Chapter 625: The Rain Disaster Is Here
Chapter 625: Chapter 625: The Rain Disaster Is Here
The next day, Shen Ningning woke to a curtain of pouring rain. The downpour had started last night and had already been falling for a full eight hours.
The maids were in the courtyard, scooping water out with basins. The drainage channels built by the artisans along the walls were completely useless.
The rain was so heavy that even the small courtyard was covered in a shallow layer of water. The maids, drenched to the bone, stood in the downpour and desperately bailed.
But when Shen Ningning looked beyond the courtyard, she saw the gushing water—SPLASHING as it rushed down the outer slope. Perhaps it was because of the gloomy sky, but the churning water looked black as it continuously surged into the yard.
Their courtyard was in a low-lying part of the Ren Mansion. Mo Lingwei took one look and grabbed Shen Ningning’s wrist. "The rain is too heavy. We need to leave this place now."
"Wait." Shen Ningning looked up at the overcast sky, where purple lightning slithered through the clouds like a snake.
Deep rumbles of thunder echoed one after another, and the rain showed no signs of letting up.
’Something feels wrong about this rain.’ A hint of worry clouded the dark depths of Shen Ningning’s beautiful eyes.
She immediately turned and entered her Immortal Realm.
The Thunder Hall was still flashing with red light, warning her that the magnetic field was disrupted, but Shen Ningning had no idea what that meant.
The rain outside was torrential. Ling Mountain City itself was situated in a low-lying area between mountain valleys. If this continued, it would surely be destroyed by the backflow of floodwaters.
She ran to the orchard, dragged over a basket, and picked every last golden fruit, bringing them all out of the Immortal Realm.
"Brother, come help me! Crush these with your hands!" Shen Ningning said, her voice laced with urgency.
Mo Lingwei froze for a moment. Once he understood, he immediately joined Shen Ningning in crushing the golden fruits into dust.
Wave after wave of golden dust drifted into the overcast sky. After the entire basket was empty, Shen Ningning and Mo Lingwei walked to the window and looked up.
With the Ren Mansion as its epicenter, the sky began to rip open as shafts of golden sunlight broke through. The thunder slowly faded, and the furrow in Shen Ningning’s brow gradually relaxed.
She had used all of her golden fruits to clear the sky. She refused to believe it wouldn’t be enough to stop the rain this time.
However, before Shen Ningning could even feel relieved, a heaven-shaking peal of thunder rolled in from the horizon. The sharp CRACKLE made the young maids in the courtyard scream and cover their ears.
That clap of thunder was far too loud. Shen Ningning sensed something was very unusual about it.
Mo Lingwei’s expression changed. "Look at the sky!"
High above, the dark clouds were devouring the brilliant sunlight that had struggled to emerge. The darkness spread like an encroaching mist, enveloping the sky once more.
The rift torn open by the light slowly closed, and the world plunged back into oppressive gloom.
Shen Ningning was stunned. "How can this be? So many golden fruits... How could they not work?!"
Mo Lingwei’s face was grim. "If not even you can stop it, then this is highly abnormal. Could someone be manipulating the weather from behind the scenes?"
Just like Princess Consort Qi.
But back then, even when Princess Consort Qi wielded the Disaster Space, Shen Ningning had been able to counteract it with ease.
This time was different.
Suddenly, a Hidden Guard entered through the window, dripping wet.
He was breathing heavily as he pulled a letter wrapped in layers of silk cloth from his robes.
"Your Highness, Master Gu ran into trouble on his way here."
Shen Ningning immediately spun around. At that exact moment, a bolt of lightning snaked across the sky with a deafening RUMBLE, its purple light illuminating the shock in her eyes.
「Meanwhile.」
Ren Er was in her mother’s courtyard, complaining, "Mother, the rain is so heavy. Do you think Fang Huan’s uncles have been held up on the road?"
Mrs. Ren was busy giving orders to three of her trusted nannies and had no time for Ren Er’s concerns. She was fuming, cursing under her breath. "His Lordship didn’t come home all night. He must have gone to that hussy Gui Xiang’s courtyard again! The three of you, take the house servants and go smash her door down right now."
Governor Ren had no concubines in his official residence, but he kept numerous female companions outside, so it wasn’t unusual for him not to come home.
However, Governor Ren had recently taken a new mistress named Gui Xiang, whom he had plucked from a brothel. She had barely come of age, and her youthful, beautiful figure had so captivated the governor that he spent night after night away from home.
Today, Mrs. Ren had reached her limit and decided to destroy the residence Governor Ren had bought for Gui Xiang.
Seeing her mother in such a rage, Ren Er didn’t dare say another word. But she was still waiting to go home; Zhao Lei hadn’t come to pick her up since yesterday.
’If I leave for good, wouldn’t that be exactly what he wants?’ With this thought, Ren Er bid her mother a simple farewell, deciding to return to the Zhao family immediately.
Mrs. Ren, preoccupied with her anger, paid her no mind. She casually told her to be careful on the road, and Ren Er went to have the driver prepare the carriage.
But unexpectedly, the rain was too intense. Ren Er’s carriage hadn’t traveled far before it got stuck on a bridge on the way home. Carriages were slipping in front and behind, unable to advance. She was trapped.
Ren Er’s maid lifted the curtain to look ahead. "Miss, what do we do now?"
Ren Er, irritated, kicked her maid. "What do we do? Why don’t you get down there and see what the hell is going on up front! We’ve been stuck here forever."
After taking the kick, the maid scrambled out of the carriage. The pouring rain instantly drenched her, chilling her to the bone.
She walked to the front and saw that a carriage at the very head of the line had overturned. Its wheels were stuck in the mud, and a group of people was trying to lift it.
But the rain was so heavy it obscured everyone’s vision and made the muddy road even more treacherous. The maid looked back toward the end of the bridge; their carriage was wedged right in the middle, and more carriages were piling up behind them, leaving no room to move forward or back.
She figured they wouldn’t be getting home anytime soon.
Just as the maid was about to return to Ren Er to report the situation, she heard two loud, rumbling CRACKS. The surging current, carrying a broken log from upstream, had slammed into the wooden bridge and snapped it in two!
Cries of alarm rose from all around. The maid ran forward. Half of Ren Er’s carriage had already plunged into the water. No one dared to reach out to help, and the driver was instantly swept away by the flood.
Ren Er scrambled out of the carriage, clinging to the teetering curtain, and screamed at her maid, "Save me! Come and pull me out!"
But looking at the broken bridge and the carriage being slowly carried away by the current, the maid hesitated.
She remembered the kick from just moments before.
In that single moment of her hesitation, the powerful current swept the carriage away completely. The crowd heard a piercing scream as Ren Er was instantly submerged by the floodwaters.
"Miss!" The maid took two steps forward, her eyes wide with terror.
She saw Ren Er’s head bob twice in the water before vanishing without a trace.
The floodwaters continued to surge from upstream, and those near the broken bridge began to abandon their carriages and flee for their lives.
The rain washed over the maid’s deathly pale face. Her lips trembled. "It’s over... it’s over... I have to get back and tell the Madam and the Master."
And at that same moment, Shen Ningning, having finished reading Master Gu’s letter, was realizing just how troublesome the situation had become.