Goddess Yunxi's First Rain - Heaven churns with cloud waves, a bird seems to ascend the Dragon Gate

The prefect's encounter with a ghost and subsequent descent into madness caused little stir in Yulin Commandery.

With the prefect's residence deliberately concealing the truth, ordinary people in the commandery heard only scattered rumors and had no idea what had actually happened. The better-informed officials and gentry initially heard vivid accounts, but little by little, their sources grew evasive. In the end, they all told the same story: their master had merely caught an ill wind while composing poetry beneath the moon and contracted a rare chill. The illness might cause delirious speech at first, but he would recover after spending some time quietly resting at home.

Thus, the disturbance stirred up by three travelers who happened to pass through gradually subsided in Yulin Commandery. In the end, however, the people of the entire commandery found a blessing in their misfortune. Before long, the oppressive policies apparently introduced because of the prefect's strange illness were replaced by Prefect Bai's earlier benevolent measures. Relief grain from neighboring commanderies also began arriving in a steady stream. By the time summer neared its end, the common people at least no longer had to go hungry.

Of course, those offering such heartfelt praise had no idea that none of these efforts to set things right came from the prefect, who remained lost in a befuddled haze. The man now directing affairs in Prefect Bai's residence was Xu Zifang, the advisor who had escaped disaster in the dungeon. This seasoned, prudent advisor to Marquis Changyi had sent someone to report the entire incident to the marquis. Now, acting under his orders, he temporarily managed all the commandery's affairs on behalf of its deranged prefect.

With matters having come to this, Bai Shijun's scheme of colluding with grain merchants, stockpiling cheap grain, and then manufacturing a