amaotonovel Chapter 415
Chapter 415
Perhaps it was from a lingering excitement from her afternoon outing, or perhaps it was simply the unfamiliarity of being in a new place, but Luo Shuiyao tossed and turned in the inn's wooden bed. The flickering candlelight cast shadows of bamboo on the mottled walls. She stared at the interlocking beams overhead, counting the grain of wood to pass the time. Only when the distant clappers sounded at midnight did her tense nerves finally relax, and sleepiness washed over her like a tide, sweeping her off into a dream.
That night, dark clouds had quietly obscured the moonlight, and the smell of damp earth, mixed with the wind, streamed through the cracks in the window. Half asleep, he heard the window frames clang against each other, and withered branches, caught in the wind, scraped against the wooden windows with sharp, piercing sounds. A sudden downpour arrived, with bean-sized raindrops pounding the dark tiles and cascading down the eaves in a silvery curtain. Thunder rumbled in the distance, like the deep roar of a dormant beast on the horizon.
A crack of thunder split the night, and Luo Shuiyao jolted awake from her nightmare, her brocade quilt sliding down to her waist. The thunder rustled the window paper, and she stepped barefoot on the cool blue bricks. As her fingertips touched the window frame, a streak of pale lightning streaked across the sky. The rain curtain was instantly illuminated, and the shadows of the distant trees bared their fangs like a demonic claw, then plunged back into thick darkness.
The wind was so strong that the raindrops splattered on Luo Shuiyao. She struggled to close the window, and her sleepiness was gone. She leaned against the window, looking at the storm outside through the oil-painted window paper, feeling a sense of unease.
This year's rainfall has been unusual, with torrential downpours hitting cities and villages, leaving many towns and villages devastated. Despite the government's continuous dispatch of disaster relief, it's been unable to prevent these recurring natural disasters. Tonight's downpour was particularly fierce, with howling winds and a curtain of rain. It's unclear when it will stop. I just hope it passes quickly. Flower farmers are in full bloom right now, and after this downpour, I wonder how many seedlings will survive. If the flower fields are severely damaged, how will these flower farmers survive the next six months?
Even with countless worries, what could one do? In the face of such a natural disaster, one's power was as insignificant as dust. All one could do was pray for the rain to stop. But fate did not grant their wishes. Not only did the rain not stop, it actually intensified. Perhaps the inn's doors and windows were left open, the howling wind crashed against the inn, rattling the wooden doors and causing the faint sounds of outside to drift in.
Chun Xing woke up from her sleep, hearing the startling noise outside the window. She hurriedly put on her coat and hurried to find Luo Shuiyao, calling softly, "Miss, are you awake?"
"You're awake, come in quickly." Luo Shuiyao looked at the swaying black shadow outside the door, and spoke quickly after recognizing Chun Xing's voice.
Chun Xing got the permission and pushed the door open. She saw Luo Shuiyao standing on the blue brick floor wrapped in her thin nightgown. She rushed to the clothes rack in two steps, grabbed her outer robe and put it on her, her tone full of concern: "Miss, it's raining heavily tonight and the weather is cold. I hope you don't catch a cold."
"It's nothing, I just woke up." Luo Shuiyao said this, but she obediently cooperated with Chun Xing to put on her outer clothes.
Seeing Chun Xing trying to bend down to tie her belt, she quickly reached out to stop her, her fingertips tugging at her waist and tying the ribbon into a neat knot. She then casually gathered her long black hair and hastily tied it with a hairband, slipped on her boots, and led Chun Xing out the door.
Since I'm no longer sleepy and can't fall asleep, I might as well go sit in the hall and get some fresh air.
There are many people who share the same idea as her.
A lot of people had already gathered in the inn hall. Some were sitting or lying down, talking in low voices, some were looking out the door with frowns, and everyone's face was filled with anxiety and worry.
Most of the guests staying at the hotel were travelers passing through the area, and the torrential downpour had disrupted their plans, leaving their return dates uncertain. Planned routes, negotiated deals, and scheduled meetings were all put on hold by the relentless downpour, a situation that would have been hard to maintain a positive mood.
