expressions on Master Qian and Master Zhang’s faces? If I knew it would be like this, I wouldn’t want to be the Rain Goddess. Let Shen Zhu take over. It’s pointless to have put in all that effort to poison her. If she had fallen from the carriage, it would be better than me being the Rain Goddess.”
“Little sister, don’t mention the poisoning incident again,” Zhang Qingniang hastily interjected, taking Zhao Xiaohua’s hand. “If people find out that we were the ones who had Shen Zhu poisoned, it will be troublesome. Let’s keep this matter buried and not bring it up again.”
“I only mentioned it in front of our family members, not in front of outsiders,” Zhao Xiaohua reassured. “Sister-in-law, you can rest assured. Although things went awry this time, I still thank you. Thank you for bringing out that medicine. Seeing Shen Zhu covered in red welts made me extremely happy.”
Zhang Qingniang replied, “There’s no need to thank me. You’re Daliang’s younger sister, so you’re my sister too. We’re family.”