Shen Xihe had some short-lived civet incense, and collected a lot of it every year. Duhuolou also collected some civet incense from outside, and used it as the main ingredient to mix it into incense, which was burned in places where rats gathered in the city and in every village that was affected by the disaster. After searching for a while, and then reminding the people of some preventive measures, the plague would surely not break out.
These spices were actually very expensive, so Shen Xihe donated them free of charge in the name of the Eastern Palace and handed them over to the governor personally. When the county magistrate arrived, the governor gave instructions and they were distributed one level at a time.
In any case, we had to wait until the rain stopped before we could implement it. However, it was such a coincidence that after months of heavy rain, it weakened the next day after the drainage, and then the light rain continued for three to five days before the rain stopped completely.
After the rain, the sky cleared up. The people, who had not seen the scorching sun for a long time, ran to the streets to bask in the sun. Women at home spread out their wet things to dry. Shen Xihe and Xiao Huayong also left Dengzhou on this day.
Along the way, the people lined the streets to see them off, from the city all the way to the outside of the city. Shen Xihe had the escorting guards stop the people several times before they were able to stop them. After leaving Wendeng County, the enthusiasm did not diminish. The neighboring counties were not as severely affected as Wendeng County, but they were also affected. Shen Xihe took the initiative to send food and supplies, just like Rongcheng County, which made the people feel relieved.
The broken and blocked roads had been cleared. When they came, they braved the rain and crossed mountains and hills so that they couldn't even ride the horses comfortably. When they left, the sun was shining brightly, the road was flat, and the carriage swayed smoothly without even running over a stone.
After returning to Kyoto, they went straight to the Imperial Palace. It was already mid-November and heavy snow had fallen in Kyoto. In such a cold weather, Emperor Youning sent clan leaders and the second prince Xiao Changmin and the third prince Xiao Changzhen to greet them at the city gate, and he himself went to the palace gate to greet them.
Even though the people of Kyoto had already seen the Crown Princess and the Crown Prince, they still came to join in the fun in the cold winter, sticking their heads out to watch. It was even more lively than the top scholar parade in spring.
The emperor gave the highest honor, and it did not seem like a show, because although Xiao Huayong and Shen Xihe won the hearts of the people this time, they also made the emperor proud everywhere. Emperor Youning was not an intolerant monarch. This was probably the happiest thing for the emperor since Xiao Changzhen caused the tomb robbery case, which made him happier than forcing the Turks to retreat and signing a tribute contract with them.
If Xiao Huayong's birthday had not been celebrated on the way back, I'm afraid Emperor Youning would have held another grand celebration for him.
The towering walls of the palace were covered with a layer of white snow. In December, Shen Xihe also celebrated his birthday. The palace welcomed a happy event. The third princess, Princess Anling, got married to a family of meritorious service. Princess Anling was already nineteen years old, and would be twenty in a year. If she didn't get married, she would become an old maid.
Princess Anling was getting married, and the seventeen-year-old Princess Pingling was also on the agenda before her marriage. Shen Xihe was in charge of the harem, so she had to pay attention to these matters. She was the one who drew up the list of the princess's dowry.
Princess Anling thought of her previous disagreements with Shen Xihe, and came to apologize nervously, fearing that Shen Xihe had tampered with her dowry and made something that seemed to be in line with the ancestral rules but was actually useless to fool her.