Hearing the "dong dong" sound of footsteps coming from upstairs, everyone subconsciously turned their heads and saw a thin man. However, everyone just glanced at him casually and continued talking to the people around them.
Luo Shuiyao glanced at the crowd and saw her guards gathered in a corner waving at her, so she walked towards the guards.
The guards had already seen Luo Shuiyao. When they saw her approaching, they hurriedly stood up and saluted. Luo Shuiyao raised her hand to stop them and said, "You don't need to be polite when you are out."
The guards were already familiar with her temperament, so after hearing what she said, they stopped being polite and sat down obediently.
Luo Shuiyao then asked, "Why are you all here? Are you also unable to sleep because of the noise?"
The guard shook his head and replied respectfully, "Not really. It's just that the rain is pouring down. We just went out to carefully check the horses and carriages. We only came back after we saw they were all safe. After changing our wet clothes, we're no longer sleepy. We figured we'd wait until the rain stops and daylight is almost here, and then we can continue our journey."
After hearing this, Luo Shuiyao looked at them carefully. Seeing that their hair was still damp, she realized that they had considered so many things in just a short while. So she nodded and said, "That's right. Since I can't sleep now, I might as well relax and catch some air here. It's not bad."
The rain poured down, thunder roared, and in the distance a faint rumbling sound came, like the earth humming softly. The original discussions in the inn gradually faded away, and everyone fell silent, the atmosphere becoming a little subdued.
Suddenly, one man could no longer sit still, so he asked for a straw raincoat from the inn and put it on, then walked towards the stable in the heavy rain.
The others then remembered that their horses and carriages were still parked at the inn. If they were frightened by the rainstorm or got soaked, it would be troublesome. So, several people hurried out the door as well.
Seeing this, Luo Shuiyao quickly stopped the people who were about to get up to check the horses and carriages again. She said, "Come on, come on. It's raining so hard outside. It would be bad if you caught a cold. It would be more trouble than good. Didn't you just check the horses and carriages together? It's nothing serious. There's no need to keep checking."
When the guards heard her say this, they understood that she cared about them and felt a little warm in their hearts, so they sat down again.
The rain poured down all night long until the sky turned pale and it began to subside slightly.
Luo Shuiyao and the others had a quick breakfast and spent the better part of the morning in the inn. Finally, in the afternoon, the rain stopped. Pushing open the inn door, damp steam, mingled with the stench of earth, hit them in the face. The bluestone pavement was covered in mud, and water droplets dripping from the eaves hit the puddles, creating murky splashes.
Luo Shuiyao lifted the corner of her robe, dodged the puddles on the ground, and stepped out of the inn, about to ask passersby about road conditions. Suddenly, she heard shrill cries not far away. Looking up, she saw several villagers covered in mud stumbling into the town. One of them had lost even his shoes, and the bloody marks on his feet, scratched by the gravel, mixed with the mud and water, left a winding trail behind him.
"It's over, Baihua Manor is over!" The leading man stumbled and rushed forward when he saw someone approaching, screaming with tears in his eyes. The shouting startled everyone in the houses on both sides, who opened their doors and looked out.
Upon hearing this, someone rushed over to help him up, but was unable to do so. They could only whisper comfortingly, "Don't worry, what happened? Take your time."
The man clutched the inquiring passerby tightly, a broken sob escaping his throat. "All those flower buds were destroyed by the heavy rain, and the landslide on the back mountain buried several families. Go tell County Magistrate Qin quickly and find some people... find some people to rescue them!"
Baihua County has long been renowned for its flower plantings, and Baihua Manor is the central planting site for all the county's flowers. The blossoms cultivated here not only attract aristocratic ladies from Beijing but also drive the county's economic development, providing a source of livelihood for the majority of its residents. Now, a torrential rain has not only shattered all the buds, leaving them without a livelihood for the year, but also injuring others. How can this not be a cause of alarm?