When Ding Yun realized those heavenly garbage items were useless, she did consider living a leisurely and comfortable retired life for a year. However, out of consideration for needing to gain influence, she spent a month in idleness before.
She still began to teach the servants planting and breeding techniques.
Allowing them to experiment on her farm.
She believed that in three to five years, at most ten years, there should be some results. She dared not place all her hopes on the fairy gacha machine now.
Who knew what useless cards the fairy gacha machine would draw.
Cultivating superior, high-quality staple food seeds was the fallback plan Ding Yun had prepared for herself. If her golden finger wasn't strong enough, she could still rely on this to increase her influence.
After completing this task and offering some minor supervision.
Ding Yun once again kicked back and relaxed.
She spent her days listening to opera, storytelling, or playing mahjong with the elderly nannies around her. There were simply too few leisure activities back then. She couldn't go bungee jumping or swimming, nor did she feel like traveling, so she could only play mahjong to pass the time.
Although life was a bit boring, it wasn't unbearable. A year passed in a flash.
It was still the New Year, with the usual giving of red envelopes and feasting.
Then, she sent all the children away.
After some time, the "Cleaning Maid Immortal Card" finally expired and was reclaimed. The fairy gacha machine offered another free chance. However, as usual, Ding Yun drew a lowest-tier golden card – the Moon Palace Chang'e Card.
What did this mean?
It meant she was just an ordinary member of the Heavenly Court's song and dance troupe, appearing to perform dances during banquets, and not even a lead dancer, but a backup dancer. The only advantage, perhaps, was that her daily life was relatively leisurely.
After all, large banquets were rarely held in the Heavenly Court.
They didn't need to perform for non-large banquets.
As for specific immortal arts and skills, they were all related to dancing, such as "Flying Sky Palm Dance" which she could perform with ease. But what use did Ding Yun have for this skill? Was she, a ninety-five, no, ninety-six-year-old woman after the New Year, supposed to perform dances for others?
Jiang Taigong met King Wen at eighty.
Was this asking her to impersonate Zhao Feiyan at ninety-six?
However, considering that fusing fairy cards not only brought skills but also nourished her body, extended her life, and enhanced her physical fitness.
So, even though Ding Yun detested this card.
She ultimately chose to fuse it.
In any case, fairy cards were active skills. As long as she didn't use the skill, there would be no problem, so it didn't matter. Like the previous card, she would just not use it after fusing.
Originally, Ding Yun thought this year would pass uneventfully again.
However, just a few days into summer, the Qinan Commandery was hit by torrential rain that lasted for half a month without stopping. The various dikes were on the verge of collapse. If the torrential rain couldn't stop in a short period, the entire commandery would be submerged.
This matter actually had nothing to do with Ding Yun. The court should have been the one to worry about it; her donating some silver would have been sufficient.
But when she heard this news, Ding Yun suddenly remembered that the card she drew this time was the Moon Palace Chang'e Card. Although her skills were all related to dancing, she did have a few skills related to the moon palace itself.
Among them was the "Moon Palace Tidal Dance."
Its main function was to utilize the tidal force of the Taiyin Star to stir the Weak Water, creating a more beautiful atmosphere with the shimmering waves of the Heavenly River's Weak Water, as bright as the Milky Way.
This dance could even stir the Weak Water of the Heavenly River.
Let alone the waters of the mortal realm.
She decided to just try it. It would be great if it worked, and if not, it wouldn't matter. So, as soon as night fell that evening, Ding Yun immediately put on her finest heavenly attire and left.
She flew directly to Qinan Commandery.
Upon arrival, Ding Yun found that the situation here was clearly much more severe than what had been reported in the capital. But thinking about it, it made sense. With the current communication speed,
Even with swift horses, it would take three to five days for the news to reach the capital.
A situation of fifteen days of torrential rain would surely differ from one of nearly twenty days of torrential rain.
In Qinan Commandery at this time, many low-lying areas were already submerged. As Ding Yun flew overhead, she initially thought she had found the wrong place because below didn't look like land at all, but rather a vast ocean dotted with small islands.
The few patches of land that emerged from the water were crowded with people, and some were struggling to swim towards them for survival.
Seeing this, Ding Yun didn't dare to delay any longer and quickly began performing the Tidal Dance in the sky.
As her figure danced in the sky, the dark clouds that obscured the bright moon were quickly dispersed by her movements. The moonlight, imbued with tidal power, instantly filled her with strength. Then, Ding Yun quickly used the tidal force she could control to drive the floodwaters rapidly towards the ocean.
To the common people below, it appeared as a sudden miracle. All the floodwaters were flowing backward, from low to high ground. Simultaneously, the areas previously submerged by the floods re-emerged from the water in an extremely short period.
For a time, the crowd rejoiced.
Some kept kowtowing.
Some worshipped the Water God, some worshipped Mazu, some worshipped the Dragon King, and some worshipped Bodhisattvas, because they didn't know who had created this divine miracle, so they just worshipped randomly.
They worshipped the deity they usually worshipped the most.
Although Ding Yun's primary motive was to rescue the people and she couldn't bear to see them perish, she also had the idea of harvesting some influence. Seeing the people below constantly thanking deities who had nothing to do with her, she naturally felt a bit displeased. However, she couldn't reveal her identity as Princess Anrong, as the Emperor was keeping an eye on her.
So, in the end, she only used the moonlight and her mental power to create a virtual image of a Moon Goddess, inscribing her own mark onto it.
She specifically manifested in the sky for a long time.
Only after the floodwaters completely receded.
Did Ding Yun have the virtual Moon Goddess image fly towards the Taiyin Star. Once it was out of sight of ordinary mortals, she withdrew her mental power and imprint, directly dispersing the so-called manifestation.
She herself flew back to the capital to continue sleeping.
While the people of Qinan Commandery were busy cleaning up the aftermath, they didn't forget to build a temple to worship the goddess Ding Yun had virtually created. News of this quickly spread.
It not only reached the capital but also spread throughout the country. Everyone knew that the great flood in Qinan Commandery had been resolved by a Moon Goddess who appeared. She had merely danced, causing all the floodwaters to flow backward and disappear.
For a time, it was the hottest topic in the capital.
Not only commoners were discussing it,
But the entire court and Emperor Longsheng were extremely concerned.
The court officials believed that this matter was likely a lie deliberately fabricated by people with ulterior motives, and they were more worried that Emperor Longsheng would believe this nonsense and, in turn, seek immortality, neglect state affairs, and even refine elixirs for longevity.
After all, no matter how wise an emperor was, once they embarked on the path of seeking longevity, they would inevitably become tyrannical.
There were countless historical precedents for this.
As for Emperor Longsheng, he believed it.
He didn't believe it when he first heard the folk rumors, nor when he received the memorial from the Qinan Commandery officials. However, when the dozens of secret guards he sent out also returned with the same news, he had no choice but to believe it.
Because if this news were still false.
It would mean his secret guards had been completely infiltrated.
And this was clearly impossible. The conclusion deduced in reverse was that the related rumors were true.
The flood in Qinan Commandery was indeed dispersed by a celestial maiden.
It should be noted that Emperor Longsheng was no longer young. At over fifty years old, while very young compared to Ding Yun, he had already surpassed the average lifespan of the first five emperors of the founding dynasty.
Coupled with the toil of state affairs and the worries of the imperial harem.
He himself could feel that he was getting old and lacked energy. Knowing at this moment that immortals truly existed in the world, although he wasn't so excited as to lose his mind, he was undoubtedly moved.
The officials' worries soon came true.
Emperor Longsheng began to summon renowned Buddhist and Taoist masters from all over the country to the capital, ostensibly to prepare for the upcoming celestial sacrifice. As for his actual intentions, anyone with a brain knew them.
At the same time, he organized his trusted confidantes to go to Qinan Commandery.
On the surface, it was for disaster relief, but the officials were well aware of his true purpose, which was definitely not disaster relief.
After all, when was disaster relief ever accompanied by a group of eunuchs, palace maids, and many members of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau? This staffing clearly indicated they were going to search for the so-called female immortal.
Therefore, the entire court strongly objected.
They cited numerous arguments, constantly stating that throughout history, no emperor who sought the gods and consulted oracles had ever achieved immortality, but only emperors who became incredibly tyrannical after doing so.
They hoped Emperor Longsheng would take history as a mirror.
And not repeat the mistakes of the past.
Some veteran officials even pleaded with him on their deathbeds.
However, even ordinary people, as children, fantasized about being special, potentially more capable than others, and more promising in the future. How much more so for an emperor, who was already quite special?
Did Emperor Longsheng not know the historical texts they cited, nor the rulers who were wise in their early reigns but later became tyrannical due to their pursuit of longevity?
He knew, and he was very clear about these historical events.
But deep down, he felt that he might be the special one. Others might not succeed, but perhaps he would. After all, no other emperor during their reign had encountered a situation where a celestial maiden personally intervened to resolve a natural disaster. Even in the depths of his heart, he secretly fantasized that if a cowherd could marry a celestial maiden in myths and legends, why couldn't he, an emperor?
Fortunately, he only fantasized in his heart.
Otherwise, Ding Yun would have beaten him to death.
His inner fantasies, combined with the foundation that had been largely stable for over a decade of his reign, and the fact that several elders of three dynasties had either died last year or resigned due to repercussions from their descendants.
Most importantly, his unwavering belief.
He ultimately overcame the obstruction of the officials and successfully issued an edict, embarking on a journey of seeking immortality and letting his imagination run wild.
This was also the path many emperors took